• The SH Membership has gone live. Only SH Members have access to post in the classifieds. All members can view the classifieds. Starting in 2020 only SH Members will be admitted to the annual hunting contest. Current members will need to follow these steps to upgrade: 1. Click on your username 2. Click on Account upgrades 3. Choose SH Member and purchase.
  • We've been working hard the past few weeks to come up with some big changes to our vendor policies to meet the changing needs of our community. Please see the new vendor rules here: Vendor Access Area Rules

Live from the tree 2017 version

I couldn't be more more frustrated and upset at the moment. I shot the biggest buck I have ever seen and spent 4 hours looking for him and couldn't find him. Now I have to go to work and not sure I can get back out there before dark.

This buck surprised me coming from the down wind direction. He walked almost to the base of my tree. I had to do everything perfectly to get my bow and draw. I was at full draw for quite some time but he was walking towards my tree head on. I almost took a shot straight down into his vitals but I thought that was a bad idea. He looked up and saw me. He spooked and ran to about 21 yards. I made "the noise" and he stopped. I let the arrow go. It felt good and sounded good. He was quartering away and I was aiming for his opposite shoulder. It felt like such a good shot. His front legs were collapsing as he sprinted away.

I waited 30 mins and rapelled down. Went to where he was standing and my arrow was stuck in the ground, broken off at 24" and blood on all of the remaining arrow. But no blood at the site of impact. Went into a thicket where he disappeared and found one good spot of blood that looked good but it wasn't frothy. I never found any more blood and spent 4 hours walking as much of the 40 acres as I could before coming home to get ready for work.

In the course of which I lost two arrows with my broadheads on them.

Sent from my HTC U11 using Tapatalk
Don't give up, man. I betcha he's dead and you just have to find him. Are there any blood tracking dog handlers in your area? They can be amazing. Even help from a couple of buddies - sometimes you only need one more drop of blood to point you in the right direction.

Here's a website for trackers so you can see if there's one in your area:
https://www.unitedbloodtrackers.org/find-a-tracker/

Good luck. I really hope you find him!
That was a good suggestion. I agree that if the shot was what you described there is still a good chance you will find him. It sounds very possible that the arrow hit the opposite shoulder on the way out. Without an exit wound finding a lot of blood will be tough. Sometimes you might have to look for the tiniest specs on brush, grass and just falling to the ground to keep on the track. Don't worry about frothy lung blood, especially without an exit wound. Get back out there and get some buddies if you can. Get someone experienced with blood trailing if you know someone.

Most importantly, keep a positive attitude. If what you said is true, you will find him.
 
That was a good suggestion. I agree that if the shot was what you described there is still a good chance you will find him. It sounds very possible that the arrow hit the opposite shoulder on the way out. Without an exit wound finding a lot of blood will be tough. Sometimes you might have to look for the tiniest specs on brush, grass and just falling to the ground to keep on the track. Don't worry about frothy lung blood, especially without an exit wound. Get back out there and get some buddies if you can. Get someone experienced with blood trailing if you know someone.

Most importantly, keep a positive attitude. If what you said is true, you will find him.
What I said is true. I couldn't believe he wasn't laying there in that thicket. His front legs were giving out when he was running off.

He was a big deer for Arkansas.

I have a guy with a dog meeting me this evening. He says if it's dead his dog will find it due to pheromones they give off if they are mortally wounded. He says if it is just injured his dog will lose interest fairly quickly. He didn't believe it when the breeders told him that but he has observed it in tracking situations.

I guess I could have been a little forward or low but it felt really good and I thought I saw impact in a good place. Tracker also said the part of the arrow that broke off could have prevented a good trail but still killed him. I am stuck at work until 4:30 and then I am meeting him and we are going to give it a go.

Sent from my HTC U11 using Tapatalk
 
No BS suspension can keep me out of the saddle. I'm sticking it to The Man, and hopefully some venison.

And yes, that is a sweat ring on my hat from a 100 yard walk and 15 setup. Scent control isn't a thing here in GA.
b29a17a836510fe1d6b804c2bcda40b8.jpg


Sent from my Galaxy S8.
 
No BS suspension can keep me out of the saddle. I'm sticking it to The Man, and hopefully some venison.

And yes, that is a sweat ring on my hat from a 100 yard walk and 15 setup. Scent control isn't a thing here in GA.
b29a17a836510fe1d6b804c2bcda40b8.jpg


Sent from my Galaxy S8.

Dude. That's a MAD panda right there!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
No BS suspension can keep me out of the saddle. I'm sticking it to The Man, and hopefully some venison.

And yes, that is a sweat ring on my hat from a 100 yard walk and 15 setup. Scent control isn't a thing here in GA.
b29a17a836510fe1d6b804c2bcda40b8.jpg


Sent from my Galaxy S8.

That's the face of a killer right there!

I'm out. And it started raining! Made for a quiet entry!
bf2bef2bc819411dfc3aef39e6337a11.jpg
 
Hoping for a happy ending here Dwade!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Bummer way to get started bud, but keep looking, and if he's down, those dogs will find him. Good luck.

Sent from my QTAQZ3 using Tapatalk
 
No BS suspension can keep me out of the saddle. I'm sticking it to The Man, and hopefully some venison.

And yes, that is a sweat ring on my hat from a 100 yard walk and 15 setup. Scent control isn't a thing here in GA.
3727ac817b98200390ad32c9fc185d51.jpg


Sent from my Galaxy S8.

