How do you get through it? (Found him..pics pg 2)

[maineac]

It is a diffciult thing.  It is amazing how tough deer are.  Could have been high enough to be non-lethal.  I had a buck I caught in just one lung go over a mile before he bedded.  then had coyotes push him another .33 mile before they got him.  If there had not been tracking snow I never would have found him.  But the coyotes had a great meal, and maybe it saved a couple other deer, or someones pet. Nothing is wasted in nature, and we are just part of the cycle and circle.  Enjoy the Sika hunt.

[Marshallrobinson]

The way I have handled it in the recent past is that I grid search till I am so far out there that (IMO) there is no way he could have been mortally wounded. I took 4 days to grid an area of swamp one time, so when I say I am satisfied, I mean I am satisfied. Thats a big weight off my shoulders, to know (in my mind) that the deer is o.k. and I haven't wasted a life.

Before I started doing this, I would simply stop for the year. I guess you could say I punished myself. I lost two years in that manner and over the course of some 20 years of hunting. That last year I got to thinking about it (after season ended) and decided that punishing myself wasn't enough. I had to be sure that there was no waste to the best of my ability. Thats when I took the new route.

I found that once I took to grid searching till I was satisfied there was no waste, I felt much better about the whole incident and could move on with hunting. I have added 2 more wounds in those last 15 years and felt good about the outcome each time because I did my level best to finish what I had started.

I know how you feel ... Trust me on that one. I think most everyone would.

[Hoyt]

How do you get through it?

I've been doing this a long time..over 50yrs and I don't. I still remember every one.

[guspup]

This sounds so familiar to what happened to me last year. 10 yard shot from my tree stand. I have the wooden arrow that looks like it was dipped 8" in a can of red paint. Hardly a day goes by I don't think about it. Solid hit, perhaps a bit high, but still that penetration. He ran straight down a gully, and 5 of us looked for him the entire next day. No blood after I found the broken arrow.
It's going to haunt me when the season starts here again in a week.
I know how bad you feel.

[kbetts]

Found my recurve buck from September while turkey hunting last week.  He was hiding in plain view the whole time.  Amazing how Mother Nature hides things.  Anyway, I have closure.  I think I'm still going to have it mounted.  A beast of an animal.  When I saw it, I was shaking and reliving every moment of that night.  Bittersweet.

[kadbow]

Wow, that was a good one.  How far had he gone from where you shot him?

[foxbo]

I'm surprised someone else didn't find it before you did. Happy you found it.

[Warden609]

Great deer!! I'm glad you recovered him.

[Steve Jr]

Very nice buck, I'm glad that you found him. Did you look to see if the broadhead was stuck in bone or laying around the remains? It could answer some questions for you.
Steve

[ron w]

Holy cow........   :eek:    :eek:

[Cyclic-Rivers]

Great Buck, Glad you have closure.

[kbetts]

He went 4-500 yards.  I concentrated my recovery efforts around a ditch crossing I had a trail camera on......he never crossed the ditch.  He paralleled it right through the bottom.   There was little to no blood trail.  I'm going to go back with a metal detector in an attempt to find my Snuffer.  It has to be close.

[Matty]

Wow that's a dandy! I'm very interested in seeing what your autopsy finds.

[TSP]

When it comes to wounding I've never been much into the 'it's ok, the critter won't go to waste' excuses.  I hate wounding, which is why for me shot selection is so important.  

After many years of hunting I've learned that unless there's an equipment failure a shot screw-up and wounded animal is pretty much MY FAULT.  Period.  No need to sugarcoat it and despite being convenient, regrets that it happened don't correct anything.  Accountability starts with being honest with yourself that you made a mistake, identify what it was that you did wrong (as best you can) and learn from it so you won't make the same mistake again.  

There are no do-overs but it doesn't mean we can't be responsible enough to choose very carefully before releasing the arrow or squeezing the trigger.

[stykshooter]

That's a beast

[Pat B]

I'd mount him just like he is; European mount.

[ron w]

Originally posted by Pat B:
I'd mount him just like he is; European mount.

X2  

[Huntingnut]

Originally posted by ron w:
 

Originally posted by Pat B:
I'd mount him just like he is; European mount.

X2      [/b]

x3

[doubleo]

Great buck! Glad you found him!

[Jason Kendall]

Nice! Glad you found it.