I was sitting in a stand this evening that I've been hunting for a long time. It was a nice evening, a little wind but not bad. About 4:30 a buck walked out of the thick brush, walked right under me and walked north away from me. Looked to be a very nice 8 point. I drew back and grunted with my voice. He stopped at no more then 15 yards quartering away. I released the arrow and it looked to hit a little above center of the body in the back of the rib cage traveling forward toward the front leg on the opposite side of his body. Looked to be a very good quartering away hit. He went into the brush at a dead run and circled back the way he came from. I could watch him for about 40 or 50 yards before I lost sight of him. I looked for over two hours. I found some blood a short distance into the brush where he started his run. And then nothing.The fletch was sticking out of the wound, I think the broadhead hit the far shoulder and I didn't get an exit wound. I'm going back in the morning with a friend. But with no blood trail it is going to be tough.I hate to leave a deer out all night because of coyotes. The way the hit looked to me that is a dead deer. and he shouldn't go far. It is very thick and will be tough. I hope I find it. The best deer I've shot in a while.

It happens. The more eyes the better. Good luck. Lloyd

He will have ran ways because you got on him too quick before he laid down. He will be within a quarter mile on the trail he was on but look at waterholes and angle going downhill if you do not pick up the trail. Best bet would be a good trailing deer dog to take you to him but he is dead and stiff by now.

I waited 30 minutes before I started looking. If the deer is hit like I think he is, he would be dead in a few minutes.

Hope you find him bud. I’d say no blood due to no exit hole. Look in the thickest place you can find and around water.

same thing happened to me, found him 4 hours later and no blood. All internal filling the body. He went less the 75 yards t many ferns and brush. Keep looking and you will find him. Mine had slipped in a small revine

I won't take quartered away shots since we got coyotes now. Its to easy to hit one lung and he can live 12 hours or more hit thru the liver and 1 lung. If its just one lung he can even survive if you don't hit a major artery. Liver hits can also live past 24 hours if no main arteries are hit. Makes em coyote food. I found a buck over a mile away a week later by accident that was a "perfect" quartered away hit. It went thru one lung and the liver. One of the very few deer I've ever lost.

As for bleeding. I shot a doe one year at 25 yards so both holes were fairly high. I watched her go 60 yards and drop. I walked straight to her and field dressed then went looking for my arrow. When I couldn't find it I decided to track the deers patch and find the arrow that way. Therre was no blood at all to find even tho I knew her exact path. She lost it all when she hit the ground but it sstayed pooled iin her till then.

Good luck! Lungs are probably full of blood. He's done, be patient and you'll find him.

Yeah sounds like a one lung hit. If not pushed it is likely he will lay down within a couple hundred yards. I hit a doe this past Jan. One lung that I pushed in open woods. She laid down every 50 yards until I backed off and I collected her the next morning exactly where I last saw her.

Coyotes are hit or miss. We left a doe this past Saturday into Sunday morning due to a long distance drag. It was gutted and we lifted her 6’ up on a dead fall. I have 9 different Coyotes on trail cam in this 100 acre wood lot and they never touched her.

Good luck with finding your deer.

Sounds like a good hit. He shouldn't have gone too far. Good luck finding him.

Keep a clear thought process while searching. I've had one that ran up hill instead of towards water or down hill. As I've also found them that ran towards the thick stuff then circled towards the open woods. Best of luck.

Those high hits can get tough to track. Hope you get him

Had a similar situation Friday night at eight yards. Arrow weht in about one third. Had tracks but no blood jto fourty five yards. I found him about an hour and a half 140 yards away pretty much on the same as the tracks went. I back tracked him and not one drop of blood. Try not to over think it and go slow with lots of attention. Good luck, you'll find him.

