I shot my first deer with a bow last night, unfortunately I did not recover her until this morning, and the meat was already visibly greening.
Breakdown:
Got to our red river county lease and was in a new brush blind by 3:30. I had a group of 3 does and 2 fawns coming in everyday at dusk on camera so I felt like I had a pretty good shot opportunity.
Nothing for 3 1/2 hours then 15 minutes before last night they moved in. I had a 17 yard broadside shot at one if the doe. Drew back set my pin right in the elbow crease, and let fly.
She jumped the string forward and down a bit, but I heard a good thud and I watched her tumble in a circle then run fast into a patch of cedar shrub 70 yards from the feeder.
Here's where the bad starts. I give it about 20 minutes and I go start looking for blood. Nothing , couldn't find my arrow either. Finally after searching for 20 minutes I find sprays in the circle she ran, but lost it after that. After an hour and a half of looking, I called out to the green screen for tracking help.
A good man named mike and his son drove an hour and a half out of their way to bring their young tracking dog to help. About midnight we were back on the trail.
Dog (Roxy) picked it up quick, but kept hitting dead ends. After almost 2 hours we called it quits, never found any more blood. At this point I'm thinking I shot I between lung and spine and maybe she'll make it away . But I decided to come back first thing in the morning and look in the light.
Start where we left off and looked for about an hour. I had to be home early today to watch the kids so I was about to pack it in. Decided to walk back through the trail 20 yards north of where we'd been looking, and sure enough. I find a big pool of blood. Look around, 10 feet to my left, not 20 yards from where I'd walked 10-15 times last night. She was laid up, stiff, with a slight bloat. Entry is waaaay too far back and exit was worse. Went through the liver and nicked her stomach. Oh well at least I found her and was able to fill out the tag.
The ugly:
Gutted her out and took her to the local processor. He said it looked like the meat had already started to green and that it wouldn't be safe to eat. I'm sick. I hate the idea of losing an animal all together, but recovering and having to throw it out is almost just as bad.
Lessons learned...
1 - If blood is not showing up, or not well, and I see my deer crash. I will grid search the area instead of wasting time just looking for blood splatter in the dark. I saw no blood going into the area she bedded in, but that whole 10 foot radius was drenched.
2 - I will no longer take a shot that close to dark. Sunset was at 7:01, I shot her at 7:24.i thought I had the pin set good, but perhaps the low light was playing tricks. I also thought she was broadside, but based on the entry and exit she must have been slightly quartered towards.
All in all, it's nice to get my first archery deer, but I wish I had some venison and a happier story. Oh well, live and learn. Im at Least glad it looks like she bled out quick. My biggest fear since staring with a bow was gut shooting a deer, and I went and did it. At least she didn't have to suffer too long.
Breakdown:
Got to our red river county lease and was in a new brush blind by 3:30. I had a group of 3 does and 2 fawns coming in everyday at dusk on camera so I felt like I had a pretty good shot opportunity.
Nothing for 3 1/2 hours then 15 minutes before last night they moved in. I had a 17 yard broadside shot at one if the doe. Drew back set my pin right in the elbow crease, and let fly.
She jumped the string forward and down a bit, but I heard a good thud and I watched her tumble in a circle then run fast into a patch of cedar shrub 70 yards from the feeder.
Here's where the bad starts. I give it about 20 minutes and I go start looking for blood. Nothing , couldn't find my arrow either. Finally after searching for 20 minutes I find sprays in the circle she ran, but lost it after that. After an hour and a half of looking, I called out to the green screen for tracking help.
A good man named mike and his son drove an hour and a half out of their way to bring their young tracking dog to help. About midnight we were back on the trail.
Dog (Roxy) picked it up quick, but kept hitting dead ends. After almost 2 hours we called it quits, never found any more blood. At this point I'm thinking I shot I between lung and spine and maybe she'll make it away . But I decided to come back first thing in the morning and look in the light.
Start where we left off and looked for about an hour. I had to be home early today to watch the kids so I was about to pack it in. Decided to walk back through the trail 20 yards north of where we'd been looking, and sure enough. I find a big pool of blood. Look around, 10 feet to my left, not 20 yards from where I'd walked 10-15 times last night. She was laid up, stiff, with a slight bloat. Entry is waaaay too far back and exit was worse. Went through the liver and nicked her stomach. Oh well at least I found her and was able to fill out the tag.
The ugly:
Gutted her out and took her to the local processor. He said it looked like the meat had already started to green and that it wouldn't be safe to eat. I'm sick. I hate the idea of losing an animal all together, but recovering and having to throw it out is almost just as bad.
Lessons learned...
1 - If blood is not showing up, or not well, and I see my deer crash. I will grid search the area instead of wasting time just looking for blood splatter in the dark. I saw no blood going into the area she bedded in, but that whole 10 foot radius was drenched.
2 - I will no longer take a shot that close to dark. Sunset was at 7:01, I shot her at 7:24.i thought I had the pin set good, but perhaps the low light was playing tricks. I also thought she was broadside, but based on the entry and exit she must have been slightly quartered towards.
All in all, it's nice to get my first archery deer, but I wish I had some venison and a happier story. Oh well, live and learn. Im at Least glad it looks like she bled out quick. My biggest fear since staring with a bow was gut shooting a deer, and I went and did it. At least she didn't have to suffer too long.
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