talltines Report post Posted January 10, 2011 When I shot this guy yesterday I thought I hit him in the heart because his heart area got real red and blood was pouring out as he ran off. I waited in my deerstand for about 15 mins and decided to go grab my arrow and look at the blood trail bright in the snow where I smacked him. I was so excited to see a real good blood trail and prematurely pursued the trail too soon. After about 100 yards of good blood a couple spots where he stopped had a lot of blood, I came across the spot where he would of layed and died (nice big blood patch in the snow), but I bumped him and he bolted down the ridge. that is when I decided to pull out and let him go lay down again and bleed out over night. My girlfriend and myself picked up his trail this morning and followed with good blood for quite a distance up and down a couple ridges. he was bleeding less and less as we walked until he crossed a running creek from the snow melting... I found his tracks on the other side of the water, but the side of the mountain was not covered in snow and lost his tracks as he ascended up to a peak into thick junipers. I spent some time pacing and fanning out from the last blood, but nothin happenin' no blood or tracks. started over at last blood a couple times and had to throw in the towel! Sad day for me and a happy day for the coyotes and or lions. I will be back out and trying again soon. Can't win em all, but I thought I had this one in the bag with all the snow to help in tracking. My lesson learned from this whole ordeal is to get in better shape, because climbing around in the snow at 7000' can really be brutal... Lol! No really.... my lesson is that after a archery shot on a whitetail no matter how well placed you think it was, always give them a couple hours to lay down and bleed out. I just lost a stud 9 pointer with nice width and length due to my over confidence in the shot and pushing the deer out of his death bed. Thanks, Talltines Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
fatfootdoc Report post Posted January 10, 2011 You can always go back and check for ravens, etc, they will show you where he is at. He was most likely within 50-100 yards from you, they are impossible to find sometimes when they bury themselves up against a tree. He probably ran there when you pushed him and then bedded in the juniper thicket and is still in there dead. I would go back and check it out again if it were me. Good Luck, ag Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tjhunt2 Report post Posted January 10, 2011 You can always go back and check for ravens, etc, they will show you where he is at. He was most likely within 50-100 yards from you, they are impossible to find sometimes when they bury themselves up against a tree. He probably ran there when you pushed him and then bedded in the juniper thicket and is still in there dead. I would go back and check it out again if it were me. Good Luck, ag Good advise from fatfootdoc about the ravens. It will not go to waste but still hard to swollow your pride. It's all part of archery hunting and sooner or later it all happens to the best of us. Hope you find him! TJ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
couesdeerhntr Report post Posted January 10, 2011 My opinion is if u stick a deer and can not recover it u should be done hunting for the year because technically u get to shoot two deer in one fiscal year instead of everyone else shooting one. It would be the right thing to do in my eyes instead of going out and shooting more. What if u make a bad shot on second deer u hunted and can't recover that one as well then there are two dead deer layin in the forest. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BML Report post Posted January 10, 2011 Don't give up on that deer man! I arrowed the brute in my avatar in 2009. I made a hard quartering to shot and knew I missed the lungs. I waited close to 4 hours before looking for him and it still took 3 of us to find him 6 or 7 hours later. He only went 100-150 yards from where I first shot him. He laid down under a big cedar tree and expired within the first couple hours because when we found him, he was stiff as a board and covered in ants already. He is there dead more than likely and very close to where you last cut his tracks. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BowNut Report post Posted January 10, 2011 Same as everyone else has said don't give up he is there. Bring some friends to give you a hand looking. I have seen guys and gals walk by deer and javi's a couple times and not see then. Good Luck! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Coues 'n' Sheep Report post Posted January 10, 2011 First off.. sorry... it is a sick feeling when you know you blew it... I've seen it many times... we pinned a thread here last year to help with these sorts of mistakes. Please read it from front to back... http://forums.coueswhitetail.com/forums/in...showtopic=12229 Further more... You should not even be close to being "done" and back to hunting... a minumum of 2 full days of gridding should be spent in a 1/2-3/4 miles area. I once had a friend who looked for 4 months before recovering a buck he had shot...I recoverd a buck once 3 days later and 400 yds straight up... I once walked around the same bush for 3 hours before finding my buck bedded dead in the middle of it... you owe that deer a debt... pay it. You put too much time into a hunt to just quit... you started out hunting this buck and should finsh this hunt in the same fashion. Best of luck on the mountain... when gridding remember the deer was in flight mode and think like an animal in flight mode... it will help. Moral Fiber... that is what should push us forward when we weaken. That buck is very likely recoverable. Good luck. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
