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Bad shot

Ok I hope to get good answers and not bashed to bad but took my son to your great state for his first trip to KS. had a nice 10 pt. come to dek anyway took a step on release and hit guts or stomach all green on arrow tracked for 4 hrs. next day spots of blood 3 places where he stood with moore blood went 300 yds. So how long before dead any idea ? We are both sick.

I've seen one that lived about a week that was gut shot with a rifle. It probably depends on how much damage was done internally. Good luck and keep looking he's possibly holed up near water or in a thicket.

I'd say you have a 50/50 chance of finding the buck. Over the years, tracking my own gut shots and helping others......the amount of time they live can vary greatly before they become "septic" and die. You can search thick bedding areas and water sources if they fever. Sitting and listening late after sundown or early before sunrise for coyotes can give you possible clues. Ravens, magpies and certain birds may also give you a clue. Since it's been warm, zig-zagging into the wind and concentrating on any dead deer smells can be effective too. Good luck, but to be honest some bucks will make huge loops circling back into the same area and some seem to leave the area entirely on a bee-line and cover a lot country. Some deer researchers surmise that the "bee-line" behavior may be the bucks returning to their original birthplace as a fawn when they're hurt or under extreme duress.

One other longshot for Kansas would be waiting for a fresh snow and backtracking any coyote tracks in the area. The coyotes will often revisit old kill sites and sniff around when they're traveling through areas.

Good Luck

That's what I was hoping for but he went thur a big cedar thicket and by a pond out into open grass where we lost the trail. Never any place he beaded down.

Most gut shots are either dead or to weak to get up after 8-10 hours. It all depends on what is hit. Some can live 24 hours.

I hope you didn't start pushing him right away, although it sounds like you did. With all gut shots, back out and come back 8 hours later, trail slowly and quietly, and have a bow ready for a follow up shot.

I made the same shot 15 years ago. I found him in a brush pile 2 weeks later. There was nothing left but bones, yotes had cleaned him up good! Look real hard around blow downs or thick brush!!

No we did not push at all shot at 4pm and started looking next morning around 9am.

Look around any water source and watch for crows and buzzards. It's a terrible feeling but it happens. I feel it happens more with firearms because the usual reaction is "didn't fall down must have missed". A great learning opportunity for your son.

Paunch hit, hes dead, stay with it and you will find him. Use google earth, mark his last known path..general direction of travel..go from there..if you can, try to search for him with the working into the wind so you can smell him.

Had a buck hit in the shoulder and the guts live for 9 days, found him 10 yards from where I shot him at..... weird deal for sure but they are tough animals

12 hours on a gut hit. Low ones typically live longer than higher ones....the further back the better. Son hit one last week and we found three days later 900 yards away.Gave the buck 17 hours before taken up the trail.Buck stopped at 125 yds and musta saw my son go to arrow ( something I don't do anymore if I suspect a gut hit) and we never found a bed

Thanks for all the info guys we gave the deer 16 hrs. before we started tracking and found no beds looked until we had to come home 2 days later. Friends going back up to hunt around the 14 of Dec. and look while they are there. And yes my son learned a lot on this hunt that he wont forget. Thanks again to all

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