I'm alittle mad fellas. To start off, I have been taking my 15yr old nephew bowhunting this year (his first year as a bowhunter). Well he has had several close calls with bucks and does up to this point he has never fired a shot. We were set up ten yards apart when a group of 4 does comes out of the pine thicket. The lead doe stops broadside at 20 yards, he draws back and shoots. I had a clean view of the impact and could see the arrow was just alittle far back, entered around the last rib but perfect height wise. So after getting him to calm down and explaining to him we should wait a couple hours because it looked to be a liver hit based on the blood on the arrow. The shot was around 8:00am, so we return around 12 to take up the trail. The trail wasn't difficult to follow, drops of blood about the size of quarters every ten feet or so. We trailed the deer about 100 yards into a cedar thicket. We lost the blood after about 110 yards, only to find a fresh gut pile another 20 yards ahead. We followed the drag marks out to the road, hoping to catch up with the thief only to find the parking lot empty. There are some real A$$holes out their, stealing a deer from a 15yr old kid. Some people [:@]

I think you made the mistake of not atempting to recover you animal right away. How were they to know who shot the deer? Maybe they were the last ones to leave. If you pushed the deer and then it continued to run that would be one thing but to totally leave like that, your asking for it.

Wow, now thats something. Why would someone wanna do that is beyond me, I think I would have went to the nearest checking station, But what can ya do. Well maybe youll run into that hunter some day, Thats a shame sorry to hear it for the youngster. Hell get another one.

[:@]

Fieldmouse,I think 3 hours is a about right to wait on a liver shot deer.You know as well as anyone that you can't go after a deer right away when the shot is less than perfect with a bow.



Jerry,on the otherhand,how do you know the person that field dressed the deer didn't shoot it also.If it came by their stand still walking,they may have not known it was dying.If this is the case,they have as much right to the deer as anyone.Rgardless,your nephew has learned the importance of practicing and making a good shot.


Just playing Devil's advocate.I am not saying tis is the case but just stating it is a possibility.

TFox, i guess its a possibility it passed another hunter while still walking. However we had trailed her into a very thick area that was full of briars and some points it was so thick we had been crawling through. I know there was small game hunters in the area, im just wondering if one of them had walked up on it.

Fieldmouse, i don't what you were told. But as a rule of thumb i was always told to wait 3hrs to trail a liver hit as to not push the deer into the next county.

Whoever took it, i hope their really proud of the deer they didn't shoot.

Fieldmouse ,remind me not to hunt around you.

HUH? Say what?

Sorry to hear that bud that's a real shame. Some winners out there for sure.

Sorry to hear of your story. That is a shame for the youngster.

A 3 hr liver wait is standard, if not longer. 1st rule of tracking....when in doubt WAIT. They did right by waiting, unfortunate some slob stole thier deer. I would think that if someone else shot it too, they'd have seen an increase in blood and signs that that happened.

This post just goes to show that there is always gonna be someone around busting someones balls whether it's necessary or not. If he would have tracked the deer and jumped it then he probably wouldn't have found it. When in doubt, wait a few hours. The guy did the responsible thing and exactly what the overwhelming majority of the experienced bowhunters on this forum would have done and to be quite honest that is one of the stupidest posts that I have read on this forum.