Disappointing Day

[waserwolf]

Well,

Not such a good day today.
Went up high in Region 8 to try may hand at Bowhunting Mulies.

The snow was deep, deep enough to get stuck in the Sidekick first thing.
Shoveled myself out, backtracked outta there, took a walk up an old logging road.
Ran into some fresh tracks, decided to tuck myself into the trees and do some grunting, hoping to pull the potential buck back down the logging road.

Less than 5min goes by and I hear something coming thru the snow, 2 Does pop out of the bush 6 yards awayand run away from me down the logging road. For a brief second I was disheartened, then I thought of the possibility that a buck may be behind them. I let out another grunt and again I heard something coming and this time a grunt!! A small forked Buck popped out 6 yards in front of me, I stopped him with Doe Bleet with my mouth, lined up and let him have it!!! I heard a loud SMACK when the arrow hit him, good blood and he was not using one leg as he left the scene. I waited 10min and took the few steps to get to where the Buck was hit.

I was elated! This would be my first Bow kill, I have had my PSE Triton for 10yrs and not taken a big game animal yet. It just never panned out.

I viewed the blood, it looked good. Just then I heard a Deer jumping away. Oh No! I thought. I waited longer then started to track him. I was surprised to see that his blood trail became more faint and he was jumping over downed trees, he seemed quite healthy. I went back to the sidekick and let him rest, then I decided to go for a drive. I was suprised to see a set of tracks cross the road with blood in them.

I decided to wait a good hour before going after him. I followed him down into the trees. I ended up catching up to him, he was bedded down about 40 yards away. It wasnt a good shot and he seen me. He ended up walking away. I watched him for some time then saw a larger 2x2 with him, they were both relaxed, I tried to close the distance but ended up pushi g them out of the gully they were in.

I found the tracks of "my Deer", he was still bleeding but not much. According to the injury I seen on him I shot too far front. I ended up following him for a long distance and by now he was dropping in elevation big time! He still seemed healthy and had no problem getting away from me.

I made the difficult decision to let him walk and make the tough uphill climb back to the Sidekick. So.....I still have not taken a big game animal with my bow. Maybe next time.

[guest]

Go back in the AM with a good nosed dog and hopefully you find him.

Good luck to you

[steveo]

I was going to say the same thing, from what you described it is worth another look in the morning. If he was bedding fairly quickly after the shot you might have hurt him more than you think. Good luck!!

[Liveforthehunt]

Yes you can't let an animal suffer assuming he's healthy. Go back in the am and find him. Quite frustrating hearing this ... do you attend the 3d shoots if not now is as good as any to start gives you a better Real life perspective as well as practice practice practice it helps trust me.

[HarryToolips]

Go back in the AM with a good nosed dog and hopefully you find him.

Good luck to you

A good idea...and you may find he still is OK...I have heard and I believe read somewhere, that deer blood has an amazing ability to coagulate quickly...
Waserwolf: I had a very similar situation back in 2012..I shot one a little too far forward into the shoulder, it was last light and I gave him plenty of time to die, cut my tag in good faith...blood trailed him for 3 hours, including across a creek, in the dark...followed the blood trail like you did as it got less and less blood, caught up with him and he took off like a bat out of hell...that's the way hunting goes sometimes I've learned..

[Sofa King]

dude, get back out there in the morning and find that guy.
he was bleeding and there's snow.
I don't care how far he goes, or that it happens to be downhill.
you took on that responsibility when you decided to let that arrow go.
just because the pursuit was becoming more difficult because he went "downhill", that's not good enough to decide to be lazy and go look for another deer to kill.
this is what I don't like about bow-hunting, and I'm a bow-hunter.
either don't take the shot if you aren't a good enough shot, or, if the shot still isn't "great", at least be willing to put in the work to put down an injured animal.
I hate reading about poor shots on animals and they are then left.

[gutpile]

He becomes dinner for the yots !

[uraarchr]

Look for him this morn.coulda layed down again and not got up.

[sawmill]

Ravens are your friends.They are uncanny.If he`s down they will find him for you.

[dana]

It happens to all of us if we hunt long enough. The Internet wannabe jockies are just that. Don't worry about them. I once wounded a buck of my dreams, one I had been hunting for years. I was ripped apart by the HBC wannabes when I relayed the story. I was called an unethical POS by many because Gawd Forbid I took a 40 yard shoot with my rifle with a tight shooting window through the thick brush. I was called every name in the book. I was told to cut my tag and give up as the buck was being eaten by coyotes. But I didn't cut my tag. I kept on hunting for that buck. And 3 1/2 weeks later I killed him on the last day of the season. Those jealous HBC wannabes certainly were eating crow when I posted up the pictures.

