With a heavy heart, giving up on archery this year

H

horseshoe

CGN frequent flyer
Rating - 100%
3   0   0
Location
Downwind of Winnipeg
Short story made long...I lost a doe I shot last week. I never shoot does, but with our population so high, I gave it a go.

16ft treestand, 12 yards. Placement looked IDEAL, but instead of the usual "slick" sound of the arrow, I got a "whack" sound and the arrow only went in about 2 inches. She ran 20 yards, stopped for 10 minutes, then limped away until I couldn't see her (about 250yrds).

There was a circle of blood where she stood about the size of a tennis ball. Nothing else anywhere down to where I lost sight of her.

I can't stand the feeling of knowing I wounded and lost a deer. I felt sick all week.

On Wednesday, I thought I'd try again. I got set up, and in 15 minutes, a 10pt velvet walked up to 10 yards from my stand.

I drew, took a breath, lined up my shot, and let go. It hit around the second rearmost rib, on a path towards the opposite shoulder. Should've been good.

It ran into the trees. I gave it 2 hours before I went to look. Very good blood trail, drops the size of a loonie every 3-5feet.

I tracked it through DENSE undergrowth for a full mile where it came out to a field.

The trail just STOPPED. NOTHING.

I searched on my hands and knees for a 200ft radius. Nothing. I searched the treeline all around the field (80 acre field). Nothing. I lost it.

I feel sick. I love hunting and pride myself on being as ethical as I can be, but this weighs heavily on my heart.

Giving up for this year.

Just needed to vent to some folks who may have been through this before, a little "therapy" if you will...
 
If you have to rest and reset by all means.

I feel the same and actually have almost lost all my interest in hunting and archery.

Some days you are the windshield some days the bug.

Your situation is just bad luck, no poor ethic no poor judgement, the stars just went out of alignment for ya.

Takes a pretty big hearted hunter to admit their fault and errors and poor luck.

Step back, clear your mind but don't beat yourself up, go do something else you enjoy until you feel better, Black Sabbath and sweeping the garage floor can do wonders. :)
 
I am on the blackberry and can't see where you are from but I am going to assume west coast... Imop your archery season is way too early and makes it hard to track animals... I have harvested 35 deer in the last 1x years but the one I lost 3 years ago still haunts me... Looked like it ran through the bush carrying dripping red paint buckets yet no deer (snow on the ground to boot)... Take heart you are doing youir best and make your own decision from there...
 
Thanks guys.

Superbrad, I'm in Manitoba...and for the most part, I agree, the season isn't exactly ideal for tracking...most years, I don't have to worry too much as my treestand is in the middle of a 20 acre pasture in the only small clump of oak trees. I have a 200+ yard view in 3 directions and 65 yards in the last direction. I usually watch them fall after a short run. This guy went straight for the treeline...

I shoot an old PSE Phaser 2 at 65lbs. Wondering if upgrading to a faster bow might help make up for some of my shortcomings...

I know bad placement is bad placement, but I wonder if the speed would help for those "less-than-ideal" shots?
 
horseshoe said:
Thanks guys.

Superbrad, I'm in Manitoba...and for the most part, I agree, the season isn't exactly ideal for tracking...most years, I don't have to worry too much as my treestand is in the middle of a 20 acre pasture in the only small clump of oak trees. I have a 200+ yard view in 3 directions and 65 yards in the last direction. I usually watch them fall after a short run. This guy went straight for the treeline...

I shoot an old PSE Phaser 2 at 65lbs. Wondering if upgrading to a faster bow might help make up for some of my shortcomings...

I know bad placement is bad placement, but I wonder if the speed would help for those "less-than-ideal" shots?
Click to expand...

Don't blame the bow... Sounds like you did your best around shot placement and got a bad draw twice... It happens with gun and bow... Typically an arrow will guide itself between ribs unless you hit the rib dead center... A well placed arrow shot is an ethical one and by your post it just sounds like you got the bum's rush... It happens, but as an ethical hunter I feel your pain.... I have shot deer in the areas you speak of with bows and had them do a ten second drop.... Sh#t happens unfortunately....
 
