What do you guys think?

huntman · Post by **huntman** » Sat Nov 22, 2008 2:15 pm

I was out for a morning hunt with a friend and my brother in law. My friend had a buck come out to him, he took the shot. Once we were all called i went over and found NO blood but hair, and NO arrow at the sight. We gave the deer 40 mins and then took the trail. No blood for the first 90 yards then small droplets. We found where he had stopped and there was a large pool of blood, we walked another 10 yards from there and i saw him get up in the thickets about 20 yards infront but had no shot. We backed out and gave him another hour. After that we took the trail again where we left off only to find that he bedded a second time about 80 yards from the first point. At this spot we found again a large pool of blood and where he had relieved himself. After that point the blood trail was ridiciously shy with the smallest of droplets that we would not of found without snow on the ground. Just as we decided to back out and leave because we were obiously pushing this deer my friend went up another 20 yards and found a third pool of blood.

My guess is this is a shoulder or brisket shot and i know the recovery perecentage of that shot is low, but how much blood can this guy lose and still be alive? it is now 4 hours since we left the search is it worth it to look again?

Grizzly Adam · Post by **Grizzly Adam** » Sat Nov 22, 2008 2:32 pm

Was it all drips and drops? No spray, splatter or smear?

They can lose so much blood you'd be SURE they'd die ... but they often don't. They are amazing creatures.

GaryL · Post by **GaryL** » Sat Nov 22, 2008 2:33 pm

I would fer sure.... as long as ya got a trail that you can follow as he will bleed out, at lest chances are good it will. Cold enough so meat will stay good ....fer a time, biggest thing I see is maybe yotes getting to it..

Good Luck,

GaryL ....

huntman · Post by **huntman** » Sat Nov 22, 2008 2:52 pm

Grizzly Adam wrote:Was it all drips and drops? No spray, splatter or smear?

They can lose so much blood you'd be SURE they'd die ... but they often don't. They are amazing creatures.

There was a little spray when we first took the trail but after he stopped the second time it was only drops!! In some spots it was very very small!

vixenmaster · Post by **vixenmaster** » Sat Nov 22, 2008 3:01 pm

i would give him 2-3 more hrs to lay up and get stiff. with blood and snow y'all can follow his trail and his tracks too

DuckHunt · Post by **DuckHunt** » Sat Nov 22, 2008 3:02 pm

I would definitely go out and take another look for him. If he went down within 150 yards, then went less than 100 yards before he bedded again, I bet he doesn't go far before he is down again. Give him time. Hopefully the coyotes aren't thick in your area. If they aren't leaving him overnight would be fine.

DuckHunt

Cossack · Post by **Cossack** » Sat Nov 22, 2008 5:02 pm

Not only worth it but you're OBLIGATED as a hunter to do all you can to recover that buck. Wait several hours or overnight then start tracking again. If you can't find blood do a systematic grid and cover at least 300 yards in each direction. You may not find him but you'll know you did everything you could to do so.

huntman · Post by **huntman** » Sat Nov 22, 2008 6:13 pm

Ohh believe me I know that has a hunter you must try you best to recover down game especially as a bow hunter. Perhaps my question should of been will a deer die from a shoulder hit?

wabi · Post by **wabi** » Sat Nov 22, 2008 6:43 pm

A shoulder hit may end up causing death, but if no major veins or arteries were cut, and no vital organs hit it has a fair chance of survival. A hit like that in muscle can cause a lot of bleeding at first, but it will usually clot and stop if the deer has a chance to bed down for some time. It can look like they are bleeding a lot more than they really are. If the blood is just drops, with no spray or much splatter where the deer has turned sharply or jumped it probably won't die right away. I'd still trail as far as possible looking for signs of whether it's weakening or continuing on it's way at a good pace.

bigsy · Post by **bigsy** » Sat Nov 22, 2008 7:19 pm

Sounds similar to a buck my bud shot last year, only it was a liver shot the recovery was a b#$%h but we got him

Limbs and Sticks · Post by **Limbs and Sticks** » Sat Nov 22, 2008 7:38 pm

You'll find him take you're time

WES

Sandman · Post by **Sandman** » Sat Nov 22, 2008 8:02 pm

Did you see the bolt or any blood smear on the deer?

mikej · Post by **mikej** » Sat Nov 22, 2008 9:00 pm

i'd stick with it also good luck

huntman · Post by **huntman** » Sat Nov 22, 2008 10:15 pm

Sandman wrote:Did you see the bolt or any blood smear on the deer?

No i didnt see the deer for that long it was just a flash in front of me!

peter p · Post by **peter p** » Sun Nov 23, 2008 10:12 am

Hey Armando,
when you put up the deer after it bedded, did it run at full speed or kind of trot off?
If you didn't get a good look at it you can tell by the tracks in the snow whether he was running at full speed.
Usually with a shoulder shot the run like mad before bedding down.
Hopefully it's a clipped lung or liver and you might still be able to find him especially with the snow on the ground.

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