Brisket shot-DEAD or ALIVE??

[patton1]

I almost didn't post this, but it's eating me up inside.  I shot a BT buck on Saturday at 4 PM.  He was quartering towards me a little.  The shot was a little low but the arrow went right through, he ran about 10 yards into a field stood there wobbling and I thought he was done.  He walked about 20 more yards started wobbling and almost laid down. he walked about 20 more yards to the other edge of the field started wobbling and after a couple minutes hopped the fence back into the woods.  I thought for sure he wasn't going far.  My buddy and I went back after about 2 hours because I wanted to make sure he was dead.  We found decent blood for about another 40 yards past where he hopped the fence until we hit a spot where the trail split about 8 different ways and then no more blood.  We searched for about three hours and nothing.  Sunday morning we went back to last blood (which was still there). We searched every trail, did circles, looked for more blood, followed tracks, but nothing, about another three hours before we finally gave up.  I think I hit it in the brisket and from what I've heard over the years, unless you hit a main artery in there, the deer will probably live.  Like I said, this is eating me up inside.  I know  that is part of bow hunting but it still blows.  So what do you think- DEAD or ALIVE?

[BLKBEARKLR]

If in the brisket only, then I would have to say alive. Seen a decent amount of animals get hit there and live on. In New York, my brother shot one during Archery in the brisket, we shot it 5 weeks later during Muzzle Loader season.

[littlebuf]

i think i would have looked longer than six hours   but i wasnt there if you did everything you could do to recover the deer than thats all that matters. dead,maybe. alive maybe. if you think you killed him than you need to decide if you should notch your tag or keep hunting.

[Pathfinder101]

Unless you hit him a little higher than you think and nicked the bottom of his heart (the heart sits suprisingly low in the chest) he's probably fine.

[bow4elk]

I almost didn't post this, but it's eating me up inside.  I shot a BT buck on Saturday at 4 PM.  He was quartering towards me a little.  The shot was a little low but the arrow went right through, he ran about 10 yards into a field stood there wobbling and I thought he was done.  He walked about 20 more yards started wobbling and almost laid down. he walked about 20 more yards to the other edge of the field started wobbling and after a couple minutes hopped the fence back into the woods.  I thought for sure he wasn't going far.  My buddy and I went back after about 2 hours because I wanted to make sure he was dead.  We found decent blood for about another 40 yards past where he hopped the fence until we hit a spot where the trail split about 8 different ways and then no more blood.  We searched for about three hours and nothing.  Sunday morning we went back to last blood (which was still there). We searched every trail, did circles, looked for more blood, followed tracks, but nothing, about another three hours before we finally gave up.  I think I hit it in the brisket and from what I've heard over the years, unless you hit a main artery in there, the deer will probably live.  Like I said, this is eating me up inside.  I know  that is part of bow hunting but it still blows.  So what do you think- DEAD or ALIVE?

I need more specific info about where the arrow entered and if you recovered the arrow.  first, if you entered the ribcage, the deer is likely very dead.  If you have your arrow and can post a photo that may help.  I'm going to assume the arrow passed through quartering toward you, through gut and exited somewhere behind the ribcage on the far side.  Can you correct or verify this assumption?  A wobbly deer is usually a deer losing a lot of blood quickly.  I think you did the right thing by waiting two hours and I'm surprised you didn't find him in his bed.  Did you jump him from his bed at any time during tracking?  If so, this changes everything but let's start with this and take it one step at a time.

[BrushChimp]

Nice effort, but I'm sorry, wounding animals is NOT a part of bow hunting. Though it is what NOT to do while bow hunting. If one expects to lose animals while bow hunting, one WILL lose animals. That is foolish thinking. Choose and make a better shot next time. If you don't like the flack, don't post it on the internet.   Happy Hunting.

[jackelope]

when we were young my buddy took a rifle shot a little further than he should have and shot a deer thru the brisket...him and i and both our dads looked for that deer for several hours. a week later we found him alive and well running with some does. another friend shot and killed him then and that was that.

[patton1]

"I need more specific info about where the arrow entered and if you recovered the arrow.  first, if you entered the ribcage, the deer is likely very dead.  If you have your arrow and can post a photo that may help.  I'm going to assume the arrow passed through quartering toward you, through gut and exited somewhere behind the ribcage on the far side.  Can you correct or verify this assumption?  A wobbly deer is usually a deer losing a lot of blood quickly.  I think you did the right thing by waiting two hours and I'm surprised you didn't find him in his bed.  Did you jump him from his bed at any time during tracking?  If so, this changes everything but let's start with this and take it one step at a time."


The arrow definitely hit low. I don't thing the angle was steep enough to hit guts. The arrow was covered with pretty bright red blood, little chunks of meat, and white hair.  We never jumped him that I could tell, he seemed to walk the whole way, and never bedded down, atleast up until we lost the trail.  His back was really arched while I could see him walking.  I wish I would have hit him with another arrow when he first stopped but i thought for sure he was going down.

[bow4elk]

I think we need to define "brisket" here.  I'm not reading this shot placement as brisket.  "A little low" say vitals, but low.  Inside the rib cage is a dead deer.  Below the sternum is a flesh wound that will likely heal but NOT produce a "wobbly" reaction multiple times.  Please respond to my other post so I can help you out.  It may be too late for the meat but not too late to recover your deer.

[patton1]

I think we need to define "brisket" here.  I'm not reading this shot placement as brisket.  "A little low" say vitals, but low.  Inside the rib cage is a dead deer.  Below the sternum is a flesh wound that will likely heal but NOT produce a "wobbly" reaction multiple times.  Please respond to my other post so I can help you out.  It may be too late for the meat but not too late to recover your deer.

sorry was having problems replying. look above your last post.

[jackelope]

in front of his front shoulders or behind?
i call the brisket his chest area in front of his front shoulders. am i wrong?

[patton1]

in front of his front shoulders or behind?
i call the brisket his chest area in front of his front shoulders. am i wrong?

right behind the front shoulder and low. his front legs were extended slightly forward.

[RUTNBULL1]

First of all bad decision on the shot selection, quartering away yes, quartering towards wait for a better angle. That being said, hopefully he is alive but, I am leaning towards pilled up some where in some brush or near a creek dead. From the last statement you said he was walking hunched up and wobbling. This tells me your arrow probably went thru one lung possibly, maybe a partial liver and thru the guts. And if it did enter the abdominal cavity it will not heal itself. I have seen a lot of gut shot deer rifle, or arrow head towards a water source, is there a water source nearby? And you may have possibly bumped him and didn't even know it. If you had penatrated the guts, the gut linning and inners probably started to plug the hole and that's why the loss of the blood trail. That being said it is still hard to tell not being there, all just assumptions off of your statements.

[bow4elk]

in front of his front shoulders or behind?
i call the brisket his chest area in front of his front shoulders. am i wrong?

right behind the front shoulder and low. his front legs were extended slightly forward.

= Dead deer.  Heart and possibly bottom of lungs.  A heart-shot deer will typically bolt in an all-out panic run and die at full speed.  Based on how this deer reacted, you may have clipped the rear portion of the heart, lower lung and/or liver.  He should be within 100 yards of that fence.

[scoyoc5]

sounds dead to me.....BTW bad shot decision