I shot a 4X4 buck last year from about 100 yds, broadside with 130gr .270 just before sun down. Heard the thwack, walked over to where he had been and found blood right away. Started following and had consistent blood trail and clots, 20 yds turned into 50, turned into better than half a mile through the bush with flash lights. My son and I eventually lost the blood trail and had to abandon the search. Went back in day light and could not pick up a trail anywhere. My son found the deer 2 weeks later, went to investigate crows flying around, and the deer was located half a mile away from where we lost the trail. Coyotes had almost cleaned it up, but best as I could figure, I was a little low on shot placement and was in the brisket. I felt absolutely disgusted about the whole ordeal and actually didn't fill my tag. It happens man
 
I know exactly how you feel.Up until a few years ago I used to get out with the bow 3-4 times a week.That year I had a average sized buck come in about 25 yds,took my shot and WHACK. A buddy and I gave him some time and in we went.Started out with good blood and it just got thinner and thinner.We looked that night for about 4 hours, and I came back the next morning and looked from first light until almost dark but never did find him. As I said I know how you feel.I have pretty much quit bow hunting since that being I felt terrible about it.
 
All or most hunters have experienced your misfortune of loosing an animal, however not is all waisted. Mother Nature will take care of your lost doe by providing other creatures with their need of food. Coyotes and scavenger birds will benefit from the doe and your sorrow will heal with time. I personally hip my hat to you for having remorse.
 
^x2 well put track

I feel your pain mate, hope you have better luck next time

im having secont thoughts about bow hunting this year, ive pulled a back muscle while on archery range, took me 3 weeks to recover, dont know if i can put inough time in to bow hunt :(
 
Thanks for the replies guys.

I guess the "grieving" process is pretty standard for all let-downs in life...I'm in the Anger stage now I think, lol.

When I started hunting my pasture 4 years ago, it was with the intent of getting this buck. He has always eluded me. No matter what scent control I used, he'd wind me from 400yds away, or he'd be wary of my treestand ladder, or he'd even just plain walk looking UP into trees and see me.

It truly was a "hunt" for this guy, being as smart as he was. I guess his caution is what enabled him to live so long and get so big in the first place. I respected him more than any other deer.

As corny or cheesy as it sounds, I feel like I "lost" my adversary...

Again, thanks for the commiserating comments...
 
I have lost a couple animals, hit a goose once, went out about a km to retrieve and dissapeared into thin air, i knew i hit him, dropped outta the sky to 3 ft over the water and flew out into the light fog.
 
I lost a bear last year and I've lost 3 deer 1 was stolen before I got back in the next day. It's a horrible feeling. I do actually get sick when I get home. You can replay it in your head over and over for years but in truth sometimes #### happens. In every death there's life given. Keep your head up
 
horseshoe said:
Thanks for the replies guys.

I guess the "grieving" process is pretty standard for all let-downs in life...I'm in the Anger stage now I think, lol.

When I started hunting my pasture 4 years ago, it was with the intent of getting this buck. He has always eluded me. No matter what scent control I used, he'd wind me from 400yds away, or he'd be wary of my treestand ladder, or he'd even just plain walk looking UP into trees and see me.

It truly was a "hunt" for this guy, being as smart as he was. I guess his caution is what enabled him to live so long and get so big in the first place. I respected him more than any other deer.

As corny or cheesy as it sounds, I feel like I "lost" my adversary...

Again, thanks for the commiserating comments...
Click to expand...

Keep at it... Your next adversary will come along to replace the fallen soon... Good on you for your remorse... Your next character evaluation will be whether you are strong enough to put the same effort into the new buck that will take over the prime trail you are hunting...
 
Meh. Gonna happen. All you can do is your best.

I was helping a buddy clean up a carcass, we found a broadhead and a section of arrow shaft. The broadhead was lodged in the doe's back, healed over.

Either you fed the coyotes, or the beetles, or the deer will heal and you get a go at the same ones later.

Cheers
Trev
 
I have been bowhunting for close to 40 years... as said above, bad stuff can happen even when all due diligence is observed... however I have to disagree with the overall tone of this thread... in that, most here are assuming that these animals are "dead and lost." Back when bowhunting was under close scrutiny in many jurisdictions (approximately 25 years ago), there were some comprehensive studies done on "wounding loss." It was determined that in excess of 95% of wounding loss from archery gear resulted in a fully recovered animal. Arrows wound differently than bullets. Bullets are designed to "pulverize" and cause massive shock by shedding their energy on a short wound channel... whereas, arrows are designed to slice through tissue, arteries and organs causing hemorrhage on a "long wound" channel, arrows resist shedding their kinetic energy (or momentum)... the cleanness of the wounds inflicted by arrows resist infection and often seal quickly, many times full recovery occurs in hours or days... I have observed many curious things over the years while bowhunting... I won't bore you with them all, but will share two examples.