Same exact shot with my buck this year. 15 yards quartering away and saw the fletching sticking out of entry. I waited an hour before I started tracking. Minimal blood, very tough tracking. I knew he crossed a hay field but wasn't sure if he went into the standing corn or entered a thick creek bottom. My neighbor and I looked for about an hour before we found him. He crossed the hay went through the creek bottom and died in the upper hay field. He ran about 150 yards. My arrow was still in him but had worked its way almost out before he fell. When I opened him up his liver and one lung were destroyed, I had just knicked the other lung. All the bleeding was in the chest cavity and when I broke the diaphragm it was like Niagra Falls. I was using a single bevel Grizzly and it did it's job. Don't give up, your hit sounds exactly like mine and I'm sure he's dead. Get help and good luck! Keep us posted.

Thanks for the support. I'm going out this morning around 8. I have to take my son to school. It rained some last night and could rain more this morning, If there was any blood it will be gone. This has not happened to me in a long time. I know it happens sometime, but it's aggravating! I will let you know how it comes out.

You know, HH, that last post was like listening to a politician - just enough grains of truth to make it sound reasonable if you don’t know any better, but loaded with so many inaccuracies, exaggerations and false assumptions that anyone who really knows the subject is left wondering whether the speaker lying or just ignorant of the facts, and in the best case scenario it’s still bound to do more harm than good.

—————————

If I were the OP and I could get a helper, I’d climb into the stand any guide him along the buck’s path, as best as I could recall it, in hopes that my helper would stumble across the animal or some kind of sign. Obviously, the more skilled the help, the better....

Either way, I’m going to guess that the buck ran on that arcing path because one shoulder was damaged and - running flat out - the un-injured side was just moving faster. That happened on my first whitetail with a bow; one tiny drop of blood where the arrow snapped off and not another drop ‘til I cut through the diaphragm.

Anyway, my deer was heart-shot and dead on his feet; I was lucky to see him start to wobble as he greyed out and then crashed.

So if it were me, I would start off on the assumption that it was a good hit and that that deer had just continued arcing until he felt. On a nice, close shot like that, it’s probably safe to assume that the shooter had a good read on the head. But if nothing turns up, yeah… Then you’re in for a real chore. Good luck with it!

The higher you hit with no exit, the less initial blood on the ground. I've tracked them with one little spot every ten yards or so, but if you really hit where you said, he will be dead. Watch and listen for crows as well, they can find a dead groundhog in a leafed-out woods...I know that for a fact. ;) Keep the faith and show us the photo when you find him.

I've had this issue more than a few times shooting out of treestands. Without an exit hole the cavity fills up with blood and has no way to get out, leaving little to no blood on the ground.

This may not help you this time, but here's what I do for future reference. I use a camenga compass to mark the exact last place I saw the deer, before I descend the tree. Everything looks different from the ground. Once on the ground I follow the compass to that spot. Unfailingly it has taken me to the last spot and has helped me take up the trail or in some cases right to the deer. I hunt pretty brushy stuff so the compass has been invaluable and really shines after dark when landmarks are difficult to make out.

The way it works---use the notch and wire to sight on the last place you saw the deer. Look through the magnifier and read the number under the line in the glass, then keeping these two aligned, turn the outside dial so the mark lines up with the needle. Once your on the ground, all you need to do is keep the outside dial mark lined up with the needle and you will walk right to that spot.

Good luck with your search.

Do'nt rule out anything. Deer do the unexpected all the time.

Virtually the same thing happened to me about a month ago. I was on the ground and took a quartering away shot at 12 yards. No blood at all at spot he was standing and beyond. Got back on my stool for about a half hour. Still no blood and I started looking at exit trails for him. Found him 60 to 70 yards away with fletching still protruding from behind his right rear rib. Broadhead lodged in his front left shoulder. No exit wound. Three small spots of blood where he fell. Internally, he was devastated but all the blood stayed inside him. I sure hope you can find him.

If you went through and hit the other shoulder, you have both lungs. You may be plugging up the only hole with guts, but eventually it will bleed. You need to stay on tracks alone, fresh broken sticks, fresh bent grass, etc.

JMO...

