I finally for the first time this season in Alabama got a deer within bow range and blew it.I got in a stand this afternoon that I've not hunted on a evening yet this year.At 5:00 I seen some deer coming out of the cutover straight in front of me about 80 yards coming into the hardwoods feeding on acorns coming right at me.They were 5 big does and the lead one came directly under my stand and the second one turned broadside at about 12 yards I drew my bow and shot what I thought was a perfect shot.After the shot she ran about 30 yards and stopped with my arrow barely stuck in on her right side.Well I sat there for about 30 minutes after dark and came down and eased up to where she was standing after the shot and found my arrow broke right behind the broadhead with blood only about 3 inches up on the shaft.I'm positve I hit her dead in the shoulder after looking for over an hour and not finding 1 drop of blood.I'm so disappointed but not gonna give up until the last day.

Theres a good chance shes down right now. They don't always leave a blood trail, I know. Go back in the morning and try another search when the lights better. Good luck....Phil.              Also, theres a couple of threads going on now about little or no blood trails from deer but with persistance, they recovered the deer

QuoteOriginally posted by bad arrow:
Theres a good chance shes down right now. They don't always leave a blood trail, I know. Go back in the morning and try another search when the lights better. Good luck....Phil

Yep; you should not give up on this deer.

There's an old Roman saying: "Two inches in the right place".  If you caught lung and the head stayed with her she might well be down.

If I only found part of an arrow and it was bloody I would be spiralling around the spot where I found it for a day at least until I was certain there was no blood for 50 yards out ant direction.

I'd agree. May not make sense to pass any sort of judgement, since none of us were there, but it's easier to become frusterated if you ARE there. That broadhead, still being inside her, may well be doing plenty of damage. Especially if your head went through the shoulder blade and lodged in a lung then broke off. Don't give up just yet. You may be pleasantly surprised my friend.

I'd love to go back at first light but I have to work all day that's the sticker.

That's one of the downsides to hunting the night before an "appointment" like work the next morning.  It is easy for me to say because I've always had jobs that offered me flexibility (on many days), but this would be a morning I tried to get in 3-4 hours late. If not, then you do the best you can and go straight out after work to make sure your deer isn't laying there waiting for you.

Things happen to spoil shots. Some of them can't be avoided.

Good luck.

If I was able to walk, Jim and I would come help look for the deer. Good luck, give it another search. John

Get your eyes right to the ground, you'll see a lot more than if you stay on two feet. Its amazing how much more you can see when you get right down there. Good luck!  I know how you feel.

An arrow with no exit backs out most of the time and will lead you to think you have poor penetration. That doe probably circled back the direction she came from as that is a "safe" area. Take a roll of TP and do a grid search. Good luck

Seems to me they usually try to go back where they came from.