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troubleshooting after miss

raisins said:
I think you just explained a weird shot this year.

I made a bad shot and had to follow up with a shot at 40 yards. That shot hit the buck towards the front of the lungs and exited mid-neck by the spine (quartering away pretty hard).

There was hardly a drop of blood but the deer was down in 50 yards. I'm guessing I cut the jugular then.
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It's tough to comprehend just how fast a spooked deer is, how much ground they can cover in just a few seconds. A deer with a minute to live can die a quarter-mile away from where it's shot*.

*Statistic from the UN Office of Refugee Jukebox Repair Training and Statistics Made Up On The Spot To Illustrate A Point.
 
Iron_llama said:
It's tough to comprehend just how fast a spooked deer is, how much ground they can cover in just a few seconds. A deer with a minute to live can die a quarter-mile away from where it's shot*.

*Statistic from the UN Office of Refugee Jukebox Repair Training and Statistics Made Up On The Spot To Illustrate A Point.
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I had one walk 50 yards with a broadhead in his heart, lay down and bleed over a 1/2 gallon, then get up and walk another 50 yards.

They are amazing animals with no quit in them.
 
raisins said:
I had one walk 50 yards with a broadhead in his heart, lay down and bleed over a 1/2 gallon, then get up and walk another 50 yards.

They are amazing animals with no quit in them.
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like all mammals, they dont want to die and try really hard not to. I recently saw a small buck get hammered by a truck on a main highway and collapse on someones front lawn. He was mangled and looked dead. I pulled over to investigate and that sucker stood straight up and bolted never to be seen again.
 
Dmathews87 said:
like all mammals, they dont want to die and try really hard not to. I recently saw a small buck get hammered by a truck on a main highway and collapse on someones front lawn. He was mangled and looked dead. I pulled over to investigate and that sucker stood straight up and bolted never to be seen again.
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My wife hit one dead on once with a minivan going about 50 mph. It was a small buck. He spun in circles down the road for about 40 feet then jumped up and ran in the woods. I went back the next day and looked for him for about 4 hours and never found him. Found a bed about 75 yards from the road but never found him. Tough animals.
 
i am really thankful to have you guys. thanks to each of you for your thoughtful replies. as i've said in other threads, I didn't grow up hunting, nor bowhunting or even doing archery, so this is all unchartered territory for me. and I don't have a local mentor that I've gone bowhunting/shopping/shooting with who is also a hunter. so i am appreciative of the help and feedback you guys provide. my goal is to become a responsible and skilled bowhunter, so i am eager to learn from my mistakes as best as I can.

that being said - what I am happiest to report is this shot in fact resulted in the harvest of a nice doe! this is my first deer killed with a bow, and my first deer of the season actually. (for those of you up north, LA has until end of Jan / early Feb). on public land, too.

IMG_3328.jpeg

she made it 120 yards from my shot. i searched all around the shot, went back 50-75 yards into the thicket, fanned out - found no blood nor arrow. searched the W side of the thicket - nothing. finally searched the E side of the thicket, and again found no signs of entrance/exit. but about 40 yards E of the thicket is a slough, and it's all real open there, and she was collapsed on the opposite edge of the slough. plain as day.

so my eyes were totally wrong - when she came from behind the tree, I mistook the vines hanging from the tree to be a rack. I would guess that this shot was within the last 5min of light, and in this thick area I'm not surprised I mistook them. plus with the excitement and all. I am still elated to have harvest my first archery deer and am relieved I found her today.