talltines Report post Posted January 10, 2011 I wish I had friends to help... I moved to AZ about a year ago now and really don't have any friends down here outside of m girlfriend and her son and mother, so finding help is not happenin. My girlfriend did help on the pursuit of the blood trail yesterday. It is a couple hours to the pinal mountains from Chandler, but I think I will go back and try again in a day or 2. Maybe dumb luck will help me find him. I'm shocked at the amount of ground he covered and the thick shoot he ran through and didn't bed. If anyone has a tracking hound or would like to help me search I would love for assistance. I would be willing to compensate someone real well if they have a good dog. I don't know if that is legal in AZ, but seen it on TV a couple times. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
talltines Report post Posted January 10, 2011 First off.. sorry... it is a sick feeling when you know you blew it... I've seen it many times... we pinned a thread here last year to help with these sorts of mistakes. Please read it from front to back... http://forums.coueswhitetail.com/forums/in...showtopic=12229 Further more... You should not even be close to being "done" and back to hunting... a minumum of 2 full days of gridding should be spent in a 1/2-3/4 miles area. I once had a friend who looked for 4 months before recovering a buck he had shot...I recoverd a buck once 3 days later and 400 yds straight up... I once walked around the same bush for 3 hours before finding my buck bedded dead in the middle of it... you owe that deer a debt... pay it. You put too much time into a hunt to just quit... you started out hunting this buck and should finsh this hunt in the same fashion. Best of luck on the mountain... when gridding remember the deer was in flight mode and think like an animal in flight mode... it will help. Moral Fiber... that is what should push us forward when we weaken. That buck is very likely recoverable. Good luck. Thanks for the advice and you are so correct! I will be back without my bow to search again for this stud. I owe him and I the time and effort. The mountains are very challenging to me and I really am uncomfortable getting too far out solo, but I am going to set that aside and get my butt back out there. I'm still kickin myself for pushing this guy, I've been bowhunting for a long time and knew so much better! The shot felt so good and I underestimated the will of the coues due to its small size compared to the Whitetail of MN. All my bad and I need to get my *** out there and fing him! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
talltines Report post Posted January 10, 2011 You can always go back and check for ravens, etc, they will show you where he is at. He was most likely within 50-100 yards from you, they are impossible to find sometimes when they bury themselves up against a tree. He probably ran there when you pushed him and then bedded in the juniper thicket and is still in there dead. I would go back and check it out again if it were me. Good Luck, ag Good advise from fatfootdoc about the ravens. It will not go to waste but still hard to swollow your pride. It's all part of archery hunting and sooner or later it all happens to the best of us. Hope you find him! TJ How many days until the ravens would find it? and how many days will they eat on it? This is great advice. Thanks! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bonecollector Report post Posted January 10, 2011 Next weekend is my last for my pig hunt and that is my area. I am willing to help you find this Buck if you haven't found it by Saturday. I'll send you a pm. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
talltines Report post Posted January 10, 2011 Next weekend is my last for my pig hunt and that is my area. I am willing to help you find this Buck if you haven't found it by Saturday. I'll send you a pm. I would appreciate that if I am unsuccessful tomorrow. Thanks a million! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
fatfootdoc Report post Posted January 11, 2011 good luck!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
talltines Report post Posted January 11, 2011 good luck!! Thanks! Hope the ravens are of help... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bobbyo Report post Posted January 11, 2011 That does not look like very much blood in that picture. What did your arrow look like? Bob Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
