Shot a spike last night

[tommat]

Still in shock a little. I got to watch my oldest shoot his first deer and the next evening shot one for myself. Around 5:30 last night glassed up a small spike about 450 Yards up the side of the hill I was glassing. Always have been a "meat hunter" and didn't hesitate to grab my pack and shoot up the hill to trim a couple of hundred yards off the shot. He was feeding in a group of ocotillo and I had to drop into a wash for a moment before popping up on the hillside. Of course I lost him but knew he was there and just ambled up his way. The light was starting to bother me and I knew I had just a min or two of shooting light. about 100 yards I see him flag and trot off to the left. Got the scope on him and followed for about another 100 yards or so....then he gives me the obligatory stop and look...broadside of course. I debate for two or three seconds about shooting but feel good. I am off hand but the crosshairs are steady on his back. I was guessing he had run farther than he did, not ever looking at him other than through my scope. In my mind he was over 250 yards....actually was 195. Laid the horizonal hair on his back and squeezed one off. Boom down he goes....almost...I see him struggle to get up...almost like walking on marbles in slow motion.....stay down...stay down I groaned but he started slowly walking off. I didn't want to take the scope off him and was able to get another round in and shoot the next time he stopped....he disappeared and another, much bigger buck shot out of the thick stuff my spike was heading into..he flagged and shot straight up the hill. I took a breath and headed to where I put the first round into him. No blood at all. I knew I hit him and needed to look around a little. Called the wife and told her not to expect me for awhile. Went up to where I last saw him and found a hoof print with blood in it. I sat right there and looked at my watch. I would give him an hour then start trailing. Called my wife again and told her exactly where I was and not to worry. I was well supplied an could spend the night up there if I had to without too much trouble. It was then deep dark. About 7:15 a set off to follow the blood trail. Pretty steady drips and drops for about 50' . Then nothing.......I started making little circles and was getting all turned around in the dark. I knew where the road was but in the dark was real hard to tell where I shot from and couldn't see the flagging I was leaving. I called my buddy for advice. Of course he said he would be there in less than an hour but thought it would be a tough go in the dark. I was well over 4000' and it was cooling off nicely. If we could get to it early enough in the AM the meat would have a chance. We hit it right at sunrise...my buddy found more blood right away. It had turned hard left where I had lost it last night. we went another 100' or so and the trail got less and less....then nada. We circled for quite a while and glassed the oppisite canyon...grasping at straws basically. I am hopefull the deer will survive but don't have high hopes.....getting hit anywhere with a 150 grain 30-06 has got to mess you up good. There never was a massive amount of blood. Near as I can figure it I was holding way to high for the distance and might have just skinned his back but, holding off hand and standing as I was and the amount of ocotillo I was shooting through that bullet might have hit anywhere. First animal I have lost in almost 30 years of hunting. Feels crappy.

I deceided that I will end my hunt. Always told myself if I lost an animal I would not feel right tagging another. I hope if the wound is fatal I hope he will nourish other animals and thus not go to total waste. If I had it to do again I would still shoot but I need to do a better job of judging the range. IF I had taken a look at him with my eyes and not only through the scope I would have realized the distance better....live and learn. Feels better writing it down.

[Ernesto C]

We must and always learn from scenarios like yours. I know by now you already figured out a thousand different things you coul have done differently. The same thing that happened to you it happen to one of my brothers in 36C. You maybe just scratched the deers back or maybe hit it just below the spines were there is no vital organs.

 

Ernesto C

[TwoGuns]

