A First Time For Everything

[target]

This is the first time I have ever heard of this happining. I shot a doe at 15 yards at 5:00 pm.Looked like a good shot, she went into the woods about 10 yards in and laid down , about 2 minutes later a 10 point buck comes a jumps her up and pushes her deeper into the woods. I couldnt get down untill 6:30 because of other deer.When it was clear I got down and found my arrow and it was covered in blood from tip to tip,and had good blood trail up to where she laid down, then it vanished because the buck was after her. I will go back in the A.M and see if I can find her. Has this ever happened to anyone ?:confused:

[trkyslyr]

Sounds like you will find your deer tommorrow if you have a good idea what direction she headed. Crossbow, or Long bow? Big difference in penetration depth, but it sounds like the arrow left an entry and exit wound. Never happened to me exactly like this, but I have recovered many deer that I have killed with no blood trail, or a blood trail that just stopped. They usually follow pretty predictable trails as they are fleeing. Please update once you find your deer. Best of luck!

[razor]

Target, yes it has happened to me before. I shot a doe once an watched her lay down Within 20 yards and 2 young bucks jumped and chased her off. I did the same thing, went back the next morning and started lookin. I headed the last direction i seen her and had no blood trail so i checked every thick area i could find. I never found her:irked: . Gun season came in about a week later and one of the guy's driving deer found her practically under my treestand. I wish i'd of thought of this then but every time i see young bucks chasing does now, i notice how the doe many times will run a big circle and end up back where the chase started. Keep this in mind and hopefully you find your deer.

JD

[Bird33]

It's never happened to me exactly like that, but I think the advice the other two guys have given is right on. You've still got a fair chance of finding her if you put the miles on your boots so don't give up and search a grid pattern. She probably didn't go too far. Good luck.

[Andy Gehle]

I'm a HUGE proponent if taking a dog to search for deer where the blood trail has vanished. Alomst any dog will do as they have a natural nose for blood and wounded animals.

On a strange side note, I thought this quote couldn't go past without some kind of counter-statement.

Crossbow, or Long bow? Big difference in penetration depth, but it sounds like the arrow left an entry and exit wound.

Please expand if you would. Does a "longbow" penetrate less or more thana crossbow? How about a recurve? A compound?

Too many myths out there. Penetration has ALOT more to do with a number of other factors besides which means launched the arrow/bolt.

AND if ]"it sounds like the arrow left an entry and exit wound" , then exactly how much more penetration could one expect?


Sorry to distract from the thread.
You'll find her, bro. If you think you will, then you will. She'll be within a couple hundred yards.
GOOD LUCK!!!!!!!!

[bowhunter1023]

I second Andy on taking a dog. My uncle has a beagle that couldn't find his way out of a paper bag, but my mom's Shitzu can track a deer for miles. You find the right dog it will take you right where you are going.

[XX78]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but if longbow arrow and a crossbow arrow both passed thru two identical animals with identical shot angles, wouldn't the penetration be the same?

[trkyslyr]

If in fact it was a pass-through shot, none of this matters, but when a small arrow is fired from a crossbow (such as 16" arrow from Barnett RC150) it will carry greater speed than most conventional compounds, but will also not have nearly the foot pounds of energy that a much heavier arrow would fired out of a compound w/ 60 lbs of draw weight. If a deer is hit in the shoulder (or other bone mass) with a small arrow, penetration could be ceased due to the lack of energy that arrow is able to produce upon impact, but a compound (or weapon with heavier arrow) should penetrate beyond the bone and pierce the vitals. I guess my only point was that if the arrow is small, it could look like a solid hit if you see the fletching, but might not have penetrated enough to score vital areas. The lack of blood mentioned also made me think that maybe it was not a complete pass-through. Deer that are hit high will often fill up inside before spilling onto the ground if there is no exit. After reading the original post again, I apparantly missed the "tip to tip" part. This would certainly imply pass-through and not a broken off part of the arrow. . I am no expert, believe me, but I do get a lot of advice from my brother who is a ballistics expert (not that he knows everything). My only hope is that this fellow is able to recover his deer because we all know how that feels to think you might lose a wounded animal.