Discuss Bloodtrail Challenge 47
Whitetail Deer
Let the whining begin!!
Let the whining begin!!
Pat Lefemine's Link
Our first bloodtrail game for 2023 is from a December doe shot in Connecticut. This one is textbook.
As always, we look forward to reading all of your comments (sarcasm)!
Deer don't get killed in CT. I have followed enough live hunts from CT to know.
John they don't even do live hunts there anymore. A couple /few years ago everyone who set foot out the back door posted. Have not seen one in two years. We've seen more moose and polar bear recaps than CT deer hunts and that's called P-R-O-G-R-E-S-S. Now on to the hunt for the doe! Let the fun begin followed shortly thereafter by the whining.
JohnMC, I like you bud, but you're living in the past as Bou alluded to. I haven't seen a CT live hunt in years, so they continue to live on in your head I guess. The last live CT-like hunt I followed was your pronghorn hunt last year :)
I hate these things. They always suck me in though. I will always get the first 2-3 questions right and feel really proud of myself. Then there will be a question about blood splatter, or direction of travel, or I have to find the 1 square centimeter of picture that shows a deer in a 30 acre field, and I'll fail miserably.
These are stupid :)
There were acorns in CT this past year???
I think Bake just covered it for most of us!!! Buy hey, I'm sitting at 1 for 1 right now so I'm feeling good!!!
Yeah. If that was a CT doe, you’re already lying for the challenge :) ….there was “epic fail” on the acorn crop last year.
Rage just called - they want you to aim a little further back.
I also always like the question at the end: "How far did this deer run? 80 yards, 81 yards, 82 yards, or 83 yards?" :)
Question-4 sucks rocks....
I haven't seen it yet but I know it's going to.
My favorite part is that the "Discuss this bloodtrail" link takes you to BTC-45...
I’m such a bad bloodtrailer that I started on #47 and somehow ended up on #45.
I am convinced that there is a disconnect between what actually happened and the ideal situation. In the ideal situation the hunter shoots an un alarmed deer. His /her shot goes where intended. The deer expires in sight of the hunter. The hunter waits longer than he feels he needs then collects his deer. Funny how real life plays out.....
If you connect all the dots and imagine them in a 3D shape you get a pyramid. The Illuminati symbol is a pyramid...it's starting to make sense now!!!
Not going to be much blood in that fawn to follow
Aim under it, gonna drop when jumping the string.
Looks like one of my typical kills, 60 lbs and easy to drag out. Perfect!
I hope y’all got your tracking spiders….. #longliveTBM
Bring it ! Love me some blood trail challenges !
I already don’t like this game… that shot is the Uncle Ted special “right in the pump station”.
Always shoot when the head is up. ?
I'm calling BS! Right in the pump station X2
x3 on right in the pump station.
Well, that didn't last long...zero on question 2, sure looked like heartbshot to me.
Gotta love it when it’s extremely hard to tell exactly what happened - even when you can slow it down, freeze-frame, etc., let alone in real-time without video review - and all of the answers are written as if there was a clear outcome.
Part of the problem is that Pat has broken it all out into 8 “clues” for 8 steps, and there are so many more choices out there for your best next step than he can offer.
So you have to cut him some slack and yourself as well. And remember - he’s always writing the quiz already knowing how it turned out…
Well, in clue 1….the fawn was casually eating acorns……why would you hold low if the deer was unalarmed??
same here, 0, thought from the reaction of the deer that it dropped into the shot and was a heart shot...
I put it up on the computer, using my other log in ID "Fuzzy" and watched it carefully and froze frames. It looked like a low lung hit, possibly only one lung, so I chose "bad hit wait awhile". When that got me a 3 I cheated and logged on with this account "fuzzy" , from my smartphone. Since it obviously was too low for a heart or solid double lung I then chose the "bad it better sling another $20 arrow and pray" option for the 9 score.
By the looks of the video, Pat shot D instead of C meaning he got question one wrong .
Yet 96.4% of us got it right.
“By the looks of the video, Pat shot D instead of C meaning he got question one wrong . Yet 96.4% of us got it right.”
I got a laugh out of that myself. I was dithering over D because so many people advocate holding low, but I picked where I would have shot with my set-ups….
Looked good to me but I’m on a phone.
I played the video in slow motion and stopped it when the arrow hit the doe…….looked like a brisket shot to me.
I'm with the pump station guys, looked good with that mule kick.
Sure looks like a heart shot to me. 0 for that one.
So far I'm 100%, but I feel like complaining, because eventually (perhaps multiple times) these things cause me to feel like a moron. So, this better be a normal one and no tricky stuff Pat!