Still in shock a little. I got to watch my oldest shoot his first deer and the next evening shot one for myself. Around 5:30 last night glassed up a small spike about 450 Yards up the side of the hill I was glassing. Always have been a "meat hunter" and didn't hesitate to grab my pack and shoot up the hill to trim a couple of hundred yards off the shot. He was feeding in a group of ocotillo and I had to drop into a wash for a moment before popping up on the hillside. Of course I lost him but knew he was there and just ambled up his way. The light was starting to bother me and I knew I had just a min or two of shooting light. about 100 yards I see him flag and trot off to the left. Got the scope on him and followed for about another 100 yards or so....then he gives me the obligatory stop and look...broadside of course. I debate for two or three seconds about shooting but feel good. I am off hand but the crosshairs are steady on his back. I was guessing he had run farther than he did, not ever looking at him other than through my scope. In my mind he was over 250 yards....actually was 195. Laid the horizonal hair on his back and squeezed one off. Boom down he goes....almost...I see him struggle to get up...almost like walking on marbles in slow motion.....stay down...stay down I groaned but he started slowly walking off. I didn't want to take the scope off him and was able to get another round in and shoot the next time he stopped....he disappeared and another, much bigger buck shot out of the thick stuff my spike was heading into..he flagged and shot straight up the hill. I took a breath and headed to where I put the first round into him. No blood at all. I knew I hit him and needed to look around a little. Called the wife and told her not to expect me for awhile. Went up to where I last saw him and found a hoof print with blood in it. I sat right there and looked at my watch. I would give him an hour then start trailing. Called my wife again and told her exactly where I was and not to worry. I was well supplied an could spend the night up there if I had to without too much trouble. It was then deep dark. About 7:15 a set off to follow the blood trail. Pretty steady drips and drops for about 50' . Then nothing.......I started making little circles and was getting all turned around in the dark. I knew where the road was but in the dark was real hard to tell where I shot from and couldn't see the flagging I was leaving. I called my buddy for advice. Of course he said he would be there in less than an hour but thought it would be a tough go in the dark. I was well over 4000' and it was cooling off nicely. If we could get to it early enough in the AM the meat would have a chance. We hit it right at sunrise...my buddy found more blood right away. It had turned hard left where I had lost it last night. we went another 100' or so and the trail got less and less....then nada. We circled for quite a while and glassed the oppisite canyon...grasping at straws basically. I am hopefull the deer will survive but don't have high hopes.....getting hit anywhere with a 150 grain 30-06 has got to mess you up good. There never was a massive amount of blood. Near as I can figure it I was holding way to high for the distance and might have just skinned his back but, holding off hand and standing as I was and the amount of ocotillo I was shooting through that bullet might have hit anywhere. First animal I have lost in almost 30 years of hunting. Feels crappy.

I deceided that I will end my hunt. Always told myself if I lost an animal I would not feel right tagging another. I hope if the wound is fatal I hope he will nourish other animals and thus not go to total waste. If I had it to do again I would still shoot but I need to do a better job of judging the range. IF I had taken a look at him with my eyes and not only through the scope I would have realized the distance better....live and learn. Feels better writing it down.

 

 

Tommat, first of all you should not feel too bad about not finding him...all you can do is to do your best to find em, and sometimes it happens that you cant. Second, dont be too sure that the buck is actually dead. Here is why I say that...about 3 weeks ago during archery elk season, my buddy and I were chasing a couple cows, and I was able to get a 45 yard shot on a broadside cow. I drilled her hard, right in the chest. As she trotted off, my buddy said I hit her good and that she would be going down at any time...I was not so sure. When the arrow hit, it smacked real loud and about 8 inches of arrow were still sticking out. I figured I must have hit the shoulder blade because of the lack of penetration. At any rate, it was getting dark fast, and we followed a lot of blood for quite a long ways. Then the blood started to be less and less, until on my hands and knees with a flashlight I found the last two pinhead size drops...then nothing. We looked until almost 11pm and did not find her. Several times we found blood in the front hoof-print, which confirmed in my mind I had hit her in the shoulder, and the blood was flowing down the leg. We pulled out and went back in the morning at first light. We found the herd with no problem, and then we were both blown away when we see a cow hobbling around with dry blood all down one side of her. She was still on her feet! Couldnt believe it could have been, but it was still running around. Fortunately, we were able to get back on her and put another arrow into her and she went down and is now RIP.

 

If you found blood in the hoof print, you hit in the shoulder, which is not necessarily a kill shot. They are tough animals and there is not much but meat and bone in that area. If you go back in the area, you may find it still on its feet. Or, it may have made it miles and miles before it died. Either way, good luck finding him.

 

twoguns

[bchoitz]

That's a real bummer, but it's also a possibility all of us have to face when heading out on a hunt. My first December whitetail tag (2001?) ended that way with a deer I didn't recover. Like you, I knew I could not in good conscience shoot another animal that year, and I looked for that buck for a day. Great blood trail for 1/2 mile, then over a deadfall, decent amount of blood where he landed and then nothing. Uphill, downhill, sidehill everywhere I looked, just nothing. I know it was hit bad enough that it died, I just could not locate it.

 

I feel your pain tommat... Still

[25-06]

Aint over yet...Seasons still open