Bow hunting blunders, screw-ups, and mental mayhem!!!

[Heetor]

Hey guys I was reading the chain on the average distance a deer goes before it dies, and I came up with an idea for a topic that might be fun, and helpful to some. 

Reading the posts in reply to the impossible question of how far a deer goes before it dies,  I was surprised how almost every response was "I drop them in their tracks", or less than 50 yards...

Most likely these are true, or reasonably true, as fishing isn't the only sport that seems to blurr the memory .   What I didn't see was anybody talking about crawling around on hands and knees searching a thinning 800 yard blood trail through thick brush and leaves, refusing to deny the aching pit in your stomach.  That impossible need to ignore the fear that you are never going to find the buck of your lifetime that you hit 2 inches too far back, and can't tell if it is gut shot or bleeding out from a lacerated liver.

If you are a real bow hunter then you have been there, part of being a bow hunter is learning to manage this situation, and learning how to minimize the chances of getting there again.  The tough call to keep searching for the next tiny drop or smear that is going to complete the trail to the pot of gold, or back off until the next morning.   When to apply that last little bit of determination to keep looking when your wife and kids think you are lost in the woods, and your tired hunting buddies just want to go home, or back to their hunt.  Finding the drive when you lay awake on Sunday night to say to-heck with the real world, and call in sick Monday morning to go back out and maybe get lucky to see the circling birds and save the mount.

The only way to become a real bow hunter is to go through this, usually more than once, and learn the lesson that you sometimes have to wait for a better shot then the hay-maker at the monster buck at 61 yards, or the closing afternoon doe shot straight-on at 50.  Bow hunting is an art, I believe it requires 9 parts experience, 1 part shooting skill, 10 parts determination, and 0 parts expensive equipment!  (Even though I can't stop spending more than I can afford on the next piece of new gear I see David Blanton shooting on Real tree Outdoors).

I once tried to describe my fall-madness to a friend that had never hunted.  I told him it was like a crack addiction, only stronger; combined with the adrenaline of all of the x-games rolled into one second, requiring the methodical planning and patience of chess master, mixed with a wildlife biologists love of nature.  Its a lot different than driving a 4x4 up and down logging roads gun shooting does out of rolled down windows, only if you are confident they will die on the road so you won't have to drag them through the bush.

So lets let down our guard a little and share the stories about bow hunts that didn't end up with us dropping the monster buck in his tracks. Maybe we can help some rookies learn a few things about taking their time with the shot, or maybe convince a few novices that are about to give up the sport after a tough experience to give it another try.

[pips4bucks]

Yup, been through it myself.  Thankfully only once.  I shot a 4x4 bull at 25 yards, perfect shot.  He ran straight downhill into a swamp.  The swamp completely swallowed him.  I looked for 3 days for that bull, to no avail.  I was upset for days.  It's something that happens to most hunters at some point.  It sucks, but all you can do is work harder to be a better hunter, shooter, and tracker, and be determined to make the right choice at the moment of truth.

[Swannytheswan]

yup happens to everyone sadly its part of it. Most of the time my deer don't go far but sometimes crap happens last year I torque my shot and gut shot my deer I recovered it but I still get a sick feeling in my stomach just thinking about it and I have been out there shooting most every day since june except for a stretch when my string was too wore out to shoot...hopefully it goes better this year!

[Tacomahunter]

This is my first time hunting this year, so I decided to bow hunt. I didn't have alto of money so I bought an older or old Hoyt bow, carbon express arrows, alot release, and some Nap thunderhead broadheads. I have been in my hunting area since 2010 late archery season trying to find out what the deer are doing and where they like to sleep and eat. Long story short. I've been following some deer for awhile and I got my chance today around 750 pm. I shot and I might have hit the deer a little to far back and of course the sun set way to fast than I wanted. I searched for about 45 min's and now I'm doing this So I guess I'm going back early in the morning to find the deer. I'm pretty excited and I hope I find it. I'm so new to hunting if you have any suggestions or questions for me that might help me that would be great.

