Lost buck
01-16-2009, 08:37 AM
#12
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: New Hampshire
Posts: 3,406
RE: Lost buck
Based on personal experience and how you described the shot, I would feel confident in finding this buck.
Take your time and be very methotical. He should be close by.
I have finally found deer after a shot that was in thick, nasty stuff. Kinda like looking for a rabbit in places that rabbits would go.
Good Luck to you both and give us an update with pics.
Take your time and be very methotical. He should be close by.
I have finally found deer after a shot that was in thick, nasty stuff. Kinda like looking for a rabbit in places that rabbits would go.
Good Luck to you both and give us an update with pics.
01-16-2009, 10:38 AM
#13
Boone & Crockett
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Ponce de Leon Florida USA
Posts: 10,079
RE: Lost buck
Couldn't find the buck. It appears that the shot was maybe on the bottom of the lungs, definitely some lung blood and the deer seemed to be bleeding out the mouth some. He went into a large pine plantation area with a lot of underbrush/briars. We found one more spot of blood where he crossed a road, but there are so many deer in the area we couldn't tell if the buck went out of that block or where he went. The blood stopped. We never did find a place that the deer laid down. A lot of running large tracks on the road system. I called around this morning trying to get a blood dog, but the majority of the dog hunters have quit over the last few years and the couple that might have a dog were working. Just one of those things that happen if you hunt long enough.
01-16-2009, 11:31 AM
#15
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Chicago, IL
Posts: 1,462
RE: Lost buck
That def. does suck. Im sure he's dead somewhere in the thick stuff. I agree with Jimmy. He's probably laid up somewhere thick that a rabbit wouldn't go. I can't tell you how many fatally wounded deer Ive found a year later while rabbit and pheasant hunting the thick stuff. I low lunged a whitetail this year with my .270. She went about 100 yards on a dead sprint, made it to a creek/ditch and couldn't make it up the bank before falling over. Good luck, Im sure he's dead somewhere. Even if you can't find him to save the meat, I'd keep up the hunt at least for the rack.
01-16-2009, 11:37 AM
#17
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Dec 2007
Posts: 1,519
RE: Lost buck
ORIGINAL: teedub31
More anecdotal evidence as to why 00Buckshot is a poor choice of ammo to use on deer!
ORIGINAL: hometheaterman
I know how you feel. I've lost a few deer in my life. Just this year the day before hunting season ended I had a deer creep out to me and look around before coming into the field. He was about 35 yards from me and I shot him in the head and chest with my 12 gauge shotgun loaded with 000buckshot. I'm pretty sure I hit him good from the way he acted when I shot. He then turned and ran and I shot at the side of him but I'm not sure if I hit it or not. I found blood where I shot and also found blood in a few other spots but never could find the deer. Somone else had shot one earlier in the field next to where I was about 20 minutes earlier and said he knocked it down and it layed there for a few minutes but when he went to get it it jumped up and took off. We think it was the one I shot so more than likely it was already wounded. I looked and looked and had a buddy come help me look and we never did find it. I was pretty upset the whole day. I really just hate not finding a deer and just having wounded it. That's why I'm not crazy about shotguns as it seems to do that a lot. The next which was the last day of hunting season here I ended up shooting another doe this time with the rifle and it just fell over in it's tracks. Didn't move 2 feet from where I shot it. This made me feel a little better as I was happy to get another deer this season but I am still dissapointed I couldn't find that one.
Hopefully he can find his. I think losing them though is sometime we all go through at one point or another.
gh you might not loose much meat! I lost an 8 point this year, I found him the next morning and the only thing lost was the tenderloins! Luckily, it was cool and the 'yotes didn't find him before I did!
Hopefully he can find his. I think losing them though is sometime we all go through at one point or another.
....been there done that.
01-16-2009, 01:02 PM
#20
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: indiana
Posts: 1,621
RE: Lost buck
ORIGINAL: hometheaterman
I don't disagree. I don't really like shotguns a whole lot for deer hunting but the spot I was in you just could not use a rifle. I was shooting 000 buckshot as it's what my shotgun seemed to pattern the best when I shot it target practicing. Grouped a lot better than 00. However, quite a few guys I hunt with seem to have no problem killing deer with buckshot so not sure why I have such bad luck. I suspect he didn't go far it was just super thick and while I went though most of it I could I suspect he just got somewhere I couldn't find him. It was wet and a fair bit of water too that kind of messed us up.
ORIGINAL: teedub31
More anecdotal evidence as to why 00Buckshot is a poor choice of ammo to use on deer!
ORIGINAL: hometheaterman
I know how you feel. I've lost a few deer in my life. Just this year the day before hunting season ended I had a deer creep out to me and look around before coming into the field. He was about 35 yards from me and I shot him in the head and chest with my 12 gauge shotgun loaded with 000buckshot. I'm pretty sure I hit him good from the way he acted when I shot. He then turned and ran and I shot at the side of him but I'm not sure if I hit it or not. I found blood where I shot and also found blood in a few other spots but never could find the deer. Somone else had shot one earlier in the field next to where I was about 20 minutes earlier and said he knocked it down and it layed there for a few minutes but when he went to get it it jumped up and took off. We think it was the one I shot so more than likely it was already wounded. I looked and looked and had a buddy come help me look and we never did find it. I was pretty upset the whole day. I really just hate not finding a deer and just having wounded it. That's why I'm not crazy about shotguns as it seems to do that a lot. The next which was the last day of hunting season here I ended up shooting another doe this time with the rifle and it just fell over in it's tracks. Didn't move 2 feet from where I shot it. This made me feel a little better as I was happy to get another deer this season but I am still dissapointed I couldn't find that one.
Hopefully he can find his. I think losing them though is sometime we all go through at one point or another.
gh you might not loose much meat! I lost an 8 point this year, I found him the next morning and the only thing lost was the tenderloins! Luckily, it was cool and the 'yotes didn't find him before I did!
Hopefully he can find his. I think losing them though is sometime we all go through at one point or another.
I think he was talking about slugs!!!!!!!!!!!!!