Had the same bear pass by my stand behind my house on Tuesday just like I predicted. Unfortunately, I was in PA house shopping...
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Team 8
- Thread starter MattMan81
- Start date
Went out this morning. Stealthed in to a great spot this morning. Didn’t spook anything, climb went great, wind perfect. Then it started pouring. Got soaked and left cause even if I hit one I wouldn’t be able to track it. Guess I shoulda checked the radar 
Im getting packed for a trip up to northern part of the state (AL) for a scout-with-my-bow aka early archery hunt next week. Also going this weekend to scout a special opportunity area that my friend got drawn for a hunt later this year. It’s officially hunting season and I’m feeling pretty optimistic this year.
Well I ****ed up today gents. It was a great Morning hunt everything went great. Doe walked in to 20 had no idea I was there. I took the shot. Felt pretty good, heard the thwack and saw it was a pass through. Not much blood, meat and tallow on the arrow.
Deer crashed within sight, so I packed my stuff and went to my truck. Got back to the spot the doe crashed and nothing…
Tracked blood for about 200 yds and then it just stopped. It’s my second year hunting and the first deer I’ve not recovered.
Not a good day.
Deer crashed within sight, so I packed my stuff and went to my truck. Got back to the spot the doe crashed and nothing…
Tracked blood for about 200 yds and then it just stopped. It’s my second year hunting and the first deer I’ve not recovered.
Not a good day.
Hang in there. It's happens to everyone. Sounds like a high or low hit. Back strap or low. Where you following drops or lines??
It was a low hit. I was going for a heart shot. This is no excuse, but I came home and shot for about an hour and my sight was off. I must have bumped it or something. Everything was low right by about 2” at 20 yds.
Don't get down on yourself, s**t happens. Lets dig into it a bit since you are relatively new to hunting.
Did she move before the arrow made impact? How did she react when the arrow hit her? Mule kick, jump or not even move till she heard the thwack"? After the hit did she walk away or take off like a rocket?
You said the doe crashed in sight. Was it indeed an out of control crash or did she intentionally lay down? What was her head position when she was down? Injured deer lay down but keep their head up.
How far did she run before going down? How long did you wait before getting down?
I don't know all of the logistics, but It is possible that you bumped her when you got down.
Some things to remember:
Unless you are 100% certain the deer is dead, meaning you visually see a lifeless body (head on ground and no visible chest movement), stay in the tree for at least a half hour. Longer is better. Marginal hits need time to bleed out. If you're not certain where the arrow hit, then stay put for at least a few hours. Use this time to replay the sequence of events in your mind. Take note of her body language, where she was standing, where the arrow entered, her reaction, and the direction she ran off.
It doesn't matter if a dead deer lays on the ground for a few extra hours while you wait in the tree because you aren't sure of the hit. It will be there for you to find. Now, get down and track an injured deer before giving it a chance to expire and you risk bumping the deer, losing the blood trail, and increasing the odds that you'll never recover it.
Once you do get down, go to the spot she was standing when you took the shot. Search for clues like blood, hair, and hoof prints. Your arrow can give you an idea of the hit. Completely covered in bright red blood - good hit. Dark red blood may be liver, back out for at least 4 - 6 hours or longer. Brown/green/food on arrow is a gut hit, deer will die but it could take 24 hours or more. Blood trail will suck too. Tracking too soon will push her into next county. No blood, or minimal blood and greasy/tallow could have hit muscle only or was a grazing shot. Most likely not fatal but do a quick search of the area to prove the assumption correct.
Learn from every encounter you have, good or bad, and enjoy being a bowhunter! If it was easy, all the gun hunters would do it! HAHA!!
Now get out there and put one on the ground,
Good luck brother!
Hung for 3 hours this morning over food plot in backyard. Had a doe bedded on the hillside that I had to chase away so she wouldn't see me get into tree, lol. Thought deer would be moving with the 25 degree drop in temperature. thinking the 20 - 30 mph wind kept them bedding.
Thanks man! I’m back out. I’ll drop the next one.
Had 6 hen turkeys walk behind me on the hillside around 6pm. Then a small fork point came out from the row of evergreens on the other side of the food plot. He fed at my apple trees for a few minutes, then left the way he came in. If I had a shot, I would have taken him. Got a few buck tags so no reason to be picky right now, especially with an empty freezer. Stayed till I couldn't see my sight pin, then got down. As I walked out of the brush line, there was a doe standing not more than15 yards away. She must have come in when I was at the base of the tree picking up my bow. I ignored her and walked towards the house. Checked with a flashlight 10 minutes later and sure enough, more deer out there feeding.
Always a good hang when you see game moving about.
Always a good hang when you see game moving about.
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I hope you guys aren't waiting for me to knock one down before you do..... I ended up working my Monday instead of the day off. So still feel behind in my time in the woods. I'll get there. I'll just have to take some time off in November.
I’m loading the truck to leave right now, just had to take a toilet and saddlehunter break before I hit the road. 3 days of mid-week wilderness fun. Hopefully I don’t see another soul (except my hunting group in camp).
Put an arrow through a doe on Tuesday evening. Worked all day Wednesday but I will post pic and enter it in contest submission thread tomorrow... ughhh, it's after midnight already, crap! So sometime today. Gotta get some sleep, got a date with a bear that keeps showing up on camera...
On the hillside waiting for Yogi. Earlier, had a few doe come within 40 yards but I didn't have a shot. Btw, this is the view from 32 feet up...
Last time I was out, I had to pick a different branch for my preset. The one I picked earlier was to narrow to pull the rope thru. (Which sucks to figure that out in the am). I got my throw ball stuck trying to get a branch above it. So I took my other and got over the one just over that. I used all of my 85' of rope to go up and get it. It was a nice view. It was on the side of a hill, so not to bad to the one side. I had a good look into the marsh on the other side. I ended up leaving the preset on it since my rope made it. May hunt it come gun season..