[Todd_ID]

Correct that it does happen to all of us if we stay in the sport for any length of time.  I've bowhunted since 1985 and lost a couple elk, and it sucks!  What I find hard to believe each time it happens is that I can actually miss an entire animal.  Each miss and both lost elk have come from a lack of focus.  I got out of my routine somehow and let the shot go anyway.  I missed three different bulls in the same day one time for three different reasons, and none of the shots felt right.  (One miss stuck in a tree I thought I could get by: not a clear enough shot; one miss was yardage: ranged a tree that he was 7 yards behind and didn't account for those yards; third miss was string jump: wary animal.)  I wish I had those three scenarios to do over, because I shouldn't have shot at any of them.

The lesson is: if it doesn't feel perfect, then don't release.

[Todd_ID]

This is my first time hunting this year, so I decited to bow hunt. I didt'nt have alot of money so I bought an older or old Hoyt bow, carbon express arrows, scott release, and some Nap thunderhead broadheads. I have been in my hunting area since 2010 late archery season trying to find out what the deer are doing and where they like to sleep and eat. Long story short. I've been following some deer for awhile and I got my chance today around 750 pm. I shot and I might have hit the deer a litte to far back and of course the sun set way to fast than I wanted. I searched for about 45 mins and now im doing this So I guess im going back early in the morning to find the deer. Im pretty excited and I hope I find it. I'm so new to hunting if you have any suggestions or questions for me that might help me that would be great.

If you didn't jump the deer (and you can't really be certain of the answer to that), then it'll likely bed down and expire through the night.  I'd be surprised if it died more than 250 yards from where you shot it, but that's only if it didn't spook while you were searching.  They get nauseous and lie down (same as we would) with both liver and gut shots, and they'll generally take 6-8 hours to expire.  Not pretty, but true.  You'll find it if you didn't bump it.

[Heetor]

This is my first time hunting this year, so I decided to bow hunt. I didn't have alto of money so I bought an older or old Hoyt bow, carbon express arrows, alot release, and some Nap thunderhead broadheads. I have been in my hunting area since 2010 late archery season trying to find out what the deer are doing and where they like to sleep and eat. Long story short. I've been following some deer for awhile and I got my chance today around 750 pm. I shot and I might have hit the deer a little to far back and of course the sun set way to fast than I wanted. I searched for about 45 min's and now I'm doing this So I guess I'm going back early in the morning to find the deer. I'm pretty excited and I hope I find it. I'm so new to hunting if you have any suggestions or questions for me that might help me that would be great.

If you didn't bump him last night you most likely will find him.  Blood tracking is a lot easier to pickup from doing it with an experienced partner, but some things that might help are to be realistic about the trail, it might get real thin with only a few dots every 10 yards or farther that you can find.  When this happens use flagging tape or paper or something to mark each dot and crawl around on the ground to find the next one, don't loose heart if this happens.

If the trail runs out, it happens, just start looking for the body following the trail he was on, but working a concentric circle pattern.  He most likely will try to pick a secluded spot to lay down, in a weed thicket, or under an evergreen, or blackberry patch.  You might walk by him 10 times before you see a body part, so look hard, real hard for him. 

Go slow and be very determined and vigilant, you will usually find it if it is dead and you keep at it.  If you can find a friend that is an experienced tracker see if you can get him out with you.  Where where you hunting, I might be able to come out with you for a bit this morning if you are in the north west?

[archery288]

This is a good post, and very true if you a any sort of bowhunter at all.. It is highly unlikely that every shot you make will be perfect and the animal will expire within 50 yards or less.. Sure we all have those and they feel GREAT when it happens!  Your hard work, countless hours of practice and dedication have paid off and you watched your animal fall!  But let's be realistic, we have all had that questionable shot / shots where we tracked an animal for over a mile or miles on end...    Sickening to say the least.. The only thing we can do is to practice, practice, practice and try and eliminate any shooting errors on our end..  It happens to even the most well known hunters on TV, we have all watched shows where they leave an animal over night or wait 4 or 5 hours before tracking it..  EVERY bowhunter WILL go through this at some point or another, just keep your head up and keep searching!

