Deer season

[padawan]

Had a great opening morning. Shot a doe at 7:50, saw 6 doe all together. 3 bucks came through and 2 long beards. Long beards busted me. I went back to the house to get the kids to help retrieve the doe. I heard her crash and knew where she was, just wanted to get the kids involved with trailing. The kiddos tracked her down and the coyotes beat us to her. The had already destroyed the hind quarters from butt to femur. The front 1/4 where the arrow exited was gone and entire right side of ribs exposed. War has started!!

Wow- how long did it take for the coyotes to find her?

 

[yetti462]

Wow- how long did it take for the coyotes to find her?

Less than an hour. She died 80 yds away, if the dogs were on her while I was still in the stand I think I would have heard them. Got down, walked home, got kids headed back on mule. Not very long at all.

 

[Landon]

I got out to the woods last night after work. A few minutes before 7 I spotted a couple does off to my left. I watched them and one finally came in to 40 yards and I shot her. This was my first deer so I called a couple buddies to come help me track and show me what I'm looking for (I am red/green color blind so finding a blood trail is difficult). They arrived about an hour an a half after my shot and we headed into the woods to begin our tracking. We had the arrow (thanks to the lumenok) and it was obvious it passed through the deer, but we looked for an hour for sign of hair or blood in the area and could not find a thing. As they were about ready to give up I talked them into going and checking the dry creek bed that the deer crossed around 40 yards after I shot her. It has about a 4' bank on both sides and I told them that if she was bleeding then we ought to be able to find it in the rock bottom. That was a success as we found where she crossed and found the blood trail. We spent the next 2 hours following the trail and then it just disappeared, we spend another half hour searching the area for the deer or further blood trail with no luck. Its very disappointing to me that we were not able to find the deer, but after searching and tracking for 3 and a half hours I feel we made a valid effort to retrieve the game. I guess it happens sometimes, but it still sucks.

 

[42769vette]

I got out to the woods last night after work. A few minutes before 7 I spotted a couple does off to my left. I watched them and one finally came in to 40 yards and I shot her. This was my first deer so I called a couple buddies to come help me track and show me what I'm looking for (I am red/green color blind so finding a blood trail is difficult). They arrived about an hour an a half after my shot and we headed into the woods to begin our tracking. We had the arrow (thanks to the lumenok) and it was obvious it passed through the deer, but we looked for an hour for sign of hair or blood in the area and could not find a thing. As they were about ready to give up I talked them into going and checking the dry creek bed that the deer crossed around 40 yards after I shot her. It has about a 4' bank on both sides and I told them that if she was bleeding then we ought to be able to find it in the rock bottom. That was a success as we found where she crossed and found the blood trail. We spent the next 2 hours following the trail and then it just disappeared, we spend another half hour searching the area for the deer or further blood trail with no luck. Its very disappointing to me that we were not able to find the deer, but after searching and tracking for 3 and a half hours I feel we made a valid effort to retrieve the game. I guess it happens sometimes, but it still sucks.

Shot placement?

I've been bow hunting most of my life, and I just cant shoot 40 yds consistently enough to feel comfortable doing it. I know people that can, I just don't happen to be one of them. For your very first deer, a 40 yd shot with a bow is a poke.

 

[Landon]

Shot placement?

I've been bow hunting most of my life, and I just cant shoot 40 yds consistently enough to feel comfortable doing it. I know people that can, I just don't happen to be one of them. For your very first deer, a 40 yd shot with a bow is a poke.

Crossbow, so not quite as difficult shot as a bow. I've practiced a lot with the crossbow and feel very confident I can make a 40 yard shot. However some of my buddies tell me it is likely when you shoot at 40 yards the deer hears the crossbow fire and has time to "flinch" downward before your arrow reaches it.

 

[bocefus78]

Learn to read the evidence on the arrow. What color was the blood...light or dark red? Bubbles? Greasy? Did it smell at all?

That info alone can tell you lots. I'll agree with alan...shot placement is key in Archery. A high shot will take a long time to spit good amounts of blood.

If it was a gut shot, you went in too early and pushed her as you tracked. Gut shots need a minimum of 4 hours wait time.

Also...what broadhead was used? Was the deer alert from anything as you shot?

Btw.....dogs can help track a wounded deer. Even without training.

