Longest tracking on double lung shot
Contributors to this thread:Whitetail Deer
From: 12yards
15-Nov-22
I had a very interesting tracking job on my SD buck this year. Pat would have been salivating at the bloodtrail challenge prospects. What is the longest track job you've been on for a double lung shot on a deer? I shot this buck with a Rocket Steelhead 125 which has a 1 1/4" cut diameter. The arrow passed through. Entrance was about half way back in the lungs, exit was toward the back of the lungs. Height was about half way up the body. How far do you think he went?
From: 12yards
15-Nov-22
The exit is behind my second arrow in the quiver.
From: Pat Lefemine
15-Nov-22
You’re right, would have made a great last question on a bloodtrail game!
I filmed a guy in Kansas double lung a 160 with a mechanical (can’t remember which brand). Penetration was terrible and we tracked that buck clear across a wheat field where we found him dead 40 yards from the CRP. We ranged it back to the trees and it was a little over 400 yards. Thankfully he just ran across the wheat field and we watched him the entire time.
Always was skeptical about mechanical heads and that experience didn’t help my skepticism.
Longest personally was probably 200 yards but I had just caught the last inch of the near lung .
Congrats on your buck!
From: Grey Ghost
15-Nov-22
12 yards? ;-)
Matt
From: Altitude Sickness
15-Nov-22
By the looks of the blood on his flank. He was cookin pretty good so my wild guess is 250 yds
From: 12yards
15-Nov-22
No Matt, 12 yards is how close I like them when I shoot.
From: fuzzy
15-Nov-22
120
From: fuzzy
15-Nov-22
120
From: Bou’bound
15-Nov-22
half mile
From: thedude
15-Nov-22
Had a doe with a solid double lung go 200 on my gps . A buck with a low double lung go 400. I know of one that was double lunged with a crossbow that didn’t die. It was shot in our camp during gun season with a healed over 3 blade hole in the “hollow zone”
From: bowyer45
15-Nov-22
More times than not 100-125 yds. Because they take off like fire with a perfect double lung and cover the distance in a few seconds., However on the angle shots one lung is still working enough that the distance gets allot longer. Let me say that especially with deer the ability to track is more important than the acracy of the archery within reason. deer are lost more from poor tracking than bad hits. Again in my opinion.
From: bentstick54
15-Nov-22
75 yards. Question for the dude. Where is the “hollow zone” in a double lung shot? Never heard of it before.
From: PECO2
15-Nov-22
Could be 40 yards, could be 300 yards, or anywhere in between, as per my experiences.
From: greg simon
15-Nov-22
683.215 yards. Deer are tough and sometimes they defy logic. They can go a ways dead on their feet. Nice buck!!!
From: Starfire
15-Nov-22
I had one go almost 400 yards. The shot was high and back even though it was still double lung there are less blood vessels back there. Thinking I might have been too far backed out and waited an hour and then checked the arrow. Not seeing any signs of gut shot I started tracking. After 100 yds I jumped her and backed out for another two hours. When I found her it was all lung and now guts. Only using a two blade zwickey but it left enough of a blood trail to easily follow.
From: goelk
15-Nov-22
over 400 yards
From: Patdel
15-Nov-22
Bentstick...i am assuming when he says hollow zone he means what some guys call the void.
I dont think it exists. They are shot above spine through the backstraps.
The wise and powerful TBM used to say the void was the space between the top of his back and the lowest hickory branch.
Anyway, you could probably find some old hollow zone/void threads if you look.
From: Patdel
15-Nov-22
I double lunged one with probably the most popular mechanical. Poor penetration. Found a few specks of blood right where he was standing at the shot that was it.
My friend found him 500+ yards away in a pasture a couple hours later, only because he saw a bunch of coyotes that were feasting on the hams scatter in his headlights driving out.
Deer was hit perfect. Very little damage to lungs and no bloodtrail.
First and last animal i shot at with that broadhead.
From: Bowfinatic
15-Nov-22
My buck this year was a double lung pass thru First lung middle back and 2nd lung in the very backend He made a dead sprint about 250 yards and expired
From: RK
15-Nov-22
2.1 miles
With a dog.