Oh the tricky is just getting started will. Wait till he asks what color socks he was wearing that day.
First ....I'm with Blood on that one. Why would you hold low in that situation?
Second....The way that deer ran off & sounded like it kept on running I don't think your getting another arrow into that deer. At least not from the stand. So I think "Bad shot hope for the best" is just as viable of an answer if not more so.
Not whining just my 2 cents.
Number 3 is laughable…… ever use a cut chart?? And, the fawn is now on full alert….. ;)
I’m with nomad …. All the running and bounding I heard there’s no way a ravin xbow is even reaching that deer again lol.
HOPE isn't a plan. I thought hope would be the answer to 2 as well, but if the deer did give another shot that was definitely the best answer. #3 seems as obvious to me as #1
Rocky, I quit shooting 3d and keeping score for the reason you mentioned. I found myself wanting to shoot animals in the best scoring spot rather than the best killing spot. Now, when I shoot 3d, I shoot for the spot I want to hit in a real life hunting scenario.
Steep downhill shot. Aim low. Sight still set on 20. Aim lower Deer for sure is gonna jump the string this time. Aim way lower. Yup - it’s a no brainer.
Well, WhattheFOC, it was obviously a no brainer……and I must not be using mine because I swagged wrong ! Big goose egg for no. 3…….:-)
A is way too high for a shot 40' above an alert deer . I personally wouldn't aim at any of these options. But c seemed like the best of bad choices. Ok done whining.
With a lot of you on #3. None of those are great aiming points. I’m aiming c height but a little more forward. That high and that close your probably hitting higher than your aiming especially under the circumstances.
The question was NOT “where would you hold your sight pin”; the question was “where would you AIM to hit?”
And on a downward angle, you really do want to enter high and exit low. That said, I would have held a bit lower and a bit more forward, most likely.
“ Now, when I shoot 3d, I shoot for the spot I want to hit in a real life hunting scenario.” Exactly. The scoring rings on 3D targets are generally pretty close if you can imagine them floating dead-center midline, right under the backbone. That’s all I ever care about, looking at scoring rings only when shooting on the level at almost perfectly broadside. So I score 10, 0 or -5 for a bad hit. Probably really ought to ding myself at least as many points as I give myself for a good one. And my definition of a “good” hit is one that I would be happy to follow up on, having taken the shot in the last half hour of legal light, taking into account the likelihood of 2 holes, height of exit, etc, given the conditions as presented that day.
Pat told everyone all the answers to the blood trail at CT dinner last night Ha Ha!
Drycreek - I got a zero on #3 as well. Overthinking it. Maybe fuzzy has an advantage when it comes to ‘no brainers’. :)
Steve, I got a zero and went to the dinner. Lol
The question says “what is your best shot” not where would you aim. All of the choices are bad for either question. I’m guessing that his second arrow enters one of those spots…..but none of them are good choices to aim or shoot with that info.
WhatheFOC everyone picks on the fat kid ;)
Fuzz, in 2023 we no longer marginalized fatties. You’re beautiful just the way you are … heck, you can be Victoria Secret model if you want.
Does anyone else think that Pat purposely aims in weird spots so he has more material to work with on these BTCs??
WTF, No, it seems that way because all my 40 yard recovery’s make crappy bloodtrail games so I don’t bother filming them. The best ones are the Sh$tshows like this one.
Steve he told everyone there at the CT dinner? Well that’s four people who know now I guess
Shitshow Challenge? We’ve all had em. :)
Well, I'm doing horrible now. LOL.
Nailed her on the followup. I'm sure Matt and Owl will be along shortly to say I'd have climbed down after the first shot and bludgeoned her with my bow. Lol
Question 2 really blows. I slowed it down as much as possible and even though it was low, with the mule kick it looked like a heart shot to me.
I made the mistake of watching the video to question 2 on my phone. Too small of a screen. Obviously didn't get a good look at location. Didn't make a good choice.
For question #4, the least you could do is tell what time it was when you took the second shot......whether it is late morning, early afternoon, or shortly before sunset.....or if bad weather is approaching.
Jake? I know you want 500 data points to analyze so I'll try and do better on the next question.
T-Roy, you really F'd up by telling me that. I am on a mission....
I'll settle for 499......(although time of day, and approaching weather are a long way from 500 data points....lol)
I watched the shot on my phone I thought it was a heart shot. 2for3
I watched the shot on my phone I thought it was a heart shot. 2for3
It’s still possible that #1 was a heart shot. We will see the arrow soon.
I too am 100%. For now . . . That will change I'm sure.
