You make the call??
08-09-2003, 04:10 PM
#1
Nontypical Buck
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Pittsburgh PA
Posts: 1,086
You make the call??
Ok trying to think of a way to use real life situations to help out newer(or not so newer) hunters when determining the course of action for trailing after the shot has been made. I figure we can post everything about the shot and moments thereafter...let some replies come in as to what people would do and then post what you did and hte result. Here goes.
Its a dreary evening with rainshowers in the forcast..scattered through the evening, but becoming heavy overnight. NO rain has fallen during the evening hunt. Took a quartering(medium angle) away shot on a buck at 13 yds and 15 ft up in a tree as darkness approached. Upon impact there was a solid thud, with about half the arrow penetrating. As he whirled and ran, his opposite shoulder was visibly out of commission. He ran 50 yds and stopped for less than a minute, he then turned slightly left and went about 20 more yards, where I seen him LAY down, not fall. I strained to watch him for 5-10 minutes but darkness took over. As I sat there waiting, rain starts to fall and hard. What do you do? The overnight low is expected to be mid 40' s.
Its a dreary evening with rainshowers in the forcast..scattered through the evening, but becoming heavy overnight. NO rain has fallen during the evening hunt. Took a quartering(medium angle) away shot on a buck at 13 yds and 15 ft up in a tree as darkness approached. Upon impact there was a solid thud, with about half the arrow penetrating. As he whirled and ran, his opposite shoulder was visibly out of commission. He ran 50 yds and stopped for less than a minute, he then turned slightly left and went about 20 more yards, where I seen him LAY down, not fall. I strained to watch him for 5-10 minutes but darkness took over. As I sat there waiting, rain starts to fall and hard. What do you do? The overnight low is expected to be mid 40' s.
08-09-2003, 04:29 PM
#2
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Heaven IA USA
Posts: 2,597
RE: You make the call??
If you saw him " lay down" I am not going to disturb this deer. Chances are if you say it started raining hard your going to have trouble finding a blood trail anyway at that point. I back out and give this buck some time. No sense in turning a questionable situation into a nightmare.
08-09-2003, 04:32 PM
#3
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Port Hope Ontario Canada
Posts: 493
RE: You make the call??
I would wait for 1 hour so as not to jump him and then Very quietly climb down from my treestand and approach him with great caution. Hopefully I`d find that I hit his liver and he was dead but I`d be ready for anything. Sorry, I have to agree with AE if I could get out of the woods without spooking him I would, it would be a long night waiting till morning but still better than jumping him and having to try to follow.
08-09-2003, 04:36 PM
#5
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Dover, PA USA
Posts: 5,497
RE: You make the call??
I know this sounds nuts, but if he' s only 60-70 yards away, and lays down in sight and I' m not 100% sure of the shot..........I' m in for a long dark wet sit
]
Seriously.
Where else do you have to be? Leave the deer be for a few hours........not minutes but hours. Stay in stand. (Game laws might be touchy feely on this but this is what I would personally do)
I won' t take the chance of moving that deer AT ALL. If it' s gonna rain hard that night. He' d better stay put.......the only way to do your part to ensure this is to enjoy the darkness and be patient.
After probably 2-3 hours or so I' d climb down as quietly as possibe listening for any movement.........if the deer is fatally hit he should be laying exactly where you saw him last. The toughest call is what to do now?
Trail slowly and chance bumping him? or slip out in spite of the heavy rain and hope he' s right there in the morning at first light?
After the long wait, and quietly and slowly climbing down I' d personally slip out without even a hint of investigation, go home and check the weather for the overnight rain and when its supposed to start..........I' d give myself a decent cushion to avoid the heavy stuff if possible and after a few more hours head back out with 1 trusted trailing buddy and some lights.
That' s my call.
]Seriously.
Where else do you have to be? Leave the deer be for a few hours........not minutes but hours. Stay in stand. (Game laws might be touchy feely on this but this is what I would personally do)
I won' t take the chance of moving that deer AT ALL. If it' s gonna rain hard that night. He' d better stay put.......the only way to do your part to ensure this is to enjoy the darkness and be patient.
