How long should I wait?

[mattobertin]

Glad to hear you gave it an honest effort. When stuff like that happens you definately learn from it, I know I did! Good luck on your elk hunt.

[JHAM357]

i dont know if i would consider it a done deal. you gave a great effort man. you still have a tag in your pocket, i know a couple of guys i dont talk to any more because they would go out and come back saying they lost another deer every weekend and that pisses me off. i think you really gave it alot of work man and deserve to go for it again

[CouesWhitetail]

If it was me, I would call it done for the year if you think that buck is dead. If you think he survived, then go for it. It's a sickening feeling killing an animal and not retrieving it. I once shot a javelina with an arrow and never found it (even after taking dogs in there), but decided I wouldn't hunt another one since I thought I had killed it.

 

Amanda

 

 

 

[Huntn coues]

If it was me, I would call it done for the year if you think that buck is dead. If you think he survived, then go for it. It's a sickening feeling killing an animal and not retrieving it. I once shot a javelina with an arrow and never found it (even after taking dogs in there), but decided I wouldn't hunt another one since I thought I had killed it.

 

Amanda

 

+1

 

[Snapshot]

The meat would have spoiled quickly, but maybe the head is retreivable? Glad to hear you put in the effort to find him, some people won't. Unfortunately game is sometimes lost, its never a sure thing. Good luck!

[GameHauler]

You did your best to find him

and hats are off to you.

Now get back out there and TRY to put it behind you.

It will take time and you will never forget.

That is part of the game unfortunately and

you have learned allot from this Hunt.

 

I would like to bring up a topic from last year.

Maybe Bigbrowns is still around but I have not seen

him on the forum forever.

 

He had several Cams stolen that Had a great Buck coming in.

He got so upset he pulled his stand and gave up

SAD that the POS that did it is still around

 

I hope you do not let this take away from your love to hunt.

You are not the first to loose a critter and will not be the last.

 

I believe that well over 90% of game shot by "HUNTERS" (here I go again )

are recovered.

 

Get your Butt back out there and get your other Buck

You did your best.

 

My $.02

[jnobleinaz]

For me its a full on broadside shot or nothing.

24 hours is the wait for a gut-shot animal. You will lose the meat. The animal is not likely to die from blood loss but rather septic poisoning of the blood. This will take a long time. tracking before 24 hours will push the animal and you may lose him. If you back off and wait he will have gone the 40 or 50 yds, bedded down and died there, because they do not want to move.

A slight quartering away is still a good shot. A quartering towards you is never a good shot and I will never take one again.

Sorry about what happened.

I hope you get your skull,

Mike

Exactly what I was going to say. Gut shot 24 hours. Just like people that take will frontal shots on elk the result will be bad in the end. The hard part is to hold back the adrenaline and stay calm. At least you tried but the only thing I dont like is the quote of "It's only a spike and not a monster". All the big game animals we hunt deserve the same credit. I lost a javelina last year and it made me sick. Literally. Looked for two days. Anyway keep your head high

[ajohunter]

I know how it feels man. 3 years ago I lost a 4x4 buck in 36B. Shot him right at dark on opening day and didnt have a flashlight. Decided to come back with some help the next morning with help to pack him out. Well the buck he was with was still bedded on the same ridge but we could not find my buck anywhere. I saw the bullet hit and saw it fall down. I searched for the next 4 days with no luck. Worst feeling in the world, but you will get through it. You did your best searching for him under tough circumstances.

[BowNut]

I was with a guy this week that shot a deer to far back. The deer was broadside just like you want for the perfect shot the arrow just did not go where it needed to. It happens sometimes. There was zero blood on the ground and a green arrow.And then to top it off as soon as the shot went off it started to poor rain. We fallowed his tracks because we could tell he was hit hard by the deep marks in the ground. We were able to find him bedded about 100 yards or so away and finished him with another shot. My first reaction was to leave the area after the first shot and looks of the arrow but with the rain and huge marks in the ground he was leaving as he ran off we thought we should give it a try. Glad it worked out for us we were lucky.

That's to bad you did not find your deer but it sounds like you did what you could. I lost the first deer I ever shot at with my bow. It sucks!! I knew this deer was going to die so I looked at it as I killed my deer and did not hunt anymore that year. The worst of it is that deer was in the back of my mind the next time I drew back on an animal so just make a great shot and wipe out any doubt! Good luck Aim small shoot small!