I'm a little worried about that second shot. Seemed high to me. Brisket shoot her first, then shoot her above the spine on the second? Sounds like something I would do :)
I feel anyone who got #2 right is cheating. Not enough evidence to support that deer stopping within 200 yards.
“ It’s still possible that #1 was a heart shot. We will see the arrow soon.”
That’d be unlikely, wouldn’t it, with her coming back around? She looked uncomfortable and a little sluggish, but not unsteady on her feet.
“ Haven’t missed one yet….”
Way to go, T-roy - now he’s on a vendetta…
On the 1st shot the video or the question never eluded to there being a follow up shot available, therefore I did not choose a follow up shot.
On the second shot the camera angle must have been from a lower vantage point, I chose C but I would have preferred a choice more forward.
I thought #2 was a no brainer. He didn't ask if we thought she'd come back. He asked for the "best answer", and the "best answer" is always to take another shot if possible, even if far or bad angle, etc.
Jee thanks T-Roy… now it’s gonna be harder for the rest of us ahahah
Ok. I got ya Pat, I was right in my assumption….now that I saw where hit the deer with your second shot, your arrow entered one of your choices for spots. The clue before has nothing to do with where you should aim or would like your arrow to impact. But hey, it’s your world, we just live here :)
I forgot Pat uses “corn blossom cologne” ensuring a second shot at the same deer was eminent.
Trying to determine if this game stinks or my intuition, i.e. figuring out Pat’s thinking, stinks.
Corax - unlikely is still possible. That mule kick makes me go hmmmm.
ANYTHING is possible except getting through one of these without questioning Pat’s motives on some of the questions… ;)
But there are heart-shots and there are shots that hit the heart. If Pat had sliced through the muscle wall and into a ventricle (would have to be, that low) then there would most likely be at least a steady drip which would probably have been visible at 15 yards… If he’d hit an atrium, it would have been all over by this time in the tale…
Not that I would have passed on the follow-up either way. A steady stream, probably just let her expire quietly….
So now we get to guess whether Pat is yanking our chains or if this one really did go straight to hell.
I was taught and believe that If I think I hit a deer and it is still in sight I will shoot at the best target picture I can get. A deer sliced with a broadhead may run like the wind or it might flinch and just stand there.
Corn blossom cologne hahahahahah
5 is done. Another no brainer.
Pat breaks his own rules on this one but his answer was the closest to what most of would actually do.
That 0 on question #2 is a real kick in the taint for my overall score. Looked like a heart shot to me even in slow mo.
Oh well, still fun to play along!
I suspect we're going to see the "other shoe" drop during the final phase of the challenge.
Supernaut - I believe Pats thinking on #2 is that once you have drawn blood, if the animal offers you a second shot … take it. Even if it’s a questionable shot - take it.
Sorry about your taint. Mine got bruised on #3 - overthinking it.
I'm with you green mountain, at least that was my method for years, to impatient. Over the last decade or so, I'm 65 now, unless I see or at least hear the deer crash, I wait a couple hours anyway. Maybe in the evening with rain forecasted.... but nearly always. I go back to the truck first; get rid of clothes, have a snack, get my dragging rope, get a pen and tags, all that stuff.
WTF, that makes sense.
Sorry about your taint as well.
Over thinking these always leads to my score's demise.
Yall need to wear your taint guards. Lol
Funny how we are now up to clue number five, and we still don’t know what time of day it is.
I always feel like I should be able to go up to the teacher and argue for partial credit with my answer is simply less aggressive and more wait-and-see than what Pat Says.
Because in real life there is basically never a penalty for being patient, whereas rushing things by only a few minutes can ruin your whole day. As Upstate said, that second shot looked like a good reason to head back to the vehicle and gather up the carcass recovery kit. Wouldn’t usually take 2 hours, but it would be a lot less soon than following the track then snd there…
Still waiting for the shit-show to begin. I’m not working this week, so here it is early afternoon with nothing stupid having happened yet today….
I was tainted on #2 as well. Although I had to look that up in the context you guys are using it. So at least I learned something from this challenge. I got 5 correct but only cause of the white hair. I still think shot 1 looked good and I thought shot 2 looked bad. Only watching videos on phone.
I assumed from video that Pat was using light up nocks, but doesn't look like it in clue 5.
He DID use light-up nocks for both shots. GREEN light-up nocks. And the arrow in Clue #5 has an un-lit, red/orange nock on it. Is that possible, or is Pat pulling a fast one on us?
Battery lit in flight then went dead on the ground. Brand new too. Last time I buy those Cabelas BlackOut lighted nocks. Pure junk.
Sorry to disappoint the QAnon guys on the site. No conspiracy here.
