TheBuckeyeOutdoorsman

I shot a nice buck this afternoon and I am relatively certain I hit him square in the shoulder blade. I do use an expandable broadhead and only got about 6 to 6.5 inch penetration. Is this enough to kill the buck? I didn' t find any blood except on the arrow. The other thing is that the broadhead broke off and is still in the deer. I only walked about 35 to 40 yards of the trail and this was about 45 mins after the shot so I know I didn' t push him. My buddy and I are going to check for him in the morning but I have my doubts. I did read the post on recovery and based on what I saw there, I did the right thing. I just wondered if anyone had some input on a shoulder blade hit or a hit with marginal penetration. Thanks guys!

TBO

IL Trophy Hunter

First of all from the looks of the radar, you better hurry up and get out there!! Second of all w/ 6 inches of penetration, I' d say for sure your buck is dead. I' m not going to knock the mechanicals too hard, because I know if you put them in the sweet spot on a broadside deer they are devastating. However except for perfect shot situations(which happen in my experience less than half the time) these types of heads seem to be marginal. Last year I had to shoot my second buck through the shoulder w/ Muzzy 125' s and I penetrated the first shoulder and lodged in the shoulder on the opposite side. I watched the brute fall w/in site of my stand. I' d say though even w/ the marginal penetration, your buck should be down w/in a couple hundred yards. Good luck and keep after him.

TheBuckeyeOutdoorsman

Three hours of scouring that woods and no sign of him. Also, no blood, no hair, and didn' t see a deer bed within 250 yards of the shot. I think that buck is still on the hoof. Dang it. Well, I learned a lot yesterday. The biggest lesson is that I need to be a little more disciplined with my shot selection. Also, the bucks I am hunting are not really pressured so I could have waited for him to take a step or two. I don' t even feel like hunting now. I' ll wait a week or so and maybe get out next Monday or Tuesday. Thanks IL Trophy.

TBO

BowHuntingFool

C' MON, 3 Hours of looking for him is not nearly enough time! I would keep on looking! But thats just me! If I shot a nice buck I probably wouldn' t hunt again till I found him! Especially if the head is still in him! Get back out there! Follow thru! JMO!

Scar955

Buckeye,
Sorry to hear about that. There was an interesting thread on here this weekend that had a link showing a shaft and b/h fused to a rib on a deer. From what the post was saying, a one-lung shot may or may not finish a deer. In that particular case it did not and the bone fused to the shaft while the deer was healing.

They are tough creatures that can bounce back. I hope you get a chance to finish the job!!!!!!

Kevin Garceau

Well there has been some talk and proof that a one lung deer can live. But lets face facts, more times than not, a one lung deer will die. So with that being said, go back out and keep looking. Hire a dog if you can, and legal. We have a guy around here that doesnt hunt but has dogs and will help you for free which is really nice if need be. I also believe 6 inches of penetration is plenty. I have also never had a mechanical fail and have had good luck with them, maybe circumstances maybe different set up. Heck my arrow weight is much less than most for hunting, and I passed through a 4 1/2 year old at 40 yards. I think you will find him or good sign. Look hard and look long. Good luck.

NY Bowhunter

I hope you meant 3 days!! JMO also, but I think you owe it to the deer to get after him harder. Hey we all made a indifferent shot at one time or another and probably most of us have lost deer, but you just want to be sure.

adams

Not to lecture but you' ve just started your recovery. I' d be pretty disapointed if you only gave that deer 3 hour and the deer is giving his life. Get back out there![:@]

TheBuckeyeOutdoorsman

Ok, the rain held off and so I went back out there by myself. I asked a few people if I could look on their property and they allowed me to, but they were not pleasant about it. The one guy even made me feel like a criminal. He said, " so why are you bowhunting if you can' t make an ethical shot?" I had already checked every last inch of the woods. It is not a big woods. It is about 150 yards wide and about a mile long. Well, there are a few fields that border the woods and I wanted to check them. So, that' s why asked the people for permission to just look in the fields. I checked everywhere and he is nowhere to be found. Also, I will say it again, the only place I saw any blood was on the arrow shaft. None on the ground. I think the hit was high and on the shoulder blade and I am convinced it was not a fatal hit. I am exhausted to say the least.

TBO

da hunting ace

does the guy think it' s going to drop right there or something? Anyway if you hit him in any vital area you should have blood. i would suggest (If not to late) To go through the whole thing over in your head. Check the area that you thought you hit him... Very Thoroly! Blood can be hard to find in leaves and stuff. Get desperate! have a blood hound come out... give him the scent of the blood on the arrow. He' ll know what to do. The last part was a little sarcastic.