You make the call??
#11
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Illinois
Posts: 1,862
RE: You make the call??
To shorten my response to this hypothesis, I am going to pretend I do not know this buck and his territory, and where he will most likely try to get.
Could be a liver hit, but seems more to be a hit that was high, pierced or clipped a lung, and slammed into its should or leg bone. If you cut the large aorta that is at the top of its heart, which is in the path of a high hit at that angle, he is down for good and will die in matter of minutes, if not seconds.
If the shot only hit the top area of the lung(s), within minutes, he will be up and on his way. He instinctively knows something is wrong. It is getting dark (predators) and he knows bad weather is imminent. His brain is now in full survival mode. Primitive instinct will take over and he will head for dense cover no matter how much he is hurting.
I am going to (eventually) try to get into a downwind position and as close as is possible without spooking him. I may not be able to see him, but hopefully I can hear him and get an idea of his direction of travel when/if he gets up and moves on. If I hear him move on, I am going to quietly go to where he was hit and where he was laying to look for blood and determine what the blood tells me about the wound.
If I am out of coffee and food, and I do not have my cell-phone on me, it appears I am going to have a long, hungry, and wet night. However, if I am alone, I know that if I have not returned to home or camp within a certain period, there will be someone on the way and I will meet them at my truck or on the 2-way. He or they will have coffee and some food. And then WE will have a long night, if the buck got up and moved on.
If I do not stay, the ' yotes will have had a feast before high dawn hits. [:@]
Could be a liver hit, but seems more to be a hit that was high, pierced or clipped a lung, and slammed into its should or leg bone. If you cut the large aorta that is at the top of its heart, which is in the path of a high hit at that angle, he is down for good and will die in matter of minutes, if not seconds.
If the shot only hit the top area of the lung(s), within minutes, he will be up and on his way. He instinctively knows something is wrong. It is getting dark (predators) and he knows bad weather is imminent. His brain is now in full survival mode. Primitive instinct will take over and he will head for dense cover no matter how much he is hurting.
I am going to (eventually) try to get into a downwind position and as close as is possible without spooking him. I may not be able to see him, but hopefully I can hear him and get an idea of his direction of travel when/if he gets up and moves on. If I hear him move on, I am going to quietly go to where he was hit and where he was laying to look for blood and determine what the blood tells me about the wound.
If I am out of coffee and food, and I do not have my cell-phone on me, it appears I am going to have a long, hungry, and wet night. However, if I am alone, I know that if I have not returned to home or camp within a certain period, there will be someone on the way and I will meet them at my truck or on the 2-way. He or they will have coffee and some food. And then WE will have a long night, if the buck got up and moved on.
If I do not stay, the ' yotes will have had a feast before high dawn hits. [:@]
#12
Nontypical Buck
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Pittsburgh PA
Posts: 1,086
RE: You make the call??
THanks for all the responses, here' s what route I took and here' s what happened.
With the sound of the rain coming down, I was able to silently get out of my tree and back to the truck which was the opposite direction of the buck. After confering with my Dad(he watched the whole thing as well) we decided to go back after 1.5 hours, because we figured the angle to hit that opposite shoulder, the arrow had to have taken out the vitals. We proceeded back the the area and headed towards the spot we last saw the buck. THere was no blood trail, we were going solely to the spot we last saw him. We were being as quiet as possible sneaking through the woods. Suddenly the lights shined on the buck....his head still up.[] We hastily killed the lights and backed out quickly. We had approached within 20 yds of him. We gave him the night and went out the next morning where we found him dead in the spot from the night before. Upon gutting him, we found that the arrow caught 1 lung and the liver, but yet somehow missed the heart, any main arteries and the other lung, despite lodging low in the opposing shoulder.
So there' s my story, I can' t believe I didn' t hit more things vital in there.
With the sound of the rain coming down, I was able to silently get out of my tree and back to the truck which was the opposite direction of the buck. After confering with my Dad(he watched the whole thing as well) we decided to go back after 1.5 hours, because we figured the angle to hit that opposite shoulder, the arrow had to have taken out the vitals. We proceeded back the the area and headed towards the spot we last saw the buck. THere was no blood trail, we were going solely to the spot we last saw him. We were being as quiet as possible sneaking through the woods. Suddenly the lights shined on the buck....his head still up.[] We hastily killed the lights and backed out quickly. We had approached within 20 yds of him. We gave him the night and went out the next morning where we found him dead in the spot from the night before. Upon gutting him, we found that the arrow caught 1 lung and the liver, but yet somehow missed the heart, any main arteries and the other lung, despite lodging low in the opposing shoulder.
So there' s my story, I can' t believe I didn' t hit more things vital in there.
#13
RE: You make the call??
I would be confident that my shot was leathal. I would give a deer an hour minimal, reguardless of how lethal I thought my shot was. So, in this case, If I wait an hour my blood trail may be minimal, and since my arrow didn' t pass thru my blood trail may be sparce. So there is no sense in looking for him now. If I jump him and he has enough piss and vinegar to run I stand a good chance of never finding him. So I slip out as soon as I can and come back in the morning.
That night I pace and hope I made the right decision.
That night I pace and hope I made the right decision.