I wouldn't have quit after 3 hours...jmo.

Go back out now...look for crows and buzzards. Come in downwind and follow your nose. Maybe you will see where you went wrong and learn from this.

And yes...ducking the string is a Thang. Don't shoot alert deer for this reason.

 

[Mgderf]

However some of my buddies tell me it is likely when you shoot at 40 yards the deer hears the crossbow fire and has time to "flinch" downward before your arrow reaches it.

It's called, "jumping the string", and it doesn't only happen with crossbows.
Deer react extremely quickly to stimuli.

 

[phylodog]

Went out and sat Sat & Sun evenings, saw plenty of does Sat but no bucks and didn't see anything Sunday. We won't start hitting it hard until Halloween. We've got a few nice bucks on the farm this year, can't wait till they start moving more during the daytime.

This guy just showed up. I hope he wasn't just passing through.

 

[phylodog]

I hate Photobucket

 

[42769vette]

Crossbow, so not quite as difficult shot as a bow. I've practiced a lot with the crossbow and feel very confident I can make a 40 yard shot. However some of my buddies tell me it is likely when you shoot at 40 yards the deer hears the crossbow fire and has time to "flinch" downward before your arrow reaches it.

Did the arrow look like it hit lung/Heart? At 40 yards a deer will jump the string. That's a lot of the reason I don't shot that far. If the deer jump's a little, and I miss the bull a little, you have a wounded deer that you track for 3 hours. A lot of hunters say "if you hunt long enough you will loose a deer. Personally I think learning your limitations will prove that to be wrong. Ive personally killed 50-60 deer in my 28 years of hunting, and never lost one, or had to track far. I know my limitations, and stick to them.

 

[Landon]

Learn to read the evidence on the arrow. What color was the blood...light or dark red? Bubbles? Greasy? Did it smell at all?

Certainly have learned quite a bit about that in the last 24 hours. Are you referring to blood on the arrow? There was minimal blood on the arrow. Lots of hair and meat which I'm being told likely means I hit in the shoulder area or above the vital organs. As previously stated I'm red/green color blind, its next to impossible for me to distinguish between light red and dark red. The blood on the trail we found did not have bubbles. The arrow was not greasy and did not smell.

That info alone can tell you lots. I'll agree with alan...shot placement is key in Archery. A high shot will take a long time to spit good amounts of blood.

Certainly understand shot placement is important. Its not like I was intending to hit somewhere other than the heart/lungs.

If it was a gut shot, you went in too early and pushed her as you tracked. Gut shots need a minimum of 4 hours wait time.

Based on what we found on the arrow I do not believe it was a gut shot. Cannot be positive we didn't push her, but we certainly never heard any evidence that we had.

Also...what broadhead was used? Was the deer alert from anything as you shot?

Rage Broadhead with 2" cut. Fully deployed when arrow was retrieved. She had her head down to the ground and did not appear to be alert to me.

Btw.....dogs can help track a wounded deer. Even without training.

I hadn't considered this. Something I can try in the future if needed.

I wouldn't have quit after 3 hours...jmo.

When would you? Never until you find the deer? I was at the point I didn't know how to continue. I was on my hands and needs looking for blood hoping to find the next drops so we could continue on the path of recovery. No luck finding anymore sign, where do you go from there? We always keep track of the last location blood was spotted so we could retreat back to it and restart our search from there, we did that multiple times and never found additional sign. Trust me, being my first deer there is nobody that was hoping we would find it more than me. If you have tips of what we could have done to move forward I be happy to learn.

Go back out now...look for crows and buzzards. Come in downwind and follow your nose. Maybe you will see where you went wrong and learn from this.

Unfortunately with my work schedule that was not possible today. I would of loved to have that opportunity to find her and learn more. I'd certainly like to have a definite answer to where I hit her.

And yes...ducking the string is a Thang. Don't shoot alert deer for this reason.

Another thing I learned today. I'm not afraid to admit I'm a novice. My dad was not a hunter so I never had someone to teach me and to learn from. I'm in my mid 30's trying to learn from coworkers, friends, strangers on the internet, really just anyone that is willing to share their experience and advice that I can utilize.

 

[Landon]

Did the arrow look like it hit lung/Heart?

