What a night

Man am I tired. My son and I are complete rookies as he turned 12 over the summer and I am not a hunter. In the last month he upgraded to a 45 pound bow and has been ready to go. We have a small valley behind our house that I have let him sit and wait for a shoot. Well, last night it happened. He can sit on a hillside that drops down to a dry creek bed. I was sitting right behind him around 5 o’clock when we heard a deer coming from the right side. He was crashing through trees but he stayed too far up the hill on the other side. My son said he was a buck but I could see that far. As this one approached we could hear deer coming from the left. Sure enough two were approaching our shooting zone that we had measured out at 20 yards. My son drew his bow and waited for the doe to move forward. I knew he drew too early as he started shaking. I wispered to him to let it down. He did and then as the doe moved forward he drew again and took aim….then he let it fly. Now, this was a long shot from my perspective but again remember….what do I know. Neither of us could tell if he nailed her or not as she jumped either from the sound of the bow or the impact. The doe headed up the hill away from us but she didn’t go far…..then she turned back down the hill slowly. We didn’t think she was hit and we sat tight as the other deer were moving around….as well as a cat and a coon.

As it got dark we walked back up to the house to get some warmer clothes as we were freezing. We walked down to get his arrow and were thrilled to see the arrow covered in blood from end to end. So, we started to follow the blood….there was plenty….every now and then there we piled that were coughed up with foamy bubbles. We tracked this thing down the valley, over the county road and then into the local golf course. The doe crossed a river twice, heaed to the tee box on #9 and then up a steep hill towards the 8th green…..and that’s were the trail stopped. Keep in mind it was 9 o’clock by this time….we had given the doe plenty of time to sit…..seriously we waited 25 minutes before following the trail that went on for at least a quarter mile. But no deer at the end.

Well, I see the sun is coming up and I am going to get my son up to help me start looking again before school. I am so tired….I couldn’t sleep but 4 hours….a shot of rum didn’t even help!! A little cold medicine help Ryan get some rest……I hope like heck we can find her……off we go….I’ll update later.

Hope you find her! Then try “two” shots of blackberry and get some rest.

Hope you find her! Then try “two” shots of blackberry and get some rest.

Good luck!

Good luck!

Let me know how you did John. I can swing up and give you a hand tonight if you need. I have trailed a bunch of deer.

Good luck, it is always hard tracking a deer the next day.

Let me know how you did John. I can swing up and give you a hand tonight if you need. I have trailed a bunch of deer.

Good luck, it is always hard tracking a deer the next day.

Awesome story and congrats to the both of you.

I hope you find her. Just a little something, it sounds like you waited 25 minutes to begin tracking her????? If I’m unsure of the shot placement, I at least try to give 4 hours minimum before I track a deer. This will greatly increase the odds of finding the deer. JUst my $.02,but heck of a story and keep us posted.

Awesome story and congrats to the both of you.

I hope you find her. Just a little something, it sounds like you waited 25 minutes to begin tracking her????? If I’m unsure of the shot placement, I at least try to give 4 hours minimum before I track a deer. This will greatly increase the odds of finding the deer. JUst my $.02,but heck of a story and keep us posted.

I wish it had a happy ending but we didn’t find her. I am shocked at how far this deer went with the amount of blood it lost. I don’t think we were pressing her at all since the blood spots were about every 6″ with occassional stops to spit blood. She wasn’t running.

Brent/Farmboy—believe it or not I went back to my house last night and took my beagle down to the golf course to trail the blood. I don’t know if that is proper or legal but the dog was a big help at times. He followed the trail over the road twice and the river twice. He was a little screwed up at times due to all of the deer tracks.

We covered every inch this morning….saw some nice scrapes too. I recovered a half dozen nice golf balls but that is little consolation. I am bummed for my son because this was his first shot and it sure appears he hit it good. We learned some things in the process too. I does sound like we should have waited longer…..but it was so hard to see and it sounded like she was walking away so we got up and went back to our house.

Brent—if you have time, stop up later today and I can show you where she was hit.

I wish it had a happy ending but we didn’t find her. I am shocked at how far this deer went with the amount of blood it lost. I don’t think we were pressing her at all since the blood spots were about every 6″ with occassional stops to spit blood. She wasn’t running.

Brent/Farmboy—believe it or not I went back to my house last night and took my beagle down to the golf course to trail the blood. I don’t know if that is proper or legal but the dog was a big help at times. He followed the trail over the road twice and the river twice. He was a little screwed up at times due to all of the deer tracks.

We covered every inch this morning….saw some nice scrapes too. I recovered a half dozen nice golf balls but that is little consolation. I am bummed for my son because this was his first shot and it sure appears he hit it good. We learned some things in the process too. I does sound like we should have waited longer…..but it was so hard to see and it sounded like she was walking away so we got up and went back to our house.

