Spooked wounded deer

[JoeExotic244]

Shot a doe today Bowhunting. She was at roughly 30 yards. My initial thought on the shot was that I missed cause she didn't have much of a reaction besides running off from not knowing what happened. But then I saw her bed down about 40 yards from that point so I knew I must have hit her. She bed down for about 5-10 mins before walking off almost like nothing happened but I knew something was up.


Here's we're i made a huge mistake I waited about 20 mins and wanted to at least go check for my arrow.


(Couldn't find it) but when I was walking I noticed the deer spook and take off about 100 yards away. I came across a very light blood trail for about 20 yards just small specs of bright red blood but just a drop or 2 every couple feet. At that point I just backed out and will be back in the morning to continue tracking.


I know I should have never tried to push it but it was the first deer I shot with a bow and I let the excitement get to me. Still mad at myself about that.


I'm just more so curious about the reaction she had of just bedding such a short distance from the shot then getting up and walking away no sign of being critically injured. I feel horrible and hope something will come of it tomorrow but I'm also just a bit confused.

 

[Tim0712]

Deer do some funny stuff but they especially do funny stuff with an arrow in then that they have no idea where it came from wich is what it sounds like you have going on. Did you hit it high? Was it a quartering shot? To me it sounds like you hit it high and only got one lung. I wouldn’t be jumping at the bit to be in those woods at daylight. They can go forever with one lung and there’s still odds she’s starting to expire but still pumping enough to run like hell. I’ve only 1 lunged 2 deer one we didn’t find for 3 days and the coyotes found him first the other we found just after she passed and it was about 24 hours after the shot. I hope this really helps and I wish you the best of luck!

 

[Bowmanmike]

It is really hard to know where exactly you hit the deer,everything happens so fast. The deers reaction tells a lot and yours sounds like a hit far back. Generally those don't hit any bone which makes them run hard. A gut shot deer will bed pretty soon after being hit and not feel much like running. Sounds like your deers reaction. If you see it bed down you shouldn't even check the arrow if that risks bumping it.
Now that you did,what did the arrow look like? That can tell you if you got some lung or liver maybe,which should make the deer expire sooner,6-8 hrs. Gut shot can take 12-24 hrs.
Hopefully she bedded again not too far off.
When in doubt back out is the golden rule.
It is a hard lesson to learn.

 

[Blacksmith]

You may try to put a dog on the track. If there's no tracking dogs locally, try a pet. You may be surprised. Keep him leashed and close.

 

[DroptineKrazy]

It is really hard to know where exactly you hit the deer,everything happens so fast. The deers reaction tells a lot and yours sounds like a hit far back. Generally those don't hit any bone which makes them run hard. A gut shot deer will bed pretty soon after being hit and not feel much like running. Sounds like your deers reaction. If you see it bed down you shouldn't even check the arrow if that risks bumping it.
Now that you did,what did the arrow look like? That can tell you if you got some lung or liver maybe,which should make the deer expire sooner,6-8 hrs. Gut shot can take 12-24 hrs.
Hopefully she bedded again not too far off.
When in doubt back out is the golden rule.
It is a hard lesson to learn.

He said he couldn't find the arrow. Does sound like a gut shot though.

 

[NMSbowhunter]

The immediate bedding down suggests a gut hit, as Bowmanmike suggests. The bright red blood spots suggest to me either a liver hit (usually a very dark red or crimson blood) or a muscle hit. I liver hit will be fatal, but it may take a while. They usually want to bed quickly after a liver hit too. If it were a low brisket hit that clipped muscle the deer will be sore a few days and be fine. From the sound of things, I don't think the arrow is still in her. In my experience, when the arrow is in them, they run full speed until they die. All they know is something bit them hard and is still on them biting and they run.

I suggest giving her a bit of time and then follow up the blood trail. Good luck. Don't beat yourself up over rushing the follow up. It's a mistake most of us make at some point. Learn from it, make the best of it, and move forward.

 

[Allegheny Tom]

He said he couldn't find the arrow. Does sound like a gut shot though.

Gut shot was my 1st impression based on his description.
I had one of those many years ago. An early morning gut shot and the little buck went about 80 yards and laid down within sight. Every once in a while, he'd get up and move a few yards and lay back down. But he never got more than 100 yards from me so that general practice of backing out and returning 6-8 hours later was out of the question. I surely would have spooked him if I tried to climb down so I just waited it out in the stand. Man, that was a long, unpleasant 8 hours waiting for him to expire.

