my first thought is the first shot is a little forward for lungs and a little high for heart. but with that said, if I made that shot I would be sharpening my knife.

Amazing!

How many holes in the lungs when u dressed it?

Both shots are double lung all day long in my mind. IF you only got one lung I could see it surviving overnight....if you centered both (like it looks) should have gone down quick no matter how sharp the head.

I'd say that first shot is nearly 'perfect'...not sure why you didn't get the lungs on that one.  Great job on sticking with it and finding your deer though!

With they way the deer is hanging I think the shots are farther back than they appear but look plenty forward enough to catch lungs.

Maybe the first caught one lung and snuck under the other?

QuoteOriginally posted by Bill Carlsen:
My first thought is dull broadhead. I had a friend shoot a deer with an arrow he shot and didn't resharpen.  Had almost the exact same story line. Good hit, no blood, long recovery, still alive next day. I, too, would like to know more about your setup.

If the arrow passed completely through the deer, wouldn't it be sharp enough?  Seems reasonable to me, but obviously something strange happened here...Maybe a mechanical BH that didn't open? I'm eager to get more details...

Mwosborn,
Good job of sticking with her and sounds like you used your head in the recovery.  Shot looked good to me.  Lots of variables in hunting and sometimes we can't figure out why some things happen.  Glad you were able to put the tag on her in the end.  a couple years ago a friend of mine shot a small doe with a 7mm right where your second arrow hit, It was alive and running 2 hrs later.  We backed off and were able to do the same thing you did-crept in and made a short coup de gras.

Congratulations on recovering your doe!  As everyone else has stated, this is a tough one to figure out.  Great arrow placement should produce a very dead deer!  I'm also curious about the kind of broadhead you were using.  With that kind of first shot placement, there should have been more blood.  Anyway, deer are amazing animals and we'll never get it totally figured out!

Bernie Bjorklund

NC Iowa/SW Wisconsin

Ive seen it myself but have absolutely no explanation other than "Thats Nature!"  always full of mystery.

QuoteOriginally posted by Glunt:
With they way the deer is hanging I think the shots are farther back than they appear but look plenty forward enough to catch lungs.

Maybe the first caught one lung and snuck under the other?

That is what I think.  Single high lung hit first shot.

In an act of tension and the tightening of muscles and diaphram things shift.  First shot could be she tensed up and tightened for the jump upon hearing the shot therefore shifting organs. On the second shot, weakened by the first shot and relaxed, things may have been where they should have been. Tense up your own stomach muscles and feel things shift. A full belly of food will tighten up the organs for sure.

Just a theory...

Good work on sticking with her. Both shots looked good.

Congrats!

Thanks for all the replys... here is the setup:

GT 3555  29" (about 300 g)  Zwickey Eskilite 135 g

drawing right at 28" 49# RER XLR

broadheads were sharp - both shots were pass through.

Yes - the way she is hanging the holes appear closer to shoulder than actual - shots went between the 7 & 8 ribs counting from the posterior end.

Both lungs were collapsed when I gutted her - I assume from the second shot - but you don't know for sure.  The right lung might have been hit by the first shot?

I am thinking maybe just clipped the bottom of the right lung and shot under the left.  As mentioned she may have tensed up at the shot and her lungs pulled up and forward   who knows?

They never cease to amaze me how tuff of an animal they are.

and tasty too...this is what she looks like now!

I have heard that there is a pocket just above the heart and below the lungs you might have found it. Did you see two holes in both lungs? That would tell you if you hit them at all.

Nice Doe, good shooting!

A plus for consistant shot placement. Like others have said after that first shot I would be looking forward to a quick recovery. Great follow up work. And the meat on the BBQ looks down right tasty. Congrats.

 But she looks good now! Congrats and way to stick it out!

I friend of mine and I were discussing your hits and others we have made.  We started bowhunting together 37 years ago.  Although some hits are higher percentage,  blood trails and recoveries vary a great deal.   Sometimes you make a marginal hit and still have good blood and a quick recovery and other times a great looking hit and trail is tougher and recovery much longer.  I shot an antelope doe about 30 years ago that was hit at 12  yds from a tree stand through both lungs.  She ran 200 yds and laid down.  Still alive an hour later.  We were able to slip in an shoot her again, still ran another 150 yds.

nice follow up...

I shot a buck several years ago that actually had a partial thickness cut in the heart and somehow did not do very much damage to the lungs.  he ran 50 yds and bedded down looking very sick watched him for 1.5 hrs and when he didnt die snuck up on him like your doe.  and shot him again.  I would have thought the first shot was absolutely perfect.  Shot an elk that I thought was horrible far back and high died at full run in 50 yds severed her aorta sometimes there is no telling.