Speachless ???

[CC Hurl]

Looking for some feedback on a Doe i hit Saturday morning. I have been doing some hunting off the ground this year for the first time in 20 plus years of bowhunting. I am in the crotch of a ravine down in the southeast part of the state and have a nice natural blind setup and have been getting deer to come thru with out detection.

Last saturday morning i have a Doe broadside at 20 yards and let her fly. I watched my arrow go thru her and she takes off about 80 yards away and stops. Now i am thinking this is were she would loose her legs and fall over as i have seen many deer do in the past. But no she just stands there with her ears pined back and is twitching her tail once in awhile. I pull out my camera and get a small video clip and am glad i did. After about 10 minuts she starts walking off, jumps a fallen tree and slowly walks up to the top of the ravine as if nothing happened.

I stayed put for another 3 hours and could see my arrow on the ground about 40 yards out. When i went and retreived my arrow it had nothing but a bunch of tallow on it and small streaks of meat. I went to were she was standing and found a small puddle of blood in the snow and was able to follow small drops of blood most of the way to the top of the ravine. Once i got to the top i found a couple more drops and then it was gone. I spent 7 hours looking for her after that with no luck at all. Once i watched my video i could see a blood spot on her side about the size of your hand right behind her shoulder and about center of it. I am totaly at a loss as to why this deer did not go down as my arrow went right thru her.

I have read posts here about what is called the dead zone. Is it possable that is what i hit and she will be OK? With the snow on the ground i was able to follow her tracks until she started crossing other tracks and then i lost her tracks but continued looking for most of the day. Just want to here what you seasond hunters have to say. Does a guy need to aim for a different spot when hunting off the ground as i have always been a right behind the shoulder guy when aiming up on them and have had great success from a tree stand. Have i lost the angle advantage while being on the ground. If i go in a tree in thins spot i will be busted every time so i dont feel it is and option for sure with no leaves on the tree's anymore.

Any tips and comments would be awsome to here so i can learn something from this most unfortunate shot placement.

Thanks for your time, CC HURL

[DonBo]

It certainly sounds to me like you hit the "dead spot". This is a bit high on the animal, actually above the spine, as the spine drops down pretty low up towards the front of the animal.

When hunting from the ground you do actually need to aim quite a bit lower on the animal than when hunting from a tree. It sounds like you may have even been shooting up at her? Then definitly you need to aim pretty low to get the arrow into the vitals.

My guess is she'll be spitting out fawns in just a few months, older and wiser.

[Scoot]

CC, bummer- sorry to hear about the loss of the deer.

A couple things-- I'm sure I'll catch flack for this first one, but I'll say it anyway, because it's true-- there is no such thing as a "the void" or "dead zone". If you study the anotomy of a deer you'll see there's no void, like is talked about. The only place at or just behind the shoulder that is even close to that is above the spine. It sounds like you're saying you hit below the spine, so that's not it. Again, a bunch of guys will probably jump all over this comment, but there is no support for the idea of a "void", other than stories about deer that got away after a "perfect shot".

Note: Don's post appeared before mine did. Just for clarification- his post and mine don't really contradict each other. Traditionally, the "void" was talked about as being "above the lungs and below the spine". That spot, the one I was referring to, doesn't exist. It is easier to shoot above the spine than most people realize though. That's not what most people are talking about when they said they hit "the void"- at least in my experience.

Also, we very often don't hit a deer where we think we did. It sounds like you have some video evidence, so this may not apply in this case. I shoot a deer one time and I claimed to make a "perfect shot". I was just sure I hit him perfectly. We eventually got him, but he was hit about 8" further back than I thought he was. I also know a guy who made a "perfect heart shot" on an antelope- it ran about 80 yards and piled up. When he got to it he was shocked to discover that his "perfect heart shot" had entered the antelope's nostril and gone down his throat! The point is- both arrows and deer move really fast and our eyes can play tricks on us- no matter how confident we are about shot placement.

The only other piece of advice I can offer is to do everything you can to shoot the deer low. Low hits are much better than higher hits. IMO, the middle of the chest cavity is too high of an aiming point when shooting from the ground (not necessarily the case when up in a tree, because the exit hole can be very low, depending upon the angle of the shot). When I shoot, I try to take the top of the heart out- if I put it where I'm aiming I'll take out both lungs and the plumbing at the top of the heart. Importantly, the top of the heart is very low in the chest cavity.

Also, a lot of people aim too far back. I've actually changed my aiming point over the past couple years a little- the bone structure of the deers front legs is not like I grew up thinking it was. On a perfectly broadside deer with legs straight up and down (or the onside leg forward), you will not hit shoulder bone if you shoot above the middle of the point where the leg meets the deer's torso, 1/3 of the way up the chest cavity. A lot of guys shoot several inches behind the "crease" and think they've made a good shot, when in fact, they're too far back. On top of that, if you miss a little to the wrong side, you can very quickly get a foot towards the rear of where you were aiming.

[sticknstring]

As the boys mentioned, sounds you put one through her backstraps. Very easy to do, especially from the ground. I hit a buck there 2 years ago. Ran out of blood right away. The rifle crew shot him exactly a week later chasing does. The guy that shot him figured that buck had been doing some fighting. Sort of. Get back out there and make sure to focus and drill the next one. It's a humbling sport.

[CC Hurl]

Thanks for the replies you guys they are very educational and at this point I need some schooling on these on the ground shots. My first thought was to start aiming a little further back to insure I go thru the rib cauge but just would feel weird doing that on purpose. Not sure who mentioned it but yes from were I am sitting I am shooting slightly up hill. Just blew me away that she didn't go down were I could find her. I had a bad feeling about it when she just walked off after watching her for 10 minuts or so. Like I said I stayed put for another three hours before enduring the long search I had at hand with no luck. I am just hopeing Don is right that she will spit out Fawns in the spring and be a little more smarter. I have lost deer in the past and it takes it's toll on me when it happens but I mostly want that deer to live to see another day. Never gets easier and the day it gets easy is the day I quite this sport as I have then lost the respect theses animals deserve. I have one in the freezer now and keep telling myself to hang it up for the year but that's easier said than done for this guy. I will be back out and hope that I have learned something here and will aim lower when on the ground. My wife tells me to get back up in a tree. This spot is a great travel spot for thses deer and I have seen some nice bucks this year out of it. If I go in a tree they will bust me coming down the hill side so that wont work. Tyhanks again you guys and if you have anything to add please do. Stick you are right on when saying this is a humbling sort. Crazzy stuff for sure. Right now my confidence is in the tank so i will need to get that back before heading back out. Time spent shooting in the back yard should help I hope. Thanks again, CC HURL

[delmuts]

CC The guys have it covered. If you can; go out and shoot a few arrows at your target to be certain you're still right on! Then get backout there and drill yourself one!