Brent—if you have time, stop up later today and I can show you where she was hit.

If you found an end to the blood trail it could mean one of 3 things (from my experiences). First the deer’s blood has coagulated and the wound has stopped bleeding which happens with flesh wounds. The second thing that may have happened is somebody got to the deer before you did and took it. This has happened to me and it still gets my blood boiling. Especially since I know who took the deer and how they illegally tracked it on horseback. The third thing is the deer is dead somewhere very close to where the blood trail ends. This happened to me once. I had tracked the deer about 200 yards from where I had hit it through a set-aside field and the blood trail just ended. I searched for almost 2 hours to find where the blood trail picked up again with no luck. Here I had walked within 10 feet of the deer at least a dozen times while attempting to pick up the blood trail. He was only 10 to 15 feet from where the blood trail had ended but the cover was so heavy that I almost needed to step on him to find him. Don’t give up just yet. I might suggest going out this afternoon and looking for crows near where the blood trail ended. Crows will be one of the first scavengers to begin feeding on a dead animal. I found this out many years ago with a buck I had hit the evening before. When I got to the carcass there must have been 20 crows sitting in the trees in a nearby sinkhole.

Eyehunter

If you found an end to the blood trail it could mean one of 3 things (from my experiences). First the deer’s blood has coagulated and the wound has stopped bleeding which happens with flesh wounds. The second thing that may have happened is somebody got to the deer before you did and took it. This has happened to me and it still gets my blood boiling. Especially since I know who took the deer and how they illegally tracked it on horseback. The third thing is the deer is dead somewhere very close to where the blood trail ends. This happened to me once. I had tracked the deer about 200 yards from where I had hit it through a set-aside field and the blood trail just ended. I searched for almost 2 hours to find where the blood trail picked up again with no luck. Here I had walked within 10 feet of the deer at least a dozen times while attempting to pick up the blood trail. He was only 10 to 15 feet from where the blood trail had ended but the cover was so heavy that I almost needed to step on him to find him. Don’t give up just yet. I might suggest going out this afternoon and looking for crows near where the blood trail ended. Crows will be one of the first scavengers to begin feeding on a dead animal. I found this out many years ago with a buck I had hit the evening before. When I got to the carcass there must have been 20 crows sitting in the trees in a nearby sinkhole.

Eyehunter

Great story. Best of luck finding her.
I think it is great that you have got your son into bow hunting.
Please let us know how the story ends.

Red 3

Great story. Best of luck finding her.
I think it is great that you have got your son into bow hunting.
Please let us know how the story ends.

Red 3

Congrats on the hunt and tell your son congrats as well…..im with lip ripper though from my past hunts it taught me one thing…if you make an unsure hit at night..wait till the morning if all possiable..a pushed deer will go forever whereas an injured deer will lay down if nothing is pushin it…either way congrats to you and your son and let us know if you found it…

Congrats on the hunt and tell your son congrats as well…..im with lip ripper though from my past hunts it taught me one thing…if you make an unsure hit at night..wait till the morning if all possiable..a pushed deer will go forever whereas an injured deer will lay down if nothing is pushin it…either way congrats to you and your son and let us know if you found it…

I will try to get up there before dark. I have a heck of a time finding blood after dark, when frost starts to accumulate.

Sorry you did not find it.

Brent

I will try to get up there before dark. I have a heck of a time finding blood after dark, when frost starts to accumulate.

Sorry you did not find it.

Brent

You must live on the same road I grew up on?? Do you live in the A frame on Oak Ride? … the Collins family lived there when I was growing up. I grew up a few houses down from there in the blue-gray house on the west side of the road. I could visualize the path the deer took as you described it. Very cool! I hope you find the deer eventually; keep us posted.

You must live on the same road I grew up on?? Do you live in the A frame on Oak Ride? … the Collins family lived there when I was growing up. I grew up a few houses down from there in the blue-gray house on the west side of the road. I could visualize the path the deer took as you described it. Very cool! I hope you find the deer eventually; keep us posted.

My son is pretty knowledgeable about this stuff….he said the same thing about the crows and we did follow some but without success. I think we must have moved too quick. Part of the problem for us was that neither of us thought he hit it…..lesson learned.

My son is pretty knowledgeable about this stuff….he said the same thing about the crows and we did follow some but without success. I think we must have moved too quick. Part of the problem for us was that neither of us thought he hit it…..lesson learned.

A suggestion. When tracking a deer. Mark your trail with trail tape/GPS whatever means you have. Also carefully watch for the animal to back track and cross it’s own path. Lastly, when you find the end of the trail, mark it. Start making small circles in this area. I’m literally talking 5 feet. The go another five feet. Complete the circular search like this for however long you are comfortable/able to look.

