Well, I just came back from 2 days deer hunting.
Didn't get a buck but a nice doe, and the hunt was a thrill.
First of all, the deer showed up on the field 300 yds away from my stand, so what else is new
It was very windy and gusting pretty strong, looking at the wind direction and the terain, I figured I had a chance to get closer to the action.
Well, the plan worked perfectly, under the cover of blowing wind and some bush I got close enough to take a nice shot at big doe at 25 yards. My 400 gr arrow tipped with 100gr Slick Trick went through her boiler room like hot knife through butter.
She made wide 180 degree turn, and gave a mad run with her tail down 50 yds along a fence and then she jumped over it and disapeared in a bush.
I had no problem finding my arrow covered with bubbly blood, then I started looking for blood.
And here is my problem, I checked with my hands the area where she was standing - no blood. Went Zig-Zagging along the fence - no blood.
Found a spot where she probably jumped the fence, check all little bushes, fence post, barbed wire - no blood. Crossed the fence into narrow trail in the bush, checked the leave s and branches - no blood, fortunately this trail was only 10 yds long and there was opening with my doe laying down in a puddle of blood, mostly from her mouth.
The Slick Trick definitely did its job both entry and especialy exit wounds were pretty impressive, but no blood running down the doe body, and since I was shooting kneeling down and the deer was on a higher ground the entry wound was fairly low (3 inches lower then I wanted it to hit) and exit wound was dead centre of its opposit side.

Finally, here's my point, it was my first bow kill, and I don't have experience blood trailing, but from what I read, the blood should be pouring from both holes and on grass field should be pretty visible.
I thought to myself that had I shot the deer in in a bush or high swamp grass, it would take me long time to find her, if at all.
If any of the members would comment on this situation, it would be greatly appreciated as I still have one tag left, and I'm concerned that next time I may not get that lucky.

Bow_Nut,

I wouldn't worry about what might happen the next time you shoot a deer. What you read about blood pouring out both holes isn't set in stone. I had one doe that I recall that didn't bleed much until she laid down/fell over. Seemed like the blood pooled up inside the chest cavity. Maybe that is what happened to yours? I'm no expert but I suppose it's a possiblity.

Great job paying attention to how she ran after the shot. Sounds like that was the key to your recovery.

I agree, I wouldn't worry about the lack of a blood trail. About the only thing I would do differently if I didn't have a good blood trail is back out and give them an extra 1/2 hour.

Sounds like you made a great shot. She was prob. full of blood in the chest cavity when you field dressed her.

Congrats on a great hunt!!!

way to go bow nut, the only thing i could add to the other responses is that the boiler room is a pretty big area, shot in the bottom part you'll normally find blood pretty kwik, sometimes a high shot you don't find blood right away, way to keep your cool and locate you trophy, yes your first with a bow is always a trophy..

again way to go

sorry bownut, re-read your post and saw that you actually shot lower than intended, i guess i was half asleep when i read it the first time. one of the other things i have had happen to me is shot a deer high angled towards the gut and the exit hole stopped up with guts, no blood trail but bloody pieces of gut stuck to twigs brush and such, just remember it can be different everytime, and good job on the recovery.

Congrats on your 1st bow kill. A shot from ground level can make tracking tough. You do not get the lower exit wound you get with a shot from a tree stand. Sometimes even with a good hit you have to get down the trail a bit before picking up blood.

Congratulations on your first bow kill and a great recovery. Like everyone else said, they sometimes don't bleed out until the chest cavity is full of blood, and if they go down before that happens you usually wont have much of a trail and most of the time you'll find them laying in a huge pool of blood.

Congrats on the stalk!, not that's hunting at it's finest!

About the blood trail, I can't remember any off hand that were "blood pouring" myself. I usually have to slow down and find the blood and then follow the drops and sprays to my downed animal. Maybe it's all the ticks sucking them dry[8D]!

Congrats,I've shot alot of deer with a bow over the years.As was said before not everything is written in stone.I've shot deer perfectly quartering away and never found any blood untill you got within 10 yards of the deer.I've shot deer right in the boiler with a perfect exit out right behind the lower side of the rear leg and found very litte blood.Why?Who knows strange things can happen.Thats why it is very important to know where you hit and watch and mark mental references on where the deer went after the shot.

Congratulations on your first bowkill!! Great job on the recovery. I would like to say ditto to what these guys have been saying. I would like to add that blood pouring out sometimes is more like spots here and there of a lot of blood. I believe that the intestinal material may have plugged the hole and that you will have no problem with the next one if the shot is a good one like this one was. Good luck!