Hunting & Fishing Pretty disappointed.

[BigJohn141]

I have been deer hunting a few times over the years but never really got into it or shot a deer. This year was different, I decided its time to go all out so I set up feeders, cameras, stands and started preparing. Everything has been going good, plenty of doe coming in with a few pics of some ok bucks but nothing to go crazy over. I sat in the stands a few times and watched the deer with bow in hand but never had a shot. Well this goes on from early October till mid November and then all hell breaks loose, rut begins. I am getting pics of large bucks coming in at dawn and dusk so I am pretty excited. I have my eye on a very nice 10 and a equally nice 8 both easily in the 130+ range with the 10 pushing 140. Ironically I am in my stand on the morning of Nov. 17th, which is opening day for rifle here, with my bow and rifle just waiting. I look over to see the 8 coming my way and I know it's on. He is after a doe behind me and sure enough he presents a perfect broad side shot at 15 yards which I easily take with my bow. I watch him go over the hill and lay down and I knew I just had to wait now. Well as luck would have it, my deer feeder goes off a few minutes later which spooks the buck and off he goes, over the fence and into the thick stuff. I watched him walk to the fence about 70 yards from me, obviously very injured, and that was the last I seen of him. I tracked the blood trail for at least 150 yards when it finally dried up and after 2 days and about 7 hours of searching with multiple people I had to call off the search. I am not only mad because I lost my first deer, and a nice one at that, but also because such a great animal has basically gone to waste.

 

[bornhunter04]

Re: Pretty disappointed.

that sucks man. Sorry to hear that. Bowhunting is a game of inches it really is.

I shot a couple does one night a few years ago. Saw one go down. The other one went in the woods. We trailed her for about 500 yards, a blood trail several inches wide, never did find her. Lost the trail in a hay field. If my arrow had gone in just an inch forward or the broadhead and been turned sideways i might have recovered her in just a few yards.

It's a risk we all take every time we let and arrow fly or pull a trigger. That's why we practice though and use the proper equipment.

Hopefully, you have better luck next time. Just be patient don't rush it and you'll start killing deer.

 

[shamrockcattleco]

Re: Pretty disappointed.

Welcome to bow hunting. shot placement is VERY important. If you talk to anyone who says that this has never happened to them you know that they have not been hunting long. Stay with it your time will come.

 

[wfjames22]

Re: Pretty disappointed.

After you saw him get up when the feeder went off, why didn't you put one in him with the rifle?

As said earlier, if someone tells you that they have never lost a deer, they are lying or haven't been hunting very long. All we can do as ethical hunters is try and minimize the chances of losing an animal when ever possible.

 

[Brian]

Re: Pretty disappointed.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: BigJohn141</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I tracked the blood trail for at least 150 yards when it finally dried up and after 2 days and about 7 hours of searching with<span style="font-weight: bold"> multiple people </span>I had to call off the search. I am not only mad because I lost my first deer, and a nice one at that, but also because such a great animal has basically gone to waste.</div></div>
It happens to ALL hunters
But on the flip side
It's not a total waste
predators have to eat too....

With all due respect though 3.5 hrs a day to look for a downed animal ain't shit.

A few points I'd like to touch on
and you may already know this but just the same...

The next track
Treat it like a crime scene.
Look solo next time
Multiple people tromping is not the way to go, it's very easy to get crossed up...
Sometimes your on your hands and knees looking for just a speck of blood.
Use pieces of toilet paper to mark last blood always, when you look back, this can also give you a pattern on how/where it moving
When you loose blood look for hoof prints sometimes it'll take you to next blood
Also the color of the blood, vibrant bright red, dark dull red, the texture, and/or whats in it can tell a good hit or not,
the hair left at the scene where the blade or bullet entered can also tell you where you hit it.
A liver hit is going to take a few days to die.
A high hit may leave minimal blood as it's bleeding back into the cavity.
It may take an overnight or two before they expire.
Is there's a water source in that thick stuff?
You definitely need to check it out, deer will gravitate toward it when wounded.

You stated you watched him walk to the fence and was obviously injured.
Were you able to see where your hit was? (assuming your running binos, if not get a set...)
Exactly how did he walk??
How did it jump?
How did it land?
Again tell tale signs of the hit.

Hows the Vulture population in OK?
We have a bunch in MI and when a deer expires they will fly overhead of it and make all kinds of ruckus
We have located deer via their actions.
Yotes howling over a kill can lead you to a downed animal too...


Be observant
lots of info to be had after a shot to help recover game.

