jpshields

Hi guys, hope you can help. Sick to my stomach. I was in my stand last night. Large 4 pointer came in. 10 yards. I got real nervous and I think I shot high i the shoulders or down from the top into the deer. Deer ran away with arrow in it then started walking. Arrow 1/2 in sticking up from its back shoulder area. Watched it walk way down into a big piece of hardwoods. Sat for an hour until dark. Did not find the arrow and only a few drops of blood. Went and got some buddies and came back an hour later. Picked up the trail where I saw him enter the hardwoods two hundred yards away. A tiny drop of blood here and there for 10 yards. Only found it because it was only deer run where deer enter hardwoods in that area. Lose trail. Nothing for 30 minutes.

This is where the confusion comes in. Made some last ditch effort large loops to try to pick the trail up since it was going to rain. Now 3 hours time has expired from the shot. Pick up a heavy blood trail 100 yards in the woods. Bright red blood. On the ground and on ferns and bushes 12-16" off the ground. Real easy to follow. Lots of blood. Like it was spraying out. Deer kinda meandered in circles for awhile and then we followed it to where it had bedded down. Lots of blood. Then NOTHING!!! Searched everywhere for two hours. Went home at midnight after it began pouring rain.

Only thing I can think of it as I tossed and turn all night is that when we first picked up the blood trail and we took it the wrong way. That the deer was not bleeding because the high shot and/or the arrow in it. The deer walked into the woods and bedded down. As this point the blood had filled up the cavity and began bubbling out. Heard us coming and started moving away leaving heavy blood trail. When we picked it up we cut it somewhere in the middle and tracked it to where it came from, not where it was going.

Want to go out and search some more.

Any ideas on what happened or how to have better handled this?

Thanks so much.

Pierce

beebecl

Losing a deer is gut-wrenching, as you already know. My experience has been that when you get an arrow in them, as they walk or run the movement of muscles, bones and tendons will cause the arrow to move, also. More often than not, the broadhead is pulled further into the body. This could be what happened in your case: minor drops of blood first, the arrow is pulled in deeper with movement, perhaps cutting more vitals, resulting in more blood later.

As for finding it now, it's all about staying on that trail. They do dry up, but if there was a good pool where he bedded down, there should be more. It sounds as if the the rain may have washed away what was there. If you can't find a trail, the best you can probably do is some wide circles, increasing in circumference. Alternatively, you can stand at the pool of blood, look around at the terrain, and guesstimate where he would have gone. They often go for water when hit, so check downhill towards creeks or ponds.

My sympathies. Good luck.

RumbleBritches

I agree look for the easiest path an injured animal would go. That means downhill and towards water. If there is no water around that area, check for places the deer could protect itself from predators like small groups of trees or under cedar trees.
I know it sucks, but with the rain coming in you won't have much of a trail left to follow. Start where the big spots collected and look in these places and you may get lucky.

Good luck!!

terbzz

befour i started bowhunting my buddey woud shoot a deer with his bow and we woud see a lot of blood then it woud just dissapear