ricoace

After 4 hours in the stand Sat I decided to get down and get back to my truck to get some lunch. One last look across the field I noticed a brown shape approximatly 400 yards ahead undernieth a small tree...it was a doe feeding.

I knew that tree and I also knew that their was a small ravine prabaly not more than 20 yards from it. What the hell I said and plotted a course which would circle me downwind into the ravine. After painstakingly climbing up the sandy incline I was actually startled when I was able to peek through the yopan cover to see where she was. I was dang near right on top of her! About 15 yards! I could see the individual flys around her eyes she was so close.

Being so close and on the ground, my timing needed to be perfect in order to raise up above the weed cover, pull back and release my " Rico death stick" I remember at one point my stomach growling and believe it or not she alerted to it or at the same time alerted to something else! whew! Waited about another 10 minutes to find her still feeding vigorously in the leaves of the tree she was under. She was eating some type of berry that amazingly looked almost identicle to deer droppings! (does any one know what this was?)

Show time, as she strained her neck to get to the berrys in a upper branch, Bow already drawn and slightly quartered to me, I settled the pin behind her shoulder relaxed and released. Immiediatly after released I noticed the sound my arrow made as it left the string...it sounded almost like a bullet richoceting?

I heard a loud thwack, the doe of course reacted but for a brief second couldnt move because the arrow had entered and exited out the side and penetrated a smaller branch before it could fully exit her body. milliseconds later she managed to snap the carbon arrow in two in her exodous. As she was running I noticed my red and black fletching stuck deep inside her and sadly very high behind her shoulder [:' (]...I felt as if someone just punched me in the stomach. After that my confidence slowly leaving me at every breath, I went to inspect my arrow...no blood and meat in between the blades of the snyper broadhead [:' (] I waited one hour before trying to trail her because I believed that thier was still hope that I hit the lungs high. The 20 yards from the hit zone to where she entered the woods thier was still no blood trail if I had not noticed and took note Of where she entered the woods my search would have ended right at that tree. Once inside, the woods I found a blood splot and continued pain stakingly for three hours following blood splots for about 200 yards before they finnaly just stopped, at one point in the trail I found the fletching that she either pulled out or it fell out, I figured maybe the blood trail would improve after that...but it didnt. All in all I would have to say that the amount of blood found probaly wouldnt fill a soda cap. It was determination and alot of luck that enable me to follow the trail as I had. Another observation I had made while i was trailing her was that she was following trails...a mortaly wounded deer in my expierience dont follow the trails so perfect [:' (]

I would like to say at this point in my story of some lesson learned, but I have none, my stalk was perfect and deadly, my composure was calm and relaxed, and my shot placement should have been true. From the evidence I want to beleive that this deer is still alive and just alittle bit smarter now. I pray anyway that she didnt suffer a slow death.

My question is, did I hit the controversal dead spot?

Jimimac

I don' t know about the dead spot theory, but I' m pretty sure you hit your bow arm with the string ipon release. Sorry to hear about you ordeal. A good stalk only yo have it end like that. I feel for you bro. We have all been there at one time or the other if you have spent any time chasing whitetails.

wimp

You may have. People can call me a liar, whatever, I wouldn' t believe myself had I not shot a doe with scars to prove it. If you hit just under the spine, and forward enough to hug or just hit the thin flat part of the shoulderblades, you may have hit the dead spot.

Just one more thing to add. With a hit that high, whether you hit anything vital or not, a sparse blood trail is likely, just because the deer could do a lot of internal bleeding, but due to the location of the hit, not much gets to the ground.

Sooner_Hunter

Man that is a tuff break. Good luck on the next goaround..... Are you for certain she is not around? when I get to the point where all sign ends its time to hang a marker and start making concentric circles.

Dacotah

According to this really cool deer anatomy page the dead spot would be above the spinal cord. I' m not sure whose site it is, but I bookmarked it for future use a while ago. http://home.mn.rr.com/deerfever/Anatomy.html

Buckshot

Controversial? to who?, Ive hit it and from that looks of things so have you. That sucks, I hit a doe about 15 years ago like that she stood there and looked at me with the arrow sticking out of both sides of her chest. Followed a very sparce blood trail for about 300 yards and that deer never bedded down or slowed down. The anatomy chart shows a deer with fully expanded lungs, imagine what happens when the deer breaths out.

PAHUNTER21

I believe there is a dead spot. Just below the spine, Infront of the intestines, and behind the lungs (during exhale). A couple years ago I was unlucky enough to catch this spot in a slightly quarting away shot. I spent Hours upon hours. Found the arrow that passed all the way through, brown hair blown off the deer on both sides of where it was standing, but no blood. That night the deer showed up in a field that we were spotlighting. You could see a small scab from where I had hit it. Slightly to the rear and high. IT WAS FEEDING! After that night though, i never saw the buck again.

I am absoutly sure it was the same deer. The one side was broken off right at the G1 and the other side had 4 nice points. So, do I believe there' s a dead spot? No. I know there is.

I' d rather not make a poor shot like that again, though. And I have learned my lesson.

Bionicrooster

There is 3-4 inches ABOVE the spine of meat that makes up the ' dead zone' . From your description I would say that doe should recover quickly.

c903

The " dead spot" is a myth that has been around a very long time. I once asked a long-time vet friend of mine about the alleged space. He advised that the belief was false.

Here is an excerpt from a scientific ballistic wound research regarding the so-called " dead spot."

" There is a prevalent myth that a gap exists between the spine and the lungs, especially in larger game animals. God is not sloppy -- there is no empty space inside the thorax. In a living animal, the heart, lungs, esophagus, trachea and major blood vessels fully occupy the thorax. The action of the diaphragm depends on the vacuum tight connection of the lungs to the thoracic cavity walls to make the lungs expand and contract for respiration."

Droptines

I have also read that the spot know as the " dead spot" ," no mans land" is a myth.I think it is located,NOT in the chest cavity,but just above the spine,where it is thickest.