Say a deer hunters prayer for me!!!
 

It's now 8:25. At 7:25 I whacked a really nice buck (by my standards) and am not sure if he is an 8pt or a 10pt.
I set up some scent (Doe in heat) and fired off a buck bomb. Five minutes later I heard him working a scrape behind me but it was still pitch black out. He was still there when shooting light arrived but just did not cooperate and came in on my back side. I had a nice 15 yd shot on him and took it. BOOM!!! the limb of the Pheonixhits the tree I'm in and I miss. He takes off to about 50 yards away and I let him settle down before I recocked the bow and broke out the can. He came right back in to the can and gave me a 25 yard shot.He was slightly quartering to me but I thought I could get both lungs. I didn't! Instead I hit him square in the shoulder and watched him take off with the arrow inhis shoulder. Looked like I got pretty good penetration even though it was a shoulder shot so I am going to give him some timebefore I look but I'm praying and hoping he did not go far.
Say a deer hunters prayer for me as I really HAVE to recover this guy.

Gonna give him a couple of hours but I know I got some lung. I just wish I had an exit wound so I could count on more blood...This will really tell the story of HOW good my Rocket Steel Heads are...

RE: Say a deer hunters prayer for me!!!
 

Give it plenty of time! We are rooting for ya and keep us up to date on how it goes.

RE: Say a deer hunters prayer for me!!!
 

Good luck John, you are going to need more lots of time and patience.

RE: Say a deer hunters prayer for me!!!
 

Hope you recover him, John. Good luck, stuff happens, don't it?

RE: Say a deer hunters prayer for me!!!
 

Good luck on recovering him....! I said a prayer for you.. seriously. You'll find him. As I'm sure you already know... he mighta headed downhill or towards some water if there is any around.



chris

RE: Say a deer hunters prayer for me!!!
 

I always pray to Saint Anthony (patron saint of lost things) when I am looking for my deer!

FYI - Of course before I get my deer I pray to Saint Hubert (patron saint of hunters - pretty cool story too). The symbol for Jaegermeister (master hunter in german) is derived from this story.

RE: Say a deer hunters prayer for me!!!
 

You'll get him Planter, you had two chances so it's ment to be. Just don't push him and wait a good while and look in the thickest stuff there is around there. That's where he is! I saw him walk in there with my minds eye. Really! Good luck bud.
BBO

RE: Say a deer hunters prayer for me!!!
 

Iam rooten for ya.....

RE: Say a deer hunters prayer for me!!!
 

Sick, broken hearted, ashamed, depressed.... My wife thinks I take this hunting crap to seriously.

The Buck I buried an arrow into has not been found. Sure not due to a lack of effort. I did hit him very square on the shoulder andthat is not where I was aiming. I was so certain the deer was dead I called my pals before I even climbed down. I figure I put 10 or 12 inches of arrow though his shoulder and can't beleive heis with the missing.

Ispent 6 hours on monday looking and had a great blood trail to follow for awhile. He then started dropping big clots and the trail just plain dried up.
I was hoping the arrow would have been found to open up the bleeding but it was not and I think that with the shot square thru the scapula the hole isstill plugged WITH arrow.

I also spent 8 hours yesterday grid seaching and found where he had bedded down. He spent some time there because there were three beds within a 10 ft area. Problem was the only blood in the beds was a little bit of clear pink and not much of that.

I like to think I am an ethical hunter who takes high percentage shots and frankly I just messed up. THREE inches to the left and I would be eating backstrap.

I am hanging my head in shame and having difficulty motivating myself to get back on the old horse. I should have gone out this AM but it just don't feel right.

RE: Say a deer hunters prayer for me!!!
 

Planter you have proven yourself to be totally ethical with your actions after your shot. You did not give up easily and tried your best to find the animal (many hours searching). It is very unfortunat but these things will happen once in a while, but us as hunters have to try our best to recover the animal the best that we can (which you did). Yes the deer will suffer some, but nearly as bad if it was a wolf that had almost captured it, and it got away. The trouble is that there could have been a small twig (that you could not even see) that deflected your arrow, the deer could have moved, or your aim could have been slightly off. Hold your head high, you have proven yourself ethical and did a more then admirable job in trying to recover the buck

Tom

RE: Say a deer hunters prayer for me!!!
 

well said, Tom. Get back in the saddle Planter!

RE: Say a deer hunters prayer for me!!!
 

Thanks Tom, Dan..I'm gonna gear up to climb another tree and get back out there.
I think I first might first head back to the last sign of him and look a bit more. Maybe??? There was enough internal bleeding going on that he is still out there all stiffened up.

You practice and plan and set up and so on and BOOM it all goes down the hopper. The "sorta" funny thing is that he gave me two chances. I let my limb slap a tree @ 15 yards but he even gave me a chance to recock my bow for another opportunity.

RE: Say a deer hunters prayer for me!!!
 

Ditto on that.... you tried very hard to find him. Like Tom said, these things can and do happen. All you can do is your best, which you have done.

Last year I'm pretty sure I grazed a doe. (ML) Somehow I believe my scope or I was off. But I couldn't find any blood and looked for several hours. It sucks yes, but don't be too hard on yourself....you looked and looked for him, that's what counts.

chris

RE: Say a deer hunters prayer for me!!!
 

