What's the "right" decision?
11-02-2007, 11:35 AM
#21
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Minnesota
Posts: 4,911
RE: What's the "right" decision?
ORIGINAL: BobCo19-65
That is correct. As I said, temperatures orany whether condition (including rain, snow, etc)is not a determinant factor inthe time needed to wait. The only determinant factor to me is shot placement and identification (which is also usually a judgement call 
).
bob....you're assuming you might not recover it if you don't wait.
).
11-02-2007, 11:39 AM
#22
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Albany, NY
Posts: 4,679
RE: What's the "right" decision?
You know, I had to think heavily before I responded to this because I'm sure my honest responsewill be against the grain of some people here.........but I'm not gonna sugar coat it.
The sex/size of the animal definitely plays a role in when I decide to track a poorly hit deer. If it's a slammer P&Y whitetail..........I didn't shoot that animal for meat. I shoot does for meat. I shot that animal for it's rack, for a beautiful mount, and to bring closure to ahunt that I had the opportunity to share with it.
With that said, if I put what I consider to be a marginal shot on an animal....I inspect the sight of impact and don't see adequate sign, and it's a slammer buck........I'm giving the animal probably 12 hoursno matter what the temp is. In that scenario, I'll err on the side of caution of at least finding the animal and give the animal probably a couple more hours than what would be needed in any imaginable circumstance for it to expire, and I would probably also protect the scene as well from outside disturbances that might make the animal get up and move. I know if given enough timeand no disturbance........I'm going to probably find that animal even if there is no blood. At least I have the rack.............and in the worst case scenario nothing else truly goes to "waste". Mother nature will make sure of that. I'd like to avoid this circumstance at all costs, but if I find myself there this is how I would handle it.
Now if it's a doe that I have shot, and it's a marginal shot and the arrow/sign around the scene of impact shows me this, I'm still going to give her the recommended time to expire of at least 4 hours for liver, 8 hours for guts or anything else not in the immediate chest cavity no matter what the temp is. I'm not going to push that one to 12 hours though "just in case" if its in the temps that could possibly ruin the meat.
The sex/size of the animal definitely plays a role in when I decide to track a poorly hit deer. If it's a slammer P&Y whitetail..........I didn't shoot that animal for meat. I shoot does for meat. I shot that animal for it's rack, for a beautiful mount, and to bring closure to ahunt that I had the opportunity to share with it.
With that said, if I put what I consider to be a marginal shot on an animal....I inspect the sight of impact and don't see adequate sign, and it's a slammer buck........I'm giving the animal probably 12 hoursno matter what the temp is. In that scenario, I'll err on the side of caution of at least finding the animal and give the animal probably a couple more hours than what would be needed in any imaginable circumstance for it to expire, and I would probably also protect the scene as well from outside disturbances that might make the animal get up and move. I know if given enough timeand no disturbance........I'm going to probably find that animal even if there is no blood. At least I have the rack.............and in the worst case scenario nothing else truly goes to "waste". Mother nature will make sure of that. I'd like to avoid this circumstance at all costs, but if I find myself there this is how I would handle it.
Now if it's a doe that I have shot, and it's a marginal shot and the arrow/sign around the scene of impact shows me this, I'm still going to give her the recommended time to expire of at least 4 hours for liver, 8 hours for guts or anything else not in the immediate chest cavity no matter what the temp is. I'm not going to push that one to 12 hours though "just in case" if its in the temps that could possibly ruin the meat.
11-02-2007, 11:42 AM
#23
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location:
Posts: 7,571
RE: What's the "right" decision?
Ever wonder how many deer were not actually dead before the coyotes got there. I bet it is a stagering percentage of wounded deer that are killed much earlier by coyotes then the normal time it would have taken the wounded deer to expire.
11-02-2007, 11:45 AM
#25
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Phoenixville, PA USA
Posts: 5,541
RE: What's the "right" decision?
To me, this brings up another question. That is, does anybody know how long it actually takes for a deer to spoil? I don't know that leaving a deer for 24 hours would the meat to spoil, and if it did I think some of it would be salvageable.
Does anybody know how long a deer can lay before spoiling in say 60 plus degree temps?
Does anybody know how long a deer can lay before spoiling in say 60 plus degree temps?
