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Finding hit deer???!!!

fishmastyfishmasty Member Posts: 1,213 ✭✭✭✭✭
edited September 2008 in Bow Hunting and Target Archery
I shot a doe Sunday evening, good bright blood mucusy looking blood clotty puddles and she broke the arrow off (about 6 inches.) I waited until the next morning.Blood trail went 200 feet and quit,.. Looked and looked and looked,.. nothing.. I was shooting easton broad heads 125 gns.

So I figured I needed to go with a wider cutting broad head Barracuda 1 3/4 cut,.. I'm thinking this will get a lot of blood ,..
Tuned my bow up to around 60 lbs. re sighted everything for the mechanical heads and headed off in the woods this evening. At dark here comes a big Doe Alone (I don't like to shoot mother deer with fawns). Waited until I got a nice broadside shot at around 35 yds and let drive, she spun around ran a half a circle and then crashed a couple of times in a creek bottom and then it went quiet. I waited for about 20 minutes figuring alright , it was getting dark so I drifted close to where I last heard her, nothing walked the bottom for a ways and nothing anywhere. I will search 1st thing in the morning but it just amazes me how far those buggers will go with 3 razor blades grinding away at them,... Both deer were shot right behind the shoulder.

How in the * did the indians ever survive?? I would have starved at the rate I am going,..[:(]

I have shot a lot of deer with a Rifle, shotgun (slugs and buck shot and muzzle loader and have never lost a hit deer. I have been hunting for over 30 years and just started getting serious about Bow hunting. I will take my setter out with me in the morning and maybe we can find it.
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Comments

  • A.GunA.Gun Member Posts: 1,326 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    do circles where you lost the blood trail. SOunds to me like you hit her low or back, possibly a gut shot. Sometimes the entrails block the wound in a back shot which you lose a trail.
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  • fishmastyfishmasty Member Posts: 1,213 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    I saw the arrow sticking out of her right behind the shoulder. It is a tight little creek bottom maybe 200 yds wide.
    It is amazing to me how tough these son of a guns are,.[:0]
    After hunting with a rifle all these years I guess I got spoiled??or took the Creatures for granted a little bit. If I don't find this one I am not shooting anymore deer with a bow. I hate to waste/wound animals like this it is ridicules.[V]
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  • bang250bang250 Member Posts: 8,021
    edited November -1
    Get some friends together and do a grid search. If you hit her in the goodies she didn't go to far. [:)]
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  • buckeyboybuckeyboy Member Posts: 5,833
    edited November -1
    Take your time tracking have someone stand at the last sign of any kind as you or an experienced tracker moves foward SLOWLY hands and knees if necessary once you find the next clue have that person move up and you repete the process. Look on branches leaves even the smallest clue can point you in the right direction.. By where you said the arrow is is one lung they can go quite aways and bleed inside making recovery difficult .. I'm pulling for ya best of luck in your recovery.[;)]
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  • fishmastyfishmasty Member Posts: 1,213 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Took my Dog with me the next morning ar 1st light. She got on the track and even though I thought the deer went down in the creek bottom she wanted to go up and across the creek,.. She found the broad head, It was broke off about 2 inches above the shaft. The deer then followed the creek up over a little ridge and hit another drainage with a good bit of water in it ,. We lost the trail.[:(]
    It amazes me how far those buggers can go. I have shot my bow a lot, put a peice of paper in front of the target to see if my rest is off (nice clean hole) Shooting good tight groups, so I don't know. I hate for an animal to suffer and also loose it,..

    I have been shooting with a neighbor of mine. Who is a very experienced Bow Hunter and he says I am shooting great and doing everything right by the book.

    I think I will give it a break for a while???
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  • tcleartclear Member Posts: 132 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    They truely are amazing creatures, and anyone that has archery hunted for any length of time will surely, if they are being truthful, have some similar stories. We took a 140 inch 8 in rifle two years ago that was gangreened (sp?) due to an archery shot that hit the liver (a little far back). I knew everyone hunting that property and it turned out the buck was hit nearly 3 weeks before my brother snuck up on him in bedding that day. I have had liver shot deer not go 100 yards before laying up and bleeding out and I have had double lungers I had to look for for two days because I had no exit wound and the cavity never filled up and bled out to give me a good solid trail. Don't give up. 9 times out of 10 I have watched the whitetail I have taken with a bow over the last 25 years fall within eye sight or have a very short trail, but it is that one of ten times that eats at you. Especially on the rare occassion that we could not make a recovery. Having been in this spot, it is tough to get out and look again, or get back up that tree, but you are a hunter with a good sound conscious. You will have better days! Stay at it and keep searching the area. If you do not find her laying, you may just be able to catch sight of her when she is having trouble getting out of bedding due to the wound. Either way, keep at it. Good luck.
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  • buckeyboybuckeyboy Member Posts: 5,833
    edited November -1
    quote:Originally posted by fishmasty
    Took my Dog with me the next morning ar 1st light. She got on the track and even though I thought the deer went down in the creek bottom she wanted to go up and across the creek,.. She found the broad head, It was broke off about 2 inches above the shaft. The deer then followed the creek up over a little ridge and hit another drainage with a good bit of water in it ,. We lost the trail.[:(]
    It amazes me how far those buggers can go. I have shot my bow a lot, put a peice of paper in front of the target to see if my rest is off (nice clean hole) Shooting good tight groups, so I don't know. I hate for an animal to suffer and also loose it,..

