Why ain't he dead? (Archers only)

[BTaylor]

The last deer I didn’t recover was hit just a bit behind and above the entry hole on this doe I killed a couple weeks ago. The buck showed back up on camera 3 days later on the same food plot. I pondered every scenario I could come up with and finally decided the only viable explanation was that I shot over the spine. This doe above pretty much confirmed those thoughts because the doe above is spine shot.

You can see by the angle of the shaft the deer was slightly quartered too so I held tight to the front end. You can clearly see by the first pic the shot was not high. When she reacted to the shot her chest dropped between her shoulders and front legs resulting in a shot that looked about perfect but wasn’t. This season is my 40th bowhunting and I still learn new stuff about every hunt. I normally trust my eyes on shots, especially when I feel the shot was executed well on a relaxed deer. Bottom line though is your eyes will deceive you sometimes and sometimes your eyes are correct but we just don’t fully understand or appreciate all that can happen with a deers body when a shot is released.


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[mattsteg]

The last deer I didn’t recover was hit just a bit behind and above the entry hole on this doe I killed a couple weeks ago. The buck showed back up on camera 3 days later on the same food plot. I pondered every scenario I could come up with and finally decided the only viable explanation was that I shot over the spine. This doe above pretty much confirmed those thoughts because the doe above is spine shot.

You can see by the angle of the shaft the deer was slightly quartered too so I held tight to the front end. You can clearly see by the first pic the shot was not high. When she reacted to the shot her chest dropped between her shoulders and front legs resulting in a shot that looked about perfect but wasn’t. This season is my 40th bowhunting and I still learn new stuff about every hunt. I normally trust my eyes on shots, especially when I feel the shot was executed well on a relaxed deer. Bottom line though is your eyes will deceive you sometimes and sometimes your eyes are correct but we just don’t fully understand or appreciate all that can happen with a deers body when a shot is released.


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Man I'm trippin'

 

[Bama_Xander]

I was hunting on the ground and had a deer surprise me from the exact opposite direction I was expecting. I only had time to guess the yardage. I guessed 30 and he was about 20. Sailed right over his back.

 

[raisins]

Last deer I shot at and didn't recover: I had a Spot Hogg fixed pin sight with 5 pins (before I only used 3 max, but usually 2 pins). In the heat of the moment (actually the buck walked in really slow which makes it worse for me), I just put the mess of pins on the deer and thankfully missed clean (I think I shot 20 yards with a 50 yard pin!). To finish that season, I bought a cheap sight and removed all pins but 1. The next year I went to a 1 pin slider. Next year, I'm considering 2 pins (25 and 40 yards).

 

[Nutterbuster]

Bump since I think everybody's season is over by now.

 

[knightwyrm]

• Yardage: 30
• Experience Level: 25 years
• Height: 25 feet up in a tree
• Deer O'clock Angle: 11 o'clock
• aim point: Boiler room
• rough indication of entrance/exit: grazed the chest behind the front legs
• whether deer was calm/alert: calm
• whether deer was still/moving: still
• post shot recovery plan: Waited an hour, then after investigation I found the arrow and determined I only grazed him in the chest behind the front legs
• any other details you feel are relevant or that you learned from: I had been seeing deer use a trail about 20 yards from my tree to circumnavigate a downed tree at the edge of a marsh. I had a decent 8 point come through a bit deeper into the marsh than I had anticipated which pushed the yardage and presented a much tighter shooting window. He had stopped in what I thought was a clear window, but after I released I heard the telltale "snick" and saw a small branch go pinwheeling through the air. The buck flinched and trotted a few steps then stopped to look around. After 5-6 minutes he trotted off and I waited an hour before investigating the aftermath. I found my arrow and a bunch of gray chest hair right where he was standing. Definitely disappointed, but grateful for the mostly clean miss after hitting the branch.

 

[HugeBull]

I am late to the game but would love your perspectives . . .

About 230 pm. 20 yards, broadside, facing right. I was on the ground, and the deer was tense. Did not see me draw but came out of cover and set eye to eye with me. I had a small beech branch right over the vitals, so bent slightly at the waist to shoot under it. Thought I had a clear shot and took it. Deer exploded, going due away from me, crossed a ditch, and busted through a nasty greenbrier and privet thicket. Hit the field edge and turned to the right, ran about 60 yards and came back into the woods. Showed to a trot and disappeared. I sat and waited for a full hour, texting a hunting buddy. After about 50 minutes, I heard a crash, but not in the direction he went. Finally got up and went to check the noise. Found a gob of deer hair but no blood. Then went to my last sighting, lots of blood. Easily tracked him to the trail I walked in, and he turned back to the field, crossed it, and dove into a thicket of thinned pines. Blood down to occasional spots, not easy tracking. I finally found a bed with a very small amount of blood. Backed out and went to shot location. Found bloody arrow covered with brown and white hair, full penetration but broken on off side. Sat at a good vantage point until dark, probably 2-3 hours. Went back to bed and could not find any more blood on ground, but did find a few smears on vegetation at deer chest height. Backed out until morning. Went back and tracked by smears to where the thicket thinned out to more open woods. Nothing. Never did find him. Not a happy camper. I think my shot was in the rib cage and should have had lungs. But, all my buddies say I missed vitals. No gut, no liver, no lungs, no heart. Never solved the mysterious crash and deer hair either. From last blood he could have circled around me and been trying to figure out what happened. I was only about 15 feet from his bed. We never found any evidence of his existence, even though I have since walked the most obvious locations. Landowner also reported no sign of anything. I am still upset about it.

Compound bow, 52#, carbon arrow, two-blade head.