The hardest thing about a 1/4-away is that they only happen one 90th of the time; on the rest, you have to guesstimate. And that’s not easy because you’re tying to hit a spot in the middle of the front of an oblong shape without knowing exactly where the ends of it are.

The other challenge with that oblong shape is that the farther you get from broadside, the smaller it is (from your POV), so the harder it becomes to pick the right spot and the less room it leaves for error. Add to that the difficulty of getting through the off foreleg, and it stops being the “ideal” or “best”’shot pretty quickly...

And I think most people pick a spot that’s too far back.

So (again, JMO) I think a quarter-away has a lot to recommend it - for someone with enough knowledge of the anatomy to choose the right spot and has the skills to hit that line.

Can you use a dog?

Wish you luck , keep us posted. He probably headed for the thickest cover around . In my experience they stick to their trails . Taking a reading w/ your compass can also give an idea of his intended route .

“He probably headed for the thickest cover around . In my experience they stick to their trails.”

Depends. On a death run, they seem to go straight off in the direction they were pointed to begin with. At least until they hit something or (as I mentioned above) unless they’re lame on one side, in which case they seem to keep turning in that direction until they tip over.

If they live long enough to stop and choose their path or find a spot where they want to bed down, you’ve got it right here in River City....

I didn’t gather from the OP what the deer was doing at the last sighting or whether he heard crashing even after he lost the visual.

One thing I have found useful when tracking, is to get down on my hands and knees with a magnifyig glass and look for sign. Sometimes it is a tiny spot of blood.Sometimes it is a small disturbance to the ground. But when you do your tracking be careful not wander too far ahead because you could be destroying valuable sign.

If you can and you have a buddy, you climb back up into your stand and direct him to were you last saw the deer. Being on the ground it looks a whole lot different than from the stand. Once you get him there have him tie some TP on something at that spot, them both of you start circling to find blood or the deer. If the shot was as you described, he shouldn't be far. DANNY

If you can and you have a buddy, you climb back up into your stand and direct him to were you last saw the deer. Being on the ground it looks a whole lot different than from the stand. Once you get him there have him tie some TP on something at that spot, them both of you start circling to find blood or the deer. If the shot was as you described, he shouldn't be far. DANNY

Good luck man!

Best of luck finding him !

I've seen wounded deer had uphill and down. Along the path they were on and back the way they came. Toward water and away from it. Better to *look* than to generalize.

Good luck, hope you find your deer.

Good luck! Another reason I like big broadheads, Simmons sharks, Snuffers, Four blade muzzy phantoms, Palmer extreme cuts.

It is amazing how invisible a hard hit deer can be at times. Apparently one got hit and not recovered where I sometimes hunt. It fed a group of six eagles.

I'm excited! Sounds like a good hit. Photo please when you get it home!

I'd have to say it argues for heavier arrows. You can get good momentum with moderate speed.

Yes lets see a photo please. Did I hear you saw the fletch sticking out? How do you know it wasn't the fletch sticking out because arrow went through vertebra and the arrow was jammed.

Now what hairs did you see on the ground at the impact spot?

What did the deer do immediately at the hit? Did he go down or bolt or kick his legs like if he got shocked.

Did you hear him fall down maybe if you herd that?

Look for your arrow. Walk out as many trails as you can. Another day birds and smell will tell you if he is down.

Describe how you felt through the night. Did you feel like he was down or similar emotions. Many times our inner emotions tell us yes or no.

If you get this deer will it be a surprize to you or do you definitely feel you got him and you just have to find where he is laying?

Yes it does happen and if didn't to any then your the best killer of us all then.LOL

One thing is if that arrow is in him in his shoulder he will keep getting cut up.

We should not get too easy to judge anything, since we cannot possibly know much of anything. Irregardless, stuff happens, I hope he recovers the deer.

My advice is to get some good lighting. They make some really good LED lights that really help with the tracking job. The blood sign will be best right now. Waiting till morning lets sign dissipate and the obvious coyote factor. If you cannot locate sign check wind direction and walk lines down wind from where you think he might be. I have found several bucks in thick brush by smelling that stinky rut smell and walking to them. By the sound of it he should be there.

