I am curious as to what you guys think the end result of this shot would be.

I managed to screw up a "chip shot" on a small buck at 12 yards saturday morning.  Long story short, I just didn't pick a spot.  He was slowly walking and with him being so close I didn't want to stop him and him peg me, so I rushed it.  I watched the arrow strike a little forwards and watched him take off.  Breaking the arrow off about 40 yards into his dash.  I heard bone on the hit and I was finding blood coming out both sides.


There wasn't any blood for the first 100 yards, then it was not the best blood trail I have ever followed.  I managed to track him for about 300 more yards after first blood.  Blood eventually stopped.  I brought my dog out, followed her around for a couple hours and then grid searched never finding anything else.  

Disappointed would be an understatement.

You may have hit upper leg bone. Since you didn't say poor penetration,  the arrow may have skidded foward in brisket without penetrating thoracic cavity.

I'd expect deer to recover.

Of course your observation of where arrow hit could easily be off, I've been wrong before on what I thought I had seen.

No deer zone leg brisket lo shoulder a big whack little blood a lot of times then you see where they went down and puddled and then no blood trail. Hairs on arrow shows areas of the hit. Sorry for the loss its a game of inches we know. 6 inches back you would have had him. You may have broken form also and pushed bow to left to peek rather than steady at the shot till arrow hit animal.Just some guess's and possibility s to ponder Daniel. Sux but it happens.

Unless you were on the ground that deer is probably fine with the exception of a limp. Now if you were shooiting uphill or something, then i would expect different results.

Sounds like you did your part either way putting a good effort in recovery. Shake it off, keep shooting it happens.

QuoteOriginally posted by huskyarcher:
Unless you were on the ground that deer is probably fine with the exception of a limp. Now if you were shooiting uphill or something, then i would expect different results.

Sounds like you did your part either way putting a good effort in recovery. Shake it off, keep shooting it happens.

X2 don't let it get you down, these animals endure so much in the invironment they live in...they are tough critters. There is a real good chance he will survive well.

My daughter had an almost identical hit last year. We ended up jumping the buck three times with the last time being 18 hours after the shot. We never saw any blood after the second bed, just followed on tracks. Ended up getting pics of him a month later. Looked to be getting along fine.

Deer is totally healthy - that's in front of anything lethal.  I do doubt you had blood coming out of both sides... are you sure you punched through the deer?  That's a lot of shoulder and bone to get an exit wound too.  I've hit them forward in the shoulder with a compound and recurves and never had more than a couple inches of penetration.  Maybe you were further forward than you think, more in the lower neck?

My bet is you'll see that buck again and he'll have no visible issue other than maybe some ruffled hair.

Sadly enough, I've hit more than one too far forward in the shoulder and in all cases have seen that deer again later in the season no worse for wear.

the blood was probably running under his chest and maybe dripping from the other side also   :confused:

QuoteOriginally posted by J. Cook:
Deer is totally healthy - that's in front of anything lethal.  I do doubt you had blood coming out of both sides... are you sure you punched through the deer?  That's a lot of shoulder and bone to get an exit wound too.  I've hit them forward in the shoulder with a compound and recurves and never had more than a couple inches of penetration.  Maybe you were further forward than you think, more in the lower neck?

My bet is you'll see that buck again and he'll have no visible issue other than maybe some ruffled hair.

Sadly enough, I've hit more than one too far forward in the shoulder and in all cases have seen that deer again later in the season no worse for wear.

Honestly, I was surprised to.  I know for sure I smoked bone because of the noise on impact.  I also know that I had atleast a foot of arrow shaft in the animal and over a 2" broadhead in him too.  That's a lot of head and arrow to not exit the other side.

I will say that in some spots, while tracking I could see spots where blood was falling about a foot apart.

The biggest deer I've ever seen in the wild and the biggest I've ever shot by far was hit 3" to the right of that. Never found him. The land owner saw him about 2 weeks later and couldn't use his leg. Another 2 weeks later a 12 year old boy shot him with a rifle.
Keep ya head up sonny! It happens to all of us at some point!

The biggest deer I've ever seen in the wild and the biggest I've ever shot by far was hit 3" to the right of that. Never found him. The land owner saw him about 2 weeks later and couldn't use his leg. Another 2 weeks later a 12 year old boy shot him with a rifle.
Keep ya head up sonny! It happens to all of us at some point!

I killed a doe with a hit there about 15 years ago. Hardly any penetration and just before dark. Followed up the next morning and found her about 125 yards from the shot. She was trying to go back up the ridge she had come down and made it about a quarter of the way up. I had made a conscious decision not to follow the trail when I got down from the tree due to the lack of penetration. I could see for about 100 yards to the base of the hill and she was just up out of sight. I didn't do a detailed autopsy, however I got into at least part of one lung.

Look at the shot placement chart on the top of the Powwow page. The deer skeleton with the yellow/black dot shot placement shows some pink lung up in this forward area.  My hunch is that you only got one lung. If you push a deer with one lung it will go for a mile or more.  It's like bumping a gut shot deer. Best to give them time.

I didn't read all the comments here so I could be a broken record.

In my experience, for whatever that is worth, shots right there tend to glance at an angle either forward or backward. Forward you hit nothing vital most of time.

Backward you get lung.

sounds like yours when forward or stopped dead in the bone

If the broadhead is still in the deer - it could make for a kill shot through infection, etc.  Having said that - I've personally killed 2 deer which had what appeared to be cysts that were actually calcified deposits around broadheads from years prior.  1 was in the thigh, and one high in the shoulder.  So...to say they are tough, resilient critters is an understatement.

I still say your in front of the lungs - you are in front of the shoulder joint based on my interpretation of the picture, and based on penetration.

My bet is the deer will heal fine and you'll see him again.  Keep your head up and get back out there.

X2

QuoteOriginally posted by FerretWYO:
I didn't read all the comments here so I could be a broken record.

In my experience, for whatever that is worth, shots right there tend to glance at an angle either forward or backward. Forward you hit nothing vital most of time.

Backward you get lung.

sounds like yours when forward or stopped dead in the bone

Here's exactly what happened. I shot this buck last week. My wife shot at him two days prior and hit him exactly where you did. In this pic you can see a mark on the front of his shoulder at the base of his neck right where the handle on my riser is. We found her arrow with some blood and fat on the broadhead. That was all she got and when I shot him he was not hampered in any way. I was mostly surprised by the fact he was still around.

 

Not the same shot location based on where the finger is pointing in my opinion.

I hit the bull in my avatar almost where your finger is pointing. Perhaps an inch lower and an inch to the right. If the deer was directly broadside you should have taken out some arteries that lead into the heart. My guess is the deer was quartering away more than you realize, and you only got one lung. The broadhead may even have exited in front of the offside shoulder.

I have seen pictures of a buck my father shot in the same spot (leg / bone) months later.  I agree with the above....bone then forward through brisket.  Not fatal.  


Good luck with the rest of your season.
Joe