The Taboo Subject. Loosing deer after the shot.

Its happened to me a few times. The shot looks good, climb down to check the arrow, follow the blood then the blood trail becomes less and less until its impossible to follow. Search until dark, grid search the next day, nothing. So I start to think, what went wrong. Did not wait long enough, broadhead hit bone, arrow hit a twig, gut shot, deer jumped the string, etc.

I have noticed an uptick on this point on the YouTube postings related to finding deer after the shot so I will summarize my related findings:

• Ranch Fairy (he picked that name!) stated in one post he was losing 50% of shot deer in his discussion around expandable vs fixed broadhead.
• Seans outdoors advised not to use expendables due to penetration problems.
• Death by bunjie shows (in an unscientific test) broad head penetration can depend on arrow speed (expendables favour higher speeds).
• Whitetail Habitat Solutions addressed this by saying wait 5 hours before the search starts unless you see the deer drop dead.
• Hunting the public had a tracking dog handler who stated the biggest mistake was poor shot placement.
• Almost ALL advise a LOW shot due to deer jumping the string, also to note a low shot will produce a better blood trail otherwise the lungs fill with blood and if the deer does not die quick it does not leave a trail (as in my case this happened twice).

Of the methods discussed, there seems to be a consensus of opinions:

Fixed blades
Shoot Low (aim at heart)
Wait 5 hours before tracking
Use a tracking dog

On the note of a tracking dog, the Big Game Blood Trackers of Ontario has some on standby (at least when I called last), but there seems to a be shortage of tracking dogs on the West side of Toronto (Burlington-Hamilton). Almost any dog can be trained to follow blood as its in their nature. It takes a few months of training to get up to a deployable level but dogs usually learn the 'game' in the first three or four sessions. If anyone is interested in starting a dog or training on blood trails PM me if you are close to Burlington for some friendly no cost sessions using the method of your choice, or the Kocher method (what I use), I have trained a bloodhound to level two trailing using NASAR standards and hold TD title.

Good post. Can't believe that Fairy guy is losing 50% - I would just shoot myself at that point - 50% chance Fairy would miss anyways based on that performance.

As far as waiting 5 hours for every bow shot goes - i think that is excessive. On an easy gimme shot where the deer in question does a clear donkey kick and recovered arrow shows good blood i don't see the need for that even if it does not drop in sight. Any doubt than sure waiting is a good idea.

Biggest thing i believe is patience. Wait for a good shot - don't let adrenaline get the better of you and take a rushed or marginal shot that you later regret. That will solve most problems. Still gonna be the odd thing happen to be sure. I have taken over 60 with the crossbow - lost 2 - none since i started using the hound on difficult recoveries.

if you haven't lost a deer yet chances, are you haven't shot enough deer or you're going to very soon
the few key things I can suggest are:
practice lots and when you're done practicing practice more.
use a sharp broadhead (no Excalibur boltcutters are not even close to sharp)
use a cut on contact head
I'll take KE and momentum over flat-out speed everyday
get good at judging a deer's state of nervousness and aim accordingly
1/2h isn't enough time to wait after a shot. 1h is better, 1.5h is even better
track very slowly

#1. Taking a shot that’s out of range.

Agree with everything except wait 5 hours in thick brush you may know your shot is good but not see the deer go down because you can not see 50 yards.

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Originally Posted by hunter06

Agree with everything except wait 5 hours in thick brush you may know your shot is good but not see the deer go down because you can not see 50 yards.

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With the number of coyotes and wolves in the bush I am pretty nervous leaving deer any amount of time.

Exactly, I know a guy who was dogging and shot a deer. He came back 45 minutes later and a wolf had already helped himself to the hind quarters.

Waiting 5 hours just because you didn't see the deer drop is excessive. Almost all the deer I've double lunged I didn't see drop. It's unrealistic in most scenarios.

Find the arrow and first blood. Read the signs and put all the information together to decide.
Also in terms of Expandable broadheads, most archery equipment these days has more than enough energy to penetrate with most expandables. The only archery equipment you should be worrying about penetration is with low poundage compounds or traditional gear.

Excaliber boltcutters work very well for me never had a deer go more than 50 yard after the shot.

The SWAT XMag broadheads launched from my Scorpyd Deathstalker drain my game rather quickly. :)

This season's archery buck was literally down in seconds. I heard him crash and the blood trail was truly impressive. He was perfectly broadside standing at 28 yards. Shot was a tad high but double lung and still managed to clear 80yards before crashing.

I have lost a few over the years too. All due to poor shot placement from not taking my time waiting for the deer to turn, no other reason. I learned my lesson and won't take risky shots anymore and it has paid off.

Aim small miss small!

5 hour wait is way excessive, considering that after the deer is dead for 30 minutes internal body heat will start to cause bacterial breakdown in the meat.
Arrow/bolt Shot placement is critical to speedy recovery.
As to mechanicals, I tried one (wont name brand, but a very popular one) 6 years ago, and lost a young 6-point buck with a 20 yd standing broadside thru shot with my crossbow. Searched the bush for 3 hours (family farm bush I had hunted for 40 years), finally found deer 3 weeks later in a spot I had walked thru 3 times while repeatedly searching. Threw out all those mechanicals!! That was the only deer I ever lost.
When Excalibur came out with their mechanical I tried their 100 grain heads - love them - havent had a deer go more than 25 yards hit with them.

