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Post by tynimiller on Oct 2, 2014 9:49:00 GMT -5
Well sharing this as good lessons learned. First is so many times and even this year we hear horror stories or bad shots taken...well I was fully drawn on the group of 4 does but they trotted through my shot lane at 30-35 yards...didn't shoot. Had one than stand at 45 yards full broadside feeding on alfalfa....I thought about the shot but had one small branch that "could" have played a factor so didn't shoot. Then when it seemed they were gonna feed on and out of sight something got to them and they trotted right back down the line and all 4 stopped broadside or quartering away at 15 yards...chose the biggest and he was quartering away and I slipped the arrow right where I wanted to. Aimed for exit to be offside just below should and just on the front of opposite leg. She did the tucked butt and tail run off and into the woods....I instantly new dead deer...but stayed in the tree till dark (DON'T RUSH RECOVERY). The arrow we later would find out hit entrance side lung, sliced heart and caught touch of opposite lung...busting a rib to pieces on it's way. Arrow did all that and still ended up sticking 3 inches in the ground. So knowing I put a good hit I waited for pops to come with his bloodhound eyes and we took up the trail. Arrow was soaked in blood, I mean loaded more than any I've seen. However, we immediately found nothing in the alfalfa...knowing about where she entered the tree line we walked it till we found blood...a spec about the size of half a dime. For the nearly next hour we moved at a snail's pace at times finding serious mustard seed sized blood...she was on a death run and not pumping any blood. Welp that's because the exit didn't allow much to escape as broken bone and muscle filled the hole immediately... Crazy and just a reminder despite knowing I put a good hit on her I gave her 1 hour before we took up the tracking job...something I strive to do always if I don't see the deer go down. Just crazy to think that sometimes those deer on their death run without a functioning heart can make it as far as they do sometimes. I wouldn't have shared the story of a doe if it wasn't for the unusual blood trail and lessons learned/shown about knowing exactly where you hit the deer, not to take a less than good shot, and giving the deer time...also if legal get lumenoks because without it I wouldn't have been as 100% about the shot probably. Good luck to all and I pray this year we get less "lost deer" or "rushed shots" threads and more "Got him" or "She down" ones.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 2, 2014 9:57:06 GMT -5
You did everything right and it paid off. It truly is amazing how sometimes there is so little blood hit the ground after a good hit. Sometimes it looks like someone poured out a 5 gallon bucket of red paint and sometimes it takes a CSI team to find the evidence!
Congrats on the early freezer meat!
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Post by 36fan on Oct 2, 2014 12:26:48 GMT -5
Great story with a happy ending! I went to put the final fine tuning on my bow last night, put the practice arrows away, and got out the hunting arrows (which I had just equipped with nockturnals), put practice broadheads on to verify point of impact...and they were hitting ~5" high and 2" to the right. I was thoroughly confused since I've never had a difference between the POI with field points and broadheads. I thought the only thing that had changed was the new nockturnal lighted nocks, and then I remembered the drop away arrow rest was replaced under warranty back in the winter. Although I shot every chance I got during the summer, I had never shot with the hunting setup. Apparently I should've taken some time and paper tuned it back in the spring when I first got it out again. I made a slight adjustment to the rest, and hope to get it tuned in tonight. I have limited time tonight, but if I'm not satisfied with the tuning, I'll unfortunately be sleeping in tomorrow. If you aren't confidant in your abilities and your equipment, don't chance wounding an animal and loosing it, just stay home.
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Post by sakorifle on Oct 2, 2014 12:39:15 GMT -5
Greetings Well done. I have had the same a couple of times with the rifle, bang and it takes off with no sign of a strike, one goes to have a look and no blood. But I have an Ellie dog, and she knows if they are hit, once I thought she was taking me on a wild goose chase but no it was there in a sitka thicket plantation, perfect shot, rogue bullet did not expand. Strange things happen Regards Billy
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Post by esshup on Oct 2, 2014 13:18:38 GMT -5
Billy:
I've had the same thing happen to me, and I was lucky that I could see the deer from point of impact to where it fell. .257 Weatherby at 120 yards. Doe ran 80 yards and fell over dead. Bullet entered the lungs, and blew apart before exiting. Doe was down in a valley, high entrance wound. Light snow on the ground, a bit of hair at point of impact, no blood until the last 10 or so yards. I've since switched bullets to ensure a pass thru.