11-02-2007, 11:48 AM
#27
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Aug 2005
Posts: 3,102
RE: What's the "right" decision?
There is no doubt to what you are saying Bob.I have helped friends track deer the day after they have shot them and have recovered animals completely unscathed in Coyote infested area's.I guess it all depends upon where the pack wanted to hang out that night.
11-02-2007, 11:54 AM
#28
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location:
Posts: 7,571
RE: What's the "right" decision?
It's kind of funny though, in my experience, ask three different butchers when the meat will spoil and get three different answers.
I had one expereince when I let a deer go overnight that probably died only minutes from the shot. I was lucky enough to catch I believe the spleen or pancreas, but I thought I had a pure stomach hit. It was early morning when I made the shot and we waited till late afternoon before we started tracking. We tracked it about 200 yards before deciding to back off till morning (no more blood). Temps that day were mid 60's. On the way home my friend who was hunting only 80 yards from me told me he heard a crash that day coming down the hill in front of him, but it couldn't have been my deer. Turns out it was. The deer was dead in the bottom of a ravine for proably 24 hours. We cleaned it and took it to the butcher who claimed it was fine. It must have been since we ate it and had no problems. But the taste of the meat was not good at all. To be honest, if something like that happned again, I probably get the whole thng made into sausage or hot dogs.
I had one expereince when I let a deer go overnight that probably died only minutes from the shot. I was lucky enough to catch I believe the spleen or pancreas, but I thought I had a pure stomach hit. It was early morning when I made the shot and we waited till late afternoon before we started tracking. We tracked it about 200 yards before deciding to back off till morning (no more blood). Temps that day were mid 60's. On the way home my friend who was hunting only 80 yards from me told me he heard a crash that day coming down the hill in front of him, but it couldn't have been my deer. Turns out it was. The deer was dead in the bottom of a ravine for proably 24 hours. We cleaned it and took it to the butcher who claimed it was fine. It must have been since we ate it and had no problems. But the taste of the meat was not good at all. To be honest, if something like that happned again, I probably get the whole thng made into sausage or hot dogs.
11-02-2007, 11:56 AM
#29
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Northern Idaho's Panhandle
Posts: 4,436
RE: What's the "right" decision?
I've been through experiences on both sides of this fence.
Today, I'd opt to wait and suffer my losses with the meat on a marginal hit.
I lost the second biggest buck I have ever shot with a bow because I pushed him on a marginal forward shoulder shot. I hated myself for doingit, when Iknew better...I felt like stopping bowhunting all together that NOV....I didnt hunt for almost a month after that, I was sick and disgusted with myself..... I just kept looking for him and looking for him...many times I had walked close to him and didnt know it until I finally found him..it was just such a nastythicket/mess in where he crawled up and died..... I ended up finding him in shed hunting season two months later once all the leafs dropped....Bitter, bittersweet, but it taught me a valuable lesson. Better to find them with theirmeat eaten or sour..than to completely lose them.. imo
Today, I'd opt to wait and suffer my losses with the meat on a marginal hit.
I lost the second biggest buck I have ever shot with a bow because I pushed him on a marginal forward shoulder shot. I hated myself for doingit, when Iknew better...I felt like stopping bowhunting all together that NOV....I didnt hunt for almost a month after that, I was sick and disgusted with myself..... I just kept looking for him and looking for him...many times I had walked close to him and didnt know it until I finally found him..it was just such a nastythicket/mess in where he crawled up and died..... I ended up finding him in shed hunting season two months later once all the leafs dropped....Bitter, bittersweet, but it taught me a valuable lesson. Better to find them with theirmeat eaten or sour..than to completely lose them.. imo
11-02-2007, 12:07 PM
#30
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: WI
Posts: 338
RE: What's the "right" decision?
I would never leave a deer longer than six hours, or overnight on an evening hit. If a deer is gut shot and is going to die, it should be sick enough by then that it won't get up. I recovered one that way once, found it alive late in the afternoon after a morning hit. It was alive with it's head up, but didn't get up. If you wait that long and jump it, observe where it goes, wait again and look again. It's a difficult situation, lots of variables, but I'm in it for the venison, and I would never leave a morning hit deer until the next morning, especially in the mid 60's. I too am wondering about the quality of Greg's venison or if he even kept it.