You posted the wrong pic..... I fixed it for you.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
What I said is true.
Didn't mean to come off like I was saying that what you were said wasn't true. What I was trying to say was that often in the heat of the moment what we think happened and what actually happened aren't the same.

Good luck, I hope you are able to find him!
 
Didn't mean to come off like I was saying that what you were said wasn't true. What I was trying to say was that often in the heat of the moment what we think happened and what actually happened aren't the same.

Good luck, I hope you are able to find him!
I didn't take it that way. Just upsetting. Probably not a once in a lifetime buck but he was of mine to this point.

I was actually very calm and confident during the encounter and recall everything very vividly. I am having to come to terms with the fact that I may have blown it. The stumbling really made me think it was a great hit and he would be dead. And I hit exactly where I was aiming but I may have shot too forward for a quartering away deer. I feel like I may have entered in a good place but missed vitals and nicked his opposite leg or something and that is what the stumbling was all about. The arrow definitely passed through and if I had hit vitals with a pass through I would be shocked that was all the blood there was even if the broken part was plugging him a little. There still should have been blood coming from the entrance or somewhere.

I am going back to look tomorrow and see about buzzards. But I don't want to screw up the spot either. Will plan on hunting there again next Wed. Crazier things have happened I guess. Going to get in a tree and shoot and see if I screwed up there. I also lost two of my three broadheads walking around in the brush. A branch pulled two arrows out of quiver. It wasn't a stellar day but exciting to have an encounter with a buck like that.

Sent from my HTC U11 using Tapatalk
 
I didn't take it that way. Just upsetting. Probably not a once in a lifetime buck but he was of mine to this point.

I was actually very calm and confident during the encounter and recall everything very vividly. I am having to come to terms with the fact that I may have blown it. The stumbling really made me think it was a great hit and he would be dead. And I hit exactly where I was aiming but I may have shot too forward for a quartering away deer. I feel like I may have entered in a good place but missed vitals and nicked his opposite leg or something and that is what the stumbling was all about. The arrow definitely passed through and if I had hit vitals with a pass through I would be shocked that was all the blood there was even if the broken part was plugging him a little. There still should have been blood coming from the entrance or somewhere.

I am going back to look tomorrow and see about buzzards. But I don't want to screw up the spot either. Will plan on hunting there again next Wed. Crazier things have happened I guess. Going to get in a tree and shoot and see if I screwed up there. I also lost two of my three broadheads walking around in the brush. A branch pulled two arrows out of quiver. It wasn't a stellar day but exciting to have an encounter with a buck like that.

Sent from my HTC U11 using Tapatalk
Along similar lines, my brother shot a buck in the neck with his 270 a few years back. He said it fell where it was and a minute later, jumped up with his head "dragging" and left in a hurry... a month later I saw a buck that had "been fighting" as it had a little blood spot on the left side of his neck. As he moved about and turned, the right side of his next had a very impressive hole and a large blood spot that Ray Charles could have seen. I could not get a shot with my bow but sow him heal up over the next few months. He survived. My brother missed the spine and hit a little lower than he thought.

I suppose what I am trying to say is that whitetail deer may not be bullet proof but they certainly have a strong will to live. If the arrow did pass too far forward, it is possible that you may see him again.
 
Three years ago my 12 year old son shot an 8 pt with his crossbow. It would have scored around 100" and been a trophy for him. There had been a black bear in just a few hours earlier and the buck was very nervous. When my son shot, the buck was quartering away. The shot looked good and I could see just the knock sticking out at the back of his ribs as he ran off, he also stumbled several times like yours. Based on the angle of the deer when my son shot I thought the placement was perfect. We tracked the deer for 1,500 yards that evening and had good blood the entire time. We backed off and came back the next morning. The next morning we jumped the buck out of his bed, he had worked the arrow almost completely out, and he ran off like he wasn't hurt.

We didn't see that buck the rest of the year but, the next year the he returned and my dad ended up taking him. He scored 123 the following year.

What I now believe happened was when my son shot the buck reacted to the noise of the crossbow and since he was quartered away he was able to twist enough that the arrow went up along the rib cage into the near shoulder and never entered the chest cavity.

I agree with Gettin Closer If you don't find him he may not be dead, it's absolutely amazing what deer can live through.
 
My dad had one 2 years ago that took an arrow through a single lung, then he shot 3 weeks later in gun season. Entry wounds were 2 inches apart, exit wounds were about 4 inches apart.

It is amazing what these animals can survive. Hopefully you get another crack at him.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Nothing quite that exciting, am sit today, actually cooled down, a little rain...... nothing, no movement.
7129ffbb1231e410d9392fedb2944b94.jpg
c6b5e81ce949b282db9fb7fa84aa5dbd.jpg


Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk
 
No BS suspension can keep me out of the saddle. I'm sticking it to The Man, and hopefully some venison.

And yes, that is a sweat ring on my hat from a 100 yard walk and 15 setup. Scent control isn't a thing here in GA.
b29a17a836510fe1d6b804c2bcda40b8.jpg


Sent from my Galaxy S8.

BS Suspension? What happened?

I see you're using knee pads, I've been thinking that would probably save my pants, now that I have a nice set of Scentlok, when I'm climbing with the XOP hand climber my knees are always rubbing the tree, also, I like to occasionally sit with the knees on the tree, and I've been using my XOP seat cushion, but I think knee pads would be easier.
 
Back
Top