What the heck happened??????

[Mark Christianson]

Well, I am a disheartened today.
Last night at 5:30 I had a nice broadside/quartering away shot at a fawn.

My 7 year old son was with me and I really had no intentions of taking a fawn, but a couple things came into play last night.
1. My son was with, and I thought this was a GREAT opportunity to harvest a deer with him at my side.
2. A neighbor at our cabin had heart surgery recently, and won't be able to hunt this year, so I thought this was a great chance to get some venison for him as well.

Well, I took the shot and it hit where I would have considered it to be a good shot.
The deer rolled over in its tracks, and began kicking its legs straight in the air. It got up, and fell over again.
Then, it apparently used some reserve powers, and got up and ran as if it wasn't even hit.
I figured it was going to be right around the corner, and I looked at my son, and told him it was a good hit.
Long story kinda shorter, I made a grave mistake. I was so excited for myself and my son, I stepped out in the alfalfa field after about 2 minutes and went down a short ways, thinking it would be right there expired in the field.
I heard a snort in the woods and a deer took off. My heart just sank.
(I KNOW, WHAT WAS I THINKING?????)
I am so absolutely disgusted with myself. I know better than to push like that.

Bottom line, I looked for an hour and a half, and my Dad and Bro in Law came out for an hour; and we did not recover the deer. We even had my Lab, Cota. No deer.

I am questioning and requestioning every aspect of what happened.
Without coaxing my son with an answer, I asked where he saw the arrow hit. Hit said right behind the front leg. (I had to have some verification of what I saw, and he described exactly what I saw).
I can't believe the deer went down like that, struggled a couple times, and bolted like lightning.
If I would have hit it in the heart, it should have expired within the couple minutes I waited. I obviously was not that lethal.

Lesson learned:
DO NOT EVEN CONSIDER LOOKING FOR A DEER NO MATTER HOW GOOD YOU THINK YOU HIT IT.
I am just sick. I went out this morning and gave up early, because my heart just wasn't up for it. I was extremely concerned about another chance and losing another deer.
How do others go back in the woods and just move on? My confidence level has been demolished, or at least tainted a lot.
Cripes.

[PerchJerker]

Sorry to hear what happened. But don't despair, if you hunt long enough this type of thing is bound to happen sooner or later.

From the way you described it, the mistake was pushing the deer too soon. My guess is that it was bedded down in the woods and would have died right there if it hadn't been pushed. The only other thing that I think might be going on is a gut shot, but it doesn't sound like that was the case.

In terms of how you go on, you just do. Take some practice shots to make sure you're still on and get your confidence back in your shooting ability. And learn from your mistake. It s*cks when it happens, but losing a deer is not the end of the world. Some critters will find that deer and put it to use, and life goes on.

[Stratosman]

Well,

I can say that I've been there too, only once though, fortunately. You made no mention of a blood trail or any sign on the arrow or if the arrow was recovered at all? What was the distance, did the arrow pass through or could you see it sticking out the other side? Are you sure the snort you heard was from the fawn or its mother?
Hey we are all human and sometimes even the best archers make poor shots and poor decisions, the main thing is that you owe it to the animal to be well practiced and confident, and only make shots that you are 100% confident in, even in the heat of the hunt. If you are all that and you still make a bad shot, you have every right to feel terrible about the situation. Track the deer and do everything you can to try to recover the animal and if you still come up empty, tell yourself you did the best you could and learn from the mistake and try to never repeat it. I often have to force myself to stay in the tree after I shoot a deer no matter how good I think the placement was, I try to wait at least a half hour before tracking the deer. It's the hack hunters out there with the dull broadheads and the 60 yard pins that I worry about, not the hunters that put in the time and practice, and occasionaly make a mistake, it happens to the best of us. I know you are not one of the hacks because you wouldn't give a darn about a wounded deer and you sure as hell wouldn't learn from it. Just get back in that tree and redeem yourself.

