Tracking a potentially wounded deer.
 

This evening I thought I had just killed my first deer. I shot a doe and got a complete pass through. Climbed down and found my arrow buried in a log with hair and blood all over it. I was feeling pretty good at this point. Then I noticed there is only like 2 drops of blood. I start looking all over and can't find a drop. I saw where she ran to before she was out of my sight and didn't see her. I went back to my stuck arrow and noticed all the hair was white and looked even harder for any blood and found none. On the way out I saw some eyes light up and I could tell it was a deer. Then I saw it slowly run away and I walked over where it was and there was blood all over the place. I had to leave because I don't get cell service where I hunt and couldn't worry my family to death. I plan on being out in the woods every second I can until I find her. There is no excuse for a poor shot like that and it makes me sick that I did something so stupid. It almost makes me want to stop hunting. I ain't positive where I hit her, is there any chance I got a vital? maybe the liver? What should I do to end this deers suffering asap?

OL-DW Don't be so hard on youself it happen ,I to have lost a deer it would have been my first thought i made a good shot on it blood everywhere seen it fall 2-3 time before going into the thicket .It some how jump a fence going into a big bean field found maybe 4-5 dropes of blood then nothing after that looked for a day and a half but didn't fined it ,i to was going to give up bow hunting cause i felt so bad about it but someone told me your going to lose one now and then you looked hard for it that should count for somthing so don't give up on bow hunting like i said it's going to hapen.Best thing for you to do is go back to where you jump the deer and look from there . good luck to ya .

The key sign here is what did the blood look like on your arrow? Was it a real dark blood to indicate liver, were there any bubbles with bright pink coloring... indicating atleast one lung? Was it watery and medium red, indicating muscle hit? Did the arrow have a dark swearing substance that smelled bad, indicating a paunch hit? The only thing the white hair indicates is a low exit which generally isn't really a bad thing?

You may have hit her high. If so they will not put blood on the ground till they fill up and start pumping it out the holes. Exit hole sometimes plugs with fat and such.

The blood on my arrow was a medium to dark red color. It was pretty dark though. Do you think I could have got the liver? I was up 25 ft or so and she was down a hill so I was hoping the white hair was just a low exit. How long does it take a deer to die usually from a liver shot?

We could use some more info- how long was it from the time you shot until the time you bumped her on the way out? what color is the blood? My initial thought is a low hit (belly) because you indicated white hair everywhere. Nothing you can do now but give her time. Tommorow a.m. get back in there when the sun comes up and start from where you jumped her.

When I bumped her leaving it had prolly been 20-30 minutes. I know I should have waited a bit longer to start looking which was my first mistake.

Sounds like liver which means she should expire tonight. She probably won't be far from where you saw her last. Seeing her on the way out and re-finding the blood trail was a HUGE break. Now, all you have to do is wait her out tonight. Go back and get your deer in the morning. Don't forget to post an update! If a bad shot made a bad bowhunter, then there wouldn't be many good ones.

P.S. If you don't have cell coverage in your hunting area, you might consider a new phone/plan. Or, make sure someone knows the exact tree you're going to hunt from and your expected time to return.

Any guts or gut material on the arrow? Did it smell like the guts?
You probably hit liver and/or the guts is my guess. They don't bleed a whole lot - sometimes the intestines will plug up that hole.

Very tough thing - I almost gave up bowhunting myself over a bad shot. You just try and do the best that you can and learn from your mistakes. Remember that the difference between a perfect shot and a horrible shot can be an unseen twig, or the deer taking a footstep.

The best thing to do is just put your best effort into finding the deer - it will help trust me. Use coyotes, or crows tomorrow to help you find it...

Thanks for the help guys. I really hope I got her liver. I'm still in highschool but, I get out at 12 everyday for college and I don't have class tomorrow so I'm headin straight to the woods. And yea I have Verizon and the only provider with service here is AT&T, I'm switching as soon as my contracts up.