I lost a six point Friday!!

The setup: My brother and I made four shooting lanes off a new stand tree. This is in a hardwood bottom comprised of mostly White Oaks. During the clearing process, I saw a trail that ran beside a large White Oak thirty-five yards away from the stand.

The hunt: I got set up in the tree at 1600hrs and had good shooting lanes as a result of our hard work. I pre-sighted some landmarks with the rangefinder. My stand elevation was twenty seven feet up. At 1830, a six point came off a hilltop and walked right down the trail next to the White Oak. When he entered the cleared area he didn't react unfavorably at all to the intrusion. In fact, he nibbled on several of the tops of the recently cut brush. At twenty four yards he offered me a broadside shot. My first pin is set at twenty six yards. I put my pin just below his heart and let it go. The release felt good and the arrow flew straight. It hit high though with a loud (thwack). To me it looked as if it entered about two inches below the back line. I had a complete pass-through and the buck ran as if uninjured. I watched the buck run and noted the last direction he traveled.

The conlcusion: I climbed down and looked at my arrow. It had a trace of blood and some meat on it. I walked around the thicket that he ran through and found a slight blood trail. I marked it for about thirty yards and backed off as darkness fell. The blood was only a drop every five feet or so. We came back two hours later and resumed the trailing. We made it another fifty yards and the blood had gone from the occasional drop to slight droplets to nothing. We could see the hoof prints for another ten yards past the last blood drop and nothing. No matter how hard we looked there just wasn't any way to continue. Talk about feeling bad. On that note I packed it up and came home, forfeiting the weekend hunt. Bummer!

The crows will tell you where your deer is.

I had to find a lost deer that way long ago. It was two days later in freezing temps. I retraced my steps and had only missed the deer by about 20 yards. Got everything but the ass off it. The birds took that.

SHEEESH, 27 feet! Why are you hunting from the clouds? 12 to 18 feet is good enough for any hunting. If you need to go higher then that, you either move at the wrong time or have the wrong camo on. The higher you go, the more deer you will miss or wound.

I usually look for a couple of days before I give up.

The meat may be ruined overnight his time of year, but I look anyway. You always learn something by seeing the same ground in different light and from different angles.

I once found a doe that had doubled back and died within 20 yards of the tree I shot her from.

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SHEEESH, 27 feet! Why are you hunting from the clouds? 12 to 18 feet is good enough for any hunting. If you need to go higher then that, you either move at the wrong time or have the wrong camo on. The higher you go, the more deer you will miss or wound.

Well short heights may work for some but, It's far less productive from my expereinces as many other I hunt w/. I prefer 25-30 feet and I like to shoot at game from 5-15 yards but, will shoot out to 30 if the shot presents it's self. W/ the Modern Fast bows (275+ fps) and carbon arrows a bow zeroed at 15-20 on level ground is dead-on from straight down to 30 yards from 25-30 feet which allows for a one pin sight.

Back when I hunted at lower heights I had deer bust me all of the time. Even if they didn't run they were constantly eyeing me which made for very difficult draws. Man, when I'm at 25-30 feet the closer they get the more relaxed I feel because once they get less than 20 yards I can pretty much do whatever I want to heck, I've even called folks on my cell w/ deer right under me. Hunting High helps on "Ducked" shots as well when the deer are close to your tree, when they duck, they don't really duck out of the way due to the steep angle.

I can't stress enough the importance of a safety harness at these extreme heights, even at lower heights they are equally important. Please do yourself and your loved ones a favor and buy a full body harness, they only take a few seconds to put on once you gets used to them.

Good Luck!

Reloader

perforator,

If you don't find the deer I wouldn't fret to much about it. I had something similar happen to me a couple of years ago. I made what I thought to be a nice shot right behind the shoulder but just a little high. I later killed the same deer with a rifle about a month later. I discovered there is a small window where you get above the lungs below the spine and the main artery that runs along the spine. keep hunting that spot you could see him again.

good luck and good hunting.

I hate to hear the bad luck. I had a similar experience happen to me but with a better outcome. Three years ago I did exactly the same thing. I was hunting about 18-20 feet up and a small doe came in without a fawn. After milling around for around 30 mins it was starting to get dark and I decided to take her for the freezer.

I shot her high just as you explained. She bounded, ran into a tree, made a 45 degree turn and headed straight away from me going 90 to nothing. The arrow fletching lodged on the shooting side with the rest of the arrow hanging out the off side at about a 45 degree angle. After she made it a few yards she was out of my line of sight but I could still hear her running throught the tall grass. I heard another loud crash and then nothing thinking she was probably about 80-100 yards from my stand. I waited about 20 minutes to let her die and then proceeded to claim my prize.

