tealboy

I placed a post about my friend who made a less than perfect shot and he was not able to recover the deer, despite many hours of searching. Well, he was persistent and kept going back looking for buzzards which might indicate where the decaying carcass is located. After 1 1/2 weeks, he found his buck. He called me and was excited to finally bring closure to the mystery and took comfort in knowing the buck did not die in complete vain as he is now cherishing its rack. Of course, he is also disappointed to have wasted the venison and knowing the buck suffered for a few days, but unfortunately, that is sometimes part of the sport.

By the way, the buck proved to be his largest (and first with a bow). Keep in mind this is Florida. Inside spread 15 inches, main beam 18, base 4 inches and 6 points. Overall, a nice buck for Florida.

Rack-attack

I am glad he found it - it does bring some sort of closure to it.

But IMO he still hasn' t taken a deer with his bow - I am not bashing him but its not a bowkill.

tealboy

You might be right, but if so, I suppose a lot of people on this board would have deer disqualified from counting toward a " bow kill" based on your view. I have never killed a deer with a bow but I know a number of people who have wounded or lost deer, especially when bow hunting. Sometimes it takes them a day or two to find the deer, sometimes longer, sometimes never. Based on your opinion, if you don' t find the deer right away, I suppose it doesn' t count in your book b/c what' s the difference between finding it in 1 day vs 1 1/2 weeks, the meat is ruined and so is the chance of mounting. If my friend was out there looking everyday, he might have found it sooner than 1 1/2 weeks, but he couldn' t miss work. The cover was very thick and finding it was difficult.

Certainly not a desireable situation, but he did stalk within 25 yds of the deer, shot it with his bow, killed it and found it. Sounds like a " bow kill" to me.

titleist_03

Ok RACKATTACK, does this qualify. You shoot a deer on Saturday night right at sundown. Wasn' t the best shot in the work. Thought it was probably a single lung
at the time. Decide to let it bed down over night and hopefully bleed out. Go back the next morning, pick up the trail. Track it a few hundred yards only to find the coyotes found it before you did????

buckeye

I tend to agree with rack on this. Sure he was in the right place at the right time for the shot, but it just isn' t what I would call a bow kill.

My reasoning for this, There is a guy I know who has two really nice bucks on his wall. Both 140 class. Both shot with a bow and not recovered for some time afterward. One of them he didn' t even find until he was scouting the following summer. He purchased capes for both of the deer and had them mounted anyways which is fine to admire these great bucks, they made beautiful mounts. But he brags to everyone about the two big bucks on his wall that he took with his bow. To me that isn' t fine. JMO though.

Rack-attack

Yes, I would concider that a legit bowkill - if and only if the buck tag was used. No tag no deer IMO

No need to get testy - I am not the authority on what or what isn' t just stating my opinion

1-1/2 weeks is just to long for me to concider a deer I shot a bowkill and I would not do so - not bashing anyone here.

Teal - did he tag it? You have liberal deer tags in Florida so I guess it doesn' t matter. But If he had Just one buck tag, would he/did he use it on that deer and call an end to his season?

titleist_03

I' m not gettin testy just asking. There wasn' t enough of it left to tag it. There was most of the hide, hoofs, head and skull and rib cage. Makes me sick to think about it. From now on I' ll be looking for deer I hit in the wee hours of the morning now matter what. I should have let it bed down but went back for it after a few hours. I hate that it happened, but I have now learned my lesson.

davidmil

I tell you... it' s scary... I' m agreeing with Rack an awful lot of the time lately.

farm hunter

I' ll agree with Rack on this one........ Finding the dead deer later only makes it worse in my opinion..........I' d rather hope the deer survived the shot.


On the second buck I ever shot with a bow (15 years ago) I had a single lung, 10 yd shot - jumped the deer bedded in Goldenrod 2 hours later - and never saw it again - till 2 weeks later.............. when I found it dead 1/4 mile away. I took 2 days off work and SCOURED about 400 acres but never found it. When dogs pulled it into a field 2 weeks later........I did find it with a tip from a neighbor......... I saved the antlers - but refuse to keep them with the other racks of deer I took.

In fact the antlers hang in obscurity at the cabin, and everytime I look at them - I' m reminded to LET THE DEER LAY!!!!!!! - at least 6 hours when not sure of the hit. When new hunters come to hunt out of the camp - I point out the decent rack and tell the story........hopefully it has helped others not lose a deer in a similar way.

Tazman

I to am with Rack on this one, finding a rotting carcass a week and a half later is not a kill, it is a wounding that the deer wound up dying from. Do not get me wrong, I am glad he had the fortitude to eventually find the deer, and yes in a way he did kill it, but I would not count a rotting carcass that I didn' t throw a tag on a kill.