npaden

You can do a grid search by yourself and they are generally pretty effective. In really thick brush like that you just have to run the grid lines closer together. You just need something to mark the area where you have already searched. Based on the description of the deer after you shot it I would have started where you last saw the deer go down and in the direction that the deer was traveling in rather than going back to where you initially shot the deer.

It sucks that you couldn't find the deer, but you aren't going to get much sympathy if you quit after looking for only an hour. The meat would have still been fine for several more hours at 65 degrees. Even at 90 degrees you have a couple hours before the meat starts to go bad.

Jim_IV

Yea, but we didn't stop looking for our deer after 1 hour either. I was going to keep quite until you said that but now I have got to chime in....

First off, that brush you are looking through is not near asthick as a lot of other parts of this country. I have searched for deer when it is so thick you can only see for 15 feet. That crap is a cake walk.

Secondly, no one here claims to be a pro hunter (ok a couple of us but they really are). You worked a 12 hour shift and you were tired. Sounds like a lot of excuses to me. What would you have done if you found it? Would you not have cleaned it? Yea, you would have so it was going to take some time anyway.

Number three, 65 degrees? Thats it? When I killed my doe this year during bow season it was 87 degrees. I am not going to even go into that excuse.

And last but not least, It is your own damn fault for what you have brought upon yourself. Why would you post that on here. You would have received a lot more sympathy if you had looked for even a few more hours and not tried to come up with any excuses.

I truly hope that you have learned from your mistakes and that you continue to post and learn on here. Best of luck to you this season.

TommyGunn

i shot a 8pt during bow season and it was 80degrees. i shot him at 5pm. you know what time i found him? 10:00pm. i had been working all day and had to get up the next morning. all my help left me at 9 because they had to go home so they left with their 4wheeler. i kept walking and looking. i found the deer and drug it out 1/2mile uphill the whole way. i was so mad and started having my doubts since there wont much blood. BUT i found the deer. never give up looking for a deer if you find blood. if you got time to sit up there and shoot him make sure you got time to find him/clean him nomatter how late you get in

FtWorthHunter

You may never read this, but you need to consider your audience when making a post and exliciting a response. We've all shot deer that ran and many here (myself included) have lost deer. I think the part that got people was the 1 hour search. We all realize being tired and not having folks that can help, but I don't think those things will draw you sympathy.

Personally, I think you'll live and learn and while I'm brand new here myself, I don't think you should leave the board. If anything, maybe your post is helpful in that someone who hasn't had a similar situation may read it and realize that they should put every effort possible into finding a shot deer.

IllHunter930

Guys, Stop...Leave him the hell alone,I mean I know he coulda looked longer or something, But just for one minute put yourself in his position. This forum is supposed to help people, and Cloudwalker is a hunter in need of help, Hav'nt you fellas EVER lost one of your deer?...C'mon guys.

Buckhunter46755

Well put...

Unfortunately I lost my first deer this year. It was a nice buck too. 8-10pts. Me and three other guys, one who is a very good tracker, searched on and off for 2 days for the one I hit last week. I even went back the 3rd day and looked for 4 more hours, thinking he may have circled back around. This was an archery shot. The shot was a passthrough and I found the arrow with good blood on it. However there was basically no blood trail. We found a few minute specks and got a direction off it. Did a HUGE grid search and searched Everyehere else we could think of. I still feel sick about the loss. But going back out in the pouring cold rain the 3rd dayand looking even more at least lightened my heart somewhat. (Granted it was colder out)Total time looking - around 14-18 hours!!!! I did everything in my power to find this animal and still feel bad about it. 1 hour isn't long enough.

But I wouldn't leave the forum and go name calling like a kid, because of a poor decision YOU made. Everyone makes mistakes, some are worse than others,just learn from it. That's all any of us can do. There's a lot of good info and good people on this site. Don't get mad about the posts. You should have a expected this kind of response when you made the post about onlysearching for 1 hr.

JMO

~ chris

USAF_hunter

I lost abuck before. After 4 days of looking. Loggers found him the next spring 3 miles from where I shot him.One hour and give up the search blows my mind. You don't deserve to hunt.

Lubricious

Good lesson learned...

moose1915

fool

FtWorthHunter

I lost a buck 2 years ago. Shot him at first light, looked alone until noon, then my dad and my lab joined me until dark. Searched for 4 days after that, before or after work, though I didn't have much daylight each day. I had rushed the shot, the deer was quartering towards me, and I hit too high and the bullet exited his hips. Lots of blood, lots of hair, and a great deal of bone (ended up being his hip). On the forth day, I scanned a stock tank that I had actually searched around the day I shot. On the far side, near a fallen tree, I saw the rib cage.

I waded out, got a rope, and pulled it in. Though I never knew before, the water was only about a foot deep all across that little cove. Turtles and buzzards had gotten most of his rib-cage and hip. Ended up being the highest scoring 8 point I've shot to date (138 1/2). A really pretty, symetrical buck. Aged him at 6 years.

He had run 550 yards through heavy brush, crossed two 30 foot deep ravines, swam out about 30 feet from shore, and did it all on basically 2 legs.

We all have the ability to lose deer. I've had deer with shots right through the vitals run long distances. I've made less then perfect shots that have dropped deer in their tracks. Adreniline is a funny thing. I don't think frying this guy does abit of goodas I'm sure he feels worse about than any of us calling him names would ever make him feel.

I've only been on this specific forum for a few days, but have been on others that are similar for years. I've always found them to be a place to both share and learn. I think his post allows for both of those events to occur.

Happy hunting.