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Post by bigjim on Oct 2, 2014 22:53:36 GMT -5
Great story with a happy ending! I went to put the final fine tuning on my bow last night, put the practice arrows away, and got out the hunting arrows (which I had just equipped with nockturnals), put practice broadheads on to verify point of impact...and they were hitting ~5" high and 2" to the right. I was thoroughly confused since I've never had a difference between the POI with field points and broadheads. I thought the only thing that had changed was the new nockturnal lighted nocks, and then I remembered the drop away arrow rest was replaced under warranty back in the winter. Although I shot every chance I got during the summer, I had never shot with the hunting setup. Apparently I should've taken some time and paper tuned it back in the spring when I first got it out again. I made a slight adjustment to the rest, and hope to get it tuned in tonight. I have limited time tonight, but if I'm not satisfied with the tuning, I'll unfortunately be sleeping in tomorrow. If you aren't confidant in your abilities and your equipment, don't chance wounding an animal and loosing it, just stay home. Mechanicals eliminate that problem
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Post by antiwheeze on Oct 3, 2014 2:35:27 GMT -5
[/quote]Mechanicals eliminate that problem[/quote] I use Muzzys and have had dead deer leave little blood. Some times lung or entestinal tissue plugs the exit hole.
Way to stay dilligent!
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Post by johnc911 on Oct 3, 2014 3:28:01 GMT -5
Congrats !! I started to read this and thought it was gonna be one of those sob story feel sorry for me, i made a bad shot on a deer, and cant find it Ive looked forever (an hour), but i have time to get on huntingindiana.com and tell everyone about it stories.
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Post by DEERTRACKS on Oct 3, 2014 6:56:52 GMT -5
BTDT! I took a nice doe last year in SC with my .308 @ 30 yds. Perfect quartering away mid-lung shot. She bolted into the swampy thicket. Bummer! No blood at the spot of bullet impact. Luckily it was raining that morning & the area was full of recent hoof prints so I followed the freshest ones from the peel-out prints in the sand in the general direction that she was headed. It was nearly impassable as I followed hard to see occasional fresh prints, bent weeds, broken twigs, & bits of hair in the multi-flora roses. I veered NW a bit into a small clearing of swamp grass. Nothing! Bummer! The rain & wind picked-up in intensity so I back-tracked to a fork in a small drainage ditch where the trail split. I started working my way thru the multi-flora rose & honeysuckle when I heard a deer blow about 15 yds. away. It was so thick that I did not get a glimpse of the blowing deer. I started a tightening circle of the area that the blowing came from. An hour later I found the dead doe. She had drug herself up under a thick patch of honeysuckle before dying. The only blood that I found was where her mouth & nose had been laying. This 1-1/2 hour tracking job ended-up only being 50 yds. from my stand. These intense tracking jobs still get me pumped after 30+ yrs.
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Post by tynimiller on Oct 3, 2014 7:42:05 GMT -5
Congrats !! I started to read this and thought it was gonna be one of those sob story feel sorry for me, i made a bad shot on a deer, and cant find it Ive looked forever (an hour), but i have time to get on huntingindiana.com and tell everyone about it stories. Bahaha...kinda what I wanted, figured more guys would read it and hopefully a lot of guys read it that need to read it. All about pointing out how to wait for shot, what to do after the shot to make sure the hunt ends well. Worth sharing if one guy learns from it no doubt! Good luck this year!
