I HAVE BEEN HUNTING FOR A LONG TIME, BUT I JUST GOT INTO BOW HUNTING LAST YEAR. I'VE NEVER KILLED A DEER WITH MY BOW YET, BUT WHEN I DO SHOOT ONE (PROVIDING THAT IT IS A GOOD SHOT) HOW LONG SHOULD I WAIT TO GET OUT OF MY STAND TO GO AFTER THE DEER?

-RYAN

RYAN SMITH

All depends on the shot. I have shot them when they fell dead on the spot. I have also shot them and had to track them for miles. If you make a good shot and it falls not far from you, keep your eye on him and let him set for a while 5-30min.. If you question the shot then wait for up to 30 min to an hour, some wait even longer (hours). Let him laydown close to expire. It will make your life much easier when it comes to finding him. I made this mistake once. I shot a buck that ran, he fell about 100 yards away. I got excited and went after him after only waiting 10min. He jumped up and ran. It took me all day to find him. He was about 4 miles from where I shot him. If I had waited longer I wouldnt have spent my day tracking.

Lifes a garden, dig it.

I like to wait at least an hour on all shots. If you question the shot at all then wait at least 4 hours. It is not like rifle shots which cause shock they must bleed out.

By the way I am not being critical but the use of all caps when posting means that you are yelling. I don't think that is what you are tring to do but some people with take offense to this practice.

Good Luck!!!

The bow hunting forum has some good posts on this very topic as well.

" Anyone can be a father, but it takes a real man to be a Dad"

Yeah I agree with Iowa Hunter... At least an hour if you think it was a good shot... If you hit a huge buck, and it's cold just wait until morning... Not worth losing a great deer... But usually an hour is a good amount of time... but still use caution when tracking and try to be quite... cause you could still jump him up after that amount of time, and more then likley it will be a long day trying to find him... if you are that lucky....

Although I have not killed one with a bow yet, from what most long time bowhunters I know say even with a double lung shot that you know is good and a complete pass through, at least 1/2 hour, a lot longer if it is not a double lung pass through though.

The Tazman aka Martin Price
Founder and President of
Virginia Disabled Outdoorsmen Club

I shot a doe yesterday after passing on a young buck on the last day of bow season. I knew it was a good shot, and I waited an hour. But, it was raining. Guess what. Most of the blood got washed away. This is a touchy situation. It would have probably been better for me to not wait as long in this case. I had no blood trail. It took me two and a half hours to find the deer. It was less than 100 yards from where I shot it. I walked within 20 yards of it several times but could not see it because she fell flat on her belly so the white was not showing. I was releaved when I finally spotted her.

After you shoot and get out of your stand check the blood on the arrow and the immediate vicinity of your shot. You should be able to tell by the color of the blood and the possible presence of stomach/intestine matter where the arrow hit and verify your eyeball. Dark stuff, pieces of acorns, corn and other stuff is a definate indicator of more time needed.

Every deer I have ever shot has been in the morning. First off, I stress the use of bright feathers and knocks to better your chances of seeing the arrow to know where you hit. After the shot watch to see how the deer is moving and remeber the direction and also listen to how it is running (stumbling around or running like hell) and also try and listen to which direction it is going. After a few moments of silence I climb down and go to my truck to head to town for breakfast or lunch. If however the deer ran in the same direction of your truck (which they have never done for me) you should probably wait it out at least an hour before doing anything, depending on the shot.

I have a book by John Trout Jr called Trailing Wounded Deer however this one is out of print but he is now out with a newer version called "Finding Wounded Deer."

I have bow hunted for nearly 40 years and I knew many of the things in his book but I also learner a lot.

If possible always try to follow your arrow into the deer [but this isn't always possible] pay special attention to the deer's reaction to the shot and mark landmarks where the deer goes to make tracking easier. The arrow will also help determing the type of hit largely due to color of the blood and other matter on the arrow, how much of the arrow is left [if it's broken off] how far up the arrow is the blood.

Muscle/Bone hit- Follow gently right away.
Lung/heart/artery-20 minutes or immediately if you see the animal go down.
Liver-4 hours
Paunch-10 to 12 hours or overnight is better but mark the spot where you need to start tracking.

I could go on and on and rewrite Trout's book but it would be better to buy it . . . you will not be sorry.

Bowhunter