Likely the animal’s blood clotted enough to stop bleeding. If the blood trail was thick and the animal lost a lot of blood, I guarantee it isn’t far from where you last had sign.

Good luck!! Losing an animal is hard, but if you put out a 100% effort to find her, then you have ethically done the right thing. That counts for more than anything in my book.

Also, way to go allowing your son to hunt even though it’s not a passion of yours.

A suggestion. When tracking a deer. Mark your trail with trail tape/GPS whatever means you have. Also carefully watch for the animal to back track and cross it’s own path. Lastly, when you find the end of the trail, mark it. Start making small circles in this area. I’m literally talking 5 feet. The go another five feet. Complete the circular search like this for however long you are comfortable/able to look.

Likely the animal’s blood clotted enough to stop bleeding. If the blood trail was thick and the animal lost a lot of blood, I guarantee it isn’t far from where you last had sign.

Good luck!! Losing an animal is hard, but if you put out a 100% effort to find her, then you have ethically done the right thing. That counts for more than anything in my book.

Also, way to go allowing your son to hunt even though it’s not a passion of yours.

JR, tell your son and yourself not to get discouraged. Not finding a deer that was hit with a bow happens to all of us, even the seasoned veterans. It is just part of the sport, not a very fun part, but still part of the game. I applaud you in letting and sharing this sport with your son even though you are not in it yourself. It sounds like you may be hooked now though. Tell your son to keep his chin up and get him right back into the saddle. As long as you learn from your mistakes that is all you can ask for.

If I’m unsure of a shot I sit there for a s long as possible, then slowly and quietly back my way out of the woods. Remembering where the deer was when you shot it and where was the last point you seen the deer. Two very crucial points that are easily forgot under the excitement. Then let the deer bed and lay for a minimum of 4 hours. If possible leave it overnight depending on hunting pressure, weather, size of the deer (buck) and coyotes in the area. Go back get some help and lights or wait for morning. Start the trail with a clear mind after the emotions come back down. More eyes the better.

Thanks for sharing such a great story, even if the ending was not what we wanted. It sounds like you have a young hunter hooked for life. Congrats Dad!

JR, tell your son and yourself not to get discouraged. Not finding a deer that was hit with a bow happens to all of us, even the seasoned veterans. It is just part of the sport, not a very fun part, but still part of the game. I applaud you in letting and sharing this sport with your son even though you are not in it yourself. It sounds like you may be hooked now though. Tell your son to keep his chin up and get him right back into the saddle. As long as you learn from your mistakes that is all you can ask for.

If I’m unsure of a shot I sit there for a s long as possible, then slowly and quietly back my way out of the woods. Remembering where the deer was when you shot it and where was the last point you seen the deer. Two very crucial points that are easily forgot under the excitement. Then let the deer bed and lay for a minimum of 4 hours. If possible leave it overnight depending on hunting pressure, weather, size of the deer (buck) and coyotes in the area. Go back get some help and lights or wait for morning. Start the trail with a clear mind after the emotions come back down. More eyes the better.

Thanks for sharing such a great story, even if the ending was not what we wanted. It sounds like you have a young hunter hooked for life. Congrats Dad!

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You must live on the same road I grew up on?? Do you live in the A frame on Oak Ride? … the Collins family lived there when I was growing up. I grew up a few houses down from there in the blue-gray house on the west side of the road. I could visualize the path the deer took as you described it. Very cool! I hope you find the deer eventually; keep us posted.

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John—I live in a green rambler straight out back behind your old house. It was built about 7 years ago. Believe it or not I was in your house at one time long before you lived there. My parents had the first house up in Oak Ridge from 1971-1972/73. I was 7 years old at the time.

Brent/Farmboy lives down the road. The people who owned his house farmed the land and owned most of that area way back when.

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You must live on the same road I grew up on?? Do you live in the A frame on Oak Ride? … the Collins family lived there when I was growing up. I grew up a few houses down from there in the blue-gray house on the west side of the road. I could visualize the path the deer took as you described it. Very cool! I hope you find the deer eventually; keep us posted.

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John—I live in a green rambler straight out back behind your old house. It was built about 7 years ago. Believe it or not I was in your house at one time long before you lived there. My parents had the first house up in Oak Ridge from 1971-1972/73. I was 7 years old at the time.

Brent/Farmboy lives down the road. The people who owned his house farmed the land and owned most of that area way back when.

I have shot deer at sunset more than once and usually will wait until morning to find them. Once when this happened I watched the deer go over the hill knowing he was hit good but when I climbed down out of my stand it was too-dark to trail the deer. I picked up the blood trail at first light the next morning and found the deer shortly there after but the coyotes had beat me to it and had pretty much devoured one of the hind quarters.

Eyehunter