I did a live hunt this weekend. Link Below.
I have been shooting a bow since I was 5 or 6 years old and when I was about 13 or so I realized that I could shoot pretty dang good. With that being said I have always been confident in my abilities. Thursday I picked up my bow from the shop and had my draw length changed and bought a dozen heavier arrows, sighted it in and headed to the ranch the following morning. Saturday morning I let an arrow fly at a doe at 24 yards and I believe my confidence got the best of me. I made a bad shot on my part and the doe jumped string pretty good. The arrow entered maybe 2" above center height of the the kill zone for a double lung and exited the opposite side in the back strap. There was only 1 hole from the entrance side in the ribs and the other did not come out the ribs, it was through the back strap. The arrow did not pass through but was sticking out both sides. To cut to the chase I thought I made a good shot but had some string jump deflection on the exit side as I watched the deer run off. An hour later my dad and I along with my dog who has found every deer she has tracked started the tracking job. We jumped the deer an hour and a half in (2 and half hours after the shot) and we were so far in I decided to keep tracking. We had lost the blood trail at least 4 times at this point but kept searching. My dog came up on the deer laying head up so I shot it with my pistol and hit it very high in the neck. It took off and my dog chased it until it gave up. I then finished it with the pistol. As the crow flies it was 508 yards from the feeder, I had marked blood spots with the GPS app when we would loose blood and used that along with knowledge of the ranch to measure the total distance it had ran.. 680 yards total. A wild animal fights to the death for it's life and don't give up easily.
Sorry for the long explanation but just wanted to make a few points.
1. Back out if you jump a deer.
2. Don't give up on a tracking (this was the longest I have tracked a deer but stayed with it)
3. Call a dog to track if you start loosing blood. (mine filled four 50-75 yard gaps in blood when we were lost for where to look by scent)
4. When tracking if not in bow season carry a firearm to finish the deer because you just don't know what condition they will be in.
5. Persistence pays off.
I am still disappointed with myself but very happy to have recovered this deer.
I have been shooting a bow since I was 5 or 6 years old and when I was about 13 or so I realized that I could shoot pretty dang good. With that being said I have always been confident in my abilities. Thursday I picked up my bow from the shop and had my draw length changed and bought a dozen heavier arrows, sighted it in and headed to the ranch the following morning. Saturday morning I let an arrow fly at a doe at 24 yards and I believe my confidence got the best of me. I made a bad shot on my part and the doe jumped string pretty good. The arrow entered maybe 2" above center height of the the kill zone for a double lung and exited the opposite side in the back strap. There was only 1 hole from the entrance side in the ribs and the other did not come out the ribs, it was through the back strap. The arrow did not pass through but was sticking out both sides. To cut to the chase I thought I made a good shot but had some string jump deflection on the exit side as I watched the deer run off. An hour later my dad and I along with my dog who has found every deer she has tracked started the tracking job. We jumped the deer an hour and a half in (2 and half hours after the shot) and we were so far in I decided to keep tracking. We had lost the blood trail at least 4 times at this point but kept searching. My dog came up on the deer laying head up so I shot it with my pistol and hit it very high in the neck. It took off and my dog chased it until it gave up. I then finished it with the pistol. As the crow flies it was 508 yards from the feeder, I had marked blood spots with the GPS app when we would loose blood and used that along with knowledge of the ranch to measure the total distance it had ran.. 680 yards total. A wild animal fights to the death for it's life and don't give up easily.
Sorry for the long explanation but just wanted to make a few points.
1. Back out if you jump a deer.
2. Don't give up on a tracking (this was the longest I have tracked a deer but stayed with it)
3. Call a dog to track if you start loosing blood. (mine filled four 50-75 yard gaps in blood when we were lost for where to look by scent)
4. When tracking if not in bow season carry a firearm to finish the deer because you just don't know what condition they will be in.
5. Persistence pays off.
I am still disappointed with myself but very happy to have recovered this deer.
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