I'd say by the sign on the arrow no it did not. I don't know if its because it was my first shot at a deer and all the adrenaline/nerves that came with that or not but much of it is a blurr to me. Like I have a mental block where I cannot recall much about the arrow hitting the deer. I remember the lumenok disappearing and then reappearing and it seemed like it deflected slightly, maybe it skipped on the ground after exit???

I told my coworkers today that I probably got impatient and I need to wait for a closer shot. I'm not afraid to admit that, hindsight is 20-20.

 

[mom45]

One other question...do you practice with your bow from an elevated platform shooting downward? If you are practicing just from the ground shooting at your target, this is something to do to get the trajectory correct. My husband swears this is a mistake that many make.

 

[42769vette]

A lot of time, if hit in heart/lung area a deer will jump up in the air and kick like a mule. When they run away, their tail is down, and so is the head. These are not cold hard fact's, but they are clues.

I don't mean my above post to discouraging. No matter what you can do on paper, with bow/crossbow if you keep your shots to a 30 yd max, the odds of a bad hit are drastically reduced. Bows are not fast like bullet's, its a very real possibility at 40 yds the bullseye is not where it was when you shot the arrow. I have maybe a dozen bow kills, and my longest shot was 25 yds. Sometimes that means letting a deer walk that you think you might have been able to take, but that's just part of it. IMO it is much better to let a 50/50 opportunity pass you by, than wound a deer and let it run a mile off and die slowly.

 

[Rookie]

Hydrogen peroxide in a spray bottle. It will foam when in contact with blood.

https://www.bowhunting.com/blog/2013/10/14/tips-for-blood-trailing-and-tracking-wounded-deer/

 

[bocefus78]

If the arrow had minimal blood, and a spotty blood trail, I would've waited longer than 1.5hrs to track. When in doubt, always back out and wait. Always find the arrow, examine it and the sign in the immediate area and determine how to proceed. Wait or track. The arrow will tell you.

Example of arrow sign: lots of dark red blood is a liver hit. Minimum tracking distance of 100yds. Wait 1 hr before track.

Lung blood will have bubbles and be bright red. Wait minimum 30 mins. A 1 lunged deer can run a long way so an hr is better before track.

Poo smell and greasy is a gut shut. 4 hour minimum wait before tracking. Bring ur GPS Cuz gut shot deer can go miles. I once gut shot one, tracked it 5 hours later, and had to finish it off as it was still alive barely.

Expandable blades and shoulders don't typically mix well. A fixed blade will penetrate better. If you hit the shoulder with a rage you should have heard a giant "thwack" sound. If you hit the ribcage, it sounds like u shot a pumpkin...more hollow sounding.

You said hair was on the arrow...what color hair? White means you hit low.

The mule kick is good indicator of a solid vital hit. A gut shot deer will more than likely walk off hunched up instead of run.

As far as how long to look, I've looked for 6 hours for a buddies deer. Found it finally. He was shocked. It went 3/4 mile on 1 lung.

When you find blood, mark it with toilet paper hung on a branch. Every 10 yds or so. That way when you loose blood, you can turn around and see the line of tp showing you the direction of travel.

Learning to look for disturbed leaves, broken sticks, etc helps too. But the most important thing is to never walk on the blood trail. One wrong step and you may kick a leaf over your blood spots you are looking for. Walk to the side of the trail, and don't let people get in front of the lead man.

I'm not trying to be condescending at all....just offering up ideas that may help.

Depending on where you hunt, my dog tracks deer for a bag of Iams food as a donation I put him on the GPS collar and he does the work. If we are close to each other, Id love putting him on your recoveries. Let me know.

 

[1DOWN4UP]

Serious Skills to Spear a Whitetail -

 

[Landon]

Depending on where you hunt, my dog tracks deer for a bag of Iams food as a donation I put him on the GPS collar and he does the work. If we are close to each other, Id love putting him on your recoveries. Let me know.

I appreciate the offer and would love the help. But unfortunately I hunt in Clark and Washington counties and that would be quite the haul for you to come help.

 

[Carey]

I'm really looking forward to using a rifle this year. It will be my first time with one.

 

[MRP2003]

I am also looking forward to using one of my rifles this year though with a rifle this year really should not make much of a difference for me or for most. If your use to a shot gun, the recoil is much less. My furthest shot was probable 125yards with my Marlin 44 mag.