I thought shot-1 was a miss... I must be in the minority on that.
The one time I pick the option to wait longer before tracking….haha…..every time I pick the track now option I get it wrong so I played it safe and picked the wait two more hours….I was on a roll too….fun stuff!
OK, Pat, we’ll take your word for it… THIS TIME….. LOL
“ I thought shot-1 was a miss... I must be in the minority on that.”
Honestly, I couldn’t tell one way or the other, and that was with the re-play in hand.
But I never take a shot that I’m not sure about in the moment, and I would 100% have taken a follow-up on that animal just on the assumption that I had drawn blood, given any reasonable opportunity.
It would be interesting, though, if Pat would share what sign he found at the site of the first hit. I don’t know that it would change the way that the rest of this goes, but in reality, that’s information which the hunter would definitely have to draw upon for the rest of this scenario…
I’ve been out of town visiting in-laws and outlaws, so I’m playing catchup. Although I’ve muffed my chance at a perfect score already, the pressure is off. Unlike Troy, who is in for the taint kick. You know it’s coming big boy, just embrace the suck ! ;-)
I'm predicting one of the upcoming questions to be "What was hit in shot-1?"
It goes without saying that we would all take a followup shot when/if presented. However, the way she took off after shot-1 and ran out of the camera frame, I would have bet a lot of money no follow up shot was possible from the tree.
x
i thought shot one was miss as well
I got in a rush and didn’t stop and think what happened in question 4 and got a big ol 0 on 5 dam. Those really kill your score
I got in a rush and didn’t stop and think what happened in question 4 and got a big ol 0 on 5 dam. Those really kill your score
the white hair on the arrow proves him right to go in high with the steep angle
I’d sit still and wack another, it’s legal in Connecticut, plenty of light left, and I like Jerky
Fuzzy - you may think this is funny, but it taint.
WTF Everything is funny til the meds wear off
I wouldn't be surprised if shot one was a graze under the rib cage, so yeah, a miss. If I shot it I would be sure it was low heart :)
Blood splatter got me again. Every time. I really dislike them. Like, who doesn't know which way the deer is going after they shoot it and start tracking it? Does anyone really study the blood splatter to figure out which way the deer went? Bogus!
I sense there's going to be some moaning over 6.
I see plenty of blood spatter tails indicating another choice....dang it!
No wonder he's bald......he's really splitting hairs on #6......
Wow 6 is stupid. “Good blood and I know which way the deer ran after the shot, but here look at a 2 square yard area and tell me which way the blood splatter makes it look like the deer ran”…
Blood will drip and roll down the curved surfaces of leaves. I've always had an easier time using a longer stretch of blood trail to determine direction but these challenges are fun!
Blew it on the blood spatter. Should've pulled it up on the computer
I thought you used spiders to determine the direction of travel. The webs displace you know.
Ouch - my taint! I’ve never really paid attention to this spatter and direction of travel stuff. Is the direction really a big mystery?
LOL. I will live and die by my answers so that I don't end up with a $hit show like Pat had on his hands!
Damn, I'm usually pretty good with the blood splatter questions. Had the right answer initially but changed. A few drops fooled me with direction.
Is this the blood trail from his first shot or his second shot? ;)
I was waiting for the dreaded blood splatter question.
My aching taint.
Well, there went my perfect score!
“Is the direction really a big mystery?”
It’s good to study every trail where you DO know the direction in case you ever end up on a grid search or similar, so if you should happen upon some blood sign you can get the directional info. Trail like this, yes, seems silly (even though a lot of people have already missed it) but if you were to come across a single spatter, it can give you a sense of speed as well as direction, in the event that you can’t find a track.
Besides- it is definitely not the first time we’ve seen Pat turn the camera back toward whence he came… ;)
I reckon I'm tainted too now
Dang blood spatter... Thinking too much I guess. I know there's 2 holes in the deer, looks to me like the 2 bigger spots of blood are coming from each side with a bit of space in the middle, and there's spatter tails in ALL directions if you look hard enough...
Too much pressure associated with trying to be perfect all the time anyway, right?
Spatter on something like leaves is unreliable anyways. Back legs could easily move the leaves as they land. If spatter is on a log or tree much better. It's been minutes or hours since you shot, could be windy etc.
I’m with Apauls on the direction of the spatter and how it can mean nothing. If you take “c” and overlay that arrow….is it not perfectly inline with the spatter on the pic? “B” is too vertical and does not line up with the direction of the blood.
I’m with Apauls on the direction of the spatter and how it can mean nothing. If you take “c” and overlay that arrow….is it not perfectly inline with the spatter on the pic? “B” is too vertical and does not line up with the direction of the blood.
