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Help! With recovery.

Zoa

Member
Joined
Sep 25, 2019
Messages
99
Hey y'all!

What's the hive mind think of this scenario? Never encountered it before. Plunging shot with a muzzleloader, short range, felt good. Knocked the deer down where it stood, it thrashed around in a circle for a bit, then laid still. What felt like five minutes later (though buck fever messes with time) it suddenly got up and bolted (maybe winded me). No blood at the shot site. and I backed out at that point.

Appreciate it!
 
Brisket shot and the shock knocked it down maybe ...had something very similar happen with a slug gun one time didn’t lay there that long though
 
Brisket shot and the shock knocked it down maybe ...had something very similar happen with a slug gun one time didn’t lay there that long though
Uggh that's not good. Deer was slightly quartering away if that helps. How long ya reckon I should wait?
 
I shot a buck back in October that left virtually no blood trail at all. When I found him he was swollen with internal bleeding. Weird but it happens sometimes. If he did the kickin chicken you definitely hit him. I would just start walking in his direction and start zig zagging. I never wait til the next day here because coyotes will steal my kill in a matter of hours
 
When I was younger I hit and dropped what was my biggest buck to that point with a .270. He thrashed around for a minute then stopped. I was scoping another buck that was with him and was thinking I messed up and shot the smaller one when out of the corner of my eye I saw my buck jump up and take off. I was able to shoot him again and put him down for good. My first shot went through the backstraps right above the shoulder blades. Apparently, the shot shocked the spine enough to momentarily knock his legs put from under him.
 
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That's a wild one. No blood where it laid down? What is a plunging shot?
No blood at all. Shot at a downward angle, out of the tree.

Went and looked around for an hour, couldn't find any blood within a hundred yards. Report back in the morning.
 
You hit something that shocked him. Maybe hit him in the antlers.

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When I was younger I hit and dropped what was my biggest buck to that point with a .270. He thrashed around for a minute then stopped. I was scoping another buck that was with him and was thinking I messed up and shot the smaller one when out of the corner of my eye I saw my buck jump up and take off. I was able to shoot him again and put him down for good. My first shot went through the backstraps right above the shoulder blades. Apparently, the shot shocked the spine enough to momentarily knock his legs put from under him.
Did the same thing only with a 30-30. Shot and he dropped immediately and thrashed. I was a new Hunter and i wasn't thinking I should have shot again but I figured I killed it. I watched it stand up and walk off. had it on camera again and there was a wound above and in front of his shoulder but he was on camera next year and look fine.
 
Did the same thing only with a 30-30. Shot and he dropped immediately and thrashed. I was a new Hunter and i wasn't thinking I should have shot again but I figured I killed it. I watched it stand up and walk off. had it on camera again and there was a wound above and in front of his shoulder but he was on camera next year and look fine.

I don’t have experience with this shot myself but I know at least 4 friends/family that have had the exact same thing happen. There’s not much room between spine and lungs but you can pass a bullet or arrow through there without them dying. They’ll fall down and maybe lay in shock for awhile then jump up and take off. Unfortunately none of them recovered their deer.
 
I don’t have experience with this shot myself but I know at least 4 friends/family that have had the exact same thing happen. There’s not much room between spine and lungs but you can pass a bullet or arrow through there without them dying. They’ll fall down and maybe lay in shock for awhile then jump up and take off. Unfortunately none of them recovered their deer.
Sorry, but the no man's land you described between the spine and lungs is a myth, proven by real anatomy...http://www.saddlehunter.com/community/index.php?threads/deer-anatomy-lesson-via-dissection.18198

Most likely the shot went through the neck and missed anything vital. It stuns them for a bit, but they recover. I have had this happen a few times over the years and either got in a second shot or tracked them and got them an hour or so later, which confirmed the first shot placements.
 
Sorry, but the no man's land you described between the spine and lungs is a myth, proven by real anatomy...http://www.saddlehunter.com/community/index.php?threads/deer-anatomy-lesson-via-dissection.18198

Most likely the shot went through the neck and missed anything vital. It stuns them for a bit, but they recover. I have had this happen a few times over the years and either got in a second shot or tracked them and got them an hour or so later, which confirmed the first shot placements.

I’ve seen his videos a few times over the years and just watched this one again. Overall they’re great. He’s quite informative, and a great salesman for his products and ideas. However, his lung presentation is inaccurate. Aside from the fact that he’s inflating the lungs while the deer is laying on its side vs standing. He simulates breathing with total lung capacity being filled with every ‘breath’. In humans, a full resting breath (tidal volume + residual volume) averages only a little over 28% of total lung capacity. And at full exhale it averages only 20% of total lung volume. I supposed if you’re deer is walking around holding it’s breath at full inhale, the lungs would be above the backbone. But at rest, or exhale there most certainly is a gap.
 
Whelp y'all, we been looking since sunup, not a speck of blood anywhere. Nothing in any of the thickets or creeks. Just gone like a ghost. Appreciate the thoughts!
 
I hate to be the one always chirping about dogs but my experience wasn't great. If you do choose to get a dog be selective and ask questions, how old are you, how old is your dog, what type of dog, what type of tracks, do you feel confident that you could recover this deer given what I've told you so far or are you just shrugging your shoulders hoping we find it so I can "tip" you. And if you don't feel 100% confident in the person's responses just move on. Don't take the first one to call you back.

I know there are good dogs out there with good handlers that can probably find some tough deer, but I think they're as rare as the archer that never has a bad shot.

In the end the dog didn't hinder my recovery as I tracked us to the point of no recovery anyways, but it definitely got my expectations up that the process was going to be a lot more managed and hopefully successful only to be let down....but in the end it was my crappy shot that brought us all together

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