Shawn - Sep-15 Mobile live hunt from Ct
Whitetail Deer
10:20 AM LIVE from Ct*
Shot a doe but I can't find her.. shot looked good but no blood or arrow. The only thing I can think of is I shoulder punched her.. pretty devastated!
Looked and looked like a sob
You're talking jibberish now...calm down..regroup..were you on the ground or in a tree? In a tree,climb back up and replay everything again..it all looks different from the air.. Look for scuff marks..if there are ferns look on the underside of them..they could bend back if she turned... If you're on the ground the arrow won't go more than 10 yrs on a pass thru...get on your knees and slowly scan everything..there should still be blood even on a shoulder depending on poundage and head..look 15-20 yrds from where you think you hit her..
I shoulder hit one from the ground..bubbly blood every 50 yards or so..tracked it for over a mile through back yards and small wood lots..found it the next day eaten by yotes..
Good Luck
No blood? There’s always a few drops. Find them to confirm a hit. Maybe you missed.
I got these damn bushes that have red blots on them.. talk about a bitch.. went back over and over on hands and knees and I can't find shit. It was very early I hadn't even made it to the ground blind. She was 20 yards away and I keep replaying the shot in my head and it looked a tad bit high to the left. But for sure looked like a deadly shot. Could hear he run off and sounded like she crashed it was so loud. Had my buddy come help for three hrs and neither of us could come up with anything. Eventually we did bump a doe which could of been her but didn't see no arrow sticking out. I have the strobing nocturnals so I think I would of found it or seen it in her.. let's try this again..
O no o didn't miss.. I clearly seen the arrow hit her and seen her run off with it in her.. never found it
If you heard a loud crash ,there must be busted branches or sumthing she ran into, go to that spot sumthing must be disturbed there.
If u jumped one go look for the bed
I did v.. I went to where I seen her and searched the whole are for blood with no results
If shot is high it takes a while to hit the ground & if arrows still in her it will plug the hole & may not bleed out all internal. check wet areas muddy spots,creek's sooner or latter shes gonna break off that arrow if she still alive... Maybe try a search as the woods get darker this evening for that lighted nock in the direction u think she went??? Bring ur bow!
Go to where you think you heard her crash, there you'll probably find the arrow, or close to it...there should also be blood somewhere there..from that spot back up a little the ground will tell you where to go..broken branches,laying grass,turned leaves..touch everything with red on it..with all this green the blood should stand out...if you think its tough now with red leaves what are you gonna do in Nov!!
Wondering if the hit was in the sorry for your luck area above lungs . Hit one there last year he ran off arrow sticking out killed him 4 weeks later with a nasty hole just starting to heal over
Tell your wife you want a tactacam for xmass that way you can replay the shot it helps a lot !
Or wait for a better shot..that helps a lot too...lol
Arm Chair quarterback, I agree if you hit her there is blood somewhere. To find it may be impossible. Shoulder shot? Lack of penetration? What head do you shoot? If an expandable and the deer is shoulder shot I doubt you got enough penetration to get both lungs and may not of got one unless you shoot 80 plus pounds. Shawn
Shawn I do shoot a hybrid.. muzzy trocar hb. The arrow looked like it had good penetration. I shoot 70 lbs to.. IDK.. I've been searching all day.. ready to call it . I couldn't of gotten a better shot.. 20 yards and completely broadside doesn't get better than that. Steve if I had gotten one it would of helped out a ton in this situation. Definitely need to work on the tracking skills
If this is what u got in that deer or somewhere on the ground u would b crazy not to go look for it at sunset... Hell if I get on my roof I think I could see it from here! If that deer was looking at u she might of dropped at ur release 2-3 inches... Pat had a good peice on here about that.
Yes swk that's what I shoot. The strobing red and green lighted knocks. I'm out hunting now so when it gets dark I'll take a look around
Yes indeedie, arm chair q b extrordenare..that be me. Everybody reading this is one,you put it out there.
You mentioned shoulder I'm going off of that.
Did you not read my little comparison. Bubbly blood, what's that tell you? I tracked that deer for 8 hrs and gave up cause the rain got to be too much. That was a live hunt 6 yrs ago at toyland. Shot with a 125 gr rage,Mathews sb ld at 70lbs ( actually if memory serves me that's when BBB started questioning back yard hunting ). I'm not proud to say I've lost my fair share of animals, but I DONT GIVE UP !!! I've lost pay looking and I don't stop until I find something. But enough about me.
Its 6:02 pm. You should be able to see your boogie nights nock by now,hell with all this canopy it should be been easy.
And if you don't find it I suggest you go back and PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE til your eyes bleed and you know your equipment damn good.
Notme, take a breather man.
Notme. Didn’t know Fred Bear was still alive. You seem to have all the answers. I’ve been bowhunting for forty years. Shit over a doe’s back about an hour ago. And I’ve killed 168 deer in my life. Shit happens. It’s called hunting for a reason not killing.
