NEED HELP!!!!!

JOHNNY5 · Post by **JOHNNY5** » Tue Oct 06, 2009 8:31 pm

SHOT AT A DEER @7 YRDS. I THINK I HIT IT BUT FOUND NO BLOOD TRAIL.
HOW FAR FROM THE SPOT IT WAS HIT WOULD I FIND BLOOD??

JOHNNY5 · Post by **JOHNNY5** » Tue Oct 06, 2009 8:35 pm

AlSO ITS DARK AND RAINING.

saxman · Post by **saxman** » Tue Oct 06, 2009 8:37 pm

Do you know where you think you hit it?
Find your arrow first and go from there.

JOHNNY5 · Post by **JOHNNY5** » Tue Oct 06, 2009 8:41 pm

ITS IN A FIELD FULL OF CHRISTMAS TREES. I DID SEE THE PATH IT TOOK AND FOLLOWED IT FOR ABOUT 80 YRDS.
IT WAS STANDING IN FRONT OF 2 TREES BUT NO BOLT.
HOW FAR DOES A BOLT GOE AFTER IT GOES THROUGH????

JOHNNY5 · Post by **JOHNNY5** » Tue Oct 06, 2009 8:48 pm

THE DEER THAT IS.

Old Exocet · Post by **Old Exocet** » Tue Oct 06, 2009 8:52 pm

Calm down.there is nothing you can do tonite.,Wait for good lite......get back in shooting position and "see" the shot.find out where arrow could be.
With rain blood will mostly be gonebut tracks should be still evident.Your going to have a hard note............wake up with a calm soul...then look.

Big John · Post by **Big John** » Tue Oct 06, 2009 8:53 pm

To many variables. But, at 7 yds. you should be using the top chevron over the twenty yd. crosshairs. Did you? Otherwise it may have only wounded the Deer.

JOHNNY5 · Post by **JOHNNY5** » Tue Oct 06, 2009 8:55 pm

YOUR RIGHT BUT IF I KNEW HOW FAR THE BOLT GOES IT WOULD REALLY HELP THINGS.

DARTONATOR · Post by **DARTONATOR** » Tue Oct 06, 2009 9:26 pm

First of all.
1) Was the deer standing broadside or in a different position ?
2) What kind of broadhead were you using
3) Were you using a scope and what kind. (At 7 yards you see big patch of hair)
4) Were you shooting from an elevated position or on the ground.

In the morning , walk up every row of trees there is. If the terrain changes to hardwoods or bush grab a compass and start doing grid pattern searches. Start at one point and mark it with flag tape. Use your compass and go south 200 yards. Move over 40 yards west and start going back north 200 yards. You should be 40 yards west of where you originally started. Put some more flag tape there. Move over and continue the same sequence. Go it slow and pay very close attention to the ground around you, for if an animal is mortally wounded it will bed in several beds through the night. Look for bloody beds. Do not panick or get frustrated, it is very easy to do and will most likely end in you finding your prize. Be sure to cover at least 300 yards in all directions from where you last seen your deer. Good luck

PS: I helped recover a bull moose in a bog filled with moose tracks. We did a 600 by 600 yard grid pattern and found a beautiful moose about 2 hours into it.

Big D · Post by **Big D** » Tue Oct 06, 2009 9:35 pm

If it hit shoulder bone you probably would not get a pass-thru; therefore, the blood trail may be minimal. I would back out after 80 yards and if you want to go back wait a few hours and mark the first blood you find. If you do not find the deer in another 50-80 yards I would mark the last blood and track from that point in the morning. Also do not assume the deer went a certain way that will only cause you problems. Make sure you take your time and track slowly and find sign, do not just walk without any sign tonight.

Good Luck stay confident it happens to all of us Big D

JOHNNY5 · Post by **JOHNNY5** » Tue Oct 06, 2009 9:42 pm

WELL I'VE DECIDED TO PICK IT UP AGAIN IN THE MORNING AT FIRST LIGHT THANKS FOR THE GOOD ADVICE. I PLAN TO USE IT.
THIS FORUM ROCKS!!

JOHNNY5 · Post by **JOHNNY5** » Wed Oct 07, 2009 11:36 am

so i spent the morning looking from were i last saw the deer.
NO SIGN NO NOTHING
just before i left i searched for my bolt.
found it 70 yrds from my shot it was claen as a whistle.
looks like i missed.

dlzinck · Post by **dlzinck** » Wed Oct 07, 2009 11:44 am

It happens to all of us. Next time find the bolt first.

Horizontal Hunter · Post by **Horizontal Hunter** » Wed Oct 07, 2009 11:59 am

JOHNNY5 wrote:so i spent the morning looking from were i last saw the deer.
NO SIGN NO NOTHING
just before i left i searched for my bolt.
found it 70 yrds from my shot it was claen as a whistle.
looks like i missed.

A clean miss is way better than a bad hit any day of the week. I hunt from the ground exclusively and the reality is that there will be times that you will never find your arrow. Strange things can happen when an arrow goes thru a deer. Listen to the sound when your arrow hits it will often tell you where it went.

If I can't find my arrow I start making 1/2 circle sweeps in the direction I saw the deer go. I will sometimes go out to 100 yards depending on how the deer left the area. If I still see nothing I will go back to where I shot at the deer and get down on my hands and knees to look as I need to be as sure as I can about what happened.

There was a good thread on finding wounded deer here just a short bit ago. Here is the link: http://www.excaliburcrossbow.com/phpBB2 ... unded+deer

Welcome to the forum.

Bob