My buddy shot a Buck with a wicked ridge crossbow @ 20yards while shooting mechanical broadheads. He was certain it was a good shot, but couldnt find arrow. He watched it run into the woods where he waited for an hour went to where it went and found blood but then nothing searched for 5 hours and no more blood or deer:-( he is sick to his stomach. any suggestions?

Keep looking....

So many lost deer posts already this year...

Get a tracking dog and some friends and go back in the morning to look for the deer.


And practice, practice, practice til you are certain of making a good shot then practice some more.


I shoot thousands of arrows a year to make sure I will make a kill shot and have 5 guys on call (one with a tracking dog) just in case I need help finding one. Your pre season planning should included what you are going to do after the shot not just setting up to get the shot.

Go out and keep looking. Just like the poster above me I have several friends that will be in my woods with me in a heartbeat to help track. Just make sure to return the favor if they call you.

....how hunting careers end, mostly without fanfare.

Amen! All these people and friends making these posts needing "help" from a computer need to just practice more it sounds like. Nobody is there with you or your friends when the shot is made, we dont know the area your hunting, dont know shot placement, nothing, and we are on a computer. The same posts are made daily, need help need help, lord its ridiculous! Seems as if they just grab a bow and goto the woods and shoot whatever walks by. Hopefully yall look good for the buck, good luck.

Ok imma be the first to suggest one thing.... he missed? its really hard to tell a hit on a crossbow. ive hunted a few seasons with ones and had alot of very close calls that i could swear i hit but i got proof i didnt. so unless he is positive it could be a miss?

I would look around more for the arrow at "point of impact". Shooting a crossbow that thing should have went all the way through. Also, if he missed you would be surprised how far away that arrow may actually be. If you can find the arrow, then you can determine if there was a hit or not and go from there.

I thnk because he did find blood, he did hit the deer. I'd see if you guys could put together 3-4 folks, and then methodically grid out the area in all directions. I'd figure that if the hit was decent, then the deer would be dead within 1/4 mile or so. Could have turned hard L/R once out of sight. Could have piled up in brush pile. Could be laying in a depression. I have walked by downed deer only to spot them when searching in the opposite direction. A non-pass through could mean that the bolt struck the clavical or farther down on the shoulder, and did not penetrate deeply. A slight blood trail could mean the broad head only sliced across the back or brisket .. though I'd expect a lot of white hair if it was a brisket slice. Lots of unknowns for sure.

As for weird arrow flight ... I killed a fat doe 3 seasons ago. Shot her dead through the lungs with a cross bow. She went maybe 20 feet and fell dead. i was about 20' up in a climber. Full pass through. Never found the bolt. Expected it to be stuck at an angle in the forest floor. About 3 weeks later while hunting in the same area I spotted something blue about 8' up in a big oak. There was the bolt (bue/yellow fletchings) I used to kill the doe. How it got up that high I have no clue.