Notme is in his right to criticize or say what he wants ladies. It is a PUBLIC FORUM. Dont want your feeling hurt dont post. With that being said shawn this is a tough situation. I have had this happen. Once its dark check the spot you know she ran through with a very bright flashlight and try to pick up blood again. That spot where you heard the crashing is absolutely crucial in my opinionto look over again.. While also of course looking for that nocturnal. Goodluck! I hope you find her.
"Shit over a doe’s back about an hour ago." That must have take some serious practice to master that. LOL!
"Notme is in his right to criticize or say what he wants ladies. It is a PUBLIC FORUM. Dont want your feeling hurt dont post." Thanks for the advice! I guess that means I can say what I want to, like I did! Maybe take your own advice.
There's one reason and one reason only on why I'm busting them off on Shawn. Its in regards to a private message he sent me a couple of days ago, and because of what he said he shouldn't even have stepped foot in the woods.
I know my day will come and when it does I hope you guys come down hard on me. It'll make me a better hunter.
I'm a straight to the point guy so I apologize if my comments offended anybody.
Actually a shit over her back and shit my pants. Haha. I agree it’s a public forum but I just hope we help versus criticize. That’s all.
I just got out after walking in the dark for two hrs.. I even tried to climb some trees to get a better advantage point. I'll try back again tomorrow, that's all I can do is keep looking and looking.
Not me, sometimes we need the matter of fact straight up honesty, keeps us, well honest. Shawn, my take is this, she's either fine (for the most part), coyote bait or rotten away. I'd call off the search and focus on what might have happened, then correct it. As far as posting live hunts, your at the mercy of those on the other side. Good, bad and anything else that we can think of.
Your right soap and it was my stupidity for trying to share it. Not having a hunting buddy or anyone to hunt with I mistakenly use this as my outlet. Will not happen again. No one fucked up but me.. my bow. My arrow. My shot.. make that a bad one at that..
You are correct. Years ago we didn't have this sight to share our experiences, good or bad. I can't speak for all, but most likely we all have been in your shoes before. Certainly don't throw your hands up, listen and learn. I had a deer last year that I swear was broadside, it wasn't. Long story short, i ended up hitting the front shoulder, no recovery. Not proud, but hindsight is 20/20. It's my years of hunting (success and failure and that of others) that answered my questions to stop looking and realize the most realistic outcome.
Shawn it happens had it happen to me a few times. I remember when that happened to not me he was devastated over it. He gives a damn bud that’s why he said what he said he’s been there like the rest of us. I applaud ur effort and the fact u didn’t give up. To me there is never an easy shot because we r hunters with many obstacles In front of us to make it happen. Could have hit a bad spot could have deflected could have rushed it didn’t get anchored correctly etc etc learn from it it will make u a better hunter.
Shawn through the years I’ve killed a ton of deer with my bow, and some big ones along the way. It took me a lot of mistakes to get where I am today because I certainly tripped and fell along the way. We’ve all been there and we all got past it. I know you will learn from this and be better for it. Go back tomorrow and give it one more search. Then take what you learned here, figure it out and move forward. I have a smile on my face right now because you do remind me of someone I used to know. It will make you a better hunter!
Shawn, its a deer do your best but sorry no sense tramping all over your hunting spot and buggering stuff up. Nothing goes to waste in nature, if she is dead she will be used, if not she may survive. I may take a beating for this but let it go, you did more than a lot of folks would of. Shawn
One of the Shawns needs to change his handle. I keep thinking Shawn is talking to himself. Lol. Shawn, keep posting! Next time it’ll be a deer on the ground. Try not to make the same mistake twice... that’s my advice. GL
I agree, at first I thought it was the IPA's mixing up the signal
OK I'll try n make a new name.. I just got back and did an extensive search of the area where I hit her and where I heard the crash. Still no blood. At this point I have over ten hrs of searching and literally not one drop.. at this point I have to call it.. I gotta be real with myself.. I grabbed another cam and set it up in the area to see if I can catch her on it.. I hope she's still alive and I get another chance to finish the job. Literally a game of inches..
Shawn, I'll say this respectfully..
A couple of years ago, you hit a buck and it took a day or two to find it, and the meat was spoiled. Last year, you hit a buck, 2 inches of penetration, and didn't find it. Yesterday, you hit a doe and didn't find it.
There are 2 issues here..
1. Bring your bow to a reputable bow shop and have it tuned.
2. You need to improve your shooting.
Until both of these issues are corrected, there will be more deer that you hit and don't recover.
Good luck correcting them.
I’ll say this respectfully, nobody was there but Shawn. Sometimes chit happens and sometimes it comes in multiple events. You all maybe right sending criticism his way but by now I’m sure he’s been humbled enough and doesn’t need anyone else to point out his shortcomings. Only He knows if he’s been cutting corners. If he has I’m sure he’ll man up and make positive changes. Keep grinding Shawn. It’ll payoff in spades eventually
We all make mistakes, we all learn from them. It's a core part of the process. Unfortunately the best lessons a hunter can learn are from mistakes. We screw up, it makes a lasting impression, then we make darn sure we don't screw up again the same way. And so it goes until eventually we don't screw up too bad as often. Learn the lesson, move forward. Best of luck out there next time.
