the untold stories

[ravenbeak]

Yesterday morning 7:30 I took my very first shot at a black tailed deer.   He was a spike on the same trail as the morning before,  and I was now on a slash pile waiting for him full camo.  Same time he came off the road,  around my pile and whack.  From 6 maybe 7 yards and 10 feet above him,  I hit him right where i wanted to,  just behind the shoulder.   The arrow penetrated with an unforgetable sound.  I don't know exactly penetration depth but not nearly what I was expecting,  not that i knew what to expect.  I'd save several inches.   Boom,  he was gone not knowing what happend,  full speed through the 5 year old clear cut,  and into the forest.   I never saw any blood when I hit him, not that i had time to.  I've never seen a deer move like that.    I gave him 20 minutes,  made a phone call for some help and went after him.   nothing...   not a thing..   I think i know where he went into the bush,  but nothing.   no arrow, no blood.     I searched 4.5 hours,  went home had lunch and came out for another 2.5.   

speaking with hunter friends/family I heard their stories,  about the one they didn't find. 

I think it's healing to share this with people who understand.

i've relived it many times today,  i coulda taken the heavier bow,  the broadheads coulda been sharper,  but when i think about it.  I was ready,  I was prepared, and I was in his domain,  and I wanted him.  but for some reason it wasn't meant to be.

I am unsure of continued hunting with the bow right now.  I still love making bows,  but I may take out the shotgun next weekend.   

I know it's a journey and it isn't supposed to be easy,  and I am ok with that. 

[hawkbow]

Sorry brother , we have all been there.. like we say here in Wyoming" get back on the horse,and let ..er buck" nothing heals the loss of an animal like taking one with the bow you used when the loss happened... good luck and shoot straight brother.. HAWK A/ho

[ravenbeak]

thanks hawk,   it's appreciated.

[ravenbeak]

Update


I got a call from a friend today who was out in the area where I shot my buck, and said he found a nice little spike with a wound to the left side and it was still in rigamortis.   wow,   i couldn't believe it. 

he filled it out on his tag,  gutted it and took it home to hang.   I'll be able to see it tomorrow night.

Now that is what friends are for.

[huntertrapper]

Sweet brah. good to see it didnt good to waste. you just never know when it comes to hunting. It hit a doe last year, good long stalk took a good side shot, hit her a bit high. tracked her for a couple hours across a big mountain and down the other side never found her. you just never know, the best you can do is look hard.

[El Destructo]

Knock on Wood.....or My Thick Head.....but to this Day......I have never left a deer behind........I have spent two days back Home in Upper Michigan tracking a Doe once....because I was young and stupid......It was during the Late Rut and way too early for a safe shot....I was looking at three deer....two Doe and a Buck The Buck was standing head facing left....one of the Does was right behind Him facing right....the other Doe was way aways from these two.....Well I took what I thought was a great Heart Lung Shot.....only to watch the Doe double up for a second and then they all ran off....to my error in judgement....what happened was the Doe was in front of the Buck....not behind.....and I took a Perfect Gut Shot on a beautiful Whitetail Doe.....when my Father found this out.....I was told not to come back without the Deer....no Matter what....so I tracked Her all day and spooked her about 5 times before I decided that I would let her alone....since I knew where she was and where most of the Activity was in this Area.I went Home and walked the endless distance back in through three foot of Snow....and waded through it for 6 more hours before finally finding Her Frozen laying in a Cedar Swamp....took me till dark that night to drag Her out and get Her Home..........ain't happened again since.....too hard on you physically and mentally ......JMO

[TRACY]

Now, go study the area where he expired and try to fill in the gaps for future reference. Also , study the entry and extent of the wound to fill in the rest of the story. Happy ending. We all started at the beginning and learned from there.

Tracy

[armymedic.2]

yeah what happened with the shot, what killed him?  do tell!  congrats

[ravenbeak]

hey guys,

I got to see him last night a beautiful little black tailed spike,  and oh man was i excited.  my first deer.   

the arrow broke off,  leaving about 6" inside.  It punctured a lung and possibly knicked the liver.   not much blood though.


The deer ended up about 250 meters from where i hit him.  he took a hard left upon entering the bush which i never anticipated in my searching.   I'm gonna skin him today and get a better look.

that's about as exciting as it gets,   think you've lost him,   just get over it,  and he comes  back.   one heck of a story

[Sidewinder]

Congats on the buck. I'm glad it worked out that way for you. Thanks for sharing.  Danny

[ravenbeak]

Little Update

I spent some time with my deer on the weekend.   The arrow damage was much more severe than I would have imagined.   It went through the ribs on the opposite side, but did not puncture the hide,  and also the spike broke a leg while running right after impact.   

I did not keep any meat,  as he lay for 3 days before he was found,   and it wasn't espescially cold out. 

It does bring up an interesting topic,  how old can meat  before it spoils.  I know meat can age for long periods of time hanging in cold climates,  but how about with the guts still inside,  what is the time range for edibility.

I kept the hide for braintaning,  and the brains of course,  as well as a beautiful set of tendons and the spiked antlers. 

I'm a little bumbed about the meat,  but i will make good use of what I did get.

cheers,
Jamie

[Minuteman]

How much heat meat can take before its bad can be a personal thing. But I have read from quite a few meat handling experts that meat should be chilled down to at least 40 degrees to control the growth of bacteria and the like.
 I've also heard stories from my uncle about a guy he met while dropping off an early October killed deer at the butcher. It seems he had shot this nice buck three days before, had found him that morning and was gonna have him butchered. It had been in the high 60's or better during the day if my memory serves me and the meat around the wound was visibly green. Some folks just ain't got any sense. If its gonna be 40 or below I'll not lose too much sleep about the quality of the meat. Over 40 and I get a little anxious.
 One more thing , learning to get those broad heads scary sharp will go a long way to making your blood trailing a lot happier.
 edit
 Glad you at least found it and got to use some of it anyway.