[Camp David]

I have 10 years worth of successes and blunders. Where to start.... . The biggest thing one must remember is to make sure you can make a clean shot. When that big elk, deer etc is in front of you.... are you sure you can make a clean kill shot. Are you shaking so hard because of the big rack that your shot will be a pray and hope attempt?
I've been so cold in my tree stand that I was shivering before the deer came into view. The Adrenalin rush when you first see the deer intensifies the shivering. For me a clean shot is not possible in that condition.
I passed up a 5X5 bull @ 8 yards last year because there was a small dead pine tree between me and his lungs. I looked for a hole for the arrow to pass cleanly though, while @ full draw, for what seemed like eternity. Last thing I want to do is track a beautiful elk, for the next few days because i took a stupid shot. I'll always wonder what if...
You have to practice shooting with hunting in mind. I see a lot of guys release arrows as the bow is dropping into the "now" spot. They have not practiced enough to hold the pin on the kill "hair" and pull though the shot. This causes the shot to be low if the release timing is a little late. I was guilty of this and I shot 2 deer in 2 years low. The arrow hit the close lung and the arrow exited out the brisket missing or barely touching the second lung. Deer can run a long way on one lung. You will see a lot of blood, but you will track the deer a long...long way. If your arrow has fat on it and lung blood...most likely your hit was low. This is also caused by rushing the shot. If the animal is not aware of you and it is calm, you have have a lot of time to make the perfect shot.

Bow hunters have a great advantage over rifle hunters. We can find the arrow and get a good understanding of what happened. Learn to read the arrow, the animals actions and the ground after the shot.

[Hunter Dug]

A few years back when Klickatat still had a late archery season that you could shoot doe in  without a special permit I got up really early and drove up there from Washougal to do a hunt.  About a hour in to the hunt I spotted a group of doe and put the the stock of my life on in about 6 inch of snow on my hands and knees freezing my arse off soaking wet to get to a tree that could allow me to stand, peek and shoot.  I looked around the tree and the deer was still there, hid back behind the tree, peeked again ranged the deer, 41 yards, hid back behind the tree, drew my bow, stepped out from in front of the tree and let fly.  Arrow struck the deer right behind the last rib.  She ran about 100 yards and bedded within sight.  I sat down for nearly 2 hours watching waiting for her head to fall, and it never did.  So I made a plan to try to sneek up on her and get another arrow in her, however do to the open area, was unable to without bumping her. I sat for another 2 hours and watched thinking just die please just die and she just wouldnt.  The snow started coming down really hard and I started to get worried I was going to get stuck on the hill so I elected to walk off the mountain and head home yes back to washougal.  The next morning I got up at o-dark 30 and travelled back up there 2 and a half hours.  I found her dead about 30 yards from where I last seen her, covered in snow.  After gutting her and dragging her back to my truck I had a good sence about what I had done to recover this deer.  Though I still had the horrible feeling in my body of the suffering she went through and still when I think of it today.  I feel that I did it all right minus the shot placement.  Sometimes thats all you can do.  Give it everything you got. Have a great hunting season.

[Tacomahunter]

I've searched for hours now with no luck.  I can't even find my arrow or blood. I must have made a bad shot. But man, I swear I saw the deer flinch. I'm hunting in GMU 652. Now I question everything I did.

[ashersdad]

I have been bow hunting for a while now and have worked really hard at making sure the shot was right and everything was in place. I always thought i practice almost everyday i work hard and it wont happen to me.....WRONG happened last Thursday morning on a HUGE bear. Everything was perfect had all day to make the shot released the arrow hit him hard(so i thought)..then spent the next 3 days with 6 buddy's on our hands and knees tracking the diminishing blood trail. only to see him walking the top of the ridge line 3 days latter. I somehow pushed the shot and hit him high with a non fatal hit. I am still upset about it but its all part of the sport....good luck guys and shot straight

[buck man]

Killed lots of critters with my bow but also lost a few. Shot a 5 point bull at 14 yards at too much of a quartering to me angle. Shot would have been perfect for a broadside shot but not for the one I took. Never found him til next year. 1 |2 mile from where we looked for 3 days. Will never forget that .I pray that those experiences make me a better hunter.

[Heetor]

Guess since I started this I should put mine up too

The picture in my profile is a 140 class Whitetail I shot in Tennessee on my private deer lease, (this was before I moved back to the northwest).  It was actually the first deer I took with a bow, so of course I did a lot of things wrong.  I had gotten into bow hunting the year before but hadn't gotten one yet, and this was opening week.  I had been in the bush and I was hoping to get a doe, (in TN does are open so you can take as many as you want without using your buck tags, boy do I miss those days). 