I had a exuberant young bowhunter under my tutelage some 20 years ago, he was an excellent archery shot, and a cool hand... I set him up in an early bow stand for deer, overlooking a pair of oak trees dropping a huge mast crop... a fat young eight pointer came in to a mere 15 yards... the young archer steadied himself and made the shot, it was around 8 am... back at camp at noon, he related his tale, and described the shot as "perfect," he assured my partner and I that it would be a short blood trail... that proved to be incorrect, after 200 yards the blood petered out... we ran grid patterns for close to six hours... nothing. The young man was devastated and his confidence was shaken... we consoled him with previous experiences... he didn't want to go back out hunting, but we coaxed him to continue with his hunt... that night he hunted the same stand. When we assembled at the camp shortly after dark we were met at the door with a huge smile... he informed us that he had shot another eight point buck and this time he saw it go down an had walked to it and ensured that it was indeed succumbed... we went out and picked up the buck and brought it back whole to be dressed at camp... curiously, we discovered that this was NOT another eight pointer, but the very same eight pointer that he had shot that same morning... the first wound was readily apparent... just a touch high and a touch far back... we dressed the buck carefully and examined the wound channel and the resulting damage... the arrow had enter the thoracic cavity, but from inside the cavity, it was hard to see the wounds, they had sealed so cleanly, it then penetrated the diaphragm, we found traces of blood in the tissue surrounding the liver, but not extensive, and there was a clear long slice down one lobe of the liver on the off side... and yet a few short hours later the deer had returned to the same location, appearing none the worse for wear and was feeding normally when the second arrow squared both lungs.

The second story that I will share occurred a few years ago... my partner shot a fine old bull (and cursed it later at the dinner table!)... when we dressed the bull out and butchered it, we discovered not one but TWO broadheads imbedded in its scapula... they were different make/model broadheads, and one had a two inch piece of aluminum arrow attached to it (2219 if I recall)... the bull was in fine fighting shape when my partner shot it... the wounds were old and there was a build-up of calcium and cartilage around the two broadheads... as best we could tell from the appearance, this unlucky bull had been shot THREE times on separate occasions... the inside of the hide over its shoulder showed NO perforation. My partners arrow had taken out the lungs and the bull only made a few strides before going down. As a side note to new bowhunters of moose... there is a distinct gravitational pull toward the front shoulder of moose, when placing your shot... this is due to the massiveness of the front quarter compare to the leaner sloping appearance of the hind quarter... shots to the "center" of the animal are usually too far forward... experienced moose hunters compensate for this... I always advise to follow the back edge of the front leg up to the mid body and then ease back a hands width, steady, and release... As is often repeated... shot placement is the key to a successful, humane harvest.
 
Last edited:
trevj said:
Meh. Gonna happen. All you can do is your best.

I was helping a buddy clean up a carcass, we found a broadhead and a section of arrow shaft. The broadhead was lodged in the doe's back, healed over.

Either you fed the coyotes, or the beetles, or the deer will heal and you get a go at the same ones later.

Cheers
Trev
Click to expand...

Funny... Trev posted this while I was typing!

Take heart OP... don't give up!
 
Last edited:
Losing an animal is without a doubt the worst aspect of hunting, it is gut wrenching. Any respectable hunter should feel horrible if game is wounded and lost. Unfortunately there's way to many hunters out there who don't. To the OP, showing remorse and wanting to take a break from hunting is respectable, it shows heart. For what it's worth, the way you are describing the first deer, I wouldn't doubt that deer will heal up just fine, and be no worse for wear. The buck, I'm sure wasn't suffering and is likely down close by. Still doesn't help the pain you're going through, I know. I've been there too. Anyone who hunts long enough, will one day face the same anguish. My father told me once after I lost a deer, after tracking for over a mile, and the blood trail dried up, the coyotes will eat that deer up tonight and that will spare the life of another one they would have killed to eat tonight.
That's one good thing in nature, nothing goes to waste.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom