# Help !!!!



## Bluewalleye (Jun 1, 2009)

I shot a pretty nice buck today at 1:00 pm. I couldnt see where I hit him. It was a 25 yard shot. But I think I hit him a little low of the lungs. The blood was really dark red. Like the color you would see in a blood transfusion bag. I think it was a liver hit. I am letting him lay all night. Its not easy to do. But I just dont think it was a quick kill shot. Has anyone else seen blood that was this dark and did you recover the deer?? Thanks.. It will be by far my best buck in over 35 years of deer hunting....


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## alumcreeker (Nov 14, 2008)

If it was a liver shot that deer has been dead for a while now bet you find him quick in the morning I've killed 2 of the 3 bucks on my wall with a liver shot they didn't go more than 60 yrds


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## crappiedude (Mar 12, 2006)

Like already said, it you hit liver that deer is dead. He won't travel far.
Good luck finding him. I hope the coyotes and buzzards don't get to him.


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## Mad-Eye Moody (May 27, 2008)

I am going to agree with the last two. How far did you follow the trail?


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## Snook (Aug 19, 2008)

First off you did the right thing...left it go overnight! Now you have something to look forward to first thing in the morning..lol My motto is "if he's dead he ain't going nowhere" but if he's not you don't want to push him.The color of the blood could be liver but you just don't know...and some deer can go a lot further than the next.Sounds promising though...sure hope you find him!


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## Bluewalleye (Jun 1, 2009)

Mad-Eye Moody said:


> I am going to agree with the last two. How far did you follow the trail?


Thanks for the answers guys. I followed it for about 50 yards then pulled out. He stopped for about a minute in one spot, and there was a puddle of blood there. Not lung hit type blood. I know I didnt hit his lungs. He was really moving slowly up the hill when I lost him. I am not sure of the coyote population where I am hunting. I have never heard them or seen them. I am praying that I find this guy in the morning... Thanks


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## crappiedude (Mar 12, 2006)

Be sure to let us know how it turns out. Good luck


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## Bluewalleye (Jun 1, 2009)

I get up at 6:00 am to get ready to go down to hunting land, and learned that it had rained over night... Going to make things a lot harder now. I am still praying that I find this guy. I hope he only went a 100 yards and bedded down and expired there. 
I looked at the weather report for last night and it didnt say anything about rain. If I would have known it was going to do that, I probably would have went back around 10 pm and started my search... Oh well


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## johnny fish (Feb 20, 2005)

You did the right thing by backing out & giving it time. I did not give a liver shot buck enough time once and ended up tracking him a good half mile before he expired! Good luck!!


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## 9Left (Jun 23, 2012)

agrred, sounds like a liver shot with the color of blood you described... he"ll most likely have bled out by now.. hope the rain doesnt mess up the blood trail for ya.... post a pic when you recover him!


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## sherman51 (Apr 12, 2011)

i cant wait to find out how this turns out. get as many friends as you can get together. if it hadnt rained then you might not want a bunch of guys stomping around. but now the more eyes the better. so many times a deer will circle back. so if you cant find him in the direction he was going, go to the last spot you found blood then start making circles getting bigger on each circle. i have been lucky enough to find a couple this way.

i dont know if a good tracking dog could still track after a rain. but if you could get someone with a good tracking dog to help it might be worth a try.

man you got me all excited please let us know what happens as soon as possable.
sherman


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## jschoenherr (Mar 6, 2012)

You might wanna check in any creek bottoms too. I shot a buck last year that was hit in the liver and it rained a little after I shot him. The blood was marked when I got back so I checked a creek bottom by where he ran and he was there. He didn't go more than 100 yards. But good luck with the search, I hope you find him.


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## Bluewalleye (Jun 1, 2009)

Thanks guys for all your posts. I am officially a retired deer hunter. I have been deer hunting for over 35 years. Most of that with a bow. I grew up in Michigan and started off with a rifle and 100,000's of acres of land to hunt. When I moved to Ohio back in the early 80's, I picked up a bow for the first time. I loved it. A lot more intimate with the deer. And over all of these years I have only shot at 3 P&Y bucks. I have hit all three, with this one yesterday being by far the biggest. I have never recovered any of those 3. I am tired of losing great bucks to bad shots. It is my fault totally for not making a better hit on this great deer. 25 yards and my bow was shooting spot on. And I have no idea what I did, but I hit him low and once again I am sick to my stomach about killing another great buck without recovering it. I checked everywhere with in a 1/2 mile of where I shot this buck from. I even tried looking if he circled back a bedded where he came from. No luck. The rain last night killed me. I looked at the weather report and there was nothing about rain in it. I would have went out at midnight if I new it was going to rain this morning. Thanks to all of you for your interest.

PS: Someone asked a little while back about which broad head to use. And I wrote a long response about the broad head wasnt the most important thing. Shot placement was the most important part to killing a deer with a bow. And now I give you perfect example of that. You could use a practice point as long as it was sharp and you hit the deer in the lungs, and you will recover that deer. But you could use a 2" cutting broad head that is super sharp, and make a bad shot and you may never see that deer again. It sucks big time...