My almost 3 year old lab has found my last 3 deer. She is the truck almost every time I go out, 1st deer she was 10 months old. I shoot I pack up, go to truck, have coffee and cigar, play with her for a bit, unload the quad and head back, this takes almost an hour. 1st deer there was no blood trail, and to many leaf's for me to track, she picked up the scent and found blood 50yds in and deer another 40yds. 2nd was a pretty easy track only about 40yd. the 3rd she wasn't with me, it went almost 400yds in open field, slug placement pour. I took her back the next day showed her about where the deer was standing, so 16 hours later with rain most of the night. She picked it up and tracked right to the gut pile. I think most dogs will take to a blood trail or just the scent it they have any hunting instincts. I'd ask a friend to come with me and bring his dog if you don't have one and can't find your deer. It can't hurt and you might have to pay up with a roast.

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Originally Posted by sabmgb

My almost 3 year old lab has found my last 3 deer. She is the truck almost every time I go out, 1st deer she was 10 months old. I shoot I pack up, go to truck, have coffee and cigar, play with her for a bit, unload the quad and head back, this takes almost an hour. 1st deer there was no blood trail, and to many leaf's for me to track, she picked up the scent and found blood 50yds in and deer another 40yds. 2nd was a pretty easy track only about 40yd. the 3rd she wasn't with me, it went almost 400yds in open field, slug placement pour. I took her back the next day showed her about where the deer was standing, so 16 hours later with rain most of the night. She picked it up and tracked right to the gut pile. I think most dogs will take to a blood trail or just the scent it they have any hunting instincts. I'd ask a friend to come with me and bring his dog if you don't have one and can't find your deer. It can't hurt and you might have to pay up with a roast.

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my older lab has found 13 deer now. the younger lab hasn't had the opportunity to do it solo yet but I'm sure it won't be an issue. this is with no formal training just allowing them to eat chunks of liver and chew on bones and legs
it's amazing how instinctual they can be

ive lost two deer so far. one i was a complete rookie, hunting solo and gut shot. had no idea what i was doing, backed out, and went the next day, no blood but i know i hit the poor guy.
second was a big ole buck who im sure lived. hit high and back into no mans land. i think he was seen a few weeks later strutting his stuff.
thankfully ive missed more than ive hit and lost.
I think if it wasnt for good tracking sills, we might have lost the deer i shot this year too. he went a good distance from where he was hit and there wasn't a ton of blood. gut shot with a slug and died within 15 minutes.

our group lost a deer this season. blood trail and everything and im pretty sure we looked too soon (into the night) and bumped it.
looking back, i think waiting it out at least a couple hours before looking, and getting a good dog on the trail would have helped with recovery.

I lost a doe one year hunting with the crossbow. I waited 1 hr before taking up the blood trail that was bright red. The blood trail ended(50 yrds) where the deer bedded down under some low hanging branches. Followed the trail beyond that point with no blood trace. So I smized that my shot was low, hitting the deer in the leg muscle with Wasp fixed broadhead. I also remembered that I did not stay fixed on the target after pulling the trigger. The deer was later ranged at 26 yards and I used the 20 yard pin.

Great post Marker. There's so many factors involved in this.

Broadhead - has to match the setup. Mechanicals with low poundage compounds, not great. Smaller fixed heads are better when you hit that scapula, but not as great for blood trails. Example, black bears. Bear blood trails typically suck, and i'd prefer a big mechanical(or hybrid head) if the bow setup has enough energy for it.

Bow - A scoped xbow will always make it easier to make an accurate shot, especially in those low light times. Guys using archery equipment will typically have a bit harder of a time hitting exactly where they want in the heat of the moment.

Recovery - If you don't see the animal go down, and you feel that there's any chance at all that you may have hit behind the lungs, yes, i'd agree with 4-5 hours. Further back yet, longer. When in doubt, back out. If you follow any social media hunting groups you'll notice this common trend every season. Bumped a bedded deer by starting tracking too early, and lost the blood trail. Followed by, "does anyone have a blood trailing dog in wmuX".
Knowing what to do after the shot is so incredibly important in bow hunting and it's not something you can really learn in a hunters ed course. It just takes experience. And good mentor goes a long way.

Hunter discipline/patience - can you pass up that questionable shot on that big buck you really really want? A lot of us unfortunately have a mentality of, "i wont take that shot, unless it's a really big buck". Low percentage shots = low percentage recoveries

Personally, i've had 1 non-recovery and it was in the first couple seasons. Lack of experience led to a quartering-to shot that hit the shoulder with no penetration (70#compound bow + mechanical). A non-lethal hit on a buck that I saw again the following season. I will mention that there are 2 bears that i've killed that I would likely not have found if I were hunting solo. A team blood trailing effort and a never-give-up attitude can make the difference in finding that 1 drop of blood that entirely changes the direction of the track.

I think taking the time to practice shooting ( bow or gun) and being confident in your gear as well as not rushing a shot is the most important thing in hunting any game. After that you wish that you have done everything in your power to make an ethical and realistic shot. You will still lose game and it has happen to the best of us regardless if you using mechanical or fixed broad heads.

2 lessons learned through experience (experience is what you get when you do t get what you want);

1. In bow hunting sometimes it just doesn’t work out after a seemingly decent shot. These incidents are hard pills to swallow but an unfortunate part of the game.

2. Choosing to not bow hunt in the evenings eliminates a lot of problems


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ive seen deer that have their heart literally blown out in gun season and they'll run for 100 yards with 0 blood trail.

ive also seen deer shot the exact same and they drop dead on the spot.

ive seen deer that were gut shot that dropped within 30 yards, and then waited for you to get within 5 yards to trya nd get up and run again.

ive also seen deer that were gut shot and we never found them after searching for 6 hours.

things happen, nothing is the same, not all deer are the same. some may be having better days than others and that just happend to be their last day or maybe not

this is probably a good post to bring back up now as bow season not that far off.

Very good thread Every hunter should read.Thanks