I looked at where she was standing at the shot and couldn't find not one spot of blood. So, I headed in the direction I had last seen her. On the other side of some trees it opened into young pines about 10-15 feet tall with tall grass growing between the pines. I still hadn't come across any blood yet but was able to follow the doe because of the way she had pushed the grass in her exit. About 100 yards from my stand I found my arrow but no doe. This is where I heard her crash and thought I would find her. Apparently what happened is that she ran in between two small sweet gum sapplings and the arrow must have gotten caught on one of the trees and flipped her. I found two small drops of blood a little bigger then an ink pen mark. I followed the grass trail about another 150 yards where I found 3 more tiny drops of blood. By this time it was getting too dark to track and I was beginning to get worried. There was a 4 wheeler trail about 10 yards from where I last found blood and I was certain she had gone across the trail into a mature stand of pines. With all the pine needles on the ground and with it as dark as it was there was no way I was going to find her.

On my way back to town I called one of my buddies who I often hunted with and told him about the afternoon hunt. He suggested I come by and get him and we would go back out with his dog. So, myself, my roommate and hunting buddy and Jack (dog) went back to locate my deer. Jack kinda had a scent for about the first 50 yards or so into the mature pines but then he kinda acted as if he lost it. So we all fanned out about 75 yards with Jack running back and forth kinda like a bird dog would. Then I noticed jack sniffing intently about 150 yards into the mature pines from the 4-wheeler trail. I walked over where he was smelling and there was another tiny spot of blood on a pine needle about the size of and ink pen tip. Jack took off while I was trying to find something to mark the spot with. My buddies came over to join me since we had found blood again. Then my buddy said here is your deer right next to Jack. I looked over and there was Jack who was setting right next to the deer about another 25 yards from me.

It was the best tracking job I had ever seen. Course it wasn't because of me but it was because of Jack. We estimated the deer went about 450 yards from where I shot her. We found a total of 6 drops of blood with none bigger than the tip of a ball point pen. Looking at the entrance and exit wounds, the arrow entered high clipping the top of both lungs and exiting about half way on the opposite side. When she flipped or whatever happened to loosen the arrow the entrance wound was ripped about 4 inches right to her spine. All of the bleeding occured inside which is why I never found much blood.

I consider myself extremely lucky to have recovered this deer and if it hadn't been for Jack I probably never would have!!

Sometimes loosing one happens. I know you probably feel like crap but as long as you know you did your best to recover the animal, it should help ease the crappy feeling. Better luck next time.

I can't tell you how many times I've replayed the shot in my head since last Friday. The aim, form and release all seemed solid. The only thing I can pinpoint as a reason for shooting high is that the deer must have been 22yds instead of 24. Since I was shoot a 26yd pin, this may have been enough of a difference though I aimed low on the heart. I can say he didn't react to the shot until he was hit, as my bow is quite and fast. I thought about the non-lethal window under the spine as well, and if there is such a place, that is almost precisely where I hit. Whatever the reason, I'm still sick about it.

Perferator,

I had a doe duck the shot at about 20 yards years back when I was using a much louder and slower bow. The arrow went thru the top of her back straps just under the hide. She ran off w/ the arrow hanging out of her and then snorted at me. Needless to say she was still very healthy.

I also helped an uncle trail a deer he said he shot(rifle) and it fell on the spot and laid there for about two min. then, got up and ran off. The deer was taken two weeks later and had a wound through both back straps right over the spine. I think the shock of the impact temp. paralyzed the animal for a bit.

I also know a guy that shot a nice eight point w/ his bow while hunting off of the ground. He said he hit the buck right behind the shoulder but, no deer was found. Later on during rifle season that buck was killed and there was a healing wound high behind the shoulder, we guessed it went over the lungs and under the spine.

Good Luck Next Hunt, I wouldn't worry to much, that buck is probably still licking his new peircing .

Reloader

Reloader, being 25 to 30 feet in a tree and shooting 15 to 20 yd's is almost shooting straight down. The kill area is much smaller and the chance of a double lung shot is almost non existant. You also must aim lower due to the effect of gravity which will eliminate any arc from the arrow, I don't care how fast your bow is, there is some arc when shooting on level ground. This is gone shooting straight down. Chances of you recovering every deer is slim.
My guess is that when you are lower and deer spot you, your camo is too DARK. Deer can not distinguish the tight patterns on camo like Realtree and you look like a black blob up there where there was none the day before. The military style camo is no good either. You should wear lighter camo with a lot of gray in it so you blend with the sky, not the stuff on the ground. A few green or brown leaves, some branches and a large gray background will make you invisible. I have success with snow camo when the leaves are gone and deer never see me. I will never understand why camo makers insist on making only dark stuff with very close changes in color. If you look at the ads on TV, all of their hunters are AGAINST the tree or on the ground, not hanging sideways from the tree. I guess they think all deer aproach from one direction! Sales pitches will not get you a deer.
Either that or you have to turn and look at noise instead of staying still until the deer is visible. That means you do not know how to hunt with a bow and need the crutch of being too high.
I have killed over 250 deer with the bow and have NEVER needed to be over 15 feet up, many times lower then that. A lot of those deer were shot from the ground while wearing light camo. Deer are lower then a man and still have to look up at you to see you. A black blob moving will make a deer look every time. If you really want to hide from a deer, wear blaze orange, they will not see it at all.
I hate excuses for going that high. It is your fault for being spotted.

