# Need input on buck I shot at....



## JRBASSER (Mar 5, 2014)

Hey guys, I shot at a nice buck tonight at 40 yards. He wasn’t coming any closer so I had to take the shot when I did. As I shot, he took a step which means if my arrow did hit it could possibly have been a bit far back. I heard a somewhat loud “crack!”, the deer jumped, ran 20 yards, stood still for 20 or so seconds looking straight on, not back at me or where he came from, then very slowly walked off into a thicket.
I looked for the arrow for an hour and looked for it sticking out of a tree (because the loud crack), no luck at all. No blood, no arrow. Crossbow used was a ten point stealth NXT with the ten point center punch broadhead and arrow. 
Does anyone have any theories?


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## King-Fish (Oct 18, 2019)

I hate to be the bearer of bad news but that loud crack was you hitting the shoulder blade. Arrow is still in deer. He went to that thicket to heal up and if there’s water anywhere around he will head in that direction after being wounded. Best bet is go in after him in direction he went with second arrow ready because a shoulder blade shot with bow most of the time is NOT a lethal shot and will require follow up shot. Good luck!


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## CHOPIQ (Apr 6, 2004)

I agree with everything king said. A loud crack is definitely the shoulder blade. With that being said a ten point crossbow packs a wallop. Maybe the bolt penetrated thru the blade and hit some vitals like the lungs. I agree the bolt was probably still in him for awhile. Like king said if there’s water nearby I’d start searching there. If the bolt didn’t pass thru completely there’s going to be little blood fir awhile. I’d start about 100 yards out where u last saw him in a grid pattern looking for blood after checking all the water first. Good luck finding him.


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## CHOPIQ (Apr 6, 2004)

Also did you notice where his tail was? Was it tucked between his legs or sticking straight up? A tucked tail means a gut shot.


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## dugworm (May 23, 2008)

Sounds like a shot you shouldn't have taken.


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## Carpn (Apr 5, 2004)

You need to find the arrow before you can determine for sure it was a miss . You should be able to find blood where he stood for those 20 seconds or so .

Even if you hit him , it doesn't sound like a good shot based on his post shot reaction. But you need to do your due diligence.


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## DHower08 (Nov 20, 2015)

I'm not going to be the guy to say you weren't forced to take that shot you chose to take it. If you heard a loud crack you didn't hit it back unless you nailed him in the hip. Give it all you got when you try to find him and learn from it


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## privateer (Apr 26, 2012)

it could have been ribs too... i took a 40-yd shot few years ago with crossbow on a large body buck. it just stood there after the shot (loud wack - definite hit) for what felt like forever... it then did a barrel roll and immediately back to feet and stood again. i though hit in hip? nope. double lung - through 2x ribs. it finally walked off out of sight. i waited to track. no blood where stood. large blood to left about 10yds. deer was found 10-yds to right of where hit. a mid-frame double lung shot parallel to ground left no blood trail until it sat down. had another similar 2-weeks later, only it ran about 75yds and expired watching its back trail. parallel to ground arrow hits will fill body cavity with blood but leave very little blood trail.


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## Bullet Bob (Mar 31, 2020)

Listen in today’s crossbow world 40 yards is a chip shot. They shoot so fast and accurate that if you sight in at 20 yards you will be high just like a rifle until 60 yards back to dead on. The entire key is know your equipment and know your capabilities.


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## MagicMarker (Mar 19, 2017)

I’ve got the same bow he has and I wouldn’t think twice bout taking a 40 yd shot width it


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## DHower08 (Nov 20, 2015)

Bullet Bob said:


> Listen in today’s crossbow world 40 yards is a chip shot. They shoot so fast and accurate that if you sight in at 20 yards you will be high just like a rifle until 60 yards back to dead on. The entire key is know your equipment and know your capabilities.





MagicMarker said:


> I’ve got the same bow he has and I wouldn’t think twice bout taking a 40 yd shot width it




Not saying theirs a thing wrong with a 40 yard shot. Thinking you HAVE to take a shot and rushing it is what needs to be prevented. Needs to use it as learning experience


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## Lundy (Apr 5, 2004)

All sound advice when shooting at a target, not so much when shooting at a live animal, obviously


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## Lundy (Apr 5, 2004)

Bullet Bob said:


> Listen in today’s crossbow world 40 yards is a chip shot. They shoot so fast and accurate that if you sight in at 20 yards you will be high just like a rifle until 60 yards back to dead on. The entire key is know your equipment and know your capabilities.


Sorry, but what you state is not possible unless you are low prior to 20 yds and using the intersecting line in the flight arc for a 20 yd zero


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## JRBASSER (Mar 5, 2014)

Update, after tracking for hours today I found sign. I found a greenish brown liquid that stunk, I’m assuming from intestines. It was far and few between spots of sign but I tracked it to around 200 yards away from where the shot occurred, and the trail stopped completely. I couldn’t find any more after looking for an hour. I am going to resort to a grid search in areas he was likely to have gone with friends and hope we spot him.


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## Bullet Bob (Mar 31, 2020)

Lundy said:


> Sorry, but what you state is not possible unless you are low prior to 20 yds and using the intersecting line in the flight arc for a 20 yd zero


No it is correct sight height is the key just like a rifle the scope on a cross bow sits 2.5 inches higher than the arrow in order to hit dead on you must bring the arrow up to the scopes line of sight which in turn will continue up through 30 yards and at 60 be dead on once again. Trust me I teach military and law enforcement the art of sniping and am in shooting hall of fame. The new crossbows are no different from the external ballistics of a rifle just on a smaller scale.


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## Lundy (Apr 5, 2004)

We are saying the same thing, the flight path as described is an arc, you will have two intersecting points along that arc that cross the flat line.

It would also be obvious that you know better than most that the capability of a weapon does not relate equally to all users. Add that to the fact that a animal is anything but a stationary target and it often leads to less that desirable outcomes based upon the misguided over confidence in a weapons capability and ability to overcome the user and target variables


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## s.a.m (Feb 22, 2016)

JRBASSER said:


> Update, after tracking for hours today I found sign. I found a greenish brown liquid that stunk, I’m assuming from intestines. It was far and few between spots of sign but I tracked it to around 200 yards away from where the shot occurred, and the trail stopped completely. I couldn’t find any more after looking for an hour. I am going to resort to a grid search in areas he was likely to have gone with friends and hope we spot him.


Take a dog with a good nose with you!


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