# Wounded deer Question



## kayak1979 (Jul 13, 2014)

Yesterday afternoon I went out for gun season for the first time this year. I was in a tree stand and around 3:30 with a slight rain making the ground and leaves wet I had a button buck sneak up on me. I had a shot at about 25 yards and aimed and fired. The deer jumped sky high and kicked its back legs. The tail was up briefly then was down some while running away. The front left leg which was on the side I was shooting from wasn't moving briefly then it looked like it did start using it further as it ran. I found absolutely zero blood. All I found was the shotgun wadding and then discovered a big area of all white hair sprayed out and could see where the slug hit the leaves and ground. My question is if I hit this deer really low and do you think it will survive? Looked for hours now with no sign.


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## jamesbalog (Jul 6, 2011)

with low hits there is usually a lot of blood, are you sure you followed the right path the deer took?


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## kayak1979 (Jul 13, 2014)

jamesbalog said:


> with low hits there is usually a lot of blood, are you sure you followed the right path the deer took?


Yes, I was right on it and found nothing. I could see the leaves turned up where it had been running.


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## Shortdrift (Apr 5, 2004)

All white hair sounds like a very rear low brisket hit to me. I once trailed a deer my friend shot for over a mile and finally put it down. There was white hair at the point of impact and no blood for around 100 yards and then only a few drop here and there. The slug had just "clipped" the breast bone (cartilage?) and I believe the buck would have survived other than the possibility of infection.


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## NorthSouthOhioFisherman (May 7, 2007)

If you hit a button about anywhere they are normally pretty easy to expire. That much hair sounds a little odd with a shotgun but not a great sign. How long did you wait to look and how far did you see it run?


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## Snook (Aug 19, 2008)

Go the direction it ran and look for the deer. You can check for blood but depending on caliber, bullet type,distance etc sometimes they don't bleed. If you hit it good it should not go to far. But from what you stated I think you may of hit it in the brisket/leg. Good chance it could live if hit there.


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## Snook (Aug 19, 2008)

Go the direction it ran and look for the deer. You can check for blood but depending on caliber, bullet type,distance etc sometimes they don't bleed. If you hit it good it should not go to far. But from what you stated I think you may of hit it in the brisket/leg. Good chance it could live if hit there.


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## Skunkedagain (Apr 10, 2004)

If there is water nearby, look there. Wounded deer always go to water. Deer hit low even more so. Don't be surprised if it is still alive.


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## bare naked (May 1, 2015)

Snook said:


> Go the direction it ran and look for the deer. You can check for blood but depending on caliber, bullet type,distance etc sometimes they don't bleed. If you hit it good it should not go to far. But from what you stated I think you may of hit it in the brisket/leg. Good chance it could live if hit there.


x2


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## bigscott (May 6, 2015)

it sounds like a good hit look hard and watch for volchers


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## c. j. stone (Sep 24, 2006)

I've hit(and tagged) a few deer that did not bleed(or only a tiny droplet here and there(talking down on hands and knees to even see). A hunter owes it to the animal to follow the trail(sometimes only a few tracks/turned over leaves!) as far as possible, then some more recon in the area. Once hit a nice buck in the lower shoulder that was a complete heart-shot pass thru. It never wavered but took off like a normal miss. The muscles closed up blocking the blood flow. It ran over a hundred yards out of sight into a briar thicket. When I dressed it, the entire chest cavity was a huge blood clot! Had I assumed I missed it(due to no blood showing at the location I hit it), it would have rotted in the woods.


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## FAB (May 26, 2013)

In this order in the general direction the deer ran.

Down Hill
Thickest cover available
Water

From what you describe the deer is dead and probably no more than 150 yards from where you shot it.


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## fastwater (Apr 1, 2014)

FAB said:


> In this order in the general direction the deer ran.
> 
> Down Hill
> Thickest cover available
> ...


Agree!

Unless you start tracking to soon and jump him. He may run into the next county on ya if he's able and pushed.