 

[NMSbowhunter]

Great point about them bedding down nearby and having really no choice but to stay put. It's a tough position to be in. I had a similar thing happen about 4 years ago. I shot a doe at about 16 yards, and she took a little natural hop just as the shot broke. I was shooting a heavy arrow with a razor-sharp single bevel, and it slipped through her so effortlessly she didn't seem to notice being hit. She stopped, turned around to look back, then walked about 8 yards behind a big red oak and bedded. All I could see was her head. There was no angle for a follow up shot. She got up a few times within the next 45 minutes or so and bedded back down within just a few yards. I never had a good angle to get a follow up. She finally put her head down for that last time about 45 minutes after the shot. She never went more than 20 yards from me. The super sharp broadhead easing through her without spooking her and just sitting tight and letting the whole thing play out was what saved that hunt. I suspect that the single bevel produced the starburst wounding in the intestines but i did not investigate it so that is just my opinion. She was no more than 20 yards from the edge of a 3-year-old cutover so if she had spooked and run off in there, I doubt I would have found her.

 

[redsquirrel]

Shot a doe today Bowhunting. She was at roughly 30 yards. My initial thought on the shot was that I missed cause she didn't have much of a reaction besides running off from not knowing what happened. But then I saw her bed down about 40 yards from that point so I knew I must have hit her. She bed down for about 5-10 mins before walking off almost like nothing happened but I knew something was up.


Here's we're i made a huge mistake I waited about 20 mins and wanted to at least go check for my arrow.


(Couldn't find it) but when I was walking I noticed the deer spook and take off about 100 yards away. I came across a very light blood trail for about 20 yards just small specs of bright red blood but just a drop or 2 every couple feet. At that point I just backed out and will be back in the morning to continue tracking.


I know I should have never tried to push it but it was the first deer I shot with a bow and I let the excitement get to me. Still mad at myself about that.


I'm just more so curious about the reaction she had of just bedding such a short distance from the shot then getting up and walking away no sign of being critically injured. I feel horrible and hope something will come of it tomorrow but I'm also just a bit confused.

I think you learned some good lessons here so remember that you are always learning and just keep applying that knowledge to your next encounter. A couple things I would take out of what you have said..
1. I know the hunting world says that 30 yard bow shots are acceptable, but I feel like it is too far for most people to consistently make good shots. Personally I have been bow hunting for 26 years and I now keep my shots to 25 or less, with my longest successful shot ever being 22 FWIW. The closer they are, the better chances you have of recovery. Your bad shot at 20 yards will be slightly better than your bad shot at 30 yards.
2. I had to learn the same lesson that you did once by trying to examine my arrow and pushing a deer. Fortunately I recovered her the next morning. If you see the deer bed down, you know that it wasn't an immediate kill shot and you should back out immediately. At this point the arrow is only going to confirm what you know. I would assume that it is a liver or gut shut and back out for a minimum of 4 hours, but longer if possible, preferably 8. I have had deer that I shot at 10am -noon that I left until daylight the next morning when the weather allows. If they are dead right there, great! If not, you know that it is not likely that you pushed them and won't find them because of that.

To answer your last question, sometimes a gut or liver shot deer will bed down, get up, walk away and bed down again. The other situation is a possible muscle hit but with most of the muscle hits that I have tracked the deer just run for while and don't stop and you just track them until the wound clots up. Usually if they bed down soon they are hurting in my experience. Good luck!

 

[MSbowhunter48]

Sounds like a gut shot to me, especially if you didn’t hear a thwack of the arrow punching through the chest cavity and the way she was acting. Did she look like she was hunching her back any when she walked off initially? That’s a classic sign of straight gut shot.

 

[Allegheny Tom]

......... If you see the deer bed down, you know that it wasn't an immediate kill shot and you should back out immediately. ......

I'm gonna have to disagree with that part of your post. If you can see the deer bed down, that means the deer can see you. You're going to get busted if you try to climb down and back out without running that deer off. If you wound one and it beds within sight, you have little choice other than to stay put until you are sure it's dead (unless it's a spine shot). Do not take your eyes off that animal.