[delmuts]

as said ; things like this happen ! and from your entry, you are a true sportsman. the people that it doesn't bother are the ones that make me upset. keep practicing, and go back to hunting! this is one lesson you will never forget. i would also point out to your son what you think happened, and what should have been done differently. be honest with him. things happen . del

[Deitz Dittrich]

BLB-keep the head up dude.. it happens... Did you ever recover the arrow? And is it possible that the snort could have been from another deer and that yours was actually down? Jus ttrying to throw out a few other ideas... Maybe take some time today and give it one last look. Its amazing how if the light is comming from another direction things can look so different...

Best of luck!

[BLACKJACK]

It does seem strange that the deer would hit the ground and then jump up running! I'd also like to hear about what kind of blood trail their was, red blood or dark blood, did you find the arrow, etc. One guess might be that you hit a should blade, would like to hear what you say about the arrow.

As far as going onward, sounds like the only thing you did wrong was looking too soon, you took a shot that was in your range, thought you had a good hit, recruited help to find the deer. We all lose deer, it sucks, but its a fact of hunting, some wounded animals aren't found. Take a couple days off, hit the practice butt, then start thinking about the upcoming rut and the other reasons you like bowhunting, the challenge, the sunrises and sunsets, the pheasants crowing. Good luck!

[This message has been edited by BLACKJACK (edited 10-04-2004).]

[Mark Christianson]

It was at 20 yds.
Standing in alfalfa that is very tall.
(I had spotted deer bedded in it the day before when I pulled in with my truck to go duck hunting, and all I could see were eyeballs and the ears from the deer bedded)

I did not recover the arrow. It was no where near a gut shot. I saw(and my son saw), the arrow hit in the lower front of the deer. Not 100% perfect, but it couldn't have been more than a few microns off the mark.
I do not know if it passed through. When the arrow hit, it dropped like a rock, and thrashed on the ground on its back, with feet kicking in the air. It could have passed through, or broken off. But, I could not find it in that alfalfa. I searched frantically for it. Nearly impossible in a field that thick and tall though.
Blood was the other wierd deal.
I could not find blood. Yes, I could not find any. Even where the deer was thrashing on the ground. Obviously I didn't hit heart.
My dog sniffed the area there very hard too, and I looked again for blood.
But, again, that alfalfa was so thick and tall, it was the old needle in a haystack.

Its just all to wierd. When I shot, my first instinct, was; "great hit, and WOW, its down!!!!"
It struggled up once, and tipped over again.
Then it bolted.
From my position, I could not see over a rise in the field where it exited the area. I was trying like heck to see if there was blood or an arrow on the opposite side as it bolted, but the lower part of the body was out of eyesight.
It happened so fast, I am still in awe.....

PS - I was hunting on the ground, so I had a very bad sight line as it ran off. If I had been in a stand, it would have been much easier to follow the post shot events.

[Mark Christianson]

Oh yea.
The other lesson learned for me as I read my own posts:

Even though you "think" you have everything on your side; keep all your senses tuned in on the animal.

When that thing dropped, I really thought it was down for good. I wasn't mentally ready for the unexpected(the deer getting up again, and bolting).

I will be shooting again this week, to ensure that thing is working as expected. I have no reason to believe its off, because it hit the mark where I was aiming. (Brandon did tell me last night that my arrow tip was shaking before I shot. Amazing how obervant some kids are. Gotta love it.)

[TomBow]

If you hit low, you may have ended up getting just under the lungs and behind the heart.

It's going to happen no matter how much you practice. Is there a chance that there was a deflection? It's the ethical guys that worry so much about a lost deer. I would feel the same way and have because it has happened to me. You may not get totally over it but you value and respect the animal and have done your best to retrieve a deer you shot. That's what you have to focus on.