Get your GPS your binos and go deep into the "thick stuff" let your binos do the work and go find that bastard.

On another note

Don't know OK's laws but
But in MI and we've recently passed law to allowed dogs to track downed deer(track NOT hunt or pursue).
Wasn't a big fan at first but now can see it's really proven to be a viable asset in recovering downed game.

Also in regards to bowhunting
When you practice in the summer months
practice at shooting twice the distance of which you would typically shoot in a hunt.
If your shooting 20yrds hunting practice at 40
if at 30 practice at 60 and so on.

Good luck man.

 

[BigJohn141]

Re: Pretty disappointed.

Thanks guys. I know it happens all the time but I guess you don't know the feeling till it happens to you. As for some of the comments, shot placement I thought was very good, half way up the body and right behind the crease, I think the arrow caught a rib on the way in but I still got around 6" in looking at the broken arrow. As for why I didn't shoot him with my rifle, It's not exactly the biggest tree stand in the world so a quick 70 yard off hand shot with a 14 pound rifle would be very hard, I only saw him for a few seconds before he was behind trees. Also I am in a contest by a local archery shop where first place gets a new Hoyt carbon element and a free shoulder mount but it has to be taken with a bow. Lastly, I honestly didn't think I needed a second shot from the way he was walking. Yes dogs would've been nice but I didn't have access to any good tracking dogs. I know the deer is no good by now but I will go look a few more times before the year is done just to possibly find him and maybe skull mount him if I do.

 

[BigJohn141]

Re: Pretty disappointed.

It's a bad picture of a picture and I'm not at home to post the originals but this is him.

 

[RTH1800]

Re: Pretty disappointed.

Bows and wounding go hand in hand. That is the fallacy of 4-6 month archery seasons. When archery was first getting popular, it was never dreamed of that they would get special rut hunt seasons, special status, special areas etc. Much less take over the sport, disturb the animals for 6 mos etc. It has become a freak show. Bowhunters give themselves a pass on wounded animals. Wounding several a season is the norm.
Thier only answer to conservation is shorten rifle seasons, not stop rut hunting and wounding.

 

[BigJohn141]

Re: Pretty disappointed.

So you are saying that rifle season is better than bow? I don't see how throwing a few rocks in a canyon and blasting whatever jumps out is more sporting than all the time and preparation it takes to get a deer within 40 yards. If anything they need to put a minimum size limit on rifle bucks so the young ones have a chance to mature instead of some trigger happy arm chair hunter shooting a 4-6 point juvenile buck just because he can. Yes I have witnessed all of those acts first hand and it pisses me off. With that said, if you actually hunt deer with a rifle instead of browse for deer like most around here do then I have no problem with that.

 

[ryanjay11]

Re: Pretty disappointed.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: BigJohn141</div><div class="ubbcode-body">

</div></div>

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: BigJohn141</div><div class="ubbcode-body">they need to put a minimum size limit on rifle bucks so the young ones have a chance to mature </div></div>

Pot meet kettle. That deer is far from mature.

 

[RTH1800]

Re: Pretty disappointed.

Yes, that deer is exactly what he is talking about. As is his attitude. If he had shot the deer with a rifle when he had a chance, it would be in the freezer now. But, he wanted that free bow, like that dink was going to win it.
I will also say that the maturity of the bucks I shoot would astound you. I have passed 2 B&C bucks so far this fall. How about you?

 

[ryanjay11]

Re: Pretty disappointed.

I hunt in Northern Missouri. We have very large whitetails, but the population was hit pretty hard by EHD this year. I haven't seen anything worth shooting, but you can bet that I wouldn't pull the trigger on that one. It is 1 1/2-2 years old max and well under "pushing 140".

 

[RTH1800]

Re: Pretty disappointed.

I think he is actually pushing about 89.
I am not saying the rifle season is "better" than archery season. I am saying that we should not have seasons that favor one weapon over another. Just have a two week or however long season and allow any legal weapon.

 

[shamrockcattleco]

Re: Pretty disappointed.

All the same if he is mature or not its his first year hunting with a bow. The fact remains taking a whitetail with a bow adds a challenge to the hunt. I agree more deer a wounded by arrows than by bullets. Kill them how you wish.

 

[BigJohn141]

Re: Pretty disappointed.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: ryanjay11</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I hunt in Northern Missouri. We have very large whitetails, but the population was hit pretty hard by EHD this year. I haven't seen anything worth shooting, but you can bet that I wouldn't pull the trigger on that one. It is 1 1/2-2 years old max and well under "pushing 140". </div></div>

I will give you the fact that its a bad pic. I never said that the 8 was pushing 140, I said it was in the 130 range. As for it being a 1 to 1 1/2 year old deer, total bullshit, it is a very large bodied deer for around here which doesnt happen in a year. I will post a few better pics tomorrow so you can get a better idea of the size he was.

