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Gut shot deer - what 2 do

D

dvan

Member
Joined
Sep 26, 2018
Messages
44
Location
Aledo, TX
Forgive my ignorance but after reading dc10’s post about a gut shot deer I realize I have no clue. My assumption was if and when that happened I needed to get the deer ASAP & quarter / clean it to reduce the spoilage. Would someone explain the concerns and strategy surrounding this scenario?


Sent from the bush...
 
Without reading whatever post you are referring to....

If known or suspected gut hit, back out quietly away from where the deer headed and let them lay about 8 hours. Come back and trail carefully. Usually they'll be dead within 150 yards. If it's way back they may live even longer. Be prepared to finish it off. Gut shots are the ugliest part of bowhunting.
 
Gut shot deer typically don’t go far before bedding. They are pretty much guaranteed to die. Typically they will run 75-150 yards into cover and bed down. They may remain there until they die or may head toward water. Now if you go in too soon you can throw all that out the window. They will run as far as you are willing to push them. Chances of finding a gut shot after six- eight hours is pretty decent. If you go in to early and bump them you pretty much ruin your chances of finding the deer. Yes you may lose some meat by waiting but it’s better than losing the whole deer.
 
I wait well longer than 8 hours. I will typically not look for a gut shot deer until at least 12 hours. I have seen a deer with some of his entrails hanging out of him still alive 18 hours after being shot. This was after alot of initial blood. The key is not to push the deer initially and to give at least the 8 hours like elk inzer said. EricS is 100% correct about all bets being off if you push too early.
 
dvan said:
Forgive my ignorance but after reading dc10’s post about a gut shot deer I realize I have no clue. My assumption was if and when that happened I needed to get the deer ASAP & quarter / clean it to reduce the spoilage. Would someone explain the concerns and strategy surrounding this scenario?


Sent from the bush...
Click to expand...
A gut shot deer is a dead deer, but depending on where in the guts they were hit it can take a long time for them to die. Blood trails are often very spotty from a gut shot deer and if you try to recover them too quickly you will push the deer and they may run a long ways before bedding up again. With a minimal or nonexistent blood trail they may be impossible to find at that point. It is recommended to wait a minimum of 8 hours or longer to search for a gut shot deer. Here is a good read that should help you
https://saddlehunter.com/community/index.php?threads/recovering-bow-shot-whitetails.411/
 
So in a nutshell, it’s a bad situation. I need to be extra careful to only take shots I am confident in. If it happens, best chance of tracking it will be to give enough time to weaken and hope it doesn’t travel far.

Appreciate you guys taking the time to explain. Hopefully I’ll never need to reflect on this info but glad I know what to expect if it does.


Sent from the bush...
 
One thing you can't do if/when you recover a gut shot deer is eat the tenderloins, they'll have gut content on them because they're inside the cavity... sometimes the shoulder meat will be ruined too if the entry/exit hole goes through the shoulder muscles. A gut shot deer is a dead deer, they can't survive the infection, but it may take a long time and there may be little to no blood trail. Probably the worst kind of shot that could be made... I helped a friend track a deer that was straight gut shot, no liver or lungs. It was left overnight after he found 2 beds and lost the blood trail. Next day we split up and grid searched and ended up finding the deer by smell, the critters had got to it and man the guts were stinking bad. It was hot outside because it was early season and had to let the meat go. The deer only went about 100 yards, the mechanical blades really tore it open.
 
catman529 said:
One thing you can't do if/when you recover a gut shot deer is eat the tenderloins, they'll have gut content on them because they're inside the cavity... sometimes the shoulder meat will be ruined too if the entry/exit hole goes through the shoulder muscles. A gut shot deer is a dead deer, they can't survive the infection, but it may take a long time and there may be little to no blood trail. Probably the worst kind of shot that could be made... I helped a friend track a deer that was straight gut shot, no liver or lungs. It was left overnight after he found 2 beds and lost the blood trail. Next day we split up and grid searched and ended up finding the deer by smell, the critters had got to it and man the guts were stinking bad. It was hot outside because it was early season and had to let the meat go. The deer only went about 100 yards, the mechanical blades really tore it open.
Click to expand...

I shot a doe this year that was slightly quartering to me and it caught a little bit of guts. I ate the tender loins and heart that night. Even with extreme washing and minimal gut matter they were barely edible.

When I butchered the deer I cut away any meat that even had a remote chance of contact. It wasn’t a lot. People that get their deer processed with the masses of bad shot deer boggle my mind!

Anyway, I won’t be taking any more of those shots.
 
Another thing is when a deer isn't alone. If they aren't the leader or are being pursued by a buck it can be just as bad as following and jumping them too early.

If they don't follow the group and you see them stop or lay down you will find them very close to that spot generally.

For me I try to avoid quartering shots on antlerless deer because you are almost guaranteed to get some gut.
 
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