We just had our 4 days of late buck season 11/13-11/16. The general season ended on 10/31. On the second day we spotted a very big bodied deer at a least 3pt. He was just on the edge of the timber line. Wind howling with gust of 30-40 mph temp 23 degrees and 3 inches of snow. He started getting a little nervous and I let a shot loose for his front shoulder with 123 sst behind 28.3 grains of 8208. He just stopped, like what was that. Then I lowered the boom! on him with a second shot. One of my partner's yells he down he's down. As we hussel over there I can't see the deer. He's gone! where did he go? As we get to where I shot at him. You can see where he hit the ground and a good amount of blood. There is 3 of us and no one seen him get up. We think we know where he went. We also think he's hit pretty good. Both my partners want to go after him. I myself want to get back to the truck come back an hour or so. Let him lay down relax and die. Nope! lets go getem, and I understand their excitement. Off they went up the hill. Needless to say the deer got pushed from it's bed 3 times leaving fair amounts of blood. Three or so hours later we come out with nothing. Don't have a clue were he went. As it's getting dark we head back home. Talking about tomorrow's hunt and how were going to find my deer. Pisst that we went looking for him so quick anyway. I'm not wasteing the next day morning hunt to look for something that most likely we won't find. The next day were hunting first @ first light. Sill very cold and windy were not seeing any animals. About 10am or so we had back to were I shot that 3pt. We have 2 more friends with us this morning. Hopeing for a better out come we give it another heave ho for a couple hours. To no avail he was not recovered. Which is a hard pill for me to swallow. I have never lost animal I hit till this last weekend. I'm still upset with myself for not anchoring him down. It was a 236 yard chip shot for the Grendel and I let a animal go to waste. Not a good feeling to have and hope I never have it again. 2014 deer season over and out............
hey batter batter hey batter batter swing
Collapse
X
-
Yup, lesson learned the hard way. When I was 15 I shot an elk with my 3006 and I new I nailed him good. Lots of blood but no elk. My older brother talked me into tracking it even though my father had told us to always wait at least an hour. After hiking our back sides off all day into the steepest, thickest brush in the area we gave up since it was getting dark and I had a good idea where it was headed. Late the next day I found it because of all the ravens, magpies and even a Bald eagle were picking apart what was left over from what the coyotes had eaten the night before. Needless to say I know how you feel but I bet like me you will never do that again.
-
-
Thanks for the honest report. You already called out the issue with pushing the animal prematurely, which is a great lesson for others to learn if they don't know about it yet.
Another thing I would like to bring up is having a good spotter with you who can spot the shot and impact location, which is a difficult skill set, but invaluable when hunting. It's what I prefer to do when out on a hunt, since making the shot, while difficult, can be done by a decent shooter, whereas a lot of people don't have a lot of time on glass watching bullets/vapor trail.
Here's an excellent article on Blood Trailing deer: http://shootingtime.com/deer-hunting...trailing-deer/
They have different recommended wait times based on shot placement, which are commonly mentioned with experienced hunters. Other topics include:
Heart Shot ( at least a 30 minute wait)
Lung Shot ( 30 min- 1hr)
Liver Shot (off mark, 5-6hr wait)
Gut Shot (bad placement, 8-10hr wait)
After the Shot
What to have in your blood trailing deer kit
Additional tips for blood trailing deerNRA Basic, Pistol, Rifle, Shotgun, RSO
CCW, CQM, DM, Long Range Rifle Instructor
6.5 Grendel Reloading Handbooks & chamber brushes can be found here:
www.AR15buildbox.com
Comment
-
-
NRA Basic, Pistol, Rifle, Shotgun, RSO
CCW, CQM, DM, Long Range Rifle Instructor
6.5 Grendel Reloading Handbooks & chamber brushes can be found here:
www.AR15buildbox.com
Comment
-
-
Thanks guys. I'm gonna send that tracking deer video to my partners.Hey I'm not a complete idiot I have parts missing. Though some times I wonder.
Grendellizing predators as of the fall of 2012.
Small bullets that go really fast, make me giggle...........
Comment
-
-
Blacklab,
Sorry that happened, and appreciate your honesty in telling the story. If your buddies blow that lesson off, you have my contact info here and elswhere. Get in touch with me next year and I will be your spotter/hunting partner. Make sure our WA Grendels get properly fed!Anderson lower with ALG Combat trigger and Ergo F43 stock:
18" 1:8 6.5 grendel barrel, 13" troy alpha free float, Mbuis, PA 4-14x44 FFP ACSS scope.
