So Friday a buddy shot a Buck of a lifetime. He hit it a little far forward and the arrow went into the shoulder. He is guessing it is in about 4 to 6 inches in because the arrow broke off and that is what it missing. He let it go for about 2 hours then went ot find it. There was a lot of blood and when he found it he kicked it up. ( He was out till about 11:00 PM shot it around 4:30 PM.) Went out this morning and searched again and kicked it up in the middle of a bean field. Where it had bed down was a lot of blood. Searched all day today and didn't find him. I am going out in the morning to help again.

I wonder if the broadhead is still in there tearing him up or if he dislodged it. I also wonder if he will survive this. Any Ideas on the survival probables?

From what you have said here I would say that if he rests the wound will eventually clot up and he will survive it. You have probably encountered places where it looks like he rolled around on it trying to sooth it by packing it shut. This is of course only a guess based on what you have stated. I don't have the evidence you have, ie blood amount, sighting, arrow...etc.

By your account no vitals have been hit and therefore the only way the deer will die is to bleed out. Now we are talking a significant amount of blood loss needed here, so keep in mind that a running deer has 3 times the heart rate of a bedded one. Where I hunt though, I would run the deer off the property I have permission on before it would likely bleed out. The question of where the broadhead is can be both a plus and a minus either way and may not help. If it is still in there it can continue to agrivate the wound, but deer have been found with wounds that have healed OVER broadheads. If it is dislodged then the wound tract will be open and may flow more profusely, but if he gets it packed shut...... well you know.

Also consider that if the arrow has punctured a cavity you won't find as much blood because some of it is filling in said cavity instead of actually pooring out of the wound. This is why some people find deer they have shot even though the blood trail wasn't that good. From what you have said though, the arrow was forward and shallow penitration, this does not seem likely to be the case.

As I see it you either have to keep pushing the deer to promote bleed out, or let it completely alone and hope you get another shot at it later this season or next year. It is up to you to decide which is the more appropriate action and the most humane.

Anyway, that is my 2 cents worth. I hope it helps.

While we were out tracking him on Sunday there he was limping on the top of a ridge about 90 yards out. Then vanished into the woods. He was on property we don't have permission to go onto but we left our bows and walked up to where we saw him. No blood anywhere. The good thing is there is a creek that divides the property with high banks on both sides. I found a spot where it is a very gradual bank. I am gonna sit in a tree right there if the wind is right.

well guys, i went this past tuesday...nothing. didnt see a frickin thing. i am a firm believer that deer dont exist.

well, i was able to calm my nerves and really focus. i was out there for 10 hours and had three different spots. so, for roughly 3 hours a pop i sat still with about an hour of walking. so, i dont think i did too bad. it wasnt really peak rut yet, so i can take it as a scout trip, which is fine. and ill tell ya, ive never slept better at night. this was a wonderful time to just enjoy nature and relax. i really had a very enjoyable time. suprisingly much more relaxing than fishing, and i was sitting on the ground...this next time ill have a mix between a tree stand and a stool on the ground, i really prefer the ground, though. there arent many good tree at midewin. either way, thanks for helping me with my ADD. haha

well, ill be goin sunday and every tuesday in the season, so we'll see. wish me luck!

I gut-shot a doe earlier this season. She was quartering away sharply and I held behind the last rib. I was using mechanical heads. After the hit she ran an arc of about 30 yds. I could see her opposite side (exit side). I was shocked to see the arrow sticking out from her side in what looked to be an exit farther back from where it had entered! Any explanation for that? Mechanicals to blame?
I shot her at 8:20 a.m. and waited until 10:30 to follow up. I tracked her for approximately 1/4 mi. before losing all blood sign at approximately 4:30 p.m. The last 200 yds was on hands and knees as she was bleeding very little after the first 100 yds. I lost her blood trail in a picked soybean field with any number of directions for her to go when she reached the end of the field. The temp was near 80 degrees. She appeared to be walking, not running, the entire time. I searched until well after dark and never found her. The path of her track never gave me a clear indication of where she may have been heading. What would you do? I agonized over not being able to find her.

Wow that does seem strange. I can't see how a mechanical broadhead would be the cause to this. Purely guessing I would offer up the following thoughts. Maybe the arrow deflected due to the sharp angle, or maybe the deer twisted so hard and abrubtly as to change the path....ie she was twisting before the arrow ever even hit. (Remember how fast a deer can drop and spin!!!), maybe I haven't the foggiest idea. lol

As for the tracking. It sure seems by your account that you made every effort possible and by the sounds of things you are a competent tracker. You can't follow what isn't there. It sounds like you tried to follow what would have to still be there, tracks, but that didn't help.