Long night. But successful Several at a mile through the the years
From: thedude
15-Nov-22
Bentstik, I put it in "_" because the void/hollow zone doesn't exist. Just happened to be a edge of the lung hit that somehow didn't collapse the lungs or hit the arteries
From: 12yards
15-Nov-22
Well, those of you that said over 400 yards are correct. According to OnX he went 442 yards. I was shocked. After the shot he took off like his butt was on fire but seeing where I hit him I was sure he would be down in 70-120 yards like so many deer I've shot before.
From: greg simon
15-Nov-22
683.215 yards. Deer are tough and sometimes they defy logic. They can go a ways dead in their feet. Nice buck!!!
From: 12yards
15-Nov-22
But when I got down and had a difficult time finding blood, I started getting concerned. Eventually I was just following trails through the narrow river bottom finding blood occasionally. Finally I got into some tall phragmites grass and found a good blood trail on the grass he straddled when he went through. Finally found him a quarter mile from the shot. It took me a solid hour to find him. He must have run the whole way as he was stiffening when I found him. I was amazed at how far he went.
From: Bearman
15-Nov-22
Ohh boy...
From: 12yards
15-Nov-22
Thank you guys!
From: Zbone
15-Nov-22
Double lunged a doe once standing broadside midway through the chest with Zwickey 2-blade and watched her spin and run full blast directly away blood gushing from both holes with broadhead end sticking a foot out the other side as she bore out of sight... I thought this is going to be a short blood trail... Well, 200 plus yards away, she ran straight up a steep strip pit wall and finally expired 15-20 yards over the top... Although it was pretty much a straight line, couldn't believe how far she ran before collapsing... After that experience went to 3-blade Snuffer type heads...
From: drycreek
15-Nov-22
I’ve never had one go over 60/70 yards, but a friend shot an antelope in Wyoming with an NAP Spitfire just about the same place as the OP’s buck. It ran a little over 300 yards, I ranged it from the dead goat back to the blind he shot it from. Dead as hell but he gave it a good run. Being Wyoming and wide open it wasn’t a track job. I’m just glad it wasn’t South Texas !
From: Duke
15-Nov-22
Amazing critters, but when you step back a little and consider that they can run about 30mph on full tilt it really isn’t all that crazy for one to make it 300 yards as that’s attainable in under 10 seconds.
From: 12yards
16-Nov-22
Duke, you are absolutely correct. My buck was carrying the mail after the shot, and if he kept that up for 20-25 seconds, he could easily make it a quarter mile before expiring.
From: 12yards
16-Nov-22
Also, if he's running, his strides are long which makes it more challenging to follow a blood trail. Assuming a good blood splatter when the deer hits the ground each time. Anyways, lots of curious thoughts on this one.
From: Grey Ghost
16-Nov-22
The one absolute that I've learned about bowhunting is there are no absolutes. I doubled lunged my buck last year and he went 7 yards, laid down, and took an hour to die.
Matt
From: scentman
16-Nov-22
Yep, you punctured his gas tank and he just kept goin till the carburetor was empty... I believe they don't perceive death, just keep on plugging till the end. The double lungs I tracked, usually 80 yds give or take.
From: APauls
16-Nov-22
The only generality I haven't seen broken is bears. A double lung archery bear never goes far. Rarely exceeds 40 yards. Anyone had that one go weird?
From: redquebec
16-Nov-22
50 to 60 yards, every time.
From: goelk
16-Nov-22
C0ngrats finding your deer
From: Beendare
16-Nov-22
The furthest I’ve tracked a legit double lung hit animal was about 70 yards
From: BowSniper
16-Nov-22
Apx 300 yds. Watched him the entire time across a wide open ag field. He ran, then walked, then staggered... then continued to walk. The most incredible strength and determination. Magnificent beast!
From: Aspen Ghost
16-Nov-22
Dude, tell your buddy that those crossbows sling an arrow so fast that the friction heat cauterizes the wound as it passes through.
From: Buckdeer
16-Nov-22
I think it's all on whether the lungs are inflated or deflated at the time the arrow asses through
From: luckychucky
16-Nov-22
If Onx says 442 yds what is the true distance he ran if you add in all the zigs and zags ?
