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Help - Hit deer but no blood trail


Siwulat

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Hunting in savage this morning. Stuck a small buck. I am 100% confident I hit him because I saw the arrow sticking out of him. 27 yards broadside. The hit looked a little high. I can't find any blood whatsoever. I know it wasn't a pass through. I heard him run off and have searched that general direction but found nothing. I did not hear the "hollow pumpkin" sound when my arrow impacted. Kinda struggling here. Scapula hit? Non fatal? Again I don't even have a drop of blood to go on. Help!!

Breaking news - As I was sitting on the ground by the impact area I saw my arrow yards away. Got about 4-5 inches of penetration. Thoughts? 

Edited by Siwulat
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If I had to guess I'd say you missed lungs. With only 4-5 inches of penetration and likely missing lungs it might be a nonfatal hit but can't really say for sure. 

Give it some time and see if you can get on the trail of the deer.  Keep in mind following blood is only one way to track a deer.  Look for tracks, disturbed leaves on the ground, broken twigs, matted grass, etc.  

 

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Find a buddy with a dog that has a good nose.  This has worked for us quite a few times before.  Bring your bow because it probably isn't dead.  Fun to watch the dogs lock up and get scared (hair raised on their backs) when they catch up to the deer.

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Yes there was blood on the arrow. Certainly didn't look like lung blood. Just run of the mill red. Replaying the shot in my mind and seeing the arrow, I am guessing that I hit the shoulder blade. 

Ill be back looking this afternoon. 

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Had a bullet explode in a deer once a bit of a high hit and he didn't bleed, no exit wound, he ran about 50 yards and was toast, the blood was all pooled up ahead of the diaphragm or that skin you have to cut away to get to the heart/neck area. The field dress job was a mess with that 1. Good luck hope you find him. 

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Go back with a friend.  You took the shot and are already second guessing yourself.  I can't tell you the number of times I have helped recover a deer for someone that said the exact same things you did.  You hit the deer high, and you never got a pass through.  You could hit a rib bone and have that happen, the deer won't even start dropping blood until the lungs fill up. Might be 50 or 100 yards away.  Many times the shooter gets negative and starts 2nd guessing the shot, that other person generally keeps the positive attitude.  I have been on both ends of the spectrum, the friend helping to track, and also the one that took the shot.

The last thing I'll mention is that in just about every instance where I have had to get help, or had to help in recovering the deer, the deer doubled back.  Do not overlook the fact the deer could be in the exact opposite direction from which it ran.  In most of those cases, as soon as the deer was out of sight, it doubled back.  

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Follow 96triggers advice and agree a fresh set of eyes and legs covering ground with you will help a lot, another ex. of why I wish you could leash up a dog to help, he'd either likely jump it and you'd know or he'd find it and you'd know and if alive you could at least check it's bed out for sign or see it's condition maybe as it runs off.

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