i agree with rackattack , that blood is there find it . use tissue paper to mark your blood trail , after laying down some you can stand back and get the direction the deer went! good luck . and keep your broadheads sharp!

I hunt out west now but in my earlier days of chasing whitetails in upstate New York, I can remember an instance where I was able to feel the leaves for hoof prints. It led me into the direction in which the deer traveled and low and behold there was more blood. Be sure to stay clear of the path of the deer. One of the biggest mistakes I have seen is a person walking the blood trail and removing the slightest bit of evidence.As for hitting a lung I am not to sure with the reports of clear like blood. It sounds to me more like an artery hit. If it were a gutshot I feel that the deer would be more inclined to lay down because of the sick like feeling. I admire you for putting so much effort in it. At this point that doe is as important as a 10 point buck. Good luck in your search and let us know of the outcome.

Solax--to be EXACTLY like before, I would have had to shoot my deer a day later with the same results. Sadly, that is the case.

Tuesday evening at 4:15pm the largest deer I'd seen all evening came past me and stopped--broadside-- right in my shooting lane. It was no more than 20 yards (a slam dunk for me) and I had a good sight picture and felt 100% confident in the shot. The arrow was a pass-thru like yours, but was laying on the ground sideways where the deer had been standing (the ground is rock hard frozen). The deer ran a semi-circle around me and I thought I saw blood right behind the shoulder about halfway up the body on the exit side. I expected the deer to fall when it stopped on a trail about 30 yards away, but it didn't.

What happened next really shocked me.

It ran UP THE HILL, rejoined the group it was with and ran off out of sight. At that point, I was surprised, but fully expected to find it laying just over the rise. When I got down, not only was there no dead deer, but NO BLOOD!!! Where it had stood on the trail for 30 seconds or so were a few tiny flecks of blood, but none after that---THIS WAS ON SNOW!

I followed where it ran and looked everywhere all over the field, in the gullies, in the fence lines, and so on, but couldn't find any blood. There are literally thousands and thousands of tracks in the field. The deer are in big herds now and I've seen more deer in the last few days than I thought existed. The only thing I did find was someone else's loss. From the looks of it, it was probably killed during MZ season. It was a very wide 6 point. I twisted the head off and brought it home--may use the antlers for rattling. Looks to be about 18-19" wide.

I may try again tomorrow with my wife, but I don't know where to look since there's no blood.

One more thing. When I retrieved the arrow, the blood was frozen, but appeared to be bright red. There were a few small pieces of meat on the fletching and one fletching was torn off--not at the glue line, but above the base the full length. I have no idea what's going on with this, but it sickens me.[:'(]

The broadheads were razorsharp. I just replaced the blades a few hours before going out and re-spin tested them.

Update: Went out yesterday evening for about 3 hours until it was dark. Looked and looked for blood and the only thing I found was a big pool and some 3 inch white hairs right near where the last spot was but not in a line. It was in a '4' pattern, which kinda through me for a loop. She came in from the bottom of the '4' into this small thicket that was obviously a bedding spot. I checked everywhere around there for blood. I went straight away from all 3 points of the '4' and I did circles around the spot out to 60 yds. All on my hands and knees. Never found any blood. There was a hill in the direction she headed so I went and check the thick stuff down there for blood and/or her. Nothing.

I'm lost with this one. I'm willing to put more time in but don't know what to do when I go back out.

I have devised a theory though, see what you guys think. The blood trail was bright red with no bubbles and my arrow had a clear looking type bloodd on it. Like Elkcrazy said I'm wondering if I even hit lung. I'm thinking I may have hit her armpit or leg. In the last spot there was a small, deep hole in a rotten stump. You know how when you step in a rotten stump hole you sink down? Well this hole had blood all around it and down in the hole. I'm thinking her leg was covered with blood and as she stood there for a minute the blood soaked the ground. She must have laid down in that bedding spot just a few feet away because of all of the blood on the ground and the hair. Then we came by (two hours later) and jumped her up. Maybe the blood had clotted from her laying down or maybe it froze since it was so cold (10-15 F). I bet if we had waited longer she would have died right there.

The hairs I found were 3 inches or longer. Does anyone know if that would be from a certain part of the body? I thought it was strange that they were so long.

The only time I have ever seen alot of hair along with a blood trail is when the deer was hit high up in the leg or through the brisket. And if the hairs were white and long as you said then I would "guess" they came from the brisket. This would indicate a low shot which would make her bleed but probably not even hit any vital organs. I hope if she is hit good that you do find her and wish you luck. I also have to say good job on your effort, most people would have given up after a couple hours.

Thanks bearklr, not much consolation though when you know you've wounded an animal. Where exactly is the brisket? Is it below the rib cage? Not sure.

So from the evidence you have heard you think it was a non-lethal shot?

Your theory might be right. It's possible that you hit close to the arm/leg pit. Though, if you have white hair then that indicates a low shot. You might have hit down around the rib cage. If the arrow doesn't hit vitals, then the deer can certainly live. I have heard of guys hitting deer and having lots of blood, but never recover the deer and that is even without bumping it. They wait until the next day, follow a good blood trail and find a big puddle where it layed down. Then, that's it. No deer and no more blood. It happens and I know how it feels. It really stinks!

TBO

Solax, The brisket is the area on a deers chest right between the front two legs. There is alot of muscle and fat on the outside of the ribcage here. If you look at it close you can see that the long hairs grow torwards each other and froms a ridge of hair. I circled it on this pic for you. The hairs on the front of the chest are usually brown as seen here but become white as you move under the deer.

P.S. from the sounds of it I can't say it is a "non-lethal" shot because nobody knows what exactly a deer will or won't die from. However, from my experience it sounds like you hit the deer high in the leg but not through the chest cavity which would sever a main vein or artery which would in turn give you bright red blood with no bubbles. (the same type of blood as if you cut yourself pretty bad). I can't tell you if this would kill a deer or not. Some will bleed to death in a few days and some will heal and get on with life. I think the effort you put in is excellent and should be commended but this deer may very well be alive as we sit hear typing. I wish you the best of luck either way.