 

[Fl Canopy Stalker]

Why is the last deer that you shot at and didn't recover not in the deep freeze? Feel free to elaborate, and include:

• Yardage
• Experience Level
• Height
• Deer O'clock Angle
• aim point
• rough indication of entrance/exit
• whether deer was calm/alert
• whether deer was still/moving
• post shot recovery plan
• any other details you feel are relevant or that you learned from

PLEASE DO NOT COMMENT UNLESS YOU ARE DESCRIBING YOUR SITUATION. Let's try and keep this uncluttered and a good resource for new guys. I will refrain from airing my thoughts and ask that others do the same. Clarifying questions are allowed, but lets try to limit it as much as possible so as to not dilute the info. PLEASE FEEL FREE TO POST MORE THAN ONE LOSS, AND LET'S TRY TO NOT DO MORE THAN ONE STORY PER POST TO KEEP IT EASY TO READ. We can only vote once per member on a poll, but more stories equals more data points for folks to draw their own conclusions from. Again, to draw their own conclusions from. Let's try and stay as objective and detailed as possible. This is a great group of guys. We can do it!


I'll go first. The last deer I didn't recover was about 25-30 yards away. We were both on the ground. I've been bowhunting for about 12 years or so, and have maybe a dozen to 15 kills under my belt. Deer was oriented 3 o'clock (broadside, facing right), stationary, and was investigating me but not tense and alarmed at the moment (he caught a glimpse of movement as I shouldered the crossbow). I was shooting a 23" DCA arrow with a 100 grain muzzy 3 blade out of a hickory creek mini cranked up to 150lbs. I settled in the shoulder crease, slightly low of middle line, and pulled the trigger. Everything felt good, but I head a thwack and watched the deer and its companion run off. The area was quite thick and it was quite early, so I chalked it up to a deflection after a short search of the area where the deer was standing and the direction of flight.

It was a couple years ago and I’m gonna go with operator error. Last one I didn’t retrieve was just me getting a little excited, rushing the shot. I mean the deer probably “jumped the string” but if I had taken a breath and shot to exact placement, I don’t think it would have mattered. It hit high on the back but didn’t hit the spine. He bled a little but nothing crazy. Tracked him 350 yards off into a marsh, lost blood trail, gave up and went home. Came back the next day with the blue tick and never could find that buck. A few weeks I shot a massive boar, hit him behind the shoulder and his shield stopped my arrow about 6” in. He jumped a little too. After those events I completely changed my arrow set up to 250 spine with right helical feathers, a 100 grain brass insert and a 200 grain single bevel grizzly stick broadhead. This set up weighs 190 grains heavier than my old light arrow set up. My arrows are only moving along at 249 FPS now but my bow is way quieter and I haven’t lost an animal the past two season since changing set ups. I think that Ed Ashby guy may have been into something

 

[Nutterbuster]

It was a couple years ago and I’m gonna go with operator error. Last one I didn’t retrieve was just me getting a little excited, rushing the shot. I mean the deer probably “jumped the string” but if I had taken a breath and shot to exact placement, I don’t think it would have mattered. It hit high on the back but didn’t hit the spine. He bled a little but nothing crazy. Tracked him 350 yards off into a marsh, lost blood trail, gave up and went home. Came back the next day with the blue tick and never could find that buck. A few weeks I shot a massive boar, hit him behind the shoulder and his shield stopped my arrow about 6” in. He jumped a little too. After those events I completely changed my arrow set up to 250 spine with right helical feathers, a 100 grain brass insert and a 200 grain single bevel grizzly stick broadhead. This set up weighs 190 grains heavier than my old light arrow set up. My arrows are only moving along at 249 FPS now but my bow is way quieter and I haven’t lost an animal the past two season since changing set ups. I think that Ed Ashby guy may have been into something

Can you be more specific as to the estimated size? 200lbs? 300? Bigger?

 

[Fl Canopy Stalker]

It was a couple years ago and I’m gonna go with operator error. Last one I didn’t retrieve was just me getting a little excited, rushing the shot. I mean the deer probably “jumped the string” but if I had taken a breath and shot to exact placement, I don’t think it would have mattered. It hit high on the back but didn’t hit the spine. He bled a little but nothing crazy. Tracked him 350 yards off into a marsh, lost blood trail, gave up and went home. Came back the next day with the blue tick and never could find that buck. A few weeks I shot a massive boar, hit him behind the shoulder and his shield stopped my arrow about 6” in. He jumped a little too. After those events I completely changed my arrow set up to 250 spine with right helical feathers, a 100 grain brass insert and a 200 grain single bevel grizzly stick broadhead. This set up weighs 190 grains heavier than my old light arrow set up. My arrows are only moving along at 249 FPS now but my bow is way quieter and I haven’t lost an animal the past two season since changing set ups. I think that Ed Ashby guy may have been into something

As far as the other details:
25’ up the tree (give or take a foot)
26 yard shot
Deer o’clock was 10:30-11
Time of day was 4:45 pm which is an hour before dark (thanks a lot day light savings time)
Cool cloudy afternoon
Deer was alert but not moving
We had a mild southwest wind (can’t remember the round about speed)...
Retrieval plan was wait an hour, get down and trail it. 1.5 hours and total darkness later..... no deer.

 

[Fl Canopy Stalker]

Can you be more specific as to the estimated size? 200lbs? 300? Bigger?

East coast Florida deer don’t usually make it to 200
I’d say a buck 40 on weight and a decent 8pt rack

 

[Fl Canopy Stalker]

Can you be more specific as to the estimated size? 200lbs? 300? Bigger?

But that boar I shot, that got away was probably 275 or bigger. He ran off with that arrow sticking out of him, left a little blood, cut through an old pine swamp, through the palmettos and gone. Needless to say that was a very sad season for me. I’ve been hunting for 19 years now but switched to strictly archery the past 6 seasons.