Pheasant,

You might want to check out this thread 5th Annual, Recovery, What to do after the shot. on the bowhunting forum. It's got real good advice as far as tracking and what to do after the shot. There's a lot to finding wounded animals.

If your pops hit that buck good it shouldn't have gone far. I'd keep looking.

Good luck finding him.

I'll start by making it very clear that I know that you can lose a deer that is hit. It happens to the best hunters and hard workers.

But, it's not a shame to lose it because it's a big-antlered buck. It's a shame to lose a hit deer, period. Buck, doe, spike, 12 point - it's the same bummer either way. A wasted animal is a bad deal.

I will repeat I'm not criticizing you and your dad for losing it - that happens and it sure doesn't sound to me like you're careless or don't give it a good try. Just leave the antlers out of the degree of a shame it is.

Thanks for posting the story though and have fun hunting for the rest of the fall. Sounds like you've got a good start.

Ok thank you for the tip, didn't see that, learned alot of great stuff, my dad is letting me get outta school to help him find the deer, well TY all for your help

glad you had fun