Retrieval advice

[Wild one]

Without being there it is really hard to give solid advice and tracking without blood is not easy either(takes time)

Sounds like it might be gut shot( again not there so really guessing) and if that’s the case it might be down. You could always go back in the morning and search. A dog would help even a dumb mutt

Truth is most have already posted what I would like wait longer after a bad hit, follow up shot is good, slow down, grid search and all that fun stuff.

Big thing tracking slow down and watch for all sign scuffs, broken veg/branches, tracks, and any other disturbance. Try not to push far past last sign or sighting. If you can’t find sign back track to last sign/sighting and start over. If you get too far ahead of yourself you can trample what little sign is there and it becomes lost. Recovered lots of game without blood(mostly bears) so get in the habit of looking for more then blood take note of all forms of disturbance

Main thing to avoid it happening again try to relax and stick to shots you are 100% on. If the shot looks iffy back out and give lots of time

It happens it sucks been there. If it was me I would give it one good last effort to find the deer in the morning. You will be calmer, you may find him and at the worst peace of mind that you put in the effort to make it right

[northof49]

Hit in hind quarter and can go a long way. Curious what caliber, bullet, weight?

[BornNRazed]

Don’t rule out the shot may have been better than you think as well, I once walk a km and half every direction looking for a buck that walked off, no blood no tracks no nothing, finally I re went to where I was sure he was standing, nothing, walked ten feet into the bush there he was upside down in the only 4 foot deep hole around. Some times you overestimate how far they will go.

I ended up missing my mother in laws birthday dinner on that guy, �� that was rough in the first yearbof marriage!

[suburbboy]

I wish I had a dog, that would've really been helpful. This was definitely a learning experience. All of the game I've taken in the past has been shotgun or .22, so figuring this out will be important. I found some disturbance in the form of flattened out stretches of brush, but they didn't lead anywhere. It's super tough going without any sign, like not even a few hairs. As a new hunter, going it alone can be quite the uphill battle.

I was using a Hornady Precision Hunter 178 grain .308, ELD-X bullet.

Haha BornNRazed I hope you gave your mother in law the best cuts of the deer.
The thing is, I saw my buck cross the road, but I saw maybe a track maybe two on that side of the road and there weren't many points of entry into the bush, there, esp for a wounded deer. I have a feeling that buck travelled a distance.

[walks with deer]

one shitty night i shot s buck at feet away..

looked tell flashlight died..called older freind we looked to no end...
i had no choice but to pour concrete in am he promised to look..
he found it right where i hit it fell doqn a hole.

[elch jager]

where was this? 2-8? I see you are in Coquitlam... if you are hunting close to home, I can bring my dog out tomorrow... PM if you want some help

[HarryToolips]

Sleep on it and give it one more try tomorrow. Mark where you shot from, where the buck was go from there. Use a grid pattern and look hard for any hint of blood. Odds are low maybe but you'll feel better for trying everything you could and not finding any blood. By what you describe you may have missed you'll learn more tomorrow.

X2....you may not find blood either, you may find the animal, some die with little blood showing...they may also double back - I once trailed a buck who ran along a trail, I finally found blood, but he/the blood stopped eventually on the trail, went back, and went on a new trail, where I eventually found him piled up..

[suburbboy]

elch jager, PM'd, thanks so much for the offer!

If my noise and search within an hour did affect this deer, how far does a hind quarter shot buck go before dying (if he dies)

[BCHUNTER21]

If you shot the deers hind quarter then theres a chance you messed up the femoral artery. if you did then the deer still bled out and cant be far away.

[Buck]

If you shot the deers hind quarter then theres a chance you messed up the femoral artery. if you did then the deer still bled out and cant be far away.

Had this happen on an evening hunt it started to rain slightly and the ground was covered in some green and red small leafy plant so blood tracking was terrible.Came back the next morning with a buddy who shot a huge 4 point on the way in.We did find the buck i shot and he had bled out on the rear leg he did not go far from where i shot him.Deer will also burrow under logs and head to water we have seen this a couple of times.