today was the worst day ever!

[tednugefan]

so i was doin a metro bow hunt and it was 7 pm, a doe comes out stops at 25 yards i take the shot, thought it was a good shot by the way she kicked her back legs out and bolted. we go searching for it and never found a drop of blood nor the arrow or any hair. so after an hour and a half of lookin for sign we leave empty handed.

this has to be one of the worst feelings

[Kyle]

Are you going to look again tomorrow?

[Deitz Dittrich]

ted, look again in the morning... Its always a little more easy in the morning. Were you able to see the arrow hit?

Start doing circles from the area of impact.

[snoozebutton]

A kick like that could indicate a gut shot. Happened to me last year on a doe, shot looked great but the arrow deflected off a rib bone, didn't hit either lung, and went through the paunch. I didn't find any blood until the next day and then just a drop or two at first. She did a 180 and I found her lying about 100 yards behind my stand.

[vister]

deer hit by an arrow tend to circle around and more or less backtrack the route they came in on. so, if you have a good idea where she came from, like a trail or funnel, i'd focus my search there. good luck this morning, if you do go look for her.

[CrookedLake]

I've had several deer do the so called "mule kick". A couple were heart shots. One arrow grazed a does underside and never drew blood. So you can't base much off of the kick. If you're sure on your shot - don't give up. Look for (and around)water sources if any are near. You'll find her. The vast majority of the deer I've taken haven't made it very far. Keep your head up!

[Studer]

I had the same deal a couple years ago...just hit her a little too far back and hit the guts. I ended up coming back the next morning only to find her expired about 40 yards from where I stopped tracking but no doubt if I would have kept pushing, she would have kept circling. Head back out and see what you find.....GOOD LUCK and I know that feeling....one of the worst feelings ever!!!

[archerystud]

I've seen deer kick that were hit in the lungs.

Since you can't find blood I would also guess a gut shot. I helped a guy find a buck a number of years ago in which he shot hearly straight down on the deer and through the lungs. The guts kind of ran into the exit hole and we never found a drop of blood. Found the deer after about 125 yards the next day.

[palisade1kid]

You did hit her if she bucked most likely.

If it were me I'd spend a whole day looking.

Circle that whole area. I've seen how the hide can move blocking the whole from your broadhead.

[tednugefan]

good news i went out this mornin, took the trail i thought she ran on and there she was. 10 yards past where we turned around. it was a bad shot though. she was quartering away when i shot but she jumped the string and turned her body a little so the arrow hit far back and went all the way up the chest cavity. there was no blood trail or anything

[hugonian1]

Congratulations and great job on going back and finding her.

[slabchaser]

glad to hear you found her man, that is the worst feeling in the world. way to stay with it.

[snoozebutton]

Way to go nugefan, good choice on waiting overnight to go back in looking. Should've been cool enough last night to keep the meat in good shape.

[palisade1kid]

See ...now there ya go!

Trust your 1st reaction.You knew you'd hit her.

WTG on going back to search some more.

That doe deserved to be found since you took the shot.

I commend for spending the time to locate the deer!

[archerystud]

Congrats!!! Nice to see you stick to it and get her. I'm sure your hunt coordinator was happy as well.

[Kyle]

it was 55 degrees last night. They say it should be at most 40 degrees to have the rotting process slow. Its tough with all of that internal heat. At these temps, it just cant escape fast enough. I would be hesitant about eating a deer that has sat over night in this warm weather. Good job on finding it though!

[tednugefan]

went out again saturday night and plugged a another deer, this time it was a big doe and i found her that night. we took the deer from friday to the butcher and donated it. they said the meat was still fine after inspecting it.

[mrklean]

good job on the deer