g17

I took a shot this afternoon quartering away....with a spitfire Iknow that sounds irresponsible. Trust me I feel it. I looked for her till dark made the shot about 6:00p . The arrow was hangin out of her when she ran off ......tail down. I had to be at work at 8:00pm and couldnt stay to look. Im goin first thing in the morning. It was probably 60 or 65 deg and the low is gonna be around 50 tonight. Will she be any good WHEN I find her

jasonthehunted

should be. good luck

Mathewsboy

Quartering Away Shot is the BEST YOU COULD HAVE... how is that IRRESPONSIBLE?

g17

I' ve read some posts on the spitfires not opening properly or glancing off the rib cage. She had three others with her. If I had waited they wouldve been in the open too. Ya just had to be there I knew better I just wasnt patient enough.

Greg / MO

Well, it sounds as though you' ve replayed the situation in your head enough to not make what you deem a rushed shot next time, although I' ve got to agree with Mathewsboy -- I, and I would think most of us on this BBS, purposely look or wait for a quartering away shot. I shoot mechs as well, and have nothing but success to show for it, quartering away or otherwise.

Let' s try to help you with the task at hand, though. You say you saw the arrow hanging out: On the entrance or exit side? Were you able to recover the arrow? What did point of impact look like, and what did the blood look like? Tail down doesn' t necessarily mean anything bad; on the contrary, it could mean she' s hit pretty hard -- though I don' t put much stock in the way they hold their tails while getting the heck out of there.

Did you wait very long before taking up the trail? Mark the last spot you found blood, and other spots to establish a course of direction?

If you find her before the sun gets up too high tomorrow, I would think her meat would be perfectly fine. Good luck!

g17

The arrow was hanging out on the entrance side. The blood was bright red in small amounts. I didnt wait very long to begin the track. she crossed a fence row into a pasture and the blood disappeared,it got dark,and my light played out all about the same time[:@] As far as the entrance wound goes she took a hard right as soon as she was hit which put it opposite of me. I tried to put it in under her rib cage I think it did because it did not come out. It almost had to run into the backside of the sternum to stop the arrow. I shooting about 295fps. It was about 15 yds away

cardeer

I dont think I would of gone to work. I just read a article from a anti posted in a philly paper. He threw all types of half truths around about how bow hunting is cruel. One of his points he made was 1/3 of the deer shot with a bow is never found. He gave several reasons why? One was bow hunters give up the search to go to work.Sounded like a good hitto me.Good luck finding it

Tazman

If you stuck her right behing the rib cage with her quartering away she will be down for the count when you go out today. With a spitfire if the arrow is not a complete passthrough they will back out because the blades close when pulled backwards. I am not sure how hard she was quartering away from you, but from what you are describing and if you hit where you said, you probably hit either the sternum or far shoulder, I must say shooting 295 fps at 15 yards I am surprised you didn' t get a pass through. If you have a dog and it is legal, you may want to think about trying it out. With the hit you described most of the bleeding will probably be internal. BTW the meat should be fine as long as it is not to warm.

wimp

I hope you find her. The meat will be fine. You probably got the opposite shoulder is why the arrow is sticking out. Leaving her till morning may have been a blessing in disguise.

hunter25

Good luck finding her! The first deer I ever shot w/ my bow, I had to wait until the next day to track it cause of the weather. Longest night of my life, but found him about 100 yards from the stand. Sounds like you made a pretty decent shot though. Keep us posted!