I was under the gun quartering and packing her out - storms were rolling in, could literally hear thunder as I was quartering - and I never did find my arrow. i also didn't cut her chest/lungs open to see if the arrow was inside. there was a little bit of blood on the leaves near where she collapsed. BUT there was no exit wound, so it didn't pass through her. here's a close up of my shot placement though - it's pretty damn good, if I may so, and was behind the ball of her shoulder;
IMG_3329.jpeg
so that is bad. my best guess is that the arrow got lodged in her and then fell or was pulled out. I'm really disappointed with the outfitter I used locally, as they had given me confidence in shooting the Eastons I have with 100gr broadheads, at 30.5" DL and 60lbs DW. I use Magnus Stinger buzzcuts. and at 10 yards, this should have gone right through. so I have a lot to learn and tinker with my arrow setup because that can't happen again.

i am again thankful for everyone's help and advice. I think i just got way ahead of myself assuming that because I didn't see a bunch of blood and all that I just clean missed. but I'm actually pretty proud of that shot as I see it now - all the mishaps and foolishness aside.
 
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mschultz373 said:
i am really thankful to have you guys. thanks to each of you for your thoughtful replies. as i've said in other threads, I didn't grow up hunting, nor bowhunting or even doing archery, so this is all unchartered territory for me. and I don't have a local mentor that I've gone bowhunting/shopping/shooting with who is also a hunter. so i am appreciative of the help and feedback you guys provide. my goal is to become a responsible and skilled bowhunter, so i am eager to learn from my mistakes as best as I can.

that being said - what I am happiest to report is this shot in fact resulted in the harvest of a nice doe! this is my first deer killed with a bow, and my first deer of the season actually. (for those of you up north, LA has until end of Jan / early Feb). on public land, too.

View attachment 98034

she made it 120 yards from my shot. i searched all around the shot, went back 50-75 yards into the thicket, fanned out - found no blood nor arrow. searched the W side of the thicket - nothing. finally searched the E side of the thicket, and again found no signs of entrance/exit. but about 40 yards E of the thicket is a slough, and it's all real open there, and she was collapsed on the opposite edge of the slough. plain as day.

so my eyes were totally wrong - when she came from behind the tree, I mistook the vines hanging from the tree to be a rack. I would guess that this shot was within the last 5min of light, and in this thick area I'm not surprised I mistook them. plus with the excitement and all. I am still elated to have harvest my first archery deer and am relieved I found her today.

I was under the gun quartering and packing her out - storms were rolling in, could literally hear thunder as I was quartering - and I never did find my arrow. i also didn't cut her chest/lungs open to see if the arrow was inside. there was a little bit of blood on the leaves near where she collapsed. BUT there was no exit wound, so it didn't pass through her. here's a close up of my shot placement though - it's pretty damn good, if I may so, and was behind the ball of her shoulder;
View attachment 98035
so that is bad. my best guess is that the arrow got lodged in her and then fell or was pulled out. I'm really disappointed with the outfitter I used locally, as they had given me confidence in shooting the Eastons I have with 100gr broadheads, at 30.5" DL and 60lbs DW. I use Magnus Stinger buzzcuts. and at 10 yards, this should have gone right through. so I have a lot to learn and tinker with my arrow setup because that can't happen again.

i am again thankful for everyone's help and advice. I think i just got way ahead of myself assuming that because I didn't see a bunch of blood and all that I just clean missed. but I'm actually pretty proud of that shot as I see it now - all the mishaps and foolishness aside.
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Congrats dude! That's one well deserved deer you got there. You've got the right mentality,we all have less than perfect hunts,but it's what you learn from it and how you choose to move forward that counts! You gonna start slaying em soon enough.
 
OMG! This post just made my day! I was hoping that this was what was gonna happen. Congrats man! So happy for you getting you first archery kill with many more to come, I'm sure. Still amazes me when they go aways without dropping any blood, but your deer is a perfect example. Cool that it happened this way for you too cause you learned a great lesson and will never give up on a blood trail so easily again.
 
mschultz373 said:
i am really thankful to have you guys. thanks to each of you for your thoughtful replies. as i've said in other threads, I didn't grow up hunting, nor bowhunting or even doing archery, so this is all unchartered territory for me. and I don't have a local mentor that I've gone bowhunting/shopping/shooting with who is also a hunter. so i am appreciative of the help and feedback you guys provide. my goal is to become a responsible and skilled bowhunter, so i am eager to learn from my mistakes as best as I can.

that being said - what I am happiest to report is this shot in fact resulted in the harvest of a nice doe! this is my first deer killed with a bow, and my first deer of the season actually. (for those of you up north, LA has until end of Jan / early Feb). on public land, too.