After probably 2-3 hours or so I' d climb down as quietly as possibe listening for any movement.........if the deer is fatally hit he should be laying exactly where you saw him last. The toughest call is what to do now?
Trail slowly and chance bumping him? or slip out in spite of the heavy rain and hope he' s right there in the morning at first light?
After the long wait, and quietly and slowly climbing down I' d personally slip out without even a hint of investigation, go home and check the weather for the overnight rain and when its supposed to start..........I' d give myself a decent cushion to avoid the heavy stuff if possible and after a few more hours head back out with 1 trusted trailing buddy and some lights.
That' s my call.
08-09-2003, 06:41 PM
#6
RE: You make the call??
I love quartering away shots. I' d give this animal 1/2 hour to an hour. You know where he went down. From your description of the shot and hit you most probably hafe penetrated the liver, which alone is a 2 to 4 hour wait. However you also indicate the thud and the opposite front shoulder being out of commission.
Here' s my read: You penetrated the liver which is less important because the thud that occurred was your arrow sticking in the opposite shoulder. I euspect that your arrow probably penetrated both lungs. Sit in your stand long enough and you will probably hear him coughing and drowning in his own blood; once you have heard this sound it is one that you will quickly learn to recognize. I doubt that there was much of a blood trail anyway.
Here' s my read: You penetrated the liver which is less important because the thud that occurred was your arrow sticking in the opposite shoulder. I euspect that your arrow probably penetrated both lungs. Sit in your stand long enough and you will probably hear him coughing and drowning in his own blood; once you have heard this sound it is one that you will quickly learn to recognize. I doubt that there was much of a blood trail anyway.
08-09-2003, 06:49 PM
#7
Fork Horn
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: powers MI. usa
Posts: 358
RE: You make the call??
Fellas and gal' s I have to agree with dick on this one,If it' s the angle you said and it' s in the shoulder you took Lungs and maybe some liver,,But none the less I would sit for a hour and the deer should be down for the count.
If he laid down that quick he was hit real good.
That' s My veiwpoint anyway' s
If he laid down that quick he was hit real good.
That' s My veiwpoint anyway' s
08-09-2003, 11:47 PM
#8
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: BRO PA USA
Posts: 123
RE: You make the call??
If he' s lain down,let him be!! If I' m in my climber then I wait with Matt, But if its feasible to get out quick and quiet (IE on a field edge in a loc on or ladder)the opposite way of the deer, leave and come back in the morn! BETTER SAFE THAN SORRY!!!
08-10-2003, 06:30 AM
#9
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: uniontown,pa
Posts: 881
RE: You make the call??
imo it would depend on how i felt the shot was ,going by you description it was a good shot and the fact that the deer went down so quick,i would slip out as quietly as possible if i could, other wise like twig69 said i' d be there waiting with you guys . now being also that it' s gonna rain.. i' d go get some help and raingear and start where the deer went down . hopefully because it was a good shot and i waited maybe 1hr and 1/2 the deer should be laying dead in the spot i last saw it go down![:-]
08-10-2003, 12:45 PM
#10
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Port Neches, Texas
Posts: 5,514
RE: You make the call??
In this senario I would slip out of my stand and leave for at least a couple of hours. If I couldn' t leave without spooking him I' d stay put.
Patience here will be the difference between finding him at all or losing him. With the rain, you will never be able to trail him! With the temperature at 40 degrees, you could even wait until morning. Depending on how bad he is hit, he could go for a mile or more if pushed. With patience, even if you wait until morning the meat will still be good.
We trailed a buck last year for about a mile. In the dark, we lost the trail. We found him the next morning and all the meat was in good shape. All we lost were the tenderloins, which probably were still good too, but since they are inside the body cavity we decided against keeping them.
Patience here will be the difference between finding him at all or losing him. With the rain, you will never be able to trail him! With the temperature at 40 degrees, you could even wait until morning. Depending on how bad he is hit, he could go for a mile or more if pushed. With patience, even if you wait until morning the meat will still be good.
We trailed a buck last year for about a mile. In the dark, we lost the trail. We found him the next morning and all the meat was in good shape. All we lost were the tenderloins, which probably were still good too, but since they are inside the body cavity we decided against keeping them.