An unrecovered animal that is.  I let an arrow go at a large deer last night.  I watched my arrow break off and him run away.  I marked the spot, picked up my arrow and quietly left.  I returned this morning in hopes he would be somewhere close.  No blood, no Snuffer, no deer.  I know the shot was slightly high but I wasn't overly concerned...I have been shooting great and he was well within the comfort zone.

Anyway, I now feel like a lost pup.  I've been invited to hunt sikas tonight and tomorrow in MD and I don't know if I want to go right now.  I feel horrible.

How much arrow broke off ?  Where do you think you hit it ?  Lotsa questions before I give up the chase.
ChuckC

Unfortunately that is part of the bow hunting experience. If it was a non-fatal shot the deer should recover.
Do you have a tracking dog available that can help you.

I've looked twice.  Once first thing and again after I went to the office and got some work done.  The bh broke off right at the insert, the insert actually came out of the side of the arrow where it split.  I'm super familiar with the terrain and I haven't anything but a good guess as to where he "should" go.

The area of the shot is a place that gets sprayed with treated waste water effluent every so often.  They held off till 9 for me today......but I know the deer didn't spend much time in the area that gets wet.  He made the classic loop and headed out from there.....he was moving quick so I didn't expect instant blood.

Problem with the shot......a little high, 8" of solid penetration before the arrow broke and backed out.  250 grain, 1 1/2" Snuffer from a 57# bow at 15 yards.  My stomach turns every time I relive it.

I guess it is  one of them things that happens to everyone eventually...still sucks though...Don't let it get your confidence down! You said that you have been shooting great and he was in your comfort zone. Not much else you can do? ...sorry...BeauJ

Level ground shot? Tree stand? Broadside or quartering away? 8" broadside high is a different wound than 8" high hard quartering away.

Look for the nastiest piece(s) of real estate within 2-400 yards of the hit. The place(s) you just wouldn't want to have to walk (or crawl through).

About fifteen feet up, slightly quartering away.  I watched him snap the arrow free of the insert on a tree and it work it's way out.  The lighted nock didn't help much at that point.  Shot looked like a frozen blue rope.

eight inches of penetration...quartering? Only one lung? gonna be tough, maybe...if it was a large bodied deer.

You'll have that. Had it happen with a rifle. Had it happen when I hit one with my truck. It's too bad and I'm sorry for you and the deer.

If he snapped it off like that, it's in bone.

My guess would be vertebra between shoulder blades (spine dips above thoracic cavity, so on a high quartering that would cover both depth of penetration and broadhead/insert separating).

Keep an eye out for crows over the next week.

There are many factors that go Into a hunting shot that you can't duplicate while practicing. Even still we all make shots that don't kill game. Even the very best shots in the world can miss the mark on live game because live game can move upon or after release. Don't beat yourself up. It's very disappointing but it's bound to happen sooner or later to us all. If you meet a hunter that says he has recovered every live game animal he has shot at I assure you he hasn't shot many.

I do urge you though to find a local tracking dog on hits
Like these. I had my first experience with a tracking dog this past week and let me tell you, if mortally hit that dog will find it if you don't bump the deer.

It hurts, I lost my one for the first time since I have been bow hunting last season.  It's going to happen sometimes and all you can do is make sure you give 100 percent to recover and try and learn from it.

That's a bummer man.  I would just try and learn anything that could be learned from it and move on.  Don't stop hunting.  If the animal died it will not go to waste, the creatures of the woods and earth will absorb it back up and the cycle of life will continue.

QuoteOriginally posted by Daz:

Look for the nastiest piece(s) of real estate within 2-400 yards of the hit. The place(s) you just wouldn't want to have to walk (or crawl through).

This. 8 inches of penetration oughta be a dead deer in the nearby area, if he wasn't pushed. High shots rarely produce external bleeding, especially so if it's not a through shot, so finding  blood will be next to impossible.

My 2 cents.

You tried your best. If the deer does die he won't go to waste.

Thanks for the words.  Taking a couple of days off.  Still no sign, but I feel like I will eventually find him.  Called the one guy that is kind of local about a tracking dog.....he couldn't make it but was so informative and nice.  Andy was his name.

However, with my wife and daughter wanting a "small" house dog, I see a dauschound in our near future.  It had been discussed before and I didn't jump on the opportunity.  This has renewed my interest in owning a dog myself.  I go on quite a few track jobs a year and every year I talk about it.  Time to get one.

If you have an idea of where the bedding area is, you might check there.  

It happened to me with a doe and I have been wanting a wirehaired dauchound  ever since.  I would like to get a breeding pair one day but we are still dog poor with 5.

It's tough the first one I ever lost (actually found him the next day but he was all bloated up and I couldn't save the meat) really messed me up. I continued to hunt the rest of the season but couldn't bring myself to draw my bow on a deer. I was just went through the motions. After a years time to clear my head (and no venison) I felt right again. We each are different good luck and you will know what is right for you.

Not recovering one has been a part of archery hunting since the first caveman grunted over a blood trail. And it's probably how profanity was invented. A hunter does his best to avoid it. Move on and get back in there after it happens. Think of yourself as part of the circle. Other natural predators don't get em all.
Tedd