Which brings up a subject we discuss on here occasionally...Binoculars or no binoculars?
This is a prime example of just one of the reasons why IMO binocs are required gear. You might be able to see a tiny portion of that wounded deer bedded. With the naked eye, you can't always tell if it's still breathing, eyes blinking, or ears twitching.
With no binocs, you can't scan the ground from the tree for valuable clues...the arrow, blood trails, type of blood, etc. Knowing a few details via binoculars can help you make the correct decisions.

 

[Blacksmith]

I'm gonna have to disagree with that part of your post. If you can see the deer bed down, that means the deer can see you. You're going to get busted if you try to climb down and back out without running that deer off. If you wound one and it beds within sight, you have little choice other than to stay put until you are sure it's dead (unless it's a spine shot). Do not take your eyes off that animal.

Which brings up a subject we discuss on here occasionally...Binoculars or no binoculars?
This is a prime example of just one of the reasons why IMO binocs are required gear. You might be able to see a tiny portion of that wounded deer bedded. With the naked eye, you can't always tell if it's still breathing, eyes blinking, or ears twitching.
With no binocs, you can't scan the ground from the tree for valuable clues...the arrow, blood trails, type of blood, etc. Knowing a few details via binoculars can help you make the correct decisions.

I hate carrying binoculars but they are so needed. I use mine a lot.

 

[NMSbowhunter]

I hate carrying binoculars but they are so needed. I use mine a lot.

That's one reason I invested in a pair of small but high-quality pair of bino this year. I bought a set of 8x25 Meoptas. They are small enough not to be in the way in a backpack but there if I need them. I bought these based on a recommendation from John Eberhart. He mentioned them in his what's in my pack video and I contacted him about them. They are a great little pair and very clear.

 

[JoeExotic244]

Well I’ve been in the woods since first light looking. To follow up on the situation when I shot the deer there was no loud whack sound all I heard was the arrow hit a rock after and go flying somewhere so I was unable to find it. The deer did not hunch over or have any type of sign of struggle taking off just went and bedded down a few mins then go up and walked away. Seeing the blood in daylight it was a very very light trail. Probably about 40 yards long and bright red blood no sign of guts or anything. I go to the spot she bedded and I can see where it appears just a little bit more blood but on 2 spots about a foot apart which I’m assuming is from the pass through.

After that spot when she walked away there was nothing. No more blood at all. I was trying over leaves and everything but couldn’t find any. When I soooed the deer last night (this is after she left her bedding and walked away) the tail was up and she was running totally fine. After the no blood I grid searched about 4 hours all over that parcel of land covered probably 5-6 miles back and forth while pushing further in. Still nothing. Then coming back to close by where I initially shot the doe I came across a group of does feeding and bedded down. Watched them for about 10 mins before they must have caught my wind or movement and took off. All of those deer looked healthy. The only one weird thing I saw was one of the does was licking near her back on both sides of her body. The could be nothing but it made me wonder if she was licking the wound. If that somehow happened to be the same deer she looked completely fine too just foraging and when they ran.

After that I covered even more spots anddidn’t find anything at all. No vultures or crows flying overhead. All I can hope is that the arrow hit some muscle and didn’t do much damage and she will live.

certainly a learning experience and one I will never forget. From now on I will limit my shots to 20-25 yards and never push in without ample time.

 

[OspreyZB]

I'm gonna have to disagree with that part of your post. If you can see the deer bed down, that means the deer can see you. You're going to get busted if you try to climb down and back out without running that deer off. If you wound one and it beds within sight, you have little choice other than to stay put until you are sure it's dead (unless it's a spine shot). Do not take your eyes off that animal.

