couldnt find her keep hunting?

[addicted2hunting]

Well this is what happened...Steeliedrew and I were hunting yesterday down south I went into my morning sitting spot and he went to his. I jumped a deer in the dark and it was snorting at me so I blew my grunt a bit and it circled around to down wind of me then snorted again about 30mins later. anyways that was all the action I saw till about 8:30am so I started getting antsy when I caught a large doe and a smaller doe creeping in. So I sat patiently and watched them draw closer to my buck jam I had put out in the morning. As they popped out behind the stump I thought to myself game time so I go to draw my bow and the large doe looked at me so I stopped at full draw and waited for her head to go down, as her head went down I went to aim but found it was an akward position so I let my string down and repositioned myself and she didnt see me so I draw again this time they turned and slowly started walking back the way they came. so I figured 30 yards (no rangefinder yet) I rest my 30 pin where I want it and I let out a small blaaa and she turns broadside and looks And I put my pin in the kill zone and release and whack I hit low just behind the leg on the lower chest, she jumps kicking and runs off. I lose sight of her so I give it 30 mins to go find drew to help me track her. I get drew and we get to the shot sight and my arrow is covered with blood some hair and what looked to be a bone fragment. We start to track her and it leads to a basketball size blood pool whee she stopped and we keep following the blood till it crosses the street and into private property. So we go knock on their door and the guy is an elk hunter. So he helps us follow the blood across a creek and into so timber long story short... we follow the blood and it gets smaller and smaller till we couldnt find blood anymore... we looked till 130 in the afternoon with no avail. So I feel horible about not finding her so I figure I dont feel right hunting the rest of the season as I am sure she will die and I feel unethical trying again this year.

Should I keep trying to finish the year or consider myself tagged out?

Lesson learned: Buying a range finder (couldnt afford it)

[Button Nubbs]

Only you can make that decision

[ICEMAN]

Truly it is your call.

If it was me...I would tag out. I feel the deer has a mortal wound...  I always feel that the threshold decision point is if you think the animal will survive or not...


Good luck and hopefully responses on this thread do not go south.

[_TONY_]

It happens...Get back it there and give it one more good look at last blood...

[Todd_ID]

Tough to hear.  That decision is one every hunter will have to face at some point in their hunting career.  I know what I would do, but this is not the situation for me, or anyone, to impose my beliefs on you.  Do what you feel right, and you'll learn more than doing what the herd here says.

[addicted2hunting]

I feel the same, considering myself tagged out. My dad says go shoot another but he has questionable ethics with other things so I dont take his advice very often.

[Crunchy]

I dont consider it poor ethics if you contiued to hunt.  You did everything you could to recover that deer and it just didnt work out. I would continue to hunt, and hopefully you will be able to shoot and recover the next one. 

[NW-GSP]

Get a dog on the blood track

[billythekidrock]

It happens...Get back it there and give it one more good look at last blood...

I agree. Check and circle the last spot. Take your time and follow all trails or anything that looks like a trail.

[addicted2hunting]

Get a dog on the blood track

the guy that helped us had his dog that helped alot but once the rain started in the dog lost interest. Plus I live in whatcom county and we were down past olympia. Not sure if going back down there is in the books for me. Long ways.

[smdave]

Get a dog on the blood track

9. Using dogs:
• Hunting wild animals with dogs during
any deer or elk modern firearm season is
prohibited.

[ICEMAN]

I think the consensus is that if all guns are left in the rig, you can track with dogs...

[addicted2hunting]

Get a dog on the blood track

9. Using dogs:
• Hunting wild animals with dogs during
any deer or elk modern firearm season is
prohibited.

we didnt have any weapons on us and it was just his family dog out walking with us.

[Hunterman]

Up to you if you want to quit,, but the 'yotes have to eat too. Get back out and tag one..This ain't the first time someone lost there animal,, and unfortunate it will not be the last..


Hunterman(Tony)

[Curly]

I'd say that if you do go back out, only go for a buck.