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ok i need your guys help So ive been hunting late season hard so far ive been out evryday waiting for a decent buck. Well today it happened. a large main frame 10 steped out he was broken up but he had a double main beam on his left side. I first spotted him at about 150 yds out he was walking right at me he came to about 30 yds straight on and i was waiting for him to turn broadside. BUT, HE LOOKED RIGHT UP AT ME!!!! he stopped then he turned to the right and ran about 10- 15 yds. i pulled up the crossbow ( would have had my bow but my dad bought a new crossbow and was telling me how great it was and i try and shoot atleast one deer with every weapon we have.) so i had one smalll opening between 2 trees and i thought its now or never and i pulled the trigger. I instantly heard a loud smack and the deer took off on a hard run and i watched him run about 150 yds until he went out of sight. At first i thought i must have hit the tree because you cannot see the crossbow bolt fly. well anyhow i was bumed and decided to get out of the tree and look at where he was standing and sure enough i saw hair and the i looked found my arrow that had blood on it but couldnt tell how much because it went into the 6 in of snow. anyhow i followed his tracks for 30 yards and he was spraying blood like every 3 feet but it wasnt alot of blood but a decent amount and the blood really didnt look like lung blood but its hard to tell in the snow. also he bled instantly. The broad head is an over the top expandenable so i know the entrance hole is small Im going to give him 4 hours before i look i feel like i hit low i almost felt like i skimmed him but i heard a loud whack and i know i didnt hit any trees what are your guys thoughts where do you think i hit him and how long should i wait.

From the sound and description, I would think it a high shoulder shot. I'd give him at least 8 hrs and no less than 6 hrs. Any marginal shot, I automatically give the animal 8 hrs. Read some of the STICKIES! Giving the animal 8 hrs greatly increases your chances of recovery. I lost a great one years ago by taking up the trail too early. Ever since, I am 2 for 2 with recoveries. I waited 8 hrs on both. It's tough to wait that long, but grit your teeth and do it. You'll be happy you did.

I got him!!!! He has 2 main beams on his left side and I kicker that goes down and his right side is a nice main frame 10 with a broken g3

congrats.....lets see the pics!!!

Well done. Congrats on the cross bow kill. Are you giving up the bow or is time to break it back out... Dilemas

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i posted 2 pictures of him. most unique buck i have ever harvested. And as for my bow well i love the new crossbow but there is no way ill ever switch and theres no way ill ever put my bow down theres nothing like harvesting a an animal with my bow

Awesome deer bud Nice Character!

Great buck! Congrats! Where did you end up hitting him and how long did you wait to take up the trail?

well i waited 4 and a half hours then i decided to take to the trail and i decided that i wa going to walk no more than 150 yds and seee what the blood trail looked like. Sure enough there he was lying there dead stiff as a board. I ended up making a slightly quarting away shot that went in right behind the shoulder and it slid off the opposite shoulder when i cut him open he was full of blood to make a long story short because of the poor blood trail i have decided to never shoot those broad heads again for the shot i made there should have been alot more blood but the holes were so small it embarassing. Anyhow Im taking him to the taxi today to have him caped im using the cape off this deer to remount my 80 yr old gradnfathers largest buck ever. My grandfather is not in good shape and i promised him that i was going to have it remounted this year even if i had to use a doe cape.
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First off, Congrats! Good story and I'm glad you waited even though you probably didnt need too(4 hrs for me is min on a unknown hit, 8 hrs min if I think it's a bad hit) That really would increase everyone's recovery rate if they just wait... Especially in late season. It isn't going to hurt the meat.

Secondly, I'm not a fan a of over the top broadheads either, on a crossbow. A guy on my property lost a 8 pt with that setup this year. Although I have harvested some with the compound bow, they dont seem reliable to me.

Finally, I think the broadhead DID a great job. Even if you didn't have a great blood trail. It sounds like it didn't run 100 yds (meaning a quick kill). I'm guessing , the entry hole was probably middle of the boiler room or higher. This can be a great kill shot BUT the blood trail for the first 75 yds could suck, the cavity has to fill up with blood but before it pours out the entry and exit wounds. Don't believe all the hype of "someone dumped a can of red paint". That isn't the norm. Maybe 2 out of my 16 were like that. My last two, both were heart shots and neither had a great blood trail (I actually shoot for the heart now). No two deals ever seem the same. And tracking has become more and more fun.

Anyway, great buck and good luck next year.

That's a beauty......congrats!!!

Good explanation. Sounds like you waited long enough. That's pretty honorable using your cape for your Grandpa's old mount. Good on ya.

your a good man Sutton!! Congrats on your buck too!!!

Hatchet Jack

Very nice buck!!!!! I'm sure your Grandfather will proudly be able to show off his new found trophy. Great job!!!!!

Congrats dude, i love it when these type of "help" posts end well.

Nice buck glad you were able to find him

I'm glad you found your buck! Damned nice of you to hook up your grandpa like that. :hail: I just (New Years Eve) lost a doe a few days ago because I went after her too soon. I do know better, but as I watched her run back into the thicket, I heard what I believed to be her crashing about 50yrds in, then everything was silent. You can't "always" judge how bad a deer is hit by the amount of blood you see. Looking at this blood I thought for sure I was going to find a dead deer, but after tracking her for about 3/4 mile, I believe this deer actually survived! .

Glad you found your buck and a nice one to, congratulations

Very nice story!

Very cool looking buck!