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.
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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.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!
Most importantly, keep a positive attitude. If what you said is true, you will find him.