    I have been shooting with a neighbor of mine. Who is a very experienced Bow Hunter and he says I am shooting great and doing everything right by the book.

    I think I will give it a break for a while???
    dont give it a break... stay with it. in the heat of the moment its easy to make a less than perfect shot by what you explained sounds like you hit the shoulder bone. 2" is not enough to kill.. best of luck you tried your best and diddent give up thats what counts... it will happen.. be patitent[;)]
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  • fishmastyfishmasty Member Posts: 1,213 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    I am pretty sure the 2 inches that broke off was from the other side of the deer, meaning that there is/was 29 inches still in it???
    I may go out tonite and sit and watch them tonite,..

    Thanks for the words of encouragement though, it does not make me feel so crappy,.

    Cheers, Fish
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  • DIRTYRATDIRTYRAT Member Posts: 2,167 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    I'm going to try using "Rage" 2-blade broadheads for more/better blood trails this year... Alot of people I know have recommended them and have used them with excellent results....Even so, sometimes the shot is not where you want it or the angle,{POOP HAPPENS!} Dont give-up,switch gears and grab a different lane[8D]
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  • dcso3009dcso3009 Member Posts: 2,350 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    quote:Originally posted by DIRTYRAT
    I'm going to try using "Rage" 2-blade broadheads for more/better blood trails this year... Alot of people I know have recommended them and have used them with excellent results....Even so, sometimes the shot is not where you want it or the angle,{POOP HAPPENS!} Dont give-up,switch gears and grab a different lane[8D]

    Hey Rat
    Be careful with the Rage heads. They do make a big hole, but the ones I had were not very sharp, and the blood trails where not what they should have been for that big of a head. This year I went to G5 Strikers. They are the sharpest head I have seen as far as out of the box. They have thick blades that look really strong, and I have shot one into a broadhead target nearing 100 times and it is just as sharp as the others still in the package.
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  • fishmastyfishmasty Member Posts: 1,213 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    I picked up a package of Rage's this afternoon ,.. Pricey!!!
    At least they come with a practice tip.. It shoots accuratly. Went and sat in the stand this evening, 2 deer came drifting along, Mama and Fawn. [:)].

    I did notice that they were not super sharp, A few of my Buddies
    just Rave about how great they are so what the heck. He told me he has not had to trail one more than 100 yds., and a lot of Blood.

    So we will see.

    Cheers, Fish
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  • tcleartclear Member Posts: 132 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    I have shot the rage 2 blade for 2 years now and took two with it last year. Both fell within sight. one shot was at 18 yards from the stand and I had about 4 inches buried in the ground on the other side of that doe. I cannot say nearly enough good things about these heads. I was a lifelong muzzy guy before trying these because I was getting a lot of drift out of my new mathews with the muzzies, so went to the rage. I absolutely love them. The replacement blades I got this year are definately sharper than the originals, but it still never hurts to sharpen them up a little more too.
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  • fishmastyfishmasty Member Posts: 1,213 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    quote:Originally posted by tclear
    I have shot the rage 2 blade for 2 years now and took two with it last year. Both fell within sight. one shot was at 18 yards from the stand and I had about 4 inches buried in the ground on the other side of that doe. I cannot say nearly enough good things about these heads. I was a lifelong muzzy guy before trying these because I was getting a lot of drift out of my new mathews with the muzzies, so went to the rage. I absolutely love them. The replacement blades I got this year are definately sharper than the originals, but it still never hurts to sharpen them up a little more too.


    That is what I have been told. I am going to give it another shot ([;)]) so to speak.
    What do you sharpen your up with? I was thinking a wet stone?
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  • bang250bang250 Member Posts: 8,021
    edited November -1
    I shot the rage last year [xx(]. I hear some still have that set screw and some have a pin. there was recently an issue on AT of the roll pin falling out which means the blades fell off. Don't get me wrong they are a nice head,make a great whole, I never had to track a deer but the design still needs work. Set screw cant replace blades, roll pin= roll of the dice. If they ever get the bugs worked out I'll shoot them again. Not until then
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  • buckeyboybuckeyboy Member Posts: 5,833
    edited November -1
    go with slick tricks and dont look back best head out there today.
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  • bang250bang250 Member Posts: 8,021
    edited November -1
    quote:Originally posted by buckeyboy
    go with slick tricks and dont look back best head out there today.


    Dats what I B shootin dis year! [:D]
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  • buckeyboybuckeyboy Member Posts: 5,833
    edited November -1
    quote:Originally posted by bang250
    quote:Originally posted by buckeyboy
    go with slick tricks and dont look back best head out there today.


    Dats what I B shootin dis year! [:D]
    they are awsome almost always a pass-through which makes for good bloodtrail.. I B sticken with tricken the deer[:D][;)]
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