Bow and arrow deer recovery survey
Connecticut
This is only for the 2014 deer hunting season.
Please take this survey. This is for my own data collection to use in the Sunday hunting effort. HSPCA claims wounding rates are as high as 50% but they use 1970's surveys. Please be truthful in your answers. I don’t want phony numbers.
Thanks
Over that last few years 20 deer all expired in 10 seconds or less lost three to ducking at shot just hair or minimal injury
Anybody cares to participate?
It is anonimous. I will not who you are unless you call them horny or you mention one evey 16 years.
Thanks
SURVEY CLOSED.
I got the 100 replies needed.
Thanks
oh man I wanted to take it again..lol
RESULTS: Of 100 hunters surveyed, 1 was only a fisherman and was disqualified for lying. You can't recover 30 if you only shot 3(might've been a typo).
Of the other 99,
230 deer were shot or 2.32 dee per hunter
214 of 230 or 93% were recovered
5 of 230 or 2.1% were not recovered
11 of 16* (edithed) or 4.7% were not recovered but believe they survived.
HSPCA in their testimony to the Connecticut Department of Environmental Commission had submitted a study conducted in the 1970s claiming deer wounding rate being as high as 50%. Can't find the study now but will soon.
According to this informal survey, wounding without recovery is as low as 2.1% but not higher than 6.8%.
as technology got better the ratios would change right..like no seat belts in the 70's vs now..so why are they useing 70's numbers
Best of luck to you and thanks for being a voice for those of us who don't speak out or as often.
None of the deer I shot this year recovered from their injuries
Most properly done studies show a recovery rate of 82-92%.
"The bowhunters in Andy’s study recovered 83 percent of the deer they hit (1,083 recovered out of 1,296 hit from 1989 to 2012"
Mine wasn't a study. It was a survey of 100 hunters on 2014 season ONLY.
Even thou it was a property done study, it involves 1989 numbers. HS mentions a study done when compund bows had just come to the market.
Things have changed since 1989.
Only problem I see with this survey. I think your more likely to get participation from hunters who don't miss, don't take unethical shots and don't wound deer!
One hunter said I didn't want his numbers because he didn't do to good. I told him to do it anyway because I wanted real numbers regardless of success. It's nothing scientific. just an informal survey.
From what I hear and read it seems like the actual recovery rate is lower then you think.
treeman
you're saying that most of the guys DON'T recover their deer based upon the comments on this site? I don't agree. I see far more live hunts and threads about successful hunts, but I would also say that's only human nature,.....to hide our mistakes.
The only other point to make is that I think the guys on this site take bow hunting as a serious activity, not to be taken lightly. They respect the animal and therefore take good shots and take recovery seriously, so we may be the "Special Forces" of the bow hunting community.
Bbb, i think the hunters on this site are very responsible and most do recover their animals. I talk to many bow hunters who loose deer every single year. I know some who loose more then they recover. They are probly not on this site and would not participate in a deer recovery survey! That was my point.
treeman,
you and I are on the same page. I don't know many bowhunters outside of this site, but I do know that most of the guys on the site are serious enough to be on a forum sharing knowledge and trying to learn more.
Maybe you (we) need to educate those guys on shot placement, coach them on shooting skills and teach them to blood trail.
Anyone losing more than they recover needs some serious help. Better hunters need to step up, and help.
If you can't or won't help them, Tell them to get in touch with me, I'll teach them to be a lot better than that.
Agreed crow, that improved technology and materials and education should continue to shrink the wounding loss rate. But I know a good few hunters. I have helped others follow up hits often. My experiences indicate that hit-losses are more common than that, even among good ethical hunters. If the slice of us who respond (assume truthfully) provide a hit-harvest rate of mid 90 percent, It proves only one thing: bias. Either hunters who hit and loose aren't responding (which would only be natural - who wants to get yelled at here) or people are editing the truth (which I doubt). String jumping deer, buck fever, unseen limbs in the way, Wind that wasn't calculated for, distance range estimation errors or the deer taking an unexpected step upon arrow release can cause anyone to make a poor hit. And that stuff happens way more often that 2-5% of the time.
I've taken several "NEW" hunters out and tried to teach them the way I hunt. I agree with Dr Deer that there are several variables to our sport and most young hunters don't know they exist. They think arrows won't deflect off a twig, or the wind won't effect flight, or that a moving deer is not a safe shot, etc.
When I first started hunting I would go out with one of my friends, and while I practiced nearly every day, he hardly ever shot. Luckily he never hit any deer he shot at, but I always wonder how many he has wounded and lost over the years since I lost touch with him.
In the last 10 years I've not recovered 3 deer I shot. Of those 3, 2 made it and one died but not recovered. That puts me at 10% wounded not recoverd but only 3.3% dead unrecoverd.
I'll do another survey to see how many people lie while answering surveys.
in the past 16 yrs I shot one deer and recovered it, so 100% recovery, 0% loss rate. :)
I shot three and recovered two last season, the one I didn't recover was a string jumper grazing wound on opening day that left a slight bloodtrail for a little ways. I still looked for two days to be certain that it had survived. I took the survey specifically because I had not recovered one and I wanted real unbiased data to be included in it. I may be the first bowsite armchair expert to admit that. I'm not ashamed of it, that's the reality of bow hunting and it eventually happens even to the best of us wether we admit to it or not.
I personally shot 3 does this year and didn't loose any. Had to shoot one a second time 2 hours after shot. Honestly thought it was a perfect lung shot but turned out angle was bad. Bow hunting is not easy and I have lost deer in the past. Worst feeling ever is making a bad hit and watching a deer walk away! I didn't participate because it was closed by the time I checked in. My only point was I thought the survey could be compromised because better hunters are more likely to participate. Most on this site seem responsible and dedicated!!
Ive lost two with the bow in past years, both shots too low.
I shot 1 this year, didn't recover, but saw it limping a day later, than ran off....I also shot 1 and recovered it....I didn't get to participate in study :-( you closed it too early.
Crow, Just wondering why u closed it after 100 replies? Wouldn't it be better info if u got 200, or even 300 replies? Would make the info more meaningful. I'm in the medical community and if I read a study with an n of 100, basically its most likely crap, not enough to draw good conclusions from. If u are looking to use this info for Sunday hunting effort it would be better to increase power of survey by increasing your n value. This is basic statistics.
No one with any knowledge about stats will take this survey seriously...just my 2 cents. :-) but good luck. Willing to help in anyway if u are looking to get real data to use, I have some ideas. I've published a few papers in my days.
100 sample is free. Anything over I had to pay. I didn't think I would get 100 participants so fast. I had no people in the ct board posting so I posted in the big game board. It took no time there.