Like everything else in deer hunting, it's all situational. Twice I have shot a deer and had it bed down within sight. The first was a button buck that was gut shot about an hour before dark and bedded down about 80 yards from me. Could barely see him through the brush, but I watched him through my binos until dark, at which point he was still breathing. I slipped out of there in the opposite direction, came back the next morning and he was dead in that same bed. The next was a big 8 point that I hit right where I was aiming, but didn't realize he was slightly quartering to. He had just beat the crap out of another buck minutes earlier, and when I shot him he took a couple bounds, stopped, and turned around, ready to put a whooping on whatever it was that just hit him. After standing there for a minute or 2 trying to figure out where the buck that just jabbed him in the rib cage went, he realized he wasn't feeling too good, and laid down. He was still only 25-30 yards from me, but behind some thick brush I couldn't shoot through. Watched him through the binos until dark (about 30 minutes after the shot) and he was still very much alive and alert, head up looking around. Using the terrain, and darkness for cover, I slowly deer-walked out of there, toe-heel, toe-heel, stop, listen..... toe-heel, toe-heel. I never heard him move. When I went back the next morning, he wasn't in the same bed, but was laying dead within sight of it. He was actually double-lunged, but I hit the very back of the offside lung. Crazy how tough they are, especially a big rut crazed buck. It's worth mentioning both of these deer were shot from the ground, which made it easier to slip out of there undetected.

 

[Allegheny Tom]

Well I’ve been in the woods since first light looking. To follow up on the situation when I shot the deer there was no loud whack sound all I heard was the arrow hit a rock after and go flying somewhere so I was unable to find it. The deer did not hunch over or have any type of sign of struggle taking off just went and bedded down a few mins then go up and walked away. Seeing the blood in daylight it was a very very light trail. Probably about 40 yards long and bright red blood no sign of guts or anything. I go to the spot she bedded and I can see where it appears just a little bit more blood but on 2 spots about a foot apart which I’m assuming is from the pass through.

After that spot when she walked away there was nothing. No more blood at all. I was trying over leaves and everything but couldn’t find any. When I soooed the deer last night (this is after she left her bedding and walked away) the tail was up and she was running totally fine. After the no blood I grid searched about 4 hours all over that parcel of land covered probably 5-6 miles back and forth while pushing further in. Still nothing. Then coming back to close by where I initially shot the doe I came across a group of does feeding and bedded down. Watched them for about 10 mins before they must have caught my wind or movement and took off. All of those deer looked healthy. The only one weird thing I saw was one of the does was licking near her back on both sides of her body. The could be nothing but it made me wonder if she was licking the wound. If that somehow happened to be the same deer she looked completely fine too just foraging and when they ran.

After that I covered even more spots anddidn’t find anything at all. No vultures or crows flying overhead. All I can hope is that the arrow hit some muscle and didn’t do much damage and she will live.

certainly a learning experience and one I will never forget. From now on I will limit my shots to 20-25 yards and never push in without ample time.

Kudos to you for the amount of effort you made to find the deer. Lesson learned, and no doubt more lessons to come but you are on the right track.

 

[redsquirrel]

I'm gonna have to disagree with that part of your post. If you can see the deer bed down, that means the deer can see you. You're going to get busted if you try to climb down and back out without running that deer off. If you wound one and it beds within sight, you have little choice other than to stay put until you are sure it's dead (unless it's a spine shot). Do not take your eyes off that animal.

That is definitely possible but not necessarily true. Most of the places I'm hunting are fairly thick and I would be able to do this. I think it is situational and you just have to evaluate it on a case by case basis.

 

[Jefferson10940]

This sounds like a liver or guy shot…. Which a bunch of us have said. Which also means a bunch have made a bad shot and have seen and learned from it. Doesn’t mean it won’t happen again but we can try to be better next time. For me it is so hard to not check the arrow and back out. I always struggle with that which is also why I text the guy who always tells me to back out and give it time, you guessed it Red Squirrel Lmao.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Buckhole75]

Judging by the way you say the deer reacted I dont get gut shot out of that Most gut shot animals leave and look all hunched up Think somebody sick and bent over holding their belly Every step looks painful My money says you shot her through the back straps Would have liked to seen the arrow Also smell the arrow Lots of time you will know if it is been through the guts Also when you make a gut hit their is a distinct sound Like thumping a rotten watermelon is the way we say it down here Most of the times lessons from the woods are tough but it will stick with you Stay after it man

 

[Phopkins]

The only absolute is that there are no absolutes.

Every scenario discussed, gut shot, liver shot, grazed, large muscle hit, etc have no hard and fast reaction by the deer.
For instance I would say a gut shot deer usually reacts by tucking it's tail and hunching up. But I can also guarantee that such a scenario isn't 100 percent the case. I can say that because I gut shot a buck 2 years ago that ran off full tilt with flag waving. That's just 1 example. I'm sure others can describe similar experiences. How the deer reacts is just one piece of a sometimes complex puzzle.