From: Lee
16-Nov-22
My daughter shot a doe with a 250 gr. Black powder gun. Doe ran a tad over 600 yards and was floating dead in the lake the next morning! We jumped her about a 100 yards into the easy track - there was a lot of blood. I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t been the one tracking her. The shot was a tad lower than center and the bullet did expand. Go figure.
Lee
From: 12yards
16-Nov-22
Luckychucky, he did bow a little bit but it was a pretty straight line along a straight stretch of river bottom. I would guess no more than 460-470 yards. But it would be interesting to track his exact trail.
From: Cazador
16-Nov-22
I'm sorry to say I gutless everything, so I don't know what I actually hit and I never look. I never dig broadheads out either. I do recall a buck I shot a few years back that was exhaling hard all the way across the field and he ran at least 300 yds. Deer are just tough and make you pay for your mistakes.
From: Shuteye
16-Nov-22
Normally they go 25 to 50l yards but one time during a snow storm I had a double lung, pass through big doe make it about 200 yards. It was a perfect shot and both lungs hit. There was blood on both sides of the trail. Then I started seeing blood in the middle of the tracks and I knew the trailing was about over. She was blowing blood out of both sides and her nose/mouth. Easy dragging in the snow. They can be very tough sometimes.
From: Beendare
19-Nov-22
Dbl post
From: INDBowhunter2
19-Nov-22
Just double lunged buck Thursday evening. Ran the hardest I’ve seen a hit deer run. Thought arrow went thru chest. Blood trailed for about 120 yards and figured I didn’t see the impact correctly. Backed out and came back at 10 PM. Followed blood another 150-180 yards. Came to a beaver dam at a creek crossing and had blood partway across and just stopped. Crossed and looked for blood for an hour. Nothing. Went back Friday at 11 AM after some meetings at work. Looked on side of the creek we thought he crossed to for blood for another hour or so. Walked back out to sandbar where we thought he crossed to and happened to look upstream from the dam. Antler sticking out of the water 60 yards upstream of the dam. Buck jumped in and ran upstream and died in the creek. Luckily it was low enough part of the ribcage and antlers were sticking out of water. Best I can measure he went 307 yards without stopping. Holes in both lungs about 2/3 back from the front. Pretty incredible how tough that deer was.
From: Zbone
20-Nov-22
INDBowhunter2 - Seen your photos over on the meat pole, cool photos, nice buck...
30 mph = 44 fps, 307 yards x 3 = 970 feet, divided by 44 = 20.93 seconds.... Yep he lived about 21 seconds...8^)
From: INDBowhunter2
20-Nov-22
Zbone,
I bet you’re close but he was going a bit faster or lived a bit longer, because he crashed once and got up and kept going. I heard the crash and thought he would be there. But just a pile of leaves where he slid and blood all over a tree he crashed into and blood trail still going. This was around the 100 yard mark or so from shot location.
Really wonder how long he made it in reality. But probably somewhere in that 30 second range.
From: Zbone
20-Nov-22
A little math, 30 seconds x 30 mph is 1,320 feet, that's exactly a quarter mile...8^) So now we know, they don't travel much over a quarter mile...8^)))
From: ELKMAN
20-Nov-22
Congrats on your buck! They are amazing animals that never stop surprising me for sure... But seriously next time just shoot a Rage two blade and watch him drop! ;-) and I'm only half joking. _____ (this shouldn't start anything) LOL!
From: fuzzy
20-Nov-22
Ugh. Math! ;)
From: INDBowhunter2
20-Nov-22
Elkman,
I know you’re joking but it was a 2” Sevr. So results should’ve been pretty similar with rage.
