What would you have done?
 

While bowhunting last Monday, I had a large doe approach between 20 and 25 yards. I pulled back and waited for the deer to enter a shooting lane. I shot when the deer entered and paused within my shooting lane. I thought the deer was broadside or maybe slightly quartering toward me. The sight picture was perfect. The shot felt good and arrow looked good. The arrow sounded like it hit a hollow log. The deer turned and ran with its tail down. I could only see the deer for around 50 yards before I lost sight of it. Then I heard a loud crash followed by another loud crash less than a second later, then silence. I waited for around 30 minutes, then got down to find my arrow.

I found my arrow, stuck firmly in the ground. To my disbelief, it had a watery substance on the fletchings, and a green foul smelling substance on the shaft and toward the broadhead, indicating the arrow passed thru the stomach. I also noticed some white hairs on the ground. I replayed the shot in my head again and again and felt certain I had made a good shot. There is no blood visible from the spot I am standing where the arrow landed (within 5-10 feet).

What should I do now?

[Deleted]
 

[Deleted by Admins]

RE: What would you have done?
 

I shot the deer at 8:30 in the morning and the temp was around 30 degrees with it warming to mid 50's during the day.

I did recover the deer, but just presented this to make people stop and think.

RE: What would you have done?
 

So what are the details? Where'd you hit it and what killed it?

RE: What would you have done?
 

Well you have at least made us curious ,but maybe not think because you had already posted twice .We won't have to play the sounds like game.<img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle><img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle>

RE: What would you have done?
 

This one really threw me off for a little bit, because the signs at the arrow did not match what happened in my mind.

The arrow entered just behind the front shoulder and just clipped the shoulder blade. It sliced the top part of the heart, got one lung, the liver, and then just got the end of the stomach before exiting just behind the ribcage where the white and dark hair meet.

I'm not sure if the deer was quartering more toward me than I thought or if the contact with the shoulder blade made the arrow deflect.

Anyway, I decided to check the first 20 or 30 yards where the deer ran to see if I could find some blood or more clues. A heavy, and I mean heavy blood trail was found with bright red blood and red blood. Blood was splattered on trees and one vine, close to where the deer went down was covered in blood. That was the first crashing noise I heard. The deer ran a total of about 100 yards. There was a two inch hole where the arrow entered and almost as large of one where it exited. I was using a muzzy broadhead which does not have that large of cutting diameter.

I was confused and sick until I found the blood trail, then I knew the deer didn't go far and that where I heard it crash is where it died.

Just to look at the arrow alone would not give the indication that the deer was hit in the vitals. Now that I know the whole story, it all makes sense.

RE: What would you have done?
 

<BLOCKQUOTE id=quote<font size=1 face='Verdana, Arial, Helvetica' id=quote>quote:<hr height=1 noshade id=quote>
The arrow entered just behind the front shoulder and just clipped the shoulder blade. It sliced the top part of the heart, got one lung, the liver, and then just got the end of the stomach before exiting just behind the ribcage where the white and dark hair meet.<hr height=1 noshade id=quote></BLOCKQUOTE id=quote></font id=quote><font face='Verdana, Arial, Helvetica' size=2 id=quote>

Sorry, but there is just no way possible for this shot to have clipped the top of the heart if it hit on the angle you describe. You had to do that with your knife while field dressing.

~Will Hunt For Food~

RE: What would you have done?
 

Two seasons ago I had a deer come in and stand broadside,I aimed and let loose.Watched the deer drop within 60 yards I figure perfect shot,right?

When I got down and walked up to it.The arrow had gone through the neck between the shoulder blades and took out the heart.I hit what I was aiming at but I didn't hit what I was aiming at. I still try to play back that shot in my head and can't picture that deer spinning on me.

RE: What would you have done?
 

cyclone, I have butchered a lot of deer in my day and depending on how the deers shoulderblade was positioned I could see this happening if it deflected off the inside of the shoulderblade, but to be honest an arrow can do some crazy things once it hits bone!

