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ive done this! i waited 60 minutes and went into avery slow stalk mode with arrow nocked at 200 yards i spotted my buck he was laying but not dead. i sat for 30 more minutes and he must have smlled me or he just wanted to get up and when he stood shaky at best i put a arrow in the right spot he went 20 yards and died. upon gutting i found i shot him right acrossthe abdominal cavity muscle. not getting lungs but not gettin guts either. i might not have found him if there was not snow on the ground making him easy to track he left good blood for 40 feet and the arrow had good blood but after that it was only a drop here or there.

as long as you have a blood trail,go very slowly and quitly with bow ready.look ahead as far as possible,if you have binocks's with you stop and look with them as far as you can.




I am not a hunter I am a whitetail population reduction specialest

remember keep your back to the sun, your knife sharp, and your powder dry.

You can't eat the meat if you don't recover the animal! I do what ever gives me the best chance to recover the deer. If that means waiting I wait. In realy hot weather it is a game of doing what you feel is best. I don't think their is any write or wrong answer, but recovery of the meat is always my first priority.

TAKE YOUR KIDS HUNTING AND YOU WON'T BE HUNTING FOR YOUR KIDS

A "World Record" deer!!! The last thing on my mind is "whats he taste like"!!! I wold wait and make damn sure I would recover this buck of a lifetime!!!

Learn to recognize the different blood types so as to know exactly, or atleast resonably where your arrow hit! Its a shame folks shoot black arrows just for this reason...you almost need to see where that arrow hits so you can make decisions like this! What was the color of the blood on the shaft? How far did you go down the blood trail? Did you see the arrow hit him at all, and what kind of angle was he at? you say the temperature is rising......what is the temp? and how long is it before nitefall? Do you know what the weather is for tomorrow or even that nite...with a bad blood trail you dont want to let rain wipe it away! Reason I ask, it relates to where your arrow hit him at knowing how long to let him lie. It dont matter what kind of rack or lack there of he has, if its a less then desireable hit your gonna have to wait or risk pushing him! Not something I like doing...pushing a wounded animal. The emotions and excitement get up so high that its usually better to wait a couple hours then to go right away...you figure 1-3 hours is fine unless you are looking at superhot days, if you hit lungs liver or heart, that deer should be dead within seconds, minutes at the most! Guts it could take hours or longer!

From the facts given...I would definitely wait, too many things can go wrong by searching too soon. A friend of mine lost a super buck last fall...he thought he had made a "good hit" at 20 yards...but very little blood and did not see or hear him go down...he was excited and only waited 30 minutes, jumping him 100 yards away...after that we looked for 3 days and never found him. We've talked about that hunt many times since...he knows he should have given the buck more time.

As Lilhunter mentioned, black arrows are difficult to follow. Since I started dipping my Gold Tips and using white vanes & nocks, it is much easier to see my arrow and where it hits.

Good topic Whackmaster...


TB

I would say wait for awhile.If you are not sure of where you hit the deer
you may only push him by tracking right away,and recovery time will take longer anyway.Even if the temp. is rising it will take awhile for the meat to spoil.
When in dought wait it out.

In all but the most extreeme temps, the meat will last MUCH longer than 2 or 3 hours. I have recovered deer 22 hours after the shot (with daytime temps in the 70's) and had the meat inspected by a butcher afterwards because I was worried about spoilage. After a thorough inspection, the meat was declared "good" and it turned out to be some of the best my family ever had. Don't push a deer if you aren't sure. I lost the trophy of a lifetime once by pushing him onto neighboring property where he was recovered and checked in as their own!!

I agree with you Dave,

I have left deer in high 50 degree weather for 24 hours, no problem with the meat at all. I have learned with experience that if you are not sure wait.