SAA lower(Form 1 in process)
16" 1:9 5.56 barrel, A2 sightpost, GI Handguard, Eotech XPS2.0 w/ 1.5-5x magnifier.
Anderson Pistol lower:
16" 1:8 300BLK Free Float, Eotech XPS2.0
6" 9mm with 7" free float and KAK muzzle device, Magpull MBUIS
Comment
-
-
Hey, BlackLab, sorry to hear about that. I'm with you, I never jump down from my treestand right after shooting a deer, even when I know I hit him hard and saw him go down. Hell, I need 15 minutes just to calm myself down! I like to replay the shot, take note of a few unusual bushes or logs where I last saw him — just in case — and just enjoy soaking in the whole experience for a while.:: 6.5 GRENDEL Deer and Targets :: 6mmARC Targets and Varmints and Deer :: 22 ARC Varmints and Targets
:: I Drank the Water :: Revelation 21:6 ::
Comment
-
-
After the shot If i feel it was a good shot I will go and examine the impact site for blood. The color of the blood can tell a lot about your shot placement.
Frothy blood that has bubbles indicates a lung hit.
Dark red blood indicates liver hit.
Bright red blood and lots of it indicates heart shot.
Blood with chunks in it indicates gut shot.
The blood will determine how Soni pursue my blood trail.
I find that an animal with both lungs gone dies faster in most cases. I to have learned my lessons and always aim for the exit.Last edited by Kikn; 11-17-2014, 08:30 PM.
Comment
-
-
Kikn, I like that phrase, "Aim for the exit." The way I put it to my boys is to imagine a basketball in the chest, and no matter what angle you're at, shoot to hit the center of the basketball.:: 6.5 GRENDEL Deer and Targets :: 6mmARC Targets and Varmints and Deer :: 22 ARC Varmints and Targets
:: I Drank the Water :: Revelation 21:6 ::
Comment
-
-
Thanks guys for the positive comments. I think we all got a new perspective on how to go about getting it done. I know I did.
larmith maybe we can go play dog slayer with our Grendels some day winkHey I'm not a complete idiot I have parts missing. Though some times I wonder.
Grendellizing predators as of the fall of 2012.
Small bullets that go really fast, make me giggle...........
Comment
-
-
Two years ago I shot a buck with my muzzle loader. He flipped backward onto his back and rolled around a bit. After I finished reloading, he was belly crawling toward the tree line. I thought to myself, "He's dead!"
He was out of sight by the time I got out of the tree.
When I got to where he went done, I found crumpled grass, but not a single drop of blood. Never found him.
From now on, if I can still see it moving, it is getting shot twice.www.FriendsvillePrecision.com - AR15 Dry Fire Device
Comment
-
-
Any hunter that doesn't have a similar story has not challenged themselves in the field. I've had to push a few recoveries so I could go to work the next day. Regarding tracking, I use the toilet paper method every time, even when I have a good blood trail. Go slow. Do not move forward until you find the next sign, A trail can vanish if disturbed. For night tracking, the white light of a double mantle propane lantern makes blood glow like red paint; much better than any supercalafragilistic tracking light I've seen."When you have to shoot... Shoot! Don't talk." Tuco Benedicto Pacifico Juan Maria Ramirez a.k.a. "The Rat".
Comment
-
-
dmsims, that was one of the reasons that I went semi auto== I can do double taps on the deer - to anchor them nearby.
I too lost a deer 12 yrs. ago-dead for dead hit- she ran away, blood trail dried up- dark came== can't have a gun in hand after legal shooting times here in MN. The machetes, and spotlites came out- 3 hrs. of tracking prints later=== nothing.
Following wknd, 10 yds. from my stand-there she was- eaten out by coyotes- yuk.
Things happen... Deer are cool animals- yet they jump out in front of cars - Always! I try to live guilt free here. Mow them down, they get replaced.
Comment
-
-
years ago, just before dark, I pushed a huge, well hit buck too early. so much blood at each stop that I was sure he was just up ahead. tracked in heavy thickets for a hundred yards. then quit for the night, and back the next morning. blood trail eventually vanished, and after a full day of searching, I lost him. obviously, it still gnaws at me. after that hard lesson, now I wait. you've got my sympathies, BL.
Comment
-
Comment