Being patient after the shot....

[coocoo4coues]

I learned this lesson the hard way. A few years back, I took a shot at a nice 3x3 at about 50 yds. It was an uphill shot, and I heard the "thwack" when I hit him. I saw him run about 30 yards and drop under a large scrub oak. At that point, being wet behind the ears, I strolled over thinking I'd find a dead deer. When I approached the area, he quickly jumped up and ran off like a bat out of heck. I saw about half of my arrow sticking out of his shoulder. I started following the blood trail, and continued to do so for about 3 hours, until towards the top of a very steep hill, lost it completely. I trailed that buck for days, spending all day looking for any kind of sign of his passing. I couldn't sleep for weeks after that, because I know that deer died, and I couldn't recover him. I later found half of my arrow covered in blood and teeth marks from where the poor animal eventually gnarled it off.

 

Since then, I've been very careful about several things, and follow these basic rules of thumb:

 

1) Be sure of the shot and know your limitations. If you can't shoot a good group at 50 yards, then don't go taking a shot at that range. This may mean passing up on a monster, but this is an important rule of thumb.

 

2) Practice

 

3) Practice some more

 

4) Did I mention practice?

 

5) Don't go cheap on broadheads

 

6) After making a good shot, WAIT! Not minutes, but hours.

 

7) Take a friend (preferably one with more hunting sense than you). A good hunting partner will help you make good decisions in the midst of buck fever and all the mixed emotions. They'll help you calm down, and then help you track down your kill. Nothing like hunting with a seasoned vet.

 

8) Read forums like this

 

Enjoy...

 

 

[HEADACHE]

This thread is awesome, very informative, thanks for taking the time to share guys I am reading and listening and hopefully learning to cure my aggressive and inpatient ways.

 

I have been lucky so far, I gut-shot my first carp at 45 yards, the arrow was green and stinky. I was on top of a small mountain and was scared to death that if my deer ran more than a hundred yards he would never be found unless I used a helicopter. Steep steep steep all the way around. I basically got on my knees and crawled his direction of flight for about a hundred yards. I "luckily" saw him hunkered up and go bed down within a hundred yards of where I poked him. I was luckily was able to sneak all the way around behind him and get another arrow through him to finish him.

 

I have seen elk on other people hunts get pushed and get bumped after POOLS of blood and slimy materials coughed up and its where you think "Oh any minute this elk will be piled up under a tree" kind of feeling . . . but once you see a spot where it layed down and got back up you realize it had been pushed and that blood trail ended up running out. Then the heartache and second thoughts start to hit home. Those kind of hunts really come into focus on what not to do.

 

My last Archery Bull hunt that sucker left a continuous stream of blood about six inches wide for a LONG way. I got right on his trail and couldn't wait one second to see him, I was so dang excited there was no way I could have sat still for 30-45 minutes. Oh man I was pumped, but After I saw where he laid down once and I had bumped him I froze! I knew I had screwed up by getting right on him. "Luckily" I saw him go another two hundred yards and bed down where I watched him expire. Again I have been lucky chasing them too soon, I am learning my lessons well though. I might not get so lucky anymore, so I will start waiting a while from now on! No matter how dang excited I get!

 

Thanks for this thread guys.

 

[Coues 'n' Sheep]

I learned a few more leasons this season....

 

Both animals/situations that I intend illustrate are liver shot coues and hit low.

 

The first, was given plenty of time (over night) with no pursuit, but was "bumped" by an un-known... likely, elk coming up it's back trail 20 minutes after the shot. The very good blood trail disapeared (to the eye) after the deer went to a run... this buck appeared to run to his death and was recovered over a 1/4 mile away up a drainage in the original direction the deer was traveling. It apeared that when the deer went to a run he was heading to the left.... but apparently he was heading somewhere, and somehow resumed that path. The thought that a wounded deer won't go far uphill is out the window once they have gone to flight mode. Grid searching every inch of country with as many people as possible is the only way to recover your animal before the meat and cape are lost.