Stand height is definitely a PRO/CON situation.

The higher you go, the better you are for scent control but the higher the risk of a sharp angled shot.

Too low and they find you, see you, smell you, hear you.

I like 18-20 feet up. I have some stands at 15 where there is phenomenal cover, but the deer still seem to find me sometimes.

I lost a small buck years ago after taking a climbing stand 30 measured feet up a tree based on another bowhunters advice. The height worked well for my scent but, I popped a buck at about 19 yards, no joy.


This is also why I bought 2 labradors and trained them to track deer. Sadie is great. Heidi needs a bit of work, but she's at about 80%.

Couple of years ago I hit a nice doe for the table and had a nice bloody arrow pass through. Tracked the deer up the hill until it went in circles and I could not find the exit. There was lots of blood.

Looked for many hours and then looked again the next morning. Gave up when it rained so heavily that the blood trail washed away.

Felt just terrible!

Four days later the same doe came in again ... through the binos it appeared that I had hit her in "no man's land' and she had survived it! You could have knocked me over with a feather.

Well ... didn't need a third opportunity. Verified during taking the deer apart that the first shot had been a pass through just at the top edge of the chest cavity. No sign of infection or major disability. Darnest thing I've ever seen.

You do your best, and spend as much time as absolutely possible tracking them up. Then you do it again.

We did 7 arrows shot and 6 deer hung last Friday night. We looked until 2200 for the last deer and then broke out the beer. Morning brought out the sun and we found a doe 30 yards from where we stopped looking the night before. She was bloated because of the temps in the upper 60's and was buzzard bait. We did the best we could...shake it off...it happens. Enjoy the magic of the chase!!

Perforator,
bfrshooter is right. You are hunting too high. Sure it's great to not get busted, but what's the point if you can't make the shot. Try something different. Nobody is slamming you here, we just want to help. Your problem has been identified.

Good hunting,
Steve

It has nothing to do w/ how high you hunt.The area you hit I call the Phantom gap.It is the area above the lungs & below the backbone.Some people may disagree that this area even exists but that shot is a non lethal hit.If the diaphram is not cut while entering or exiting you will not find the deer.I have killed over 200 whittail deer with Bow & arrow & have encountered this hit type before.There is nothing votal in the area you are describing.The only thing that high could be the artery that runs along the spine & most generally if you get that you get the spine as well.I would suggest to you to know @ that distance & height you are hunting you have to take into account to aim no higher than the bottom 3rd of the animal & to anticipate some amount of string jump.If the animal does sqyat to jump the string most generally if you are aiming @ the bottom 3rd you will still take him in the lungs.Hope this helps.

quote:

Reloader, being 25 to 30 feet in a tree and shooting 15 to 20 yd's is almost shooting straight down. The kill area is much smaller and the chance of a double lung shot is almost non existant. You also must aim lower due to the effect of gravity which will eliminate any arc from the arrow, I don't care how fast your bow is, there is some arc when shooting on level ground. This is gone shooting straight down. Chances of you recovering every deer is slim.

Aim Small Miss Small .

I would hunt lower if the cover allowed but most of the places we bow hunt have trees that are rather open so the 25 foot height really helps avoid being seen and also helps w/ scent too. I did have a time w/ some slower set-ups a few years back and a Good Pendulum sight seemed to fix the guess work but, w/ these newer super fast bows a Pendelum doesn't work well. W/ my Bowtech using an arrow of around 380-400 grains the arch is a non issue. Zero at 20 on level ground and I'm w/in a couple of inches from straight down out to about 30 yards from high in the tree. I'm not changing anything any time soon, I'm close to 100% w/ these fast set-ups in the past few seasons which includes several deer, a couple coons, a Fox, and a Dillo so the steep angle hasn't been too much of an issue.

I will admit back several years ago when I shot a Slower High Country Phantom the arch out of a high tree stand was quite tough to figure w/o a pendelum.

Remeber it's "Bow Tech, Taking the Arch out of Archery"

Have a Gooden'

Reloader

quote:

You do your best, and spend as much time as absolutely possible tracking them up. Then you do it again.

So true--one year my buddy and I lost 3 deer--and we very nearly swore off bow hunting at that point. Fortunately we didn't and since then (some 20 years), we've only lost one. Seems like we had all our bad luck in that one year.