View attachment 98034

she made it 120 yards from my shot. i searched all around the shot, went back 50-75 yards into the thicket, fanned out - found no blood nor arrow. searched the W side of the thicket - nothing. finally searched the E side of the thicket, and again found no signs of entrance/exit. but about 40 yards E of the thicket is a slough, and it's all real open there, and she was collapsed on the opposite edge of the slough. plain as day.

so my eyes were totally wrong - when she came from behind the tree, I mistook the vines hanging from the tree to be a rack. I would guess that this shot was within the last 5min of light, and in this thick area I'm not surprised I mistook them. plus with the excitement and all. I am still elated to have harvest my first archery deer and am relieved I found her today.

I was under the gun quartering and packing her out - storms were rolling in, could literally hear thunder as I was quartering - and I never did find my arrow. i also didn't cut her chest/lungs open to see if the arrow was inside. there was a little bit of blood on the leaves near where she collapsed. BUT there was no exit wound, so it didn't pass through her. here's a close up of my shot placement though - it's pretty damn good, if I may so, and was behind the ball of her shoulder;
View attachment 98035
so that is bad. my best guess is that the arrow got lodged in her and then fell or was pulled out. I'm really disappointed with the outfitter I used locally, as they had given me confidence in shooting the Eastons I have with 100gr broadheads, at 30.5" DL and 60lbs DW. I use Magnus Stinger buzzcuts. and at 10 yards, this should have gone right through. so I have a lot to learn and tinker with my arrow setup because that can't happen again.

i am again thankful for everyone's help and advice. I think i just got way ahead of myself assuming that because I didn't see a bunch of blood and all that I just clean missed. but I'm actually pretty proud of that shot as I see it now - all the mishaps and foolishness aside.
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Congratulations! Great Deer!
Read all you want. There is no replacement for real world experience. Glade you get to enjoy your deer you worked hard for.
 
Congratulations! A well-deserved deer!

Sometimes, at really close range, an arrow will not have "settled down" and you can get erratic penetration. My guess is that the shaft is still whipping side to side just a bit and that is hitting this sides of the wound channel as the broadhead passes and it robs us of a little energy. In a compound my guess is shaft oscillation and less archery paradox, but in a trad bow using a lot of archery paradox like my longbow, I can really tell the difference. They settle down quick though. All things being equal, if your bow is on, I would finish out the season as is. Sixty pounds and a Magnus Stinger will get the job done. Post season, if you want to make a bit heavier arrow with a little more robust broadhead then that would be the time to do it, in my opinion.

You're on the right path for sure. Now just get back out there and strike while the iron is hot. There is plenty of season left for us here down South.
 
mschultz373 said:
i am really thankful to have you guys. thanks to each of you for your thoughtful replies. as i've said in other threads, I didn't grow up hunting, nor bowhunting or even doing archery, so this is all unchartered territory for me. and I don't have a local mentor that I've gone bowhunting/shopping/shooting with who is also a hunter. so i am appreciative of the help and feedback you guys provide. my goal is to become a responsible and skilled bowhunter, so i am eager to learn from my mistakes as best as I can.

that being said - what I am happiest to report is this shot in fact resulted in the harvest of a nice doe! this is my first deer killed with a bow, and my first deer of the season actually. (for those of you up north, LA has until end of Jan / early Feb). on public land, too.

View attachment 98034

she made it 120 yards from my shot. i searched all around the shot, went back 50-75 yards into the thicket, fanned out - found no blood nor arrow. searched the W side of the thicket - nothing. finally searched the E side of the thicket, and again found no signs of entrance/exit. but about 40 yards E of the thicket is a slough, and it's all real open there, and she was collapsed on the opposite edge of the slough. plain as day.

so my eyes were totally wrong - when she came from behind the tree, I mistook the vines hanging from the tree to be a rack. I would guess that this shot was within the last 5min of light, and in this thick area I'm not surprised I mistook them. plus with the excitement and all. I am still elated to have harvest my first archery deer and am relieved I found her today.

