***Highjacked pic and made some changes***
This past bow season had a button buck walking around under my stand for about an hour. I had already tagged one deer so I thought I would just let this little fella walk around and set other deer at ease. At one time he walked right up behind a cotton tail put his nose down and started chasing him around. Pretty cool, I enjoy watching them as much as my family does eating them. Well, right at dark this guy is not doing his job and fullfilling his part of my plan so I draw, release and WHACK, right in the hip. He spins, tries to run, falls down, and dies not two steps where he was shot. Zero recovery time. Woo-Hoo!!! But, that was an awful mess when it came to cutting him up for the pan. Blood and bone scattered in the hams. What a mess.
(http://i765.photobucket.com/albums/xx295/orlith2001/badshot-1.jpg)
I've never done that with a bow. But many years ago, when I was much younger, I did it with a rifle when I (stupidly) took a shot at a running muley doe. Lesson learned.
I've never shot one on that end, but did get one once on the other. Right through the neck, cut his carotid artery. I certainly wouldn't reccommend intentionally taking a neck shot, but that was the most blood I've ever seen come out of a hit deer. I got lucky.
I shot a doe back there once. Was sick to my stomach! She walked out into a cut bean field and walked around like nothing had happened. When I noticed that blood was squirting out like it was from a fire hose with every step, I knew she wouldnt last long. Eventually she sat down and then laid down. I dont think she ever knew anything had happened. The whole time there was a fork horn and a spike sparring over her!
Well..... "it" happens.....
I'll fess up.....
A few years ago I had a Spikehorn come running down off the ridge above me and down the old woodroad that runs in front of my stand.He stopped right in front of me,22 yards away.....
I don't know how,or why(I don't even think I was looking at his head) I drew and anchored,I let the string slip from my fingers..... and I watched those chartruse feathers streak towards his head. I hit him high in the neck,right between the 1st and 2nd vertabrea. His neck whipped around and he dropped in his tracks on his left side!!! I snuck down and put one through his heart&lungs and had a seat.....
As I watch the "instant replay" in my mind,I still can't believe it!!!!!
A friend of mine did that on a goat, it took about 4 steps and keeled over dead. Lucky shot I guess. We all make mistakes sometimes. Its good when they turn out OK :)
There are lots of places that will kill an animal. Some really quickly. Femoral arteries, renal artery and the kidney itself, aorta, carotids. All are major blood holders and will dump blood " in a heartbeat".
But they are small targets and are not really a good thing to try for. However, if it goes bad, it is really good to know where you hit and what you may have impacted. Helps you decide how to follow up.
ChuckC
When I was new to hunting I had a muley doe jump out of her bed and stand in the silver willows just staring at me at avbout 15 yards.
Well her big butt was just staring at me broadside. So I just pulled and shot her there. She had her near leg (right rear close to me)and back from the other one. So I shot. It went through and logged in the leg bone on the left leg and stopped dead.
She took off bouncing and that broadhead just churned and churned. She went about 90 yards adn dropped. I went over and there wasn't a drop of blood left in her.
Her left leg (front of the bone) was pretty much GONE. The meat was great though. I shot a bear like that about a week later too...because it worked before so I was working on..EXPERIENCE..
that bear didn't go 25 yards and bedded. I waited for about an hour and went in after him. He was dead in his bed.
So when I started hunting with some other bowhunters we started talking about hunting and shot placement. They were SHOCKED that I took those shots (but I didn't know any better at the time) but they were amazed at the results.
I will not shoot those shots intentionally now but I know if they happen they do have good results generally.
So this is my confession i guess.
jer Bear
My first bow kill I managed that one. Compound bow,100 NAP thunder head...Loooongggg blood trail, 400+ yards but I did recover the deer. I think the only reason that I recovered it was that I kept pushing the deer and kept it bleeding. That was 12 years ago.
Years ago I hit one just around the corner from your shot. Best blood trail I ever followed. Ray Charles could have found that deer.
My first wild goat an first bow kill,I shot through the hams as is spun away from the arrow.
Dead in 20 yards.
Try never to do it again.
I hit a twig on the way to nice elk. Hit him in the cartoid artery. Never saw so much blood in my life! He went about 60 yds and started making all kinds of weird noises. That was the only thing that gave me hope. Was a beautiful 6x6 herd bull.
I killed my first deer with that shot when I was 14. Had a 4 pt walk straight in at me, shot him at about 8 to 10 yards, hit him right in the ham. He walked about 10 yards, wobbled and died. Needless to say, I wasn't able to get a roast or steaks from that side of his rump.
Never did it with my bow, but I did that shot with my dad's 44 mag. pistol when I was younger. The recovery was the same. There are some big arteries running through those getaway engines.
I will agree on the meat loss. My cousin is a butcher and I help out during rifle season here. When shots like these are on the table its his baby :-)
I shot a 3 pt muley at about 10 feet as it was boiling out of it's bed. The arrow went in the small hole in the pelvic and fell out almost immediately. I thought it wasn't hurt as it ran over a hill in the sage. As I was going to pick up my arrow it looked like someone was squirting blood with a garden hose. It was down about 100yards over the top of the hill.