[bigbucks]

biglake, that really stinks, I know where you're at man. I took a beautiful 15 yard shot at a big six or small eight pointer about 5 years ago. It was quartering away, it turns out more than I realized, & I put the arrow exactly where I aimed. The arrow stayed in the deer & he ran off with I thought about half the arrow sticking out behind his shoulder. We trailed him a few hours later & wound up jumping him half a mile away. There was a so so blood trail, but the deer ran off fine, with the arrow still in him & no trail after where we jumped him with very little blood in the bed.

My guess is your arrow's in or right behind the shoulder blade & the force knocked the smaller deer down & then it fell again trying to figure out how to run with that arrow in there. We never found my buck dead & gun hunted that entire area, driving all of the nearby woods. I think the arrow will eventually get pulled out or break. Chances are if an artery doesn't get cut when that arrow breaks or come out, the deer will live, but it will most likely limp.

It stinks when things like this happen, but they do happen sometimes. You took an ethical shot & hit where you aimed. In my case when that's happened, I've looked until I was exhausted & then maybe didn't hunt for a day or two, but then the urge takes over. You'll be fine. I my experience, most people who talk about never losing a deer, probably haven't shot that many or have only rifle hunted. No one ever killed a deer in a hunting situation without taking the shot, & with that comes the risk of a poor hit. Our job as ethical hunters is to minimize the risk of it being a poor hit, other than that you just have to pray.

[jlm]

My bet is that you actually missed the deer. You say you found no blood and no arrow. I bet the arrow is worked under the field cover where you can not see it. Usually if you hit a deer, the arrow would break off or pass through and would lay on top of the field cover as opposed to penetrating under the cover as would happen if you missed. Deer very often will stumble or trip on something when startled but I have to this day never seen a deer put down by a well placed shot (I do not consider a backbone shot a well placed shot). They tend to bolt or jump up or even sink down to all 4's but never will they hit the ground and then get up and run (this is in my own experience, it might differ from others). I am almost positive that you missed the deer. I would go out and look for the arrow again, its probably stuck in good someplace under the alfalfa! That is a better alternative than losing a deer I guess. Good luck in your search!

[Walleye Guy]

I agree with jlm. I think you may have had a low grazing shot that didn't cause any bleeding. I would go back and look for you arrow again. I bet its buried in the ground somewhere.

[bigbucks]

I hadn't thought of that, because you said you hit the deer. It's possible you stuck it in the ground between it's legs & it tripped on the arrow. I did that way back when I first started hunting one time. I heard this big crack, so I was sure I'd hit the deer, but then we found half of the arrow broken off unscathed. We decided I heard him snap it, because it was caught between his front legs. This deer had turned out to be almost 10 yards further than I thought he was, hence I shot low.

[Mark Christianson]

It was hit. No question. I saw the arrow hit. So did my son.
I also heard the hollow "melon" sound when it hit. I have missed my target in the back yard, and there is a big difference in sound when a arrow hits turf/sticks/grass versus the sound of a chest cavity.
There is no doubt whatsoever it was hit.
It dropped over to its right side and on its back and kicked for a second stumbled up and went down again.
I stood there thinking it was the greatest thing because the deer was down in my sight.

When it ran off, the tail was down, and it was on a mad sprint.

A deer that is not hit is typically going to have the flag up, and bounding away not knowing what took place; more than a mad sprint like this deer did.

I should shoot broadheads with a 6 inch cutting pattern maybe.... j/k

By the way, its 125 miles away to where this deer was at. I wish I could run out after work and at least bring a metal detector out there.

Also, I have never shot a deer in alfalfa, and an archery guru this morning was talking to me about this. When I said how tall the alfalfa was, he said "I bet you had a hard time finding blood."
Then I told him we couldn't find any, and he said thats not surprising in a tall alfalfa crop. I was at least glad to hear I am possibly not totally blind, but I am still shocked.

[This message has been edited by biglakeba$$ (edited 10-04-2004).]