With the reaction of the deer you described, that's a good heart or even a liver shot. Either will usually cause the bucking action. Being elevated up in a tree stand plus depending on the angle of the deer towards you when you shot could account for the lighter hair. 
Try and replay the scenario back in your head as best you can to determine entrance and exit wound.
Also, while tracking tracks only, if you run across a natural deer trail that the deer would have come to, take the time to walk it out.
Lastly, toilet paper. Never hit the woods without it. It has other uses other then the obvious. Very small pieces of toilet paper is a good marker to try and get and keep an idea/line of the general direction the deer is heading in. Many times I have lost the trail, look back at my TP and get redirected. 
Are you gonna go back out and look for him? If so and you are around Fairfield Co., I could maybe give you a hand.


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## bobk (Apr 30, 2004)

Fastwater, kayak shot the deer December 2nd. Very nice to offer the help though. FYI


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## fastwater (Apr 1, 2014)

bobk said:


> Fastwater, kayak shot the deer December 2nd. Very nice to offer the help though. FYI


Oops...in that case...look for buzzards.


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## FAB (May 26, 2013)

fastwater said:


> Agree!
> 
> Unless you start tracking to soon and jump him. He may run into the next county on ya if he's able and pushed.
> 
> ...


I have used the toilet paper on the branch many times and it works surprisingly well to keep you lined up. Just look behind you to see what direction to go ahead. Especially valuable after dark, those little pieces of paper glow like markers on the side of the road.


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## fastwater (Apr 1, 2014)

FAB said:


> I have used the toilet paper on the branch many times and it works surprisingly well to keep you lined up. Just look behind you to see what direction to go ahead. Especially valuable after dark, those little pieces of paper glow like markers on the side of the road.


This has straightened me out many a time in instances when blood dries up and am down on hands and knees searching. Or no blood exist and I'm following freshly turned leaves. One thing for sure and two things for certain, when hit, they will usually drop some blood sooner or later.


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## Whaler (Nov 16, 2004)

The last buck I shot was with my crossbow and it didn't bleed a drop. I hit it in the liver and it only walked about ten yards after being hit. It laid down and after a few minutes made a grunt and put its head down and died. When I field dressed it it was full of blood but none had come out from where it was shot.


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## fastwater (Apr 1, 2014)

Whaler said:


> The last buck I shot was with my crossbow and it didn't bleed a drop. I hit it in the liver and it only walked about ten yards after being hit. It laid down and after a few minutes made a grunt and put its head down and died. When I field dressed it it was full of blood but none had come out from where it was shot.


He only walked ten yds, laid down and died. 
Had he stayed on his feet and had time for the blood inside to fill his cavity up to the entrance,exit wounds, he would have bled.
I've tracked deer that I've shot as well as others with good hits and sometimes not picked up blood for 20-40yds. But looking hard enough, if they stay on their feet, they will bleed. 
Never a guarantee of how much or that we can find it, but it's there.


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## buckeyebowman (Feb 24, 2012)

fastwater said:


> This has straightened me out many a time in instances when blood dries up and am down on hands and knees searching. Or no blood exist and I'm following freshly turned leaves. One thing for sure and two things for certain, when hit, they will usually drop some blood sooner or later.





Whaler said:


> The last buck I shot was with my crossbow and it didn't bleed a drop. I hit it in the liver and it only walked about ten yards after being hit. It laid down and after a few minutes made a grunt and put its head down and died. When I field dressed it it was full of blood but none had come out from where it was shot.


Both of these posts almost perfectly describe the experience we had with my friend's buck this year. It was a hard tracking job, and not because my buddy made a bad shot. It was almost textbook! Right behind the shoulder! But, it broke a rib and deflected backwards, coming out behind the last rib on the off side, and catching a bit of the paunch.

It seems that how well fed the deer is might determine how good the blood trail is, since fat can tend to block wound channels and inhibit blood flow. This was our story. On hands and knees in a thicket, following tiny smears of blood and one or two hairs on standing vegetation, absolutely nothing on the ground! 

We searched about half the night, and the trail disappeared! I suggested we back out until the next day, it was a nice, cold night. It turns out the deer made a right turn in the thicket, and made it's way out of there. We managed to find it that next afternoon. Persistence can pay off! Keep looking!


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