See here's Why
 

The other morning just after sunrise I shot a buck at 17 yrds. He did the classic jump kick like he had been hit and ran to about 20 feet from my treestand. As he stood there broadside I studied him and saw no wound and no blood. I figured it was a clean miss. As I reached for another arrow he jumped off in to the timber and to the edge of a field about 30 yards away. With no shot I watched him disappear. Thinking I had made a clean miss. I went back to grunting and stayed in my stand another 45 minutes. With nothing else coming in I climbed down and went to retrieve my arrow. Upon getting to my arrow I noticed it had white hair, some brown hair, a little meat and what looked like grease or fat. So I went to where he stood and found maybe 12 drops of blood. Went to where I last saw him by the field and maybe 6 drops and then a few yards 1 drop then nothing. Needless to say I searched for 2 hrs went home got the wife and we went over my hunting ground with a fine tooth comb. Nothing. SEE here is why when I shoot a deer I immediately get down and check my arrow and try to not let the deer out of my sight. I don't push it mind you but I WATCH it. At least I know where it goes. Now I'm thinking it was hit high in the back and will most likely survive that shot. But I will not stay put again. That is the first time and last time. Thoughts?
Live it up! Deerwoods Doug

Sorry to hear of the deer that you were not able to retrieve. Sounds like you hit high on the back ahead of the lungs?

Wouldn't you be in the best place to watch where it goes up in your tree? I would think by the time you get down you either spook it if it close by, or don't see it if it is far away. Sitting tight for 30 minutes is what I do, unless I am sure it is dead. And I try my best to see/hear where it went. Even a lung shot deer can go a a hundred yards or more if pushed right away, or 30 yds, if you leave it alone. How would this have helped you in your situation you described?

Thanks for your kind words. What foliage that was still on the trees limited my view from my treestand. Once he entered the field that is 15 inch high grass I could not see him from my stand. Even if I just get down and stand on the ground at the bottom of my ladder I could have seen the direction he went and at least known which way to start tracking. I'll look for a pic from my stand.
Live it up! Deerwoods Doug

Sorry to hear about your misfortune, losing a deer is something that happens to just about everyone sooner or later. It sounds like you would probably NOT recovered this deer by getting down or staying put. You saw what direction he went and found blood twice, and still lost his trail. It sounds like a survivable shot, so if you got right down he would have bolted for the next county! If you stayed put, he would have eased off, and you'd still never see him again. But, I would have to agree with MZS, if he is not dead in sight, barring rain or over-crowded hunting grounds, staying put is the best choice!

sorry to hear man,my thoughts are that if you had white hair you shot low and grazed the stomach or neck.been there.

I'd guess you shot low. Sounds like you grazed his brisket and/or leg. White hair there? Check. Brown hair there? Check. Meat there? Check. Fat/grease there? Check. If you hit him high, and had hair and meat but no decent blood, you wouldn't have likely found the first drop of blood, even if he stood at a spot for several minutes. They don't have white hair on their backs either.

When I shoot one, I stay put for a bit, watch where he went, mentally note landmarks, and take a compass bearing (and estimate distance) to the last point I saw him. If he's out of sight, I'll get down after about 10-15 minutes to check my arrow, but I won't start tracking for at least a half hour (assuming it was a good vitals hit).

Best thing you could have done was to have someone with a tracking dog go with you 4 or 6 hours after the shot and see if the dog could locate the deer.

bible man said it first brisket shot. I have seen it before. I betcha the deer survives.

Brisket shot ..... they seem to normally survive this wound.