Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Deer shot question! Did it get away?

If you hunt long enough, something like this is bound to happen.

I wouldn’t sweat it, have another look tomorrow.

Half these mother [bleep] running their yap keep their fat ass on the couch and play know it all on here.

I’m definitely going to look again. I hate letting one get away not knowing if it’s going to die or not!

Adda boy Buck. Sometimes the light of a new day pans out. One way or the other you'll know you've given it a good honest try. I'd also add I've seen a lot of these I shot a deer but couldn't find it thread on various boards. And they pretty much all turn in to a schit show. hahahahaha So take some of the comments and *this* is what happened bs with a grain. No one will know what happens unless you find it. Period.

Nope

Yep. Pausing a bit here and there

Search all nearby watet sources tomorrow.

He spent 3 hours looking

Surely he covered 200 yard’s worth. lol

I have a feeling the deer is some deep cover, I’d go to the thickest, gnarliest crap and check. Look for a whole deer instead of small drops at this point. That deer is matted and clotted. So he is either dead or you’ll bump him up. Don’t be sherlock holmsing it.

This
Pass by just downwind.

I put a 12 gauge slug thru the heart of a 120 pound buck once. Same crumple, but no back leg kick (unusual). Maybe 40 yard shot.

Found a tiny chip of bone near the hit... smattering of blood at the hit location... then NOTHING... zero. Looked for hours and hours.

Finally found him laid up under a tree fall not 70 yards from the hit, must have walk right by him half dozen times.

...Your deer is dead... might have spend his final energy hiding very well. Good luck in your search. Sucks to lose one... gets to you.

Yep, Nope

If I were to bet, I would say you hit something other than the deer before the deer. The bullet got deflected or came apart and you didn't actually hit the deer where you think you did. Go in after it mid morning, long after it would naturally bed for the day, just in case it lived through the night. If you jump it out of bed, it will likely live. Also, look closer at the blood trail. There has to be blood in between the puddles you are finding... it's just logical because the holes don't close up. It's there, you just aren't seeing it because it is really minor. Just my .02

Maybe high lung shot.

Initial bleed fills lungs with little blood on the ground as it takes off. Deer stops and wheezes blood out nose and mouth looking at back trail. Gets spooked and runs some more, repeats process. My guess is that if you got both lungs you will find it. maybe not if you only got one.

Deer I have seen hit like this will have a lot of blood coming out of the mouth and nose when found

Look for the birds tomorrow late morning. Or better yet bring in a dog as others have mentioned.
Happens to the best of us. Try your hardest to find it. Be at peace with the results whatever they are.

Finding the hair is the first step in figuring out where you hit. The sign is all there. You just have to find it. It may be just a few hairs and you had to get your face right off the ground to see.

Back when I first started killing deer we trailed every deer whether we could see it without trailing or not. It gets pretty interesting and educates you to find deer on bad shots or bullet failures, etc. We spent time discussing and comparing notes. Do people even talk about that anymore?

My wife made an iffy shot on a buck once and wanted to call for a dog. I told her, "I am the dog." I found it.

My son shot this guy a month ago. Been looking since then.

It sucks, but shît happens.

If it meant I’d find him, I’d take a little bite..

Sometimes you have to get down and follow every track and every speck of blood. When you can't do that anymore, you make circles looking for same. Sometimes it doesn't work out.

Next time, try a little lighter weight bullet. I quit having to track deer when I started loading my .30-06 with 130 grain Hornady soft points at 3100 FPS. Bang/flop every time from powder burn distance to 300 yards. 30+ Tennessee white tails so far with that load.

Sounds like a gut shot deer. They usually go for awhile and then bury themselves under the thickest, nastiest stuff in the woods.