The Tazman aka Martin Price
Proud father of a Devil Dog

RE: What would you have done?
 

<BLOCKQUOTE id=quote<font size=1 face='Verdana, Arial, Helvetica' id=quote>quote:<hr height=1 noshade id=quote>
cyclone, I have butchered a lot of deer in my day and depending on how the deers shoulderblade was positioned I could see this happening if it deflected off the inside of the shoulderblade, but to be honest an arrow can do some crazy things once it hits bone!
<hr height=1 noshade id=quote></BLOCKQUOTE id=quote></font id=quote><font face='Verdana, Arial, Helvetica' size=2 id=quote>

Not the way described here, no magic bullet or arrows...&quot;behind the front sholder&quot; quartering to...no heart there...

Now if it had read, &quot;Hit the front point of the sholder&quot; or &quot;went in in front of the sholder blade&quot; I could believe it..

Behind that sholder blade on a quartering-to shot and you aint gonna hit heart.

~Will Hunt For Food~

RE: What would you have done?
 

Mr. Cyclone.

My knife did not cut the heart because I pulled the heart out with my bare hands!!! I did not cut through the sternum but reached my arm into the chest cavity and removed the heart and lungs. Maybe I did not describe it properly, but the arrow entered just behind the leg toward the center of the body. The deer was around 20 to 25 yards away and I was between 25 and 30 feet up a big pine tree. It did not hit the big flat part of the blade but in the &quot;V&quot; located above the front leg. I don't know how to describe it, but that is where the arrow entered. I could not believe the entry hole.

Anyway, that was not the point of this thread. The point was that the arrow did not indicate the true nature of the hit and that sometimes what may appear to a bad hit, may have been an extremely lethal hit. I considered all the evidence before I cautiosly began the tracking of the animal. I was ready to back away for several hours and not take a chance of jumping the deer from it's bed. But as I sat there and tried to piece together what happened, I decided to slowly and quietly search the first 20 or 30 yards. When I found the blood trail, I knew it was over.

I butcher all my deer, so when I get to that shoulder, I will see if it actually hit any bone. The entrance hole was large and it was difficult to see exactly where the broadhead entered. I was thinking that may have explained why my arrow exited so far back. It is possible the deer was angling more than I thought, but I thought it was nearly broadside. This was NOT a sharp quartering toward me shot!!!

One other thing, the doe had milk. She was a large doe and she did have another deer with her which was close to 3/4 her size. She did not have a lot of milk, but she definately had milk. She was also very fat. I ate the tenderloin for lunch today, and boy was that good. I've got some jerky going and my wife is cooking a roast from the deer.

Edited by - Esau on 01/23/2003 12:54:05

RE: What would you have done?
 

Esau I think I know exactly where you hit, one question when the arrow hit/you released was her leg back?

The Tazman aka Martin Price
Proud father of a Devil Dog

RE: What would you have done?
 

I'm glad you got the doe and I'm sure it tastes great. Not trying to be a S.A.!

We're obviously having a difficulty in describing/understanding where and how this deer was struck. Now you said &quot;broadside or slightly quartering to&quot; in your original post, 30' up at 25yds in another. Did you hit high? low? If that arrow tucked in behind the shoulder blade then angled through the lung, liver, and stomach, I can't see how it hit the heart. If it happened to tuck in front of the shoulder blade(between the brisket and the point of the shoulder), well then, at that angle it makes sense..Let's try this again..

~Will Hunt For Food~

RE: What would you have done?
 

Unfotunately this type of stuff does happen what you do next is how you will be judged. 1st: An animal that is run completely through its body cavity by an arrow will almost always die. 2nd: A hit like this throgh the guts will take awhile to kill the animal but will eventually. 3rd: Don't push the animal back out of the area and let the animal bed down and die. 4th: Come back with friends to track or search depending on the sign. Extra sets of eyes are always better. A few years back I unfortunately gut shot an elk after realizing the hit was no good we backed out and returned the next day to find the elk dead a few hundred yards away.