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## sherman51 (Apr 12, 2011)

jschoenherr said:


> You might wanna check in any creek bottoms too. I shot a buck last year that was hit in the liver and it rained a little after I shot him. The blood was marked when I got back so I checked a creek bottom by where he ran and he was there. He didn't go more than 100 yards. But good luck with the search, I hope you find him.


i have to agree with him. i have tracked many deer, some being mine and some for others. and many times we have found the deer in the water or close to water. for some reason a deer will go to water when wounded. if there is a stream in the direction the deer ran i would check the water and both sides of the stream.

i gut shot a big doe one year and i tracked he for what seemed like a mile. then i seen her in the river, she had went in but wasnt able to get out on the other side. i was getting ready to shoot her again and another hunter shot her. in indiana the law reads the last person to shoot the deer before it goes down gets the deer. i just asked to make sure he was going after the deer and he said he was, so i just left.

another year i was bow hunting and couldnt find the deer. the next day i found it in the river hung up on an old tree about 100 feet below where i lost the trail. i have found other deer in the river or beded just on the other side. and i have lost a few as im sure alot of us have. so if we hunt we have to understand that we might lose a deer. theres no reason to give up, its part of hunting.
sherman


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## Mad-Eye Moody (May 27, 2008)

I've been exactly where you are right now. Some years I don't have time or place to practice. I gut shot a big deer and gave up bow hunting for the rest of the year a few years back.

Hate to hear about your deer. Same thing happened to a good friend this year. Take a break, you will come back with renewed determination at some point.


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## Mad-Eye Moody (May 27, 2008)

Look for buzzards circling and use a coyote locator to see if there are any packed up in a spot that they could be feasting on your deer. Do it right at dark.


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## turkeyt (Apr 13, 2006)

Some good responses here and i also hope you find that deer. The yotes may have got to him by now but here is my take. Some have posted some about my view but when a deer is wounded they will try to go to water because they start getting sick and the wound will cause fever. The rule i have found is that if they can travel some distance they will try go back to where they came from or in that direction. That place was safe for them and they will circle at times and sometimes that circle may be wide. Check all those brushy draws and water sources and not for just a white belly because he may have laid belly down. I don't know what kind of country you were in but if it has hills he will not climb many if he was hit good. I have seen them climb one ridge and follow it til they drop. Just don't forget to check the area he came from real good. Which way did he leave when you shot? Did he go straight forward or did he start to circle back after a short distance? It's a puzzle but they are sometimes like rabbits and will double back. Keep us posted.


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## Snook (Aug 19, 2008)

I would not give up yet...I once hit a great buck(yep liver too)and looked all out with 4 buddies the next day and nothing.Sick to my stomach but I knew I hit him somewhat decent.Went back two days later and circled the area again.Then I hear a yell from my dad....I found your deer.Low and behold there were antlers sticking up from a little depression in the ground surrounded by tall grass.Must have walked by him 2 different times.Went about 125yds from where I hit him.Get a buddy and look again...creek bottoms,thickets,fallen down trees,ragweed fields.You could have walked right past him.Good luck!


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## ezbite (May 25, 2006)

Another neat little place they like to hide when wounded is when a tree is blown over, look in that little depression where the tree roots used to be.


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## Mushijobah (May 4, 2004)

Kills me to hear that you are retired. These things do happen and they do suck. I hope you reconsider. Also, it astounding how tough these animals are. For as many bad shots as I hear about, you would think that dead bucks would be everywhere in the woods. They find a way to survive many times.


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## Mad-Eye Moody (May 27, 2008)

You also assuming the deer is dead. A lot of deer get killed in gun season with broadheads in shoulders and wounds in their belly's.


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## Bluewalleye (Jun 1, 2009)

Thanks guys once again. All of your comments are appreciated. And I hope and pray that I didnt make a killing shot on him. Cause I couldnt find him in pretty much all the places that have been suggested. And he was a big brute of a deer. I am just guessing, but I would say that he was at least a 4 1/2 year old. So he is in the prime of his life. Big body deer for sure. I am just guessing again, but I believe he was pushing 250 lbs live weight. And I know they are some pretty tough animals. A marginal hit could be lived thru for a big mature buck. Maybe I am saying all of this to make myself feel better. lol


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## buckeyebowman (Feb 24, 2012)

The first deer I ever killed with a bow I shot dead in the liver! Because of circumstances I was stuck in the stand for quite a while. This was many years ago and I was using an old, slow bow and she took a step just as I released the string. Plus, I had run out there after work and soon realized that I didn't have a flashlight, knife or dragging rope! Yes, I was prepared! So, in those pre cell phone days, I had to back out, find a pay phone and call my buddy. He brought all the needed equipment and we started tracking her probably 2 hours after I shot her. I had heard her crash back in the thickets, and we found her without too much trouble. She only went about 70 yards. The blood trail wasn't the greatest, but it was enough to follow. 

Some good tips in the previous replies. Here's a couple more. On a liver hit you don't need to wait all night. 2 to 3 hours is plenty of time. Like I said, the blood trail might not be the best, but the body cavity will be full of blood. Gut shot? Yes, that's an all-nighter!


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