From: bassmasterjk
20-Nov-22
OP, congrats on a great buck! Interesting, thought I'd see more responses with longer track jobs. Several years I shot a buck hitting both lungs. A big bodied rutted up 5 year old, was in mid November. Pass through with smaller profile fixed blade, Muzzy 4 blade. Entrance side was high lung, exit was lower lung, both entry and exit holes were within the lungs itself (hole juts didn't cut the edge of lung). Waited 45 minutes to go get my arrow, thinking the buck would almost be within sight or less than 100yrds dead, I started following blood. 2.5 hours later, and almost a mile traveled I see him knelt down still alive. Not sure if he could have got up and went further or not, he was obviously hurt bad, half kneeling, wheezing and coughing. I put another arrow in him from 60yrds away and was lucky to have hit the heart, he stumbled uphill 30 more yards and finally died. I was absolutely blown away how far he had went when i got up to him and saw what i thought about the shot placement. After gutting and inspecting the lungs confirmed both lungs were hit. I've since started using larger cutting expendables because of this experience. I've shot bucks in the same area, same angle, etc and they went 30-50 yrds and fell over dead with both smaller fixed and expendable heads. Some deer and scenarios are just different, it's amazing really.
From: Teeton
20-Nov-22
Years ago i hit a cow elk broadside. A little further back than I would of liked to. But was a double lung. Arrow made it through the offside rib cage with just about two or three inches sticking out. I trailed her about 200yds. If I remember right, blood was ok but a little spotty. I found her beded with her head up. I could see where I hit her with my binoculars. I think I waited about 2 or 3 minutes before her head went down. If pushed not sure how far she could have made it. I guess if I waited 10 or 15 minutes to pick up the trail, I would of said she ran 200yds and tipped over dead.
From: craigmcalvey
20-Nov-22
250 yards. 2 blade stinger through lungs of a doe about 2” higher than I intended. Watched her run the entire way into a ditch. Straight line. No blood due to high shot. Walked to the ditch and she was dead in the middle floating. Only one for me that went that far. Deer are amazingly tough creatures.
From: Corax_latrans
20-Nov-22
“I found her beded with her head up. I could see where I hit her with my binoculars. I think I waited about 2 or 3 minutes before her head went down. If pushed not sure how far she could have made it. I guess if I waited 10 or 15 minutes to pick up the trail, I would of said she ran 200yds and tipped over dead.”
I’ve bumped 3 animals from that first bed. Recovered all them, but in every case, it was a whole lot harder than it needed to be. On all 4 of us.
There’s a good reason that the advice has always been to give them 45 minutes or an hour. It’s one thing if you see them fall, but on 2 of them, nobody would expect the animal to have gotten very far. Really good blood sign. But only up to the first bed. Then… nothin’ but tracks.
Don’t need to do that again.
From: Mike Ukrainetz
21-Nov-22
Dull broadheads from Made in China steel causes this! They are dull right out of the package or after just cutting some hair on the entrance.
From: Shuteye
21-Nov-22
On the other hand, I once shot a doe and she jumped and then went back to eating acorns. I was getting ready for my second shot when she dropped. I thought I had missed but it was a perfect double lung shot. Complete pass through and between the ribs on both sides. Have had several not run and drop after jumping and looking around. When they start flicking their tail they are about to drop.
From: Will
21-Nov-22
Several years ago, I shot a doe, as high as you can hit the onside lung, scraped 2 blades off the Grimm Reaper WT special hitting the spine, then exited the deer about halfway down the off side lung. She went 436yds according to Onx tracking tool and lived at least 4-5 hours. I was AMAZED!
From: Mitch
21-Nov-22
I shot a buck a few years ago with a 2 blade rage 40ke or whatever it was called. Top of close lung and center of other lung. Went about 475 yards according to onX. I trailed it about 200 yards before backing out and giving it some time. Had my buddy with his dog come and pick up the trail. Took a few minutes and there he was. Looked like he died in stride with blood the entire way. You just never know.
From: Scott/IL
21-Nov-22
Tracked one for a friend a few weeks ago. It was a high double lung hit with a Sevr 2.0 on a good buck. According to the OnX it was 525 yards of sparse but not impossible to follow blood trail.
My Coues buck was a high double lunged with a NAP Killzone and it ran just over 300.
From: TonyBear
21-Nov-22
To answer the original question, a little over 800 yards in the snow.
I was in a stand overlooking a field, my hunting partner was on the ground in a old chicken coop he was using for a blind. Had about a 20 yd shot at a big doe, she was one of about 18-20 in the group.
