RE: DEER VANISHED!!! Plenty of sign- no deer
 

What was the color of the hair at the place where you hit the deer?

I have had a similar thing happen a few times, and one time actually got to see the deer bed down and press its briscit area into the mud to stop the bleeding. Sounds to me like you might have hit the deer low, and outside the ribs. If so, the hair would have been long, white hair at the hit site. If you had that much blood, and 350 yards of it, you must have caught the muscle pretty good.

RE: DEER VANISHED!!! Plenty of sign- no deer
 

First of all, I never rip anyone for doing what they do. You made the choice to shoot so you started the chain of events that followed. Don' t appologize just learn. That said, if you hit the deer in the vitals, you would not have tracked it for 350 yards. Period. Deer hit in the vitals die and die quickly.

Meat/muscle hits produce bright red blood. AND lots of it. You mentioned that the trail began to loop back. Deer frequently circle back. But in my experience, the mortally hit ones do it more often. Did you grid search right near your stand? The meat hit deer will bed and if not pushed will move about on his own time. The blood will quickly clot and bleeding will decrease and stop. With a meat hit, it is about the only time that while trailing a deer, actually keeping it moving will help. It keeps him bleeding. That being said, it is very difficult to trail a half startled deer all around the county. Check the water, check the overlooked areas no matter how small or wide open, then try to learn for the mistake, if there was one.

Greg

RE: DEER VANISHED!!! Plenty of sign- no deer
 

He made it to the nearest road where he expired. Another slob hunter came along and picked him up.[>:] That would explain it.;)