Optical illusion
 

I wanted to see if some of you could shed a little light on this experience. I have been bowhunting long enough to know that sometimes where you think your arrow hit the animal doesn' t necessarily mean thats where it hit. 15 yd shot arrow looked like it hit just behind the right leg in the low part of the chest. Heart shot, I thought. Complete pass through arrow sticking in the ground. No blood no meat no nothing. The arrow had a sour translucent liquid on it.

Your thoughts/opinions

RE: Optical illusion
 

sounds like a gut shot

RE: Optical illusion
 

That' s what I thought but I thought I would see fodder (green)

RE: Optical illusion
 

I' m curious as to what you find out ........ a few years back a partner of mine arrowed a buck and we found the arrow - no trace of blood or hair, just a clear substance coating the arrow ....... we found a sporadic blood trail further away, but left the deer overnight as we thought it was a paunch shot - unfortunately rain fell over night (not in the forecast) and washed away the sign - even my old lab couldn' t find the deer for us - we searched a lot ..........

RE: Optical illusion
 

I can' t help with the shot question but I have experienced the " hit illusion" also.

Philbert8 and I were hunting out of the same tree when a group of does walked in. He selected his doe and I watched him shoot from just over his left shoulder.

I thought I saw his arrow hit a perfect double lung, just behind the the shoulder, in line with the opposite shoulder. When we retrieved the deer we were both surprised to see his entry point 4 inches back and higher than we both " saw" it hit.

He still got the double lung hit and the doe died at 40 yards.

RE: Optical illusion
 

Yep sounds like a gutter !!

Only strange one I' ve had like that -that hit right....was a small buck I shot last season. I hit him behind the shoulder and out right behind the heart. I had virtually no blood on my arrow and it was coated with greenish acorn residue . I had an incredible bloodtrail though and found him 125 yrds later . Only thing I could figure was that I hit him through the esophagus(sp) coming into the stomach !! I really didn' t autopsy him.......kind of wish I had now !! If I had not had the bloodtrail and seen blood coming out of the lung (entry hole) as he ran off.....I would have thought it was a stomach or gut hit !!

RE: Optical illusion
 

I just studied a anatomically correct 3-d tarket on Cabelas websight. The ones where the vitals are raised and painted. In hindsight due to the position of the deers leg, for me to hit the heart I would have had to almost go throught the right front leg. I had to have hit slightly further back, which would put it right at or right under the stomach. Still doesn' t explain the substance on the arrow. It probably was some kind of bile or stomach something.

RE: Optical illusion
 

My experience with gut shots have been a very stinky arrow and a gritty substance on the arrow. No green, just gritty stomach material.

My experience with lungs and heart is a very bloody arrow, pink and or red blood.

My experience with the " hollow spot" , if it exists, is an arrow with very little blood on it, almost like you described, wet to the touch, but not by blood. Do you think you hit high?

RE: Optical illusion
 

Shot a deer on Tues. and thought it was a good shot. Got down went to the arrow and it was covered with a clear liquid like you said. " Gut Shot" was my first reaction, but it didn' t stink. Went, grabbed dinner and came back about 5 hours later. Picked up the trail and there was bright red blood ????? Followed an excellent blood trail for about 40 yds and there' s my deer. It was a high double lung shot that just barely missed the spinal cord. He was with a few other deer and I heard them run away so I figured he was with them. Everything worked out though.

RE: Optical illusion
 

Made a shot just like that with the same results clear fluid, waited till the next day and found him 60-70 yds away. Never thought to autopsy him.Was just glad on the recovery.