 

The second, was impacted by un-forcasted rain storm 40 minutes afer the shot. Even more blood than the first buck... almost like buckets of blood. Because of the rain we moved in to soon... the blood was washing away! We bumped the buck and lost the blood trail less than 200 yds from the POI... he probably would have been right there after the storm... had we waited. The buck ran to the bottom of the canyon and then started up the canyon bottom....once again apeared to run to his death, and I found him 3/4 of a mile from the POI, again in the bottom of the drainage. Once again man power was the key to success and the meat was good!

 

What I learned.... The best laid plans can go bad on you.... Effort and man power can get you back in the game!

[ArcheryHunter]

Wow what a topic. I am still dreaming of my first shot on a buck, butI felt like I just went hunting with you all. Very cool. I will wait at leats 45/caresing my 45, lol

[LAR DOG]

I learned a few more leasons this season....

 

Both animals/situations that I intend illustrate are liver shot coues and hit low.

 

The first, was given plenty of time (over night) with no pursuit, but was "bumped" by an un-known... likely, elk coming up it's back trail 20 minutes after the shot. The very good blood trail disapeared (to the eye) after the deer went to a run... this buck appeared to run to his death and was recovered over a 1/4 mile away up a drainage in the original direction the deer was traveling. It apeared that when the deer went to a run he was heading to the left.... but apparently he was heading somewhere, and somehow resumed that path. The thought that a wounded deer won't go far uphill is out the window once they have gone to flight mode. Grid searching every inch of country with as many people as possible is the only way to recover your animal before the meat and cape are lost.

 

The second, was impacted by un-forcasted rain storm 40 minutes afer the shot. Even more blood than the first buck... almost like buckets of blood. Because of the rain we moved in to soon... the blood was washing away! We bumped the buck and lost the blood trail less than 200 yds from the POI... he probably would have been right there after the storm... had we waited. The buck ran to the bottom of the canyon and then started up the canyon bottom....once again apeared to run to his death, and I found him 3/4 of a mile from the POI, again in the bottom of the drainage. Once again man power was the key to success and the meat was good!

 

What I learned.... The best laid plans can go bad on you.... Effort and man power can get you back in the game!

 

WAZ UP The road, Fat Chicks and bad food, Nice to be back at the compound. THE DOG13

[Coues 'n' Sheep]

 

 

Bout time you get social again.... Great conversation, thanks for the call, Amigo!

[jgabler]

Just what I've seen and learned.

Pooled blood within a body cavity starts to rot almost immediately, but do not let that make your decision to start tracking an animal too quickly after being hit. It isn't going to rot your meat as quickly.

 

Last year my grandfather shot a bull right through the shoulder blade and stuck into the off shoulder @ 20 yards. My dad was with him and they were both sure of the shot placement, waited 1 hour and then started following the blood trail, which it was dark by then. They had good blood for about 40 yards and then started running out very quickly. They decided to back off and look first thing in the morning. I tried to convince them that with the shot placement and how much of the arrow broke off inside the bull, that he was dead by 5 hours and we should get our bright lights out and follow because my friend had just lost half of his elk 2 days before by leaving him over night (spoiled that quickly where blood pooled). They did not want to do this, and went tracking in the morning to find the bull 50 yards further from where they stopped the night before. Unfortunately 1/4 was missing due to coyotes, and the side that he was laying on was already starting to spoil from the pooled blood inside the cavity.

As others have said, be sure of your shot, and I would recommend waiting at least an hour before starting to trail an animal as well, even if you see it fall over and think it is dead. Learn what different blood looks like and smells like from being hit in different parts of the body. I would also agree that a higher shot and further back shot would need to wait longer. I've seen a double lunged bull hit high still alive nearly 6 hours later and barely leaving a blood trail that could barely be followed. A liver and gut shot deer shot in the late evening still barely alive in the following morning.

I also agree with trying to aim for where you want the shot to exit the animal.

