Shot deer can’t find any sign of him
#11
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location:
Posts: 1,693
After reading the OP's posts, it sounds like he made a good faith effort (6 hours) to find his buck and turned to HNI with his phone to see if anybody had any other ideas he could try. Not everybody uses tapatalk or some other method that indicates they are on their cell phone instead of a desktop computer somewhere. Kudos to the OP for going that extra step not to waste an animal. Best of luck with the rest of your season.
#12
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Nov 2014
Posts: 2,743
Well I am late to add anything to help recover this deer, but something I think a LOT of hunters don't consider is using a tracking dog(where legal that is)
there are many these days that offer this service, and it can be a BIG help to a other wise LOST deer
I have hunted a lot of places and BEFORE heading to out of state hunts I have always looked and found a tracker(again where legal) JUST in case
I have never needed to use one yet, but its nice to know I have a back up pl;an if needed! MY homke state for GOD know's why its illegal to use one to recover a deer, which I think is Silly and dumb!
but is what the law currently is there!
there are many these days that offer this service, and it can be a BIG help to a other wise LOST deer
I have hunted a lot of places and BEFORE heading to out of state hunts I have always looked and found a tracker(again where legal) JUST in case
I have never needed to use one yet, but its nice to know I have a back up pl;an if needed! MY homke state for GOD know's why its illegal to use one to recover a deer, which I think is Silly and dumb!
but is what the law currently is there!
#13
Mrbb for some reason I thought you were a PA resident. Tracking dogs are legal for PA deer now.
And that's a very good suggestion. Dogs can find deer that most people have no chance of finding .
Look up United blood trackers
online they have lists of dogs for each state
-Jake
And that's a very good suggestion. Dogs can find deer that most people have no chance of finding .
Look up United blood trackers
online they have lists of dogs for each state
-Jake
#14
After reading his post I suspect that the OP missed. Had he hit hit the deer he should at least found hair at the spot where the arrow hit the deer. I have had deer blow at me after they crashed into the woods when I surprised them walking to my stand in the dark along a field edge. They continued to blow for a while afterwards and made noise moving about in the dark.
#15
I too would guess he missed. I have killed a bunch of deer with a bow and can't recall one time that I didn't hear the hit. That telltale thwack always tells me I hit it. I have on occasion had very little blood and no visible hair that I found but an arrow hitting a deer will always leave something at the site. In all likelihood he could have missed high and the arrow deflected away from a branch. I never had a hit deer blow at me.
#16
I too would guess he missed. I have killed a bunch of deer with a bow and can't recall one time that I didn't hear the hit. That telltale thwack always tells me I hit it. I have on occasion had very little blood and no visible hair that I found but an arrow hitting a deer will always leave something at the site. In all likelihood he could have missed high and the arrow deflected away from a branch. I never had a hit deer blow at me.
Blood trails can be iffy, sometimes the drops of blood are tiny. Sometimes there is more on the leaves in the brush than on the ground.
I'm really not good at tracking, iffy eyes, they just aren't as sharp as they used to be. My Dog on a long leash will follow the tiniest blood trail by scent. In fact Deer blood often drives many Dogs a little nuts and holding them back is a chore.
Some of tracking is experience, the likely outcomes, the Deer hunkers down and hides, it takes off as far and fast as possible, it heads for deep cover or my favorite is it doubles back on itself. An old timer explained that double back thing, if a Deer is in strange territory the only safe place it knows is where it just came from.
I go to the last sighting and start searching in a fairly tight spiral outwards, that way you cover all the possibilities. I've found some Deer by tripping over them, they can be way close, in a slight depression in the grass and be almost invisible.
#17
Spike
Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2018
Posts: 4
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Thanks guys I appreciate the feedback. While I’m pretty confident in my accuracy up to 40 yards Im going to have to agree and say I must have missed. What threw me off the most was it just wasn’t a normal blow at least not normal to any that I’ve ever heard. probably just wishful thinking. Owell thanks again
#19
Thanks guys I appreciate the feedback. While I’m pretty confident in my accuracy up to 40 yards Im going to have to agree and say I must have missed. What threw me off the most was it just wasn’t a normal blow at least not normal to any that I’ve ever heard. probably just wishful thinking. Owell thanks again