This big boy walked out of the valley I had hung my stand on the edge of at about 50 yards, and I watched him for a while rubbing his antlers on an overhang.  I didn't have the confidence yet to try a long shot, and I didn't want to risk wounding this beauty since I was hunting on private land.  My luck held and he turned my way and followed the ridge line towards my stand, eventually turning and walking behind a tree at about 25 yards.  I came to full draw and waited or him to walk out, which he did, and stood perfectly broad.

I made a couple of mistakes, I rushed the shot when I had all of the time in the world  , and I put my pin mid-chest instead of tucking it into the shoulder , (thinking it was a safer shot if I was off a little).  I hit him about 4 inches back from where I aimed and he slowly walked to edge of the clearing and stood there at about 50 yards for 10 minutes, then walked into the bush.  He was gut shot, but at the time I assumed I had at least caught the liver.

I gave him about 20 minutes and climbed down to have a look  , the arrow was in the ground and bloody, and there was heavy blood loss and a good trail.  I texted my buddies that I had put down a monster and started following the trail.  It ended in 50 yards and there was no sign, I couldn't figure out what happened.  I got down from the tree at 10:00 AM and I crawled and searched for about 10 hours, (man those were rough hours).  Once it was pitch black I hiked out of my spot and drove 90 miles back to my house.  I cursed at bow hunting and decided never to do it again.  I got home around midnight so dehydrated and exhausted I just wanted to go to bed.

I sat around feeling miserable until about 2:00 AM and decided to call in a tracking service.  This is a Tennessee thing where you can hire a tracker and dog and they will go out with you and find your wounded/recently killed deer.  A lot of them are just good guys who will come out and do it for free, but some of them are expensive paid services.  the ones that answer the phone at 3:00 AM are the expensive paid ones.  After two hours on the phone with about 3 different trackers, I hired one in Georgia, and they jumped in the truck with their blue tick "Blue" and headed up to my house. 

They arrived at around 6:00 and we headed up to my spot, the dog located my deer dead about 400 yards from where I shot him, he had crawled into some heavy cover to hide and I walked past him 5 times the day before...  Same story as a lot of novices, and I don't want to get into a rant about my anger with states that do not allow tracking/recovery dogs, or the tutorial I could on every thing I did wrong.  This thread is about keeping your head up, and pushing 3 levels beyond sanity to make sure if that deer is locatable you do it, then learning from the lesson on how important it is to take your time and do it right. 

Two days without sleep, heat exhaustion, a $700 lighter wallet, the agony of knowing I blundered that bad on a chance I may never get again, the guilt of having that beautiful deer laying up in the bush gut shot, the angry wife and the kids I never got to spend time with for three days, was a steep price, but one I was happy to pay a few times over to get my buck of a lifetime.  More importantly was the hard lesson on taking my time and doing it right even if it means passing on an animal to come back and try it again another day. 

Anyway some version of this story has happened to all of us who have bow hunted for long enough, don't give up the sport because of inexperience and a dumb mistake, keep at it until you get better, and just don't make the same mistake again!  The difference between a good bow hunter and a guy that should put up the bow, is simply the ability to learn from the blunders  

[jburkett]

i shot a nice three point on manastash ridge a few years ago,  i watched the buck for 3-4 mins before the shot, but when it came time to touch the trigger i  rushed my self, and hit him low in the front shoulder.  knowing that i had just made a bad shot i sat down and watched him for another ten minutes slowly getting to cover.   i watched him bed down about 200 yards from were i hit him,  and i waited him out.  i could see the lood trail from were i sat and it looked good considering the shot placement, and i knew he wouldnt go far......  if he hadnt bedded down in clear view from the road.  it didnt take long for a truck load of hunters  to spot him, and attemp a stalk of there own (im not complaining about other hunters,  i am the one who pulled the trigger) but they did get him motivated, and when he started moving agian the blood got really scarce.  my brother, father, and four of my hunting buddies followed single drops of blood  for over a mile and the blood just ran out. two years later a friend of mine showed me some pics of a dead head his buddy walked up on, and it was definatly my buck.  he found it on bald mountain, which is where we ran out of tracks and ideas. the deer had gone nearly two miles before he gave up.