Last sunday morning I saw a buck approaching my stand and as he turned broadside I thought I had him dead to rights.Don't know if I dropped my bow arm or hit unseen limb but he shot sounded like a solid hit.He ran 50 yards and stopped as I glassed him I could see a piece of insides hanging about 6 inches long. I watched him walk about 100 yards and go out of sight.Waited 1/2 hour and got down to check arrow.Perfectly clean,no blood,fat or anything just a bunch of white hair on the ground.I could only guess that I shot low and 1 blade sliced the belly about 6 inches behind shoulder.I gave him till 230 that afternoon and we back to track.I honestly figured might find a couple of drops and lose trail but we found a steady trail for 3/8 mile and after jumping 2 fences we lost the trail in some 6ft CRP after finding 3 beds in 50 yards.We grid searched for a couple hours.The crp is two 20 acre patches divided by a waterway.No luck, I came back the next day and listened for coyotes and birds,then on tues took my dogs and walked it again thinking they may pick up odor nothing. Finally friday the wind died en
ough to have a friend bring a drone to look at crp, again nothing.There was only a 2 acre patch of shrub plots and switch grass that we hadn't looked.My buddy and I started through it and found a deer leg and we started looking around the thick cover then there he was,or what was left the head and spine was laying under a oak that I had planted 10 years ago.The buck wasn't there tuesday when I took the dogs 10 yards from where I found him.The reason I bring this story up is for if you make a bad hit don't give up.I knew since gut was exposed he would die and I was determined to find him.After tagging and taking pictures we carried rack back to truck.In 40 years of bowhunting I have never heard of killing a deer when the arrow didn't go in the deer.
ough to have a friend bring a drone to look at crp, again nothing.There was only a 2 acre patch of shrub plots and switch grass that we hadn't looked.My buddy and I started through it and found a deer leg and we started looking around the thick cover then there he was,or what was left the head and spine was laying under a oak that I had planted 10 years ago.The buck wasn't there tuesday when I took the dogs 10 yards from where I found him.The reason I bring this story up is for if you make a bad hit don't give up.I knew since gut was exposed he would die and I was determined to find him.After tagging and taking pictures we carried rack back to truck.In 40 years of bowhunting I have never heard of killing a deer when the arrow didn't go in the deer.
