badshotbob

A couple days ago I decided to try for a late season doe - had a couple of doe tags left, so why not. First night in the stand after not being afield for nearly three weeks, I had 6 doe come in. Two presented a great broadside shot at 15 yards. I settled the pin on the larger doe of the two and let it fly. I knew the arrow was dead on target, but to my amazement, the doe ducked a foot to spring at the sound of the string crack. The arrow hit high, just behind the shoulder - complete pass through, drenched in blood, blood spray spot in the snow where the arrow passed through the deer. I was amazed when immediately after hitting the deer to see her run 30 yards, stand still for 10 minutes, then wandered off as if nothing was wrong. A one lung hit I suspected so I backed out after waiting a half hour and returned 3 hours later to take up the trail. I picked up blood very close to the point of impact and had a great blood trail in the snow to follow. This deer was bleeding hard. After a hundred yards following the trail through the woods, the deer crossed an open field. I saw where the deer began to run, so I backed out until the following morning. After nearly a mile and a half track, the blood ran dry and the tracks in the snow joined a major run with hundreds of other tracks - right into a swail in someone's back yard on private property. Never found the deer. In 25 years of hunting with many deer under my belt (many with an old Ben Pearson, slow, outdated bow), I've never had a deer do this. So with all that said, my question: Do you anticipate a deer to hear the string snap and squat to lunge? Aiming lower to compensate this would certainly take care of this problem and still hit two lungs, but if the deer doesn't drop to take off, the arrow will hit low. And after 20+ deer shot with my bow and never have experienced this once, it's hard to change my pin placement from my normal target. Any thoughts? Disappointing to say the least, but I guess it's just part of the bowhunting experience.

adams

I don't aim with the anticipation of the deer jumping the string but where I aim I feel I'm covered. I place my pin about 1/3 of the way up the deer. If it jumps the string I'm confident the arrow will take both lungs, if not I'm aiming for both lungs and heart.

I'm shocked that a relexed deer could jusp the string that bad at 15 yards. However you didn't mention wether or not the deer was relaxed.

Passthrew

it's gonna happen to everyone sooner or later, I got a taste of it last year on a 20 yard broadside shot on a doe

TeeJay

Badshot i wouldnt do anything different it is just one of those things like catching a twig. just have to store it in the old experence department and go on. but i definetely would not aim low expecting a deer to duck the arrow

nubo

I agree with Teejay on this one ,sooner or later these thing's can and will happen ,with 20some odd years of bowhunting and 20 some deer taken mean's you should know what your doing .With the success you've had in the past years of bowhunting doing just exactly what you've been doing mean's I wouldn't change a thing about the way you setup on your target .Sorry you never got her but that is just what can happen to anyone of us .

nubo

HUNGAR

I think all deer react differently depending on pressure, experience and the situation so trying to guess what they are feeling or thinking is impossible. I usually aim for the top of the heart because I feel this gives me the biggest room for error.

one shot dave

I never really know what the exact yardage is so I tell myself it is a little farther than I really think and then aim low so far this has worked out for me, to bad you didn't find her
so you could see exactly where you hit her might of been a twig factor