The guy said it entered behind the ribs and he feels like it hit the off shoulder. If that is the case a heavier bow likely would not have been any different. This is likely a tracking problem and not a light bow problem.

Best of luck to you

Trust your instincts.

DDave

Thanks guys for all the replies. We found the dear quickly this morning! I took a friend and he does have plenty of experience. I have been hunting that property for over 25 years and know it pretty good. The hit was like I described yesterday, the arrow went in behind the rib cage but entered higher then I thought. I did get an exit wound. And George is spot on with the high hit. It was to high to bleed out good. All the blood was internal, I did get both lungs. I felt good about the hit, And was sure the dear was down. But I always worry when I have to leave one over night. I did beat the coyotes to this one. I left them a good gut pile to feast on. The dear is an eleven point, typical 10 point with one double eye guard, Beautiful dark rack. It did rain some last night and there was no blood to be found. I went down the trail I thought he may have taken on his death run. I found the fletch end of my arrow and then knew we were on the right trail. A little further and we could see him down and out. He bled a big spot where he fell from his mouth. The body was full of blood. On close shots I have a tendency to shoot high, Need to work on that. I don't remember saying I shoot a light bow. I'm shooting 46 pounds at my draw length and from my experience with deer and hogs, that is not a light weight bow. Thanks again for the support.

Go in at first light with a clear head and find this deer. You got this! If hit is as you think he’s done and was right after you shot. Last 2 deer I shot were quartering away and I hit off shoulder and not a speck of blood on the ground. Nothing!! Both went well under 100 yards, the last luckily I saw fall. Just stay calm and read the sign. Don’t get in a hurry.

This hit with a woodsman and no blood on ground!! None!! Both lungs and slash to heart and all bleeding was internal

I had walked down that trail a ways last night but didn't go far enough or I would have found him. I would say he may have went 100 yards. I would be happy to post a pic of the deer but I don't know much about that. Sorry. The Stickbow site has a good bunch of people. Thanks to you all.

If you have a consistent issue with shooting high on close shots from a tree stand, maybe canting the bow more can bring the shot down for you.

Let’s see a pic of the deer. Love seeing the animals people take.

Congratulations, you will sleep good tonight, well done!

So glad you found him. Sounds like a good hit on a nice buck. You just ran out of light to look for him. >>>----> Ken

So glad you found him! Congrats man! Always a nail bitter when you have to wait it out!

Awesome! Congratulations! (Been a nail biter for us here ;-) )

See! I told you! Some guys were too hung up on making up science problems. Just think positive and move forward. :) Congratulations !

Glad you found him arrowflinger. He was dead and he didn't know it. Nice job finding him. I've watched them run a 100 yards like they weren't even hit with a 12ga. Slug through their heart from ten yards. Their brain just doesn't know their body is dead. I know they sometimes do, but I've never seen one just tip over on the spot.

Bjrogg

Congratulations. you'll sleep better tonight.

glad you found him, nice job

Excellent!! Glad you found him. 46# is more than adequate for whitetails. Congrats.

Lindell, Job well done and deserved! Persistence pays off, enjoy your venison. Herb

Congratulations. I had a similar shot on a nice doe this past Sunday. She only went 50 yds (no running) and I saw her lay down. I had plenty of blood trail, which I didn't need. 4 blade Zwickey Eskimo.

Congratulations Arrowflinger.

Congrats!!! We are all glad that you found him!! Way better story to read than the ones that are never found.

How about some pictures when you get time?

Awesome and congratulations. Great ending.

I had no doubt that you would find him. Like HH said, those quartering away shots up into the cavity = a dead deer shortly.

I would like to post a pic but really don't know how. Sorry

If you got photos on your device, hit choose file and it should let you connect to your photos.

Don't you just love it when pessimists get shown otherwise :'). Nice job. DANNY

Man, that is great to hear....congratulations.

Outstanding! Congrats on finding him!