I was under the gun quartering and packing her out - storms were rolling in, could literally hear thunder as I was quartering - and I never did find my arrow. i also didn't cut her chest/lungs open to see if the arrow was inside. there was a little bit of blood on the leaves near where she collapsed. BUT there was no exit wound, so it didn't pass through her. here's a close up of my shot placement though - it's pretty damn good, if I may so, and was behind the ball of her shoulder;
View attachment 98035
so that is bad. my best guess is that the arrow got lodged in her and then fell or was pulled out. I'm really disappointed with the outfitter I used locally, as they had given me confidence in shooting the Eastons I have with 100gr broadheads, at 30.5" DL and 60lbs DW. I use Magnus Stinger buzzcuts. and at 10 yards, this should have gone right through. so I have a lot to learn and tinker with my arrow setup because that can't happen again.

i am again thankful for everyone's help and advice. I think i just got way ahead of myself assuming that because I didn't see a bunch of blood and all that I just clean missed. but I'm actually pretty proud of that shot as I see it now - all the mishaps and foolishness aside.
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Congrats on the first archery deer! I don't think this thread could have turned out any better. Only thing I'll add is, I've shot a lot of deer from the ground with Magnus stingers and the lack of blood you experienced is not uncommon, in fact I would say it's the norm... Also, the exit wounds are surprisingly hard to find when they don't bleed like that, because it's not cutting hair on the way out like it is on the way in. I often have to poke around and move some hair around where I think the exit wound should be to find it. Also at 10 yards your arrow probably hasn't had time to recover (it's still in paradox when it hits the animal) so deflection is likely and the exit might not be right where you'd expect.
 
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Congratulations on your first archery deer! Also RIP for your wallet you're hooked for life now :p!

You are right to be concerned over not getting a pass through at 10 yards. With that shot placement (I'm assuming broadside), broadhead, and drawlength I too would have expected a full pass through without issue. If you've done your due diligence and are 100% confident there was no exit hole, then here are a couple of take aways for next time:
  1. Make sure you have perfect arrow flight. There are a whole myriad of reasons why you might not have perfect arrow flight, whether that's cam timing, improper grip/torque, underspined arrows, etc etc. Any one of those can seriously rob your arrow of performance. An arrow that hits crooked is taking all that energy that would go to cutting and dumping it elsewhere. The more you can learn about achieving perfect arrow flight, the more you learn about archery and the more competent archer you will become.
  2. Refuse to hunt with anything less than a scary sharp broadhead. I used to be fairly lax about what I stuck on the end of my arrows, but over the past few years I've made it a point (almost a pre-season ritual) to sharpen all my broadheads to a polished mirror finish. We're talking shaving sharp. Not only will this help with penetration (force required to cut goes down as sharpness goes up) but I've found it helps with recovery as well. All things being equal a deer is less likely to run as hard or as far (assuming they're not on high alert) if a razer sharp broadhead zips right through them. Remember less force to cut? That's also less force imparted on the animal and by extension less for them to feel. I've had many deer jump like something bit them, bound a few steps, look back to see what happened and then go wobbly legged and fall over. You don't need to blood track if they fall over in sight
I know you were under some time constraints with a storm rolling through, however under better circumstances don't be afraid to open them up and do a post-mortem. The more you can learn about their anatomy and the lethality of your shot, the more confidence you will have next time to put the arrow where it needs to go.

Again congrats on your deer, I'm happy to hear it turned out well for you!
 
Congrats man! My first one was last year and I remember how great you probably feel right now! Awesome!