 

[nso123]

Re: Pretty disappointed.

Sorry to hear about your losing the deer. As many others have said, it happens when bow hunting. I had it happen on opening morning last year. We tracked and tracked him, jumping him up one time. The owner of the farm found him a few days later. It is a bad feeling, but it does happen.

 

[motodog]

Re: Pretty disappointed.

big john it happens dont get pulled into a pissin match with fellow hiders about it.you looked for it and lost it time to move on.practice more and dont shoot till your sure of the shot.

 

[coldboremiracle]

Re: Pretty disappointed.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: BigJohn141</div><div class="ubbcode-body">So you are saying that rifle season is better than bow? I don't see how throwing a few rocks in a canyon and blasting whatever jumps out is more sporting than <span style="font-weight: bold">all the time and preparation it takes to get a deer within 40 yards.</span> </div></div>

<span style="font-size: 20pt">???????</span>

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: BigJohn141</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> This year was different, I decided its time to go all out so I set up feeders, cameras, stands and started preparing. </div></div>

<span style="font-size: 20pt">WTF?</span>

You gotta lot a balls calling out someone about hunting tactics if you consider setting up a stand over a couple of feeders under surveillance "Hunting".

hunt:

1.
to chase or search for (game or other wild animals) for the purpose of catching or killing.
2.
to pursue with force, hostility, etc., in order to capture (often followed by down ): They hunted him down and hanged him.
3.
to search for; seek; endeavor to obtain or find (often followed by up or out ): to hunt up the most promising candidates for the position.


I literally laugh when I here people talk about their "hunt" on irrigated land, sewn and grown to attract and feed deer, setup with stands and shoot houses, with deer herds grazing back and forth between them.

I used to call it prairie dog hunting when I was younger, but Dad pointed out; "it's prairie dog shooting, there's no hunting involved."

While I am in no way against bow hunting, and enjoy it very much, rth makes a good point:<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: rth1800</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Bows and wounding go hand in hand. That is the fallacy of 4-6 month archery seasons. When archery was first getting popular, it was never dreamed of that they would get special rut hunt seasons, special status, special areas etc. Much less take over the sport, disturb the animals for 6 mos etc. It has become a freak show. Bowhunters give themselves a pass on wounded animals. Wounding several a season is the norm.
Thier only answer to conservation is shorten rifle seasons, not stop rut hunting and wounding.
</div></div>

But a shot can be screwed up by a rifle just the same as a bow.



.

 

[Cuga]

Re: Pretty disappointed.

Consider training a dog for tracking jobs.
A good one will find a wounded buck even after more than 24h have passed.
In the last 10 years we didn't loose a single buck or boar, not saying there were no bad shots, but at least we had the means to track them reliably.

 

[threetrees]

Re: Pretty disappointed.

similar to cuga ... in my area, you are only allowed to hunt if a trained dog (not necessarily your own) is available to track the wounded deer in case of need ... while you might misplace your shot, the dog tends to find the animal almost always. that's why i prefer bullets that really go through the animal and leave sufficient blood trail.

 

[matchking]

Re: Pretty disappointed.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: ryanjay11</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> It is 1 1/2-2 years old max and well under "pushing 140".</div></div>
While I agree it is not pushing 140, it is NOT a 1.5 year old deer. It MAY be a 2.5 year old deer, but that is not his first set of antlers.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: shamrockcattle</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> I agree more deer a wounded by arrows than by bullets. Kill them how you wish. </div></div>
Where did you obain this information? Sounds like BS to me.

 

[BigJohn141]

Re: Pretty disappointed.

Anyway, here are a couple of better pics from a WGI Micro 8 Red that is getting sent back for obvious picture quality issues.

No use arguing about it, it was a nice deer in my eyes but still no luck finding it.

 

[longguntoter]

Re: Pretty disappointed.

Well, at least you gave it a serious attempt to find the deer. Unfortunately, sometimes that happens.

 

[50calibercruiser]

Re: Pretty disappointed.

That's a pretty good deer for our neck of the woods. Hell if you didn't shoot him someone else would have.

Losing deer sucks but it happens as long as you made a real effort to find him I'd be bummed but I wouldn't lose sleep over it. Learn from it and go on.

Better luck next time.