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Post by tynimiller on Oct 3, 2014 7:46:10 GMT -5
Great story with a happy ending! I went to put the final fine tuning on my bow last night, put the practice arrows away, and got out the hunting arrows (which I had just equipped with nockturnals), put practice broadheads on to verify point of impact...and they were hitting ~5" high and 2" to the right. I was thoroughly confused since I've never had a difference between the POI with field points and broadheads. I thought the only thing that had changed was the new nockturnal lighted nocks, and then I remembered the drop away arrow rest was replaced under warranty back in the winter. Although I shot every chance I got during the summer, I had never shot with the hunting setup. Apparently I should've taken some time and paper tuned it back in the spring when I first got it out again. I made a slight adjustment to the rest, and hope to get it tuned in tonight. I have limited time tonight, but if I'm not satisfied with the tuning, I'll unfortunately be sleeping in tomorrow. If you aren't confidant in your abilities and your equipment, don't chance wounding an animal and loosing it, just stay home. Mechanicals eliminate that problem False, BIG false. All mechanicals can do is keep the true tuning issues of a bow hidden, keeping your arrow trajectory from reaching it's full potential. Your broadheads should hit the close if not the same as fieldtips. If there is nothing wrong with the broadhead or arrow and they don't...tuning needs to be done. FAR TOO MANY hunters shoot mechanicals simply because they're too lazy or don't care to learn about tuning a bow or take their bow to a good pro shop to properly tune a their bow. Please anyone reading this don't fall victim to the "just shoot a mechanical if fixed don't fly well..." it is a deception and doesn't fix any issue other than not getting your bow properly tuned. **I would stress I am not anti-mechanical...shoot my 3rd largest buck was taken with one, I simply don't use them anymore because personally I don't like their performance as well...the thing I am anti-against though is using them just as a bandaid for an improperly tuned bow.
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Post by bowhunterjohn on Oct 3, 2014 8:59:54 GMT -5
first off CONGRATS on a fine doe !!!
I've seen some crazy stuff in the 12 seasons I've hunted
Shot a big doe once, on film, perfect, slightly quartering away like yours, Rage 2 blade cut through just on the back side of the opposite shoulder. Blood everywhere. I watched her run almost 200 yards. When I gutted her the lungs poured out like half set jello.. have no idea how she ran 189 yards over 21 seconds
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Post by tynimiller on Oct 3, 2014 9:07:43 GMT -5
first off CONGRATS on a fine doe !!! I've seen some crazy stuff in the 12 seasons I've hunted Shot a big doe once, on film, perfect, slightly quartering away like yours, Rage 2 blade cut through just on the back side of the opposite shoulder. Blood everywhere. I watched her run almost 200 yards. When I gutted her the lungs poured out like half set jello.. have no idea how she ran 189 yards over 21 seconds Was she in a group? Ever doe I've shot in a group of 3 or more seem to run the farthest...it's like their adrenaline kicks in and they simply run with the other deer until they fall flat dead despite essentially being dead deer running.
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Post by bowhunterjohn on Oct 3, 2014 9:29:08 GMT -5
first off CONGRATS on a fine doe !!! I've seen some crazy stuff in the 12 seasons I've hunted Shot a big doe once, on film, perfect, slightly quartering away like yours, Rage 2 blade cut through just on the back side of the opposite shoulder. Blood everywhere. I watched her run almost 200 yards. When I gutted her the lungs poured out like half set jello.. have no idea how she ran 189 yards over 21 seconds Was she in a group? Ever doe I've shot in a group of 3 or more seem to run the farthest...it's like their adrenaline kicks in and they simply run with the other deer until they fall flat dead despite essentially being dead deer running.
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Post by bowhunterjohn on Oct 3, 2014 9:30:53 GMT -5
oops??
She had her two fawns with her, she was on high alert, probably because it was really windy out.
I had a doe I shot once, with bow, at 44 yards. heart shot, she jumped, ran a few feet, stopped and then bent over and took a big bite of grass, stood up with grass in mouth and fell over dead. The other deer in her group, about 6, had ran a few yards then came over and smelled her. Then began to feed and walk away.
