Donald Fry

my situation is i arrowed a nice buck tonight just about dark, heard the arrow hit and bounce back,broke the arrow (carbon) i assumed at the time i had shot under him and it had hit the tree behind him, there was a rather large puddle of blood where he was standing and a chunck of meat on the tree. as i was gathering my wits it started to rain, it is supposed to rain all night and some of tomorrow, so blood trailing is out. i did see what direction he was running in, and i also walked the side of the woods to see if he had gone into a soybean field, no tracks.

i guess i need some suggestions on finding him tomorrow morning.
really feeling bad

ARMallardSlayer

Was the shaft covered with blood?

Bow Hunt USA

You might have made a mistake taking a deer when it is going to rain. Tracking a deer can take anywhere from an hour to a day. The rain will wash away the blood trail and more than likely the tracks. Grab a coleman lantern and a few buddy' s and find him. The lantern will help illuminate the blood trial and make finding him easier.
Next time you stop into K & L Archery, tell the guys that the RV guy from NH said hi. They let me shoot a Q2 last year while I was in town for some schooling.

Donald Fry

the shaft had blood on it but it was laying in the puddle of blood. i really starting to doubt the shot, could i have hit it in the shoulder and it loose that much blood????

c903

Who told you that " ..blood trailing is out?"

Donald Fry

bow hunt usa

i live right around the corner from k&l, i' ll tell them,
oh yeah i was in a 15 acre woods at the time and i don' t think he came out, i couldn' t find any tracks coming out.

Donald Fry

c903

ok tell me how in the pouring rain, i was going back in the morning, and walk a grid pattern he has to be in the corner of the woods, thats the way he was heading and it is the thickest.

jerseyhunter

He probably didn' t go far, as someone said grab the lantern and find him before its too late. A deer doesn' t leave a pool of blood where he was shot unless you hit an artery' or the heart. He doesn' t hang around long enough for it to pool.

JeramyK

How big of a puddle was it? If it was a decent size it may indicate a good hit. Your arrow may have passed through the deer and struck the tree on the other side. Then when the deer bolted it broke the shaft. Just a random thought but there are many possibilities. Don' t give up. He' s out there.

Matt / PA

Don,
You can' t assume too much when trailing an animal. You' ll wind up frustrated and likely walking past him following assumptions........you need a plan of attack.
I' m with c903, why can' t you blood trail? If there was a pool of blood where you hit him along with the broken arrow, there has to be more blood. It doesn' t wash away that fast.....tree canopy higher leaves etc can and will protect blood sign to a degree. don' t ignore the possibility of a traditional blood trail.
(When you say you found a pool of blood........was it where you shot or was it at a point where the deer traveled to AFTER the shot?)
Just because you THINK he' s heading somewhere because of a direction of travel don' t just blindly go there first......try to FOLLOW him to his final destination.
Look for scuffs in the dirt, a panicked animal leaves sign, you need to make yourself at least TRY to see it.
Is there any other detail you can provide? I am actually a little confused as to what really happened based upon your story.