I'd like to add some anecdotal evidence to my own. I think to make this one as easy as possible, I'll just ask the farthest you've confirmed a deer has run before dying, with the following qualifications:
- Razor/shaving sharp broadhead. Not one you've put through another critter or a target and didn't sharpen, and not one you ran through a V sharpener and never confirmed it shaved hair. Brand new, or sharpened, and confirmed shaving sharp.
- Pass through confirmed. Doesn't mean the arrow had to be stuck in the dirt, just that it actually poked two holes in the deer.
- Both holes are below the spine, and above the belly line, on opposite sides of the deer. Or you did an autopsy and confirmed both lungs were cut.
- Would prefer that you used some device besides your brain/feet to confirm distance, or at the very least walked off the distance after tracking in one trip to confirm.
Looking forward to the stories, and opinions, but please vote!
Edit:
I wanted to do this poll as a reminder for folks new to bow hunting, or with not much experience tracking deer. If you don’t see the deer go down, and you don’t know where you hit the deer, and you make it 200 yards on a blood trail that is not giving a good indication of the hit, there is a 90% chance you did not put the arrow through both lungs.
Why does this matter? With any other hit, the deer can live for hours. If you take up the trail an hour after your shot, and find yourself in this situation, you run the risk of bumping the deer. If it gets up and runs, and it’s wound has clotted, you’re in trouble.
It gets said a lot, but bears repeating. Focus on your shot, and importantly, the details right after. Do your best to identify where your arrow hit, where the deer was standing, what it did when the arrow hit it, the direction it ran, and a visual marker the last place you saw it. Listen for at least 5-10 minutes if the deer makes it out of sight for a crash, coughing, gurgling, etc.
It is very hard to stay patient after the shot. But I suspect a whole bunch of deer are lost because folks take up the track too soon, or don’t see the signs on the track that indicate they should back out. There is lots of information on these details, so I won’t repeat here. I just wanted to highlight the fact that if you didn’t see the deer die, and you haven’t found it within 200 yards of the shot, the variables grow exponentially. You should be considering backing out and giving time if weather conditions permit.
- Razor/shaving sharp broadhead. Not one you've put through another critter or a target and didn't sharpen, and not one you ran through a V sharpener and never confirmed it shaved hair. Brand new, or sharpened, and confirmed shaving sharp.
- Pass through confirmed. Doesn't mean the arrow had to be stuck in the dirt, just that it actually poked two holes in the deer.
- Both holes are below the spine, and above the belly line, on opposite sides of the deer. Or you did an autopsy and confirmed both lungs were cut.
- Would prefer that you used some device besides your brain/feet to confirm distance, or at the very least walked off the distance after tracking in one trip to confirm.
Looking forward to the stories, and opinions, but please vote!
Edit:
I wanted to do this poll as a reminder for folks new to bow hunting, or with not much experience tracking deer. If you don’t see the deer go down, and you don’t know where you hit the deer, and you make it 200 yards on a blood trail that is not giving a good indication of the hit, there is a 90% chance you did not put the arrow through both lungs.
Why does this matter? With any other hit, the deer can live for hours. If you take up the trail an hour after your shot, and find yourself in this situation, you run the risk of bumping the deer. If it gets up and runs, and it’s wound has clotted, you’re in trouble.
It gets said a lot, but bears repeating. Focus on your shot, and importantly, the details right after. Do your best to identify where your arrow hit, where the deer was standing, what it did when the arrow hit it, the direction it ran, and a visual marker the last place you saw it. Listen for at least 5-10 minutes if the deer makes it out of sight for a crash, coughing, gurgling, etc.
It is very hard to stay patient after the shot. But I suspect a whole bunch of deer are lost because folks take up the track too soon, or don’t see the signs on the track that indicate they should back out. There is lots of information on these details, so I won’t repeat here. I just wanted to highlight the fact that if you didn’t see the deer die, and you haven’t found it within 200 yards of the shot, the variables grow exponentially. You should be considering backing out and giving time if weather conditions permit.
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