I was several hundred yards away but could still see the shot unfold. That doe blasted out of the area only to drop within sight of my partner. He saw the other deer approach it and paw, stomp, nudge it to make it get up. This happened a few more times til they were out of sight. Unsure of the shot we waited til morning. We tracked it into a very brushy area and located several beds, all surrounded by multiple deer tracks. Well, the coyotes got one of the hams but we recovered the rest. Yeah double lung shot, the arrow had a complete pass-through and arrow on the ground, still sharp. 800 yards, mostly in the open but bedded down a bunch of times. Should have been dead in only a few minutes.
Never had that happen before or since, usually go down under 100 yards, most of the time under 50..
From: bowhunt
21-Nov-22
I shot a buck 5-6 years ago that still has me scratching my head. Hit it right on the crease of the shoulder mid body. At the most 1 inch high of absolute perfect. After waiting 20 minutes I took up the blood trail. The deer was pouring blood, very easy to follow. I shot it with a spitfire max, pretty sure that’s was the name.
After over 400 yards of following blood all over the the ground I spotted a deer about 80 yards away under a tree. He got up, and tried to walk off! His legs were shaking, and could barley walk. When he thought he was hidden and safe I snuck in and finished him off. I felt absolutely terrible it took the buck that long to die.
As stated above my 2 inch broadhead passed all the way through him no more than one inch above dead center of lungs.
Still can’t figure that one out.
From: TonyBear
22-Nov-22
Tough animals sometimes. I still recall the buck I shot three times at close range, he didn't move much until the final shot through his heart. Broadheads were about 1-2 inches of separation, each one full pass through. He was with a doe so had other things to think about.
From: ToomanybowsBob
22-Nov-22
A friend of mine once shot a deer with a 30.06. Broadside shot through both lungs. Good thing there was snow that day, because I tracked that deer over 400 yards. When I cleaned it out for him, while he went to get the deer cart, the lungs were like oatmeal.
Tough critters. TMBB
From: fuzzy
22-Nov-22
I once threw an axe through both lungs on a yearling doe. Tracked it all the way around the world, gave up and started back the way I came, met her coming through Alberquerqe on her second trip.
From: 12yards
23-Nov-22
I've got an update to my story that may or may not have had an impact on the distance my buck traveled. I took the kill arrow out of my quiver to clean it up the other day. Well, I noticed right away that my arrow insert had deep cuts in it. Seems I left the washer off of the broadhead when I screwed it on. So obviously my cutting diameter wasn't optimized after the hit. I'm guessing it was close to an inch diameter instead of 1 1/4". So I suppose that may have been a contributing factor.
From: Basil
23-Nov-22
Several years back I shot a nice doe absolutely perfect. She walked about 30 yds & stood there an eternity (probably 20 minutes) before she bedded down. Head up another 30 minutes before she died Entrance tight to shoulder exit low back lobe of opposite lung. Same fall shot a great buck. Same thing 3-4” behind shoulder low lung exit perfectly broadside. Two similar bucks were chasing a doe around me. After the shot he walked about 50 yards & stared at the other buck. Again 20 minutes before he coughed & laid down. Had me questioning my broadheads. In hindsight I can’t think of anything I would have done different.
From: Basil
23-Nov-22
A deer can cover a lot of ground in that time frame.
From: BOWUNTR
23-Nov-22
I clearly double lunged a buck and watched him sprint 500 yards across a cut bean field and dropped just inside the woods on the other side. I couldn't believe what I saw. Pass thru with a Muzzy MX3. I have a lot of respect for whitetails. Ed F
From: Rhody hunter
23-Nov-22
120 double lung and a slice across the heart. Was blown away how far she went
From: WhattheFOC
23-Nov-22
A mile and still going the next day … Not all ‘double lung shots’ are equal. When shot thru the thickest part of the lungs, where all the major plumbing is just over the heart - it’s over quick. But results get worse the further back you go. The animal I referred to above was a gemsbok. I clipped the very back top of both lungs - technically a DL, the bull was still on his feet the next morning.
I’d be interested to know how many of these full out death runs were pass thru Vs arrow still in critter.
From: Patdel
23-Nov-22
Whatthefoc...mine was not a pass thru. He ran off with most of the arrow hanging out. Punched both lungs, but didnt leave the chest cavity on the off side. Which in my mind is poor penetration. I like exit holes for blood trails.