[jlm]

I have had deer that have not had a blood trail for over 100 yards before I picked up some sign. However, they eventually bled. If you were able to see the deer run away, how far did you see it run? Did you find the exact spot where it ran back into cover? When a deer is hit (particularly a young deer) they will stop just inside of the first cover they can find. I would take a long close look in that spot. Many times they will die just inside the first cover they can find. I am still convinced you did not hit the deer however. I would look for the arrow when you have a chance! One other thing, do you normally watch the flight of the arrow when you are practicing? I do not but sometimes when I get excited (like when shooting at a deer) I tend to watch the arrow. If you do not practice this way, you will allow the torgue of the bow to pull to the side more than usual if you attempt to watch the arrow in flight. This will throw your shot off considerably. Just a thought I had. What ever the case, good luck!

[bigbucks]

I would agree with that, they have to be pouring blood to see it in alfalfa. I nailed the little one I shot Saturday night & it was pouring & I still didn't find much in the long grass. It was just on the leaves and on the brush when it turned into the woods. This deer fell in sight & stayed there, so tracking wasn't an issue.

[Mark Christianson]

jlm

The deer went around and out of my sight. I know within about a 50 yd span where I think it entered the woods.
Its a lost cause now. That was Saturday night and 125 miles away from where I sit now, and its not worth my time to go disrupt the woods looking for a deer at this point. I would love to know what happened, but I can't search forever.

I looked for that arrow, and so did 3 other people. We did not find it. The only thing that will find it in 16 inch tall alfalfa is a metal detector.

I assure you it was hit. It was 20 yds away, with no obstructions any where near my arrow path. Like I said, I heard that hollow cavity sound on impact. No alfalfa or ground is going to sound anything like that. Kind of hard not to follow the flight of the arrow at that close of a distance too. I saw where it hit, and thats why I was so darn confident when I whispered to Brandon that it was a good shot.
A 100% sure hit.
How do you explain the tail down while running? A wounded deer runs with its tail down most times. A startled deer runs with that big old flag in the air most of the time.

Everything points to that deer being hit and hurt.
Oh well, I am not here to argue if I hit it or not. Just posting a negative experience in hopes others may learn what I have learned, and wondering what others have experienced.

[bigbucks]

I understand not finding the arrow in the alfalfa as well. There's an alfalfa field behind my target at home & I've lost a couple of arrows in there, that I never have found & I've looked 3-4 times.

[Royce Aardahl]

hang in there blb and don't loose any more sleep over it. I can still recall the screw ups I've had over the last 37 years but you just live with it. you gave it all you could and even had help trying to find the deer. that to me is a good example to your son. worse than a 20 inch smally spitting a lure isn't it.

[jlm]

Whatever the case BLB, I am very happy that you gave it a great effort to recover the deer. Unfortunately, there are many that would not. I hope you don't think I am jumping on you, that was not my intention. Just providing a theory I guess! Good luck with the rest of the season!

[Mark Christianson]

I am going to try and get a metal detector this week from a friend.
My curiosity is killing me about that arrow.

I think I will carry a metal detector with me each time I go out.....

[jlm]

I am sure this is has been thought of in the past and I am not sure if it exists today but why can't a small transmitter be placed into the knock of the arrow so that a guy can track them? I would imagine with today's technology that it could be done and done pretty cheap. Sure would save a lot of arrows and might be helpful in tracking. Sorry, I am just thinking out loud!

[irvingdog]

.......another arguement for Luminoks.............

[Mark Christianson]

I was just thinking the same thing irv.

[Ben1022]

Curious to know what sort of broadhead you were using?
My two cents says you hit some shoulder and perhaps even a little high. With little blood, it's possible it was over the goodies in the chest cavity and if you "tickle" the shoulders and/or spine that dips down in the upper shoulder area, that can make them loose the feeling and perhaps that's why he fell down a couplel times.
Most generally, when a shot hits some major blood areas, the deer still try to keep going but w/more of a lumbering and staggered effort. It sounded like this deer recovered from some hit and made off a little quicker than if hit in vitals. Just my two cents.