[M.Dean]

Pack up some lunch and some coffee and head back up there today, if for nothing else, your piece of mind! Others here must know that area quite well, reading there comments, I don't, and I wasn't there to witness your shot, so I can't really make a comment on weather the animals dead or alive. And, it's a real piss off when this happens, and it will happen to most of us who hunt lots, I think a lot of the guys that yell and scream that they'd never leave a animal no matter what mountain side it went down, haven't seen, or tried to walk back up a steep mountain side! Any roads or trails near the bottom you can get to?If so, That might be the place to start today? Good luck, hope you find it!

[zippermouth]

It happens to all of us if we hunt long enough. The Internet wannabe jockies are just that. Don't worry about them. I once wounded a buck of my dreams, one I had been hunting for years. I was ripped apart by the HBC wannabes when I relayed the story. I was called an unethical POS by many because Gawd Forbid I took a 40 yard shoot with my rifle with a tight shooting window through the thick brush. I was called every name in the book. I was told to cut my tag and give up as the buck was being eaten by coyotes. But I didn't cut my tag. I kept on hunting for that buck. And 3 1/2 weeks later I killed him on the last day of the season. Those jealous HBC wannabes certainly were eating crow when I posted up the pictures.

sad fact is people just spew garbage when they are behind the keyboard. It happens, just happens to some more than others, that's what gets on guys nerves.

I would be on that deer hard until I lost the track or found the deer. persistence will pay off, keep at it. at least with the bow a lot of wounded deer will survive. sad that so many deer get hit, but when guys are in the moment risky shots happen. not all people are saints like the guys on here.

[Big Lew]

sad fact is people just spew garbage when they are behind the keyboard. It happens, just happens to some more than others, that's what gets on guys nerves.
I would be on that deer hard until I lost the track or found the deer. persistence will pay off, keep at it. at least with the bow a lot of wounded deer will survive. sad that so many deer get hit, but when guys are in the moment risky shots happen. not all people are saints like the guys on here.
Totally agree....regardless as to how it happened, you can't hit 're-start', but you can do your best to find the deer or be confident that it will survive.
My wife and I saw a wounded 2-point this year during bow season and even though I tried to close the gap
enough to arrow it, he kept well out of range. He had been hit in his upper front left leg so was keeping it
elevated as he walked and hopped through thick logging slash. I don't know if it was from an arrow or bullet,
but I could see the wound. If he can avoid the coyotes and cats etc. I'm pretty confident he will survive the wound. I once shot a big doe in a series of steep canyons that had a broken front leg. It was just skin and broken bones from the knee down. The wound has very old so she had survived in that hostile country on 3 legs for a very long time.

[Rattler]

It happens to all of us that have hunted long enough. Like Dana, I once wounded a big Muley after taking a tough 70yard shot through some thick rhubarb. I gave him 20min and started tracking. There was gobs of blood after 100 yards and I honestly was looking for a body. To my astonishment the buck snorted at me and ran off before I could get a shot. That is when I got nervous. This buck proceeded straight up the mountain. I tracked him for the next 4.5 hours in the timber. Thankfully there was snow but there was only the odd droplet of blood. I only kicked him out of his bed once. I ended up shooting this buck near the top of the mountain (400m elevation gain) while it crossed an opening. I knew there was an opening ahead and was hopefull I would catch him crossing it which he did. My bullet nicked his brisket and broke his far front elbow. Simply amazing how well this buck could climb with 3 legs��

Lesson learned persistence pays off. Given you have snow and blood I would continue tracking your buck. Your situation is tougher with the bow, but you just never know...

[markomoose]

Too bad waserwolf but it happens to the best of us.It's astonishing how far a wounded animal can travel.Good luck on your quest with a bow.

[angus5024]

I once had a hunting partner that wounded a lot of game. We eventually settled on punching our tags if we took the shot... he started downing his game every time, in fact we never lost another animal. While this isn't for everyone, I think that the mentality should be the same. We are 100% sure that animal is going down fast, but stuff happens and we are caught by surprise (especially if you hunt long enough). Like the others have said, go up today and see if you can get on him (bring a dog if possible and make sure he has a vest on him).
If he's lost, there is no point beating yourself over it even though you probably will. The best you can do is try your best at recovery. Due diligence is the sign of a true sportsman.

[300H&H]

It happens to all of us if we hunt long enough. The Internet wannabe jockies are just that. Don't worry about them. I once wounded a buck of my dreams, one I had been hunting for years. I was ripped apart by the HBC wannabes when I relayed the story. I was called an unethical POS by many because Gawd Forbid I took a 40 yard shoot with my rifle with a tight shooting window through the thick brush. I was called every name in the book. I was told to cut my tag and give up as the buck was being eaten by coyotes. But I didn't cut my tag. I kept on hunting for that buck. And 3 1/2 weeks later I killed him on the last day of the season. Those jealous HBC wannabes certainly were eating crow when I posted up the pictures.

Yes...some members can sure act "holier than thou".
Just as you said, if you hunt long enough something like that will happen even if you are very careful.
But just like some have said go back, we owe that to the animals we hunt.
Good luck and post pictures if recover him.