SHAWN years back I shot some deer in the shoulder no recovery then I started thinking so much about the shoulder I started hitting deer to far back with long tracking jobs I have learned to only take angling away shots, way more forgiving and a bigger target .I know nerves are big factor for you that's why they call it hunting . Hang in there .STEVE
Thanks for the wisdom Steve.. I truly appreciate it.. I think a lot of these guys forget this is only my third season and have had no real guidance.. yes buck fever does get the best of me.. I try to replay a list in my head before I shoot.. I'm also worried about trying not to hit the shoulder and shooting further back.. this is the 2ND time this has happened..it's so different shooting at a Rinehart target compared to a deer.. usually I'm aiming at a bulls eye or a circle.. I took the day off hunting yesterday and practiced all day and I'm shooting damn good.. but like I said that's a target..lol..
Shawn, Bummer to hear. Sucks, bad, to go through hitting one and not finding it. Ugh.
I dont know you beyond our "conversations" in the state forums for CT and MA, so I'm going on Steve's point. If you are getting super shaken up, I'd suggest working on the mental game. There are some great authors in this area, James Loehr, Jerry Lynch, Terry Orlick and others. A new book I've suggeted to a lot of folks due to how "easily" it's written, is this one: https://www.amazon.com/Brave-Athlete-Calm-Down-Occasion/dp/1937715736/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1537201811&sr=8-8&keywords=toughness+training+for+sports
Consider visualizing shot after shot. Dont just see it. Pretend you are there. Smell it. Hear the foot fall's of the deer. Feel the breeze in your face. draw a pretend bow. "Be there" in your mind, fully. Feel the excitement, feel your brain race, and feel yourself reframe and modify those emotions positively.
"Wholly chit I'm going to get a shot here", reframe to: "hold up, lets really enjoy this moment, and pick a hair" as an example.
If you have some shots that you look back on, or, really stressful moments in your life that you were able to tackle well - what was your mindset? your emotions? Can those be re-created? Could you sit in your tree, and think about THOSE occurrences? See a deer, rather than instantly go into "shoot" mode, reflect on those emotions and experiences for a moment. It helps remind you of the emotional state which will help you execute as well as possible.
Interm's of practice and tuning. Sure. Those can help. But tell you what. Want to learn how to handle shot stress (like shooting at game) better. Bet your spouse 10 bucks your first shot is 10 ring. Set your bow on the ground, release on your hand... Run 5'. Pick up your bow, spouse watching (or kid, or friend, whatever), you now have 15" (timed by friend) to shoot.
It sounds crazy, but if you have shot anxiety that's impacting you, getting a chance to practice when 1 shot means something and has consequence can be really valuable. I'd take 5 shots like that, vs 50 where you can calmly draw, hold, aim, no pressure, etc.
If anxiety at the shot is causing issues, you need chances to work through situations which cause anxiety to really figure out how to get better.
A good friend of mine got into 3d for that reason. he would get over excited on deer, and blow it. Started 3d so that every arrow created some of that same anxiousness (it was important towards his score), and for him, that helped.
For others it's stuff like I noted above.
Chin up, focus on what you can do to keep improving as a hunter (something we all need to constantly do) and move forward.
Good luck in the coming weeks!
Shawn try a new stabilizer like the one I have!
Ditto on the shot routine. I learned that during gun season when I started out hunting. Scope your eye, pull a trigger on safe and bruising a shoulder got me into trusting a routine pretty quick. I repeat this often when I’m on a stand just to remind my self. Professional “Operators” say, “slow is smooth, smooth is fast”. Slow down your focus and your shots will come in. Also “aim small, hit small”, as Will said, “pick a hair”, shoot a spot not the deer. I am also a relative newbie to bow and I have also had some rough shots and tough tracks. Hang in there, it’ll come together.
Keep an eye for the buzzards, they'll let you know if you hit it or not in another couple days. They seem to land in a tree that they can see the kill. Good luck lots more season left
Shawn, let me ask you a question. Do you always shoot the first deer in range?
I ask you because, you may need more practice on live deer. I usually shoot the first deer to show up. After that, I get more selective. But, I always draw on EVERY deer. Even if I don't intend to shoot, I draw, aim and control my breathing. That way, even if I don't shoot, I get practice on live deer. If you do this, you'll still get the adrenaline rush and learn to deal with it. Maybe you will benefit from this. Don't shoot your next two deer and just do this. It will make a difference next time you take a shot.
I will start busting your balls if you wound another one and learn to take criticism. You can learn more from a bad experience than a good one.
Happend to me a few years back had a buck duck string at 36 yds hit high in no mans land spent days looking then had him on camera a week later perfectly fine. If it was easy everyone would do it... live and learn
Therefore I no longer shoot over 30yds
"Until both of these issues are corrected, there will be more deer that you hit and don't recover" I contend that unless a person stops bowhunting altogether there will be more deer that you hit and don't recover. There are no guarantees in the woods.
Credit to you Shawn for being honest. I'm sure there are many on this site, even those who offer advise who have had many, likely more mistakes then you, just haven't said. The lessons learned best are those you make yourself.