Any chance you hit the offside shoulder? That might explain the lack of exit, it sure seems like you should have got a pass through.
 
mschultz373 said:
i am really thankful to have you guys. thanks to each of you for your thoughtful replies. as i've said in other threads, I didn't grow up hunting, nor bowhunting or even doing archery, so this is all unchartered territory for me. and I don't have a local mentor that I've gone bowhunting/shopping/shooting with who is also a hunter. so i am appreciative of the help and feedback you guys provide. my goal is to become a responsible and skilled bowhunter, so i am eager to learn from my mistakes as best as I can.

that being said - what I am happiest to report is this shot in fact resulted in the harvest of a nice doe! this is my first deer killed with a bow, and my first deer of the season actually. (for those of you up north, LA has until end of Jan / early Feb). on public land, too.

View attachment 98034

she made it 120 yards from my shot. i searched all around the shot, went back 50-75 yards into the thicket, fanned out - found no blood nor arrow. searched the W side of the thicket - nothing. finally searched the E side of the thicket, and again found no signs of entrance/exit. but about 40 yards E of the thicket is a slough, and it's all real open there, and she was collapsed on the opposite edge of the slough. plain as day.

so my eyes were totally wrong - when she came from behind the tree, I mistook the vines hanging from the tree to be a rack. I would guess that this shot was within the last 5min of light, and in this thick area I'm not surprised I mistook them. plus with the excitement and all. I am still elated to have harvest my first archery deer and am relieved I found her today.

I was under the gun quartering and packing her out - storms were rolling in, could literally hear thunder as I was quartering - and I never did find my arrow. i also didn't cut her chest/lungs open to see if the arrow was inside. there was a little bit of blood on the leaves near where she collapsed. BUT there was no exit wound, so it didn't pass through her. here's a close up of my shot placement though - it's pretty damn good, if I may so, and was behind the ball of her shoulder;
View attachment 98035
so that is bad. my best guess is that the arrow got lodged in her and then fell or was pulled out. I'm really disappointed with the outfitter I used locally, as they had given me confidence in shooting the Eastons I have with 100gr broadheads, at 30.5" DL and 60lbs DW. I use Magnus Stinger buzzcuts. and at 10 yards, this should have gone right through. so I have a lot to learn and tinker with my arrow setup because that can't happen again.

i am again thankful for everyone's help and advice. I think i just got way ahead of myself assuming that because I didn't see a bunch of blood and all that I just clean missed. but I'm actually pretty proud of that shot as I see it now - all the mishaps and foolishness aside.
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Congrats! I was following the saga while I cut meat off my own doe last night. I made a less-than-perfect shot on her, had to give her a second shaft to seal her fate. I am truly stoked for you.
Shot doesn’t look bad at all, despite the circumstances. I would (even though I just admitted to an okay shot myself) practice aiming just a touch more forward personally, inside of that line you described (your shot looks just outside that line but still pretty good) and the V shape of the deer’s shoulder structure. That’s a high-percentage zone, almost anything you hit with a scary sharp broadhead will die from a shot somewhere below the backstrap and between the shoulder and the seam. In my humble experience.
Great deer!
 
Excellent update! And you should feel pride in your persistence.
I'd expect the arrow passed through but maybe a vine slowed it down. Level shot, entrance about halfway up the deer, not surprised you didn't get visible blood. It could have stopped in the offside shoulder or something and gotten pulled out. Shame the weather prevented you from investigating the carcass but safety is more important than curiosity. There will be more deer after all.
 
congrats......lots of lessons to learn every season

as far as why you didn't get a pass through, you'll possibly know if you do a full dissection

the arrow could've glanced off something, hit at an angle, and stopped in the offside shoulder....or one of another 100 ways this can happen

also, speaking of random, sometimes you make a good shot and they don't bleed and they make it a long way....other times it doesn't look like a good shot and they drop fast

i didn't catch if your magnus heads have bleeders, i would definitely encourage bleeder blades on those or a regular 3 or 4 blade head
 
thanks again for the encouragement everybody! yes, I use the stinger buzzcuts with the bleeders. i have G5 mega meat expandables but haven't shot anything with them.
 
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