Gutshot but recovered...

[Deleted]

I shot a doe yesterday, dead in the guts,complete passthrough.
She ran five yards smelled the wound and spun in a circle, she then run out to 25 yds, and I shot her again, this time she run full speed up the ridge. I was glad I hit her again but didn't know where. I climbed down and began to walk the way she went, about 100yds away I walked up on her, all of her guts were hanging out,I couldn't believe it, I cut her throat and that was that. All I could figure was that she stepped forward right when I released, she had no idea I was there at 20 yds.
Meanwhile on the riiver swamp, my buddy has a nice 8 pointer come in on him and have a stare down, anyway my buddy takes a quartering to him shot, hits him hard the deer runs off,my buddy thought he heard a crash, but as of yet not been able to recover him. Bowhunting can be frustrating sometimes ..........
Greenhorn

[wilmsmeyer]

It is my opinion that if a stare down occurs, it is probably a good idea to pass the shot. Many more bad outcomes happen on poor archery shots then good outcomes.

The deer is ready to bolt, will hear the bow go off.....load his legs to spring out of there. They call that "jumping the string"...I call it "ducking the string" You will miss, graze or hit high....in general, not what you intended. Add in the fact of a poor angle to begin with and the messiness gets more complicated.

I have seen deer walking around in gun season with arrows sticking out of them. Shot deer with broad heads healed over in shoulder blade. Also in 2000 I took a similar shot but the deer wasn't staring at me and was at ease. I hit right behind the shoulder...just missing the blade at 15 yds. Arrow hit exactly where I wanted and exited in the guts just forward the rear leg. Got only liver (thought I would at least get one lung) and had to stalk the deer and shot it in a bed 2 hours later.

I will never take a marginal shot again. Hope you friend finds the deer and puts this experience to good use for the future.

[Deleted]

I learned the same way about 20 years ago 0n my first 8point/bow encounter ,he was quartering to me ,I shot ,my arrow went in 8 inches in the shoulder area. Never to be seen again......., I was sick ...but broadside or going away from me,is all I'm going to take from then on.......

[ET]

Greenhorn

Nice recovery and Congrats.


Ed

[toosensitive]

I try to avoid all quartering toward shots...I let them pass and get the shot going away. I've passed on many shots coming directly at me....talk about buck fever. Getting that close without a shot usually leaves me shaking in the tree. I had a nice buck coming direcly at me a few years ago...I grunted to get it to stop and possibly give me a better shot but it kept on coming...I even yelled "Hey" at it but it just ignored me. It went direcly under my tree stand. I could have jumped on its back...must of been tracking a hot doe. Never did get a shot on it. Good you got the doe. They usually run off if you push them too early.

[Deleted]

I DID break the rule of when in doubt ,back out, But I knew I had hit her that second time and it was a doe and she ran toward my truck,which was where I was going. As I approached her she looked away from me trying to blend in, ten feet either way I went out,would have walked right by her,LUCKY.....
I was hunting what I refer to as a food plot stand of woods, 30 year and older Long-leaf Southern Pine,I assume thinned at one time or another, anyway there is a nice understory compared to wth the surrounding sections, there is about 60 acres of these mature pines and under them are yaupon that greenbrier loves to grow on, the greenbrier grows on everything in that section as a matter of fact.
When I first started hunting Eglin air force base, I looked for hardwoods/acorn trees and would ride thru miles of piney woods, and say to myself there's nothing for them to eat in these Pines there can't be any deer here.
Well every deer that I gut from Eglin has a paunch loaded with greenbrier leaves, they can simply stand by a bush and eat a meal.
The point of all of this ramblin is don't forget the natural browse area on your hunting property, they eat it everyday no matter if you plant or not.
GH

[zakjak221]

Glad you recovered the deer Allan.
Hate to see deer go to coyote's.
Mark