I am not saying that if you hit an animal, to start following it right after that 1st hour of waiting or within 4 hours so that the meat doesn't start spoiling. I am simply saying to do all the research you can to tell the difference between different types of blood on the blood trail you are following, to do the best you can at knowing where your shot placement occurred on the animal, to take a good shot, and practice. While following a blood trail during light hours, use your binocs to look in the direction the animal was traveling to see if you can see it from a distance before all of a sudden walking up on it.

For me;

double lungs or heart-1 to 2 hours

1 lung or high lungs 4-5 hours depending on blood trail at beginning

Liver angled forward to lungs 7-8 hours

Liver about 10 hours

Gut shot 12 hours

 

[W.O.T]

anyone have those diagrams or pics of the kill zone from different angles? or maybe a link?

[GameHauler]

anyone have those diagrams or pics of the kill zone from different angles? or maybe a link?

 

Bet Red Rabbit is working on it

Thanks Doug, we all appreciate you

I do somewhere but by the time I found and posted them

Doug will have already done it.

[CouesWhitetail]

I don't have pics specific for archery, but you can see some that show aiming point and therefore kill zone for rifle. Kill zone is obviously the same for archery, but just can't take all the shots a rifle hunter can.

 

http://www.coueswhitetail.com/shot_placeme...t_placement.htm

 

Amanda

 

[Coues 'n' Sheep]

Here is one that I have posted before.... This shows what I preach about aiming low.....

[bobbyo]

Thanks C+S that is the most useful thing posted on here in months.

Bob

[Coues 'n' Sheep]

 

 

Just wanted to bring this one up to the top..... I know some are already out hunting and some like me are just gearing up for January.... Either way this Thread has a ton of good info for the beginners and the Veteran hunters....

 

Best of Luck to All.... Be Patient, and Aim Small, Miss Small!!

[skeeter]

I love this post Gino. I second what coocoo4coues said " practice, practice, practice". I would also like to add another bit of advice, & that is know your equipment & inspect it often. This year I had a Unit 8 archery bull tag. It was a tough hunt, & with 2 days to go a nice bull presented itself @ 58yds. I know this is going to draw some flack, but I had just ended an archery antelope hunt for which I had been practicing with a lot of confidence out to 70 yds. I was perfectly calm when I let the arrow fly as I had time to wait for him to come out from behind the tree. The arrow to my horror hit the bull in the hind leg! I was dumbfounded! I watched & listened as he ran over the ridge. Long story short, I spent the next two days trailing & never found this bull. Nothing worse than losing an animal, for sure, the next two weeks were agonizing as I thought of that bull somewhere in pain. The point of this was to tell you that after returning to camp, my buddy told me to shoot my bow in camp & see if I was shooting good, & sure enough my arrow hit the target 6" left @ 20 yds! Upon inspection, my sight was tweaked around & set my pins to the right!

Again, practice, practice, take all that can go wrong with your bow out of the equation. I guarantee that was the hardest lesson I've learned & from now on I will be shooting my bow everyday in camp, & inspecting it often.

 

Happy Holidays everyone, Jed

[Coues 'n' Sheep]

 

 

Again the mesage on this years hunts was the same.... "Be Patient"..... it was productive a couple of times and over kill a couple of times (rifle hunting as well as bow hunting)... but we did not lose one single animal on all the hunts combined this Fall and Winter.

 

We learned something new on Deer Anatomy this archery season that had never really occured to me.... If you look at the picture I previously posted with "My 12 ring", you will see that there is a LOT of vital real-estate infornt of that "blue dot"... We had AMAZING recoveries this year based on Everyone shooting low and forward. Basically straight up from the leg but at or below center.... So even my thoughts have moved toward shooting further forward with a bow (on deer) than I ever imagined before. If you look back at my post of our archery harvest you will notice that 3 out of 4 bucks were hit pretty far forward compaired to conventional archery logic.... and the 4th (Coltons buck) was shot straight down through leaving a very high entrance a very low exit on the opposite side.

http://forums.coueswhitetail.com/forums/in...c=17282&hl=

 

Hope some of you had better successes this year as a result of this thread.... and I encourage all of you to share the "Do's" as well as the "Don'ts" that you came across this season.