High Shot
Contributors to this thread:Whitetail Deer
From: BigBandit
15-Oct-18
I was hunting from a stand, roughly 15 feet. I shot a buck at 25 yards and hit him high about center of the chest. When I say high I mean about 2 to 3 inches below the spine. I gave him 4.5 hour's before tracking him. Went in last night and found a puddle of blood where he stood. It wasn't bright frothy pink blood, more of just what normal blood looks like. When I saw the shot I figured 1 lung given being in a tree. We tracked him last night for about 200 yard's and heard him get up so we backed out. I went back this morning and watched him get up in the same area we heard him last night. I could not find a bed with blood in it. I tracked him about 100 yard's and he went back the exact same way he came from. I lost blood and really do not want to push him out of the area given no blood trail. Any thoughts on what I might have hit, thoughts on if he will die or any other advice? I am really scratching my head on this one. Thank You.
From: patdel
15-Oct-18
I think you shot him through the backstraps. He will probably live, at least for a while.
Those deer are usually not recovered.
Hopefully, I am wrong, you caught one lung and you find him.
Good luck.
From: Franklin
15-Oct-18
Use a architectural scale and draw your set up and distance, remember to include if you were standing or sitting along with your stand height....then draw your animal and the angle of the shot. This will tell you what you might of hit and didn`t hit. "Pink frothy blood" would say you clipped a lung. Didn`t see if you said it was a pass thru or not....without a low exit the only blood would come from the high entry point. That would leave little blood.
From: WV Mountaineer
15-Oct-18
Backstrap hit. It’s impossible to shoot 2-3 inches below the spine at any angle and miss a lung if the wind age is good. If you’d hit a lung, he’d likely be dead by now or the blood sign would definitely show it.
I hate to be the bearer of bad news but, not having any emotional attachment makes it easy. I’m not being a wise guy either. But, you didn’t hit him like you say you did. Good luck and look until you find him or have exhausted all hopes of doing so. God Blesd
From: Medicinemann
15-Oct-18
A couple weeks ago, someone posted a photo of a deer standing broadside, with a grid superimposed over it. The object of the grid, is to accurately describe where the arrow hit the deer. See if you can find that grid, and then post where you think you hit it.
From: 1boonr
15-Oct-18
Very few people can say for sure where they hit a deer exactly, especially when it’s 25 yards away. My guess would be higher than you thought and definitely not below the spine. Most deer shot there will survive. You might be able to shoot him later.
From: SANDMAN
15-Oct-18
SANDMAN's Link
Sounds like you hit above the spine through the backstraps like mentioned above several times. Ive done it myself. Shot looked mildly high, but found no blood and the deer unbelievably showed back up a couple nights later. I could see "the spot" on the trail camera photo. Pats feature on sighting in low makes sense in these cases.
From: 12yards
15-Oct-18
If you hit him below the spine, I don't know how you could have not hit both lungs on a broadside deer.
From: KY EyeBow
15-Oct-18
Sounds like you have gotten good advise above. Most hits are higher than we think they are. I've shot more above the spine than I care to admit and sometimes they leave a fairly decent blood trail which will peter out eventually. Satisfy the ethical obligation we have to the animals we pursue, then go out hunting again soon. You may get a chance to shoot him again. I lost a doe a week ago due to a mechanical failure. It always sucks when you lose an animal but I do think more of them survive than what we think. Good luck.
From: BigBandit
15-Oct-18
It was not a complete pass through. I had about 12" of arrow that broke off in him. The broad head must be poking out of the other side though as he was bleeding from both sides. I do have to think I must have hit him higher than what I thought. What is the likely hood he will recover and stick around the area? He was a mature buck so obviously smarter than most.
From: Shawn
15-Oct-18
Agree with all of above. He will heal and be a bit wiser but he won't vacate the area. I have killed a few deer over the years that I had hit previously even from the same stand I had hit them from. Sorry but again he should be OK! Shawn
From: Kodiak
15-Oct-18
From: Kodiak
15-Oct-18
From: patdel
15-Oct-18
A friend shot one high last year. Very similar story.
A week, maybe 10 days later he shot him again out of the same tree. He was hit the first time through the backstraps.
It was a mid 150s mature buck. So, it can happen.
Hope it works out for you.
From: sdbowhunter
15-Oct-18
From: Duke
15-Oct-18
I’d second exactly to what Scoot stated above. The spine sits much lower than what many think. Tapped two up there back in the day when I was aiming center lung. -Both were just fine and back on their feet chasing does within a week.
From: GF
15-Oct-18
“If you hit him below the spine, I don't know how you could have not hit both lungs on a broadside deer.”
You can’t. Not unless you hit behind the diaphragm.
It IS possible to top the off lung if the angle is steep enough (BTDT verified), but hugely unlikely at 25 yards.
Sounds like you strapped him. Should be highly survivable...
From: 12yards
16-Oct-18
Here's a good pic I stole from somebody that shows how much room there is above the spine, especially right behind the shoulder.
From: Will
16-Oct-18
Ditto all the "backstrap" hit folks. WV nailed it to me. Stinks, but the deer should be just fine.
From: Kodiak
16-Oct-18
Great pic 12yards.
