speedytriple Posted September 26, 2015 Report Share Posted September 26, 2015 So I shot my fist deer with a crossbow today. Solid blood trail bright red lots of it. Then we saw it a pile of mushy poop mixed in with a heavy blood puddle. My arrow nicked a small twig and was deflected into the gut. Tracked the deer for 3 hours never found it. I am still learning the bow hunting thing. Am pissed first time I shot a deer an was unable to recover it. Guess the votes will be eating good tonight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bubba Posted September 26, 2015 Report Share Posted September 26, 2015 Not a bow hunter, so I can't give you first-hand experience, but I have a bud who has hunted my property every fall for years. He's taken many big bucks from my place (should be able to search here for my past threads with pics). Very--VERY--experienced bow hunter! He used a compound bow for years and never had any problems with a kill running more than a few hundred yards before dropping. Last few years, he's been using a crossbow because of his shoulder issues. Last year, he tracked a kill for at least 2-3 miles before he found it, and it was still alive. Luckily, the shot was taken on a cold winter evening with fresh snow on the ground or he would have never found the deer. Year before that, I don't think he found the deer, even with lots of fresh blood and appearing to be chest shot (frothy and pink). Seems counter-intuitive that a high-powered crossbow would be less lethal than a compound bow. Maybe it's a flinch, maybe a recoil effect. I give my bud a load of sh-t about his wife--who hunts with a compound--being better at a clean kill than he is, but maybe it's an artifact of the weapon? Dunno.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bubba Posted September 26, 2015 Report Share Posted September 26, 2015 From the trailcam, one of the bucks he took before he switched to crossbow--his baby brother is in the background: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bowdog Posted September 26, 2015 Report Share Posted September 26, 2015 ^^^Wow! Speedy, I have no personal experiance hunting with a cross bow but I would look at your broad heads...what are you currently shooting? I shoot Rage Two Blades out of my compound and have never tracked one longer than 300 even on a bad shot. Good shots never make it 100yrds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rsvRidr Posted September 26, 2015 Report Share Posted September 26, 2015 My personal rule is if the deer does not drop in sight, I wait minimum of 30 mins in my stand (if I know if was a solid lung /heart hit ) before I go retrieve my arrow. Blood on arrow must be bright and bubbly before I go any further. If blood on arrow is dark or has an odor , I back out slowly and wait 4 hrs. If I know for sure its a gut hit and no liver, I wait at least eight. Most deer hit will only go 100yds or less and lay down. But once they are jumped, most certainly with a gut shot, they are gone , little blood trail after their initial bed and thick woods make for an impossible track. I have used a dog ( not a tracker- a Rottweiler [emoji3]) and recovered deer gut hit deer but only after a night had gone by. If you let them lay in their first beds , odds are they will only move a short distance until they expire and be 200 yes or less from the shot. Best of luck in your future hunts, sounds like you are off to a good seasonSent from [emoji631] on my iPhone using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gump Posted September 27, 2015 Report Share Posted September 27, 2015 How long did you wait before you started tracking it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speedytriple Posted September 27, 2015 Author Report Share Posted September 27, 2015 Using a rage three blade that's ment for crossbows with a Horton carbon strike arrow. I sat in the stand for 40 mins before moving. Had more deer come up on me while waiting lol. Went to find the arrow when I got down, checked for blood. Was a little dark but no smell. So it was about a hour before we started tracking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rsvRidr Posted October 2, 2015 Report Share Posted October 2, 2015 I was lucky enough to get my buck tagged filled tonight. Sent from [emoji631] on my iPhone using Tapatalk 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aforrest4 Posted October 2, 2015 Report Share Posted October 2, 2015 My personal rule is if the deer does not drop in sight, I wait minimum of 30 mins in my stand (if I know if was a solid lung /heart hit ) before I go retrieve my arrow. Blood on arrow must be bright and bubbly before I go any further.If blood on arrow is dark or has an odor , I back out slowly and wait 4 hrs. If I know for sure its a gut hit and no liver, I wait at least eight. Most deer hit will only go 100yds or less and lay down. But once they are jumped, most certainly with a gut shot, they are gone , little blood trail after their initial bed and thick woods make for an impossible track.I have used a dog ( not a tracker- a Rottweiler [emoji3]) and recovered deer gut hit deer but only after a night had gone by. If you let them lay in their first beds , odds are they will only move a short distance until they expire and be 200 yes or less from the shot.Best of luck in your future hunts, sounds like you are off to a good seasonSent from [emoji631] on my iPhone using Tapatalk This is great information ^^^I learned the same thing the hard way. Only made that mistake once.Always wait longer now. Let them be, and they will stay put until it is time to come and pick them up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speedytriple Posted October 2, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 2, 2015 Nice deer you got there. Going out this weekend for round two. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bowdog Posted October 2, 2015 Report Share Posted October 2, 2015 Nice looking buck RSV! We have our last race Saturday but I will definitely be out Sunday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rsvRidr Posted October 2, 2015 Report Share Posted October 2, 2015 Thanks guys, I honestly hesitated for a split second as we have been seeing nicer bucks and it's so early,but after passing bucks in the past and never getting another opportunity during bow season, I decided to let it fly. Sent from [emoji631] on my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bowdog Posted October 2, 2015 Report Share Posted October 2, 2015 I don't blame you, great shot as well! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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