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Post by tynimiller on Oct 3, 2014 9:48:52 GMT -5
oops?? She had her two fawns with her, she was on high alert, probably because it was really windy out. I had a doe I shot once, with bow, at 44 yards. heart shot, she jumped, ran a few feet, stopped and then bent over and took a big bite of grass, stood up with grass in mouth and fell over dead. The other deer in her group, about 6, had ran a few yards then came over and smelled her. Then began to feed and walk away. Gotta love it!
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Post by 36fan on Oct 3, 2014 12:11:23 GMT -5
Great story with a happy ending! I went to put the final fine tuning on my bow last night, put the practice arrows away, and got out the hunting arrows (which I had just equipped with nockturnals), put practice broadheads on to verify point of impact...and they were hitting ~5" high and 2" to the right. I was thoroughly confused since I've never had a difference between the POI with field points and broadheads. I thought the only thing that had changed was the new nockturnal lighted nocks, and then I remembered the drop away arrow rest was replaced under warranty back in the winter. Although I shot every chance I got during the summer, I had never shot with the hunting setup. Apparently I should've taken some time and paper tuned it back in the spring when I first got it out again. I made a slight adjustment to the rest, and hope to get it tuned in tonight. I have limited time tonight, but if I'm not satisfied with the tuning, I'll unfortunately be sleeping in tomorrow. If you aren't confidant in your abilities and your equipment, don't chance wounding an animal and loosing it, just stay home. Mechanicals eliminate that problem I'm using mechanicals! I wasn't happy with it last night when I had to put it away, so I didn't go out this morning. I've trying to tune it this morning - between the rain and wind gusts - it's better, but it still needs a little more tweaking.
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Post by 36fan on Oct 3, 2014 12:21:56 GMT -5
I shot a buck a few yrs ago at 120 yds with a Remington 700ML, using 295 gr Powerbelts and 100gr of Pyrodex. He was quartering away and trotting across the field in the snow. I shot and he turned around and trotted back the direction he came from. I waited an hour before picking up his trail.
No blood or hair at point of impact. I followed his tracks in the snow back to the fence he jumped, and still nothing. Other side of the fence...nothing. 15 feet past the fence was the first drop, and he was piled up ~10 yds beyond that.
The bullet entered just behind the ribs, hit the liver, the back of the right lung, the top of the heart, the left lung ... and hit the far shoulder and which prevent the bullet from exiting. He went a total ~100yds, and made barely made it back inside the woods with only 1 drop of blood hitting the ground.
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Post by bigjim on Oct 3, 2014 23:37:15 GMT -5
Mechanicals eliminate that problem False, BIG false. All mechanicals can do is keep the true tuning issues of a bow hidden, keeping your arrow trajectory from reaching it's full potential. Your broadheads should hit the close if not the same as fieldtips. If there is nothing wrong with the broadhead or arrow and they don't...tuning needs to be done. FAR TOO MANY hunters shoot mechanicals simply because they're too lazy or don't care to learn about tuning a bow or take their bow to a good pro shop to properly tune a their bow. Please anyone reading this don't fall victim to the "just shoot a mechanical if fixed don't fly well..." it is a deception and doesn't fix any issue other than not getting your bow properly tuned. **I would stress I am not anti-mechanical...shoot my 3rd largest buck was taken with one, I simply don't use them anymore because personally I don't like their performance as well...the thing I am anti-against though is using them just as a bandaid for an improperly tuned bow. I tune my bow every year, im not gonna get on a soap box. It sounded like an issue where he was shooting well til he added bradheads. Added broadheads alone doesnt untune a previously tack drivng bow.
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Post by omegahunter on Oct 4, 2014 8:20:05 GMT -5
I have a relatively short archery HUNTING history. Shot bows for years, but only seriously took up hunting with one about 5 years ago. I have killed 8 deer since. I have found that my most sparce blood trails have been when the exit was through the opposite leg instead of the opposite chest wall. It seems that it is difficult for all the blood from the chest to make it through that opposite leg and does not get sprayed out on the ground like it does when coming directly from the ribs. I have been trying to concentrate on my exit wounds now more than before.
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