Congratulations on finding him.

Great job!!

TG or your lucky stars good feeling when you recovery them. I to have had those experiences as well. My 161 3/8 I didn't go far enough either. He went into the hedge and I went as far as I could on my hands and knees but with all briars and stickers I could not get through and wondered how he did. The blood trail was there. I figured I'd get my shears and cut my way to him in the morning. As soon as I got there he was laying on the other side of hedge. 75 yards from stand. I could drive my truck right to him. I didn't really realize how big he was until I saw him on the ground that morning. I had other times when I gave up at night and came back in morning and found them right away following blood trail once I picked it back up. Other times walking out runs. Its all learning.

Sometimes our heads are so screwed up we over think and even overlook the obvious at times when we are all pumped up with adrenaline ourselves.

If you had a picture of the gut pile why not the angle of the shot on the animal. Battery go dead or you didn't take any pose pictures?

I have 1 other question or actually 2 if I can?

1) If you found the deer later and meat spoiled or got torn up would you have cut the rack off and not tagged the animal?

2) As you slept or not the shoot night did your instincts tell you that you got this animal or were you confused and mixed up and uncertain?

It's one thing to shoot an animal but it's another to recover them after the shots! Best thing one can do is get help if they just don't have enough experience to figure it out by themselves. It's nothing to be ashamed of either because we all have to learn this as archers. To have someone to rely on is my best advice. TG I had a master tracker teach me all that I know.

Did you ever find your arrow? Guess that's 3 questions? LOL

I give you credit to go back and recover. Congratulation.

Thanks Glenn, Yes it is always a good feeling to recover a deer after the shot. To answer your question, Yes if I had found that deer and the meat was spoiled I would have tagged it. I am not the best hunter in the woods, but I am ethical. And yes, I felt very good about the shot and I believed the deer was down and I would find him the next morning. I was more worried about coyotes then anything. Yes I found the fletch end of my arrow. I did not find the other end of my arrow and lost my Bear Razorhead. I guess that is a good trade, A nice buck for a broadhead. LOL

I might be mistaken but I think that was someone else's picture of a gut pile. I could be wrong, but I don't think arrowflinger posted any pictures at all. I don't think he knows how to. If I'm wrong I'm sorry. I think you did good arrowflinger. I can't think of a better shot than a quartering away. Maybe slightly less than. I do hope you figure out how to post pictures. I'd love to see some. Sounds like he's a pretty nice buck.

If a person goes to bed and doesn't worry about leaving a animal out even if their absolutely positive it died right away, there's something wrong with them. I'm thinking it's just normal.

Bjrogg

That's all good news. When I don't find a piece of my arrow I get upset and will look endlessly at times. I even had butchers take my broadheads that I went nuts about to especially when I told them I wanted the BH back its still in animal.

You know you usually can call the warden and tell them what happened that meats ruined and they give you another tag at times but they might ask for rack back also. Experience taught me lessons too. Seems like a lot of them.

One time I found the back of my arrow while bird hunting. Thats was wild dog was on point with bird and I shoot it and watch bird drop and dog gets and when dog came back I look down to get bird and believe it or not the darn back of arrow was laying there. I could not belive it and thoughts i went past that spot a number of times and how is this several weeks later? That was wild. The front half I got from the deer but not the back half. Deer was hurt bad and was off trail when he broke off arrow it was in thick bush then got back on trail when he went out. I didn't think to look in bush. I thought maybe a bird or animal picked up the back half?

I like the fact that your success post came right after my trust your instincts. Your first one was to get someone more experienced to help and it worked.

DDave

Congrats guy. Perseverance payed off. You don't need a heavier bow OR arrow. You killed him as dead as they get.

Congratulations on taking your buck.

From above, I use the hump created by the legs as a focal point to determine where to shoot deer. That is, about eight inches farther down the spine, towards the tail. The more broadside the deer is, the aim point should be lower on the rib cage and towards the off side front leg.

Congrats!

Congrats! Tonite you sleep!

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