Bows can be a funny thing! Sounds like you did everything a self respecting hunter could do, right from the time you first seen him. Also sounds like you did your part in trying to recover him, and that is respectable too.
Time to get back out there and try again! Good luck!

RE: Say a deer hunters prayer for me!!!
 

Sounds like your beast is probably alive, pissed and educated. Good reason to use "non-barbed" broadheads the arrow can be drawn back out by mouth or work its way out.

RE: Say a deer hunters prayer for me!!!
 

It is bound to happen, and someday mine will happen. You did a good job trying to find it, most people would give up alot sooner. I know the feeling you have. The eight pointI shot a few years back, maybe been four or five now gave me a hard time. It was my first lesson on giving deer time to die, not that you did not, be cause you did. But I got out of tree to soon and spooked him up and then went in looking for him. Spent alot of time that night and then next morning half sick looking for my Buck, it is a bad feeling you get when it happens. Just when I was at my lowest and ready to stop looking we found him in a spot I must have walked by three times. But I know the feeling you have, it sucks. But the grid search is a sign of a thought out search and tells me you did your best. The only thing I could offer is do the grid search again in a couple of days and he may expire and you could find him. Meat will be bad, but you will have closure on it. Did this with a friend that hit a doe in the back. Looked alot and could not find. Went back two days later and found her laying on edge of woods, meat was no good but we found closure for the deer and us being worried about it.

RE: Say a deer hunters prayer for me!!!
 

I guess this is why I like OUR Xbow thread the best. I posted this same basic story in a couple of other places and was jumped on faster than a hot doe for shot placement and so on.

I was pretty certain that over here I would not get beat up and that folks would recognize that SHI# does happen.

It's strange but I am really pleased how bad it bothers me that I did not recover the deer.

RE: Say a deer hunters prayer for me!!!
 

John, I haven't had a bad hit YET! BUT when it happens it would depress me to no end to have everyone eat you up about it. Yes you are here with buddies that understand what happens is not the intent.

RE: Say a deer hunters prayer for me!!!
 

I was also wondering about that. But didn't post it because I honestly haven't had any experience with that type of situation. Maybe you will see him again Planter. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you!! Good Luck!

chris

RE: Say a deer hunters prayer for me!!!
 

Hells there nothing else you could do. It happens to everybody at some point and if it doesnt then good for them-Chris

RE: Say a deer hunters prayer for me!!!
 

It can happen to anyone, what makes you stand out is your honesty, and thank you for that!

Integrity, persistance and the will to put it out here for us all to read, good one on ya.

RE: Say a deer hunters prayer for me!!!
 

Hey BOO!!!!!!!!!!!

I think ytiou would need to have a hit before you can get a BAD HIT :D:D:D:D

LOL ............. just funning ya and I just could not resist that one

Honestly Planter it does not matter what you do you can get one stubborn deer that will just not die the easy way. A few years ago I hit a large Doe with a Muzzleloader, gave her over an hour before I started to trail her at dusk. Bith my dad and I were tracking her, lots of blood and bedded down 5 times within the first 100 yards. Trailed her until both my and my dad's flashlights were almost dead, went back to the truck to get new lights (had a bite to eat and stayed there for one hour). Tracked her again, 9 more beds, lots of blood, but she kept going, killed two more flashlights. In total we tracked her for over 4.5 hours that night. We came back at first light to start again and found her after another 2 hours, still alive, finished her off and dragged her out.

Bad hit you might say, well not really. It was just below the heart (within 2 inches of the heart) and the bullet hole exiting had a good 2 inch hole. The oppisite leg was also dammaged. The heart was actually brused when it was removed. After seing where the bullit hit and the danmage done, you would wonder how that deer was able to travel 100 yards let alone lead us on a tracking trail for over 6 hours.

See you can always come across situations that will not lead to perfect results. Again congrats in your effort to recover that deer. Now a great feat would be to hunt that well educated deer and harvest it.

RE: Say a deer hunters prayer for me!!!
 

I spect he did survive but it may be a long tough winter and he may not be able to paticipate in the ruttin festivities. I just find it hard to believe he could survive long with that sharp stick in him. To find where he spent the night and see so little blood and not even good blood was a heartbreaker

I will know it's him if I see him again. He will be the one with 10 inches of arrow with bright green fletching sticking out of his shoulder. Seems impossible that he could move thru so much brush and trees and not knock the arrow out.

I have already repacked my gear and WILL be hitting the woods. I have a bunch of sweet stands I have not even hit yet and will go back to that one if conditions permit. 3 deer in 2 years out of that stand plus this one that kicked my butt. I did see a better buck than him in there last year so who knows.

Thanks guys... and good luck in the woods.

RE: Say a deer hunters prayer for me!!!
 

Cant remember if I posted this here before or not so some may remember it. A guy at work on his first year in archery shot a doe just like you, nice shot, but arrow hit left or right, can remember and hit shoulder. He to said he seen deer run off with arrow in shoulder and never found deer. Six weeks later his father in-law shot a doe during gun season and was processing it and found his son in-law's B-Head right in the meat of the bone, the thickest part. B-Head broke off right at base of arrow. When his father in-law shot the deer he said deer was acting just fine and nothing was wrong with deer. Also said there was no infection at that point. Wound had healed up and looked fine, not saying it would not get infected eventually, but that doe did just fine with a arrow in the shoulder. I would still give it two days and do one more grid, but that is just me.