Only thoughts that come to mind is the age old method of starting a grid type outward moving search, or move ahead to the most plausable areas that have heavier more tracking friendly cover to see if you can pick the blood back up. Look aim point high on twigs, sapplings, crops, weeds, etc to see if she brushed up against something.

Keep in mind if you use the old tissue trick, place tissue on known spots as you go along, that the deer is NOT likely to all of a sudden change direction. You can then move forward to different cover along that known path and see if you can find blood again. Also dont forget your Hydrogen Peroxide to spray on what you think may be blood but you are not sure of. It will bubble if it is.

I am curious as to what broadhead brand you were using and type of arrow. Carbon or Aluminum? Short like out of an overdraw or full length? Did you ever find the arrow? What color was the blood you did find and was there any hair (color?) and / or stomach matter present? See any birds circling near by?

We all hate to lose one. Sounds like you did you best though.

She had come right under my tree stand and was only about 15 yds away. I was using Wasp mechanicals. I went out the next day and bought Muzzy heads as best as I could figure it was the mechanical that maybe hit a rib and deflected when one of the blades opened up. I shoot carbon over alum Cabela's arrows and am shooting 65#. Where I lost her trail in the field there were so many other fresh tracks that I could not keep track of her specific prints. There was corn in the field last year and many of the stalks were still laying around. When I would find a spot of blood, I would stick a cornstalk up to mark it. That way I could look back down the field to try and get a sense of where she was going. She passed up many good places along the edge of the field to bed; briars and brambles too thick to walk through. Near where I shot her she entered a small creek (drainage) and walked in the water up it for about 30 yds before crossing over and continuing out of the woods into the field where I lost her tracks. I could see blood on the big sycamore leaves floating in the drainage ditch. I never found the front part of my arrow but I did find about 8 inches of the fletching and shaft. There was no intestinal material other than dried blood with a few white hairs stuck to it. I found this part of the arrow near where the blood trail petered out. The intial blood was good and plenty and was dark red.

I shot a decent 7 pt. weds. afternoon at 4:20, it was one of the hardest and intense friggen blood trails that I've ever followed......because there was hardly NO blood. I saw the hit, high above the shoulder and sharply angled and saw him running away with it in him, no pass through and no exit wound, but I knew it was a good hit and could hear him crash in the swamp. That was my saviour the swamp, and some good buddies who helped me out by lantern light. We followed the tracks in the wet ground, with spots of blood here and there, found half the arrow broke off and found the buck about 200 yards from shot, man was I happy when we found him, good ending to a hard hunt!

First things first, Hello I love to not only hunt deer but also to watch them as I hunt and try to learn their behaviors as much as I can and then of course use it to my advantage as much as possible.
I had a good sized deer walk through one shooting lane Saturday morning, he paused and did not want to continue on his path any further, so I grunted to stop him, and let one fly........POW!!!!!!!! It made an awesome sounding hit, definately not the lungs but a good solid hit non the less. I then allowed stupidity to take control, I got down and immediately started looking for the deer. Finding my arrow covered in blood (dark red) I thought ok, a muscle hit...not too good. then a few more steps, dinner plate sized blood spot, and drops leading off....I go tto a fence and saw the most beautiful buck I had ever seen standing in a field away from me looking right at me, didnt seem effected by any sort of pain or wound, so I thought maybe that isnt mine...Well I was wrong it was him, he left a blood trail over the fence and throught the field I followed the blood for over 500 yards....It got faint and then nothing..........I went out today and looked again to no avail. Did I have a bad hit? Did I spook him 2 miles off and never see him again? Any suggestions will be appreciated. I plan on hunting hte same spot Monday hopefullt if he wasnt wounded enough to die, then maybe he has healed enough to come check his scrapes again and I can get him. Probably just a pipe dream.

I think you already know the biggest mistake was not giving the deer some time. I know, I know I get giddy like a schoolgirl and want to rush right off too. The problem of course is when they run right off the land you have permission to hunt and track on.

The dark red blood could have indicated a liver or kidney hit. The hieght of blood sign on trees, weeds, could help you to know how high on the deer you got as well as the hair colors.

The blood sign going to light drips may not mean anything if the deer was running full on, the sign would be less concentrated then while standing or bedded where it can pool up. He could also be bleeding internally. If your arrow was covered all the way broadhead to nock, meaning a complete pass through, you should have seen blood on both sides of the trail and on weeds etc giving you further indication as to the hieght of the entry and exit wounds.