I see way more spatter "lines" angling down and right than straight down.
Slatter got me. It was all over the place.
Had spatter down to two choices. Picked wrong one. I suspect Pat did that on purpose. Or the deer crossed it's own trail leaving two different directional spatters.
I’m standing in splattered blood looking at a dead doe but apparently she went the other direction… sheesh
I definitely saw the angle as well. The heaviest part was in the middle but it definitely angled. Was 5of5 until that one too!
For all y’all bitching about the blood spatter, that’s why it’s called a CHALLENGE !
That said, damn your devious mind Pat !
lost my perfect score. LOL I guess i should have look at the placement of the arrow. What percentage of us pic C
Well! WTH! I think you split the deer in half and each half went different directions! Of course I picked the wrong direction.
Blood spatter was cake! Still think that first shot was heart.
On #6 it is just as important where you do not see blood in the picture.
“On #6 it is just as important where you do not see blood in the picture.”
Indeed.
I thought this one was telling…
Now I don’t feel so bad...I’m doing better than the guy who actually shot the deer and made the challenge ;)
Dammit! Ruined my perfect score with the spatter question. I went C
Don’t get too excited. I only answered 3 questions to test.
This spatter technique is especially useful when the deer runs away backwards.
Figured as much ! This looked to be the direction of travel too me. Maybe the wind was blowing !
All 9s so far. Sure to fail soon.
I can’t see how B was the correct answer. The deer must have been weaving by then cause she sure wasn’t going straight down that picture in that exact area
Still haven’t missed one!
LOL T-roy ! I don’t see your name on the list!
;-)
I got enough irritation from this kidney stone to deal with…..
Blood splatter always gets me
Troy, hope you get better soon. Agreed on the irritation. I think Pat’s using Dominion software.... #Rigged
Softball? That was a beach ball lol.
Softball, beachball, but at least no Pickleball :)
The majority of the blood splatter fingers clearly support D as the direction... that question was dirty!
I got 7 wrong lol, therefore I no longer like this game.
You guys are funny. I was robbed of 3 so far lol
Last question: "How far did this deer run? A: 100 yards, B: 102 yards, C: 104 yards, D: 1000 yards"
Bake - lmao!
Assuming nobody is bad enough at this game to guess D; 66% will still be getting that one wrong and subsequently retiring from bowhunting to play softball... shucks
It is obvious . She ran until a tree jumped in front of her. The question will be what organs were hit on the first shot.
Just when I thought I was gonna ace it, I failed the splatter and am ticked that the dad gum tree was crashed into and not sprayed. ARGH!
lol @ Pat on Q7. I was like, this is weird usually the questions get harder as you go along. Always playing mind games.
APauls, they never learn. The more bitching, the more head games. I have quite the evil streak!
#7:and I'm double-tainted. Lol
Tricky, thanks for a good blood challenge Pat.
Question 8 has me a bit confused with the answer choices. We're supposed to disregard the first arrow, but it looks like the answers include arrow 1 and arrow 2 choices... I picked my answer only on the 2nd arrow info in the options as instructed and got it right...
Good blood trail challenge! Aside from blood spatter, I got 'em all!
Got em all except a 3 on number 2…..
"Disregard first shot in your answer." Disregarded first shot in the answer and got it wrong because I didn't include brisket in the answer lol. I misread the final line about including both shots after reading the instruction to disregard the 1st shot lol.
Same here APauls. Saw disregard first shot and did just that in my answer…
I've been on the road for several days and missed this new one, so I ran through them pretty quick to catch up. I can accept the 0 on the blood spatter because its always just a total guess and usually staged for a person to guess wrong.
But number three stinks based on number two. So you have a relaxed, unaware deer and you purposely shoot low because it might jump the string. Then in number three you have a deer on high alert looking your direction and that one you purposely shoot high. And at that angle the drop is even more relevant. If the deer dropped three inches it would affectively be more like six inches with the geometry. And where did the white hairs come from on number two arrow?
You deserve Amish neighbors. May they be fruitful and flourish!
I managed to score a 9, but only because I 'fat fingered' the selection; should have scored a 3, BUT I'm not going to complain. Overall it was a good challenge, and not as devious as I would have expected.
I'd have been perfect if not for that dang splatter question :) Always fun. More fun to read all the responses :)
^^^ True Bake. Just never read them before you answer 'cause it won't help!
Pretty straight forward I whiffed on #2
Well hell, I had two goose eggs, but still managed third place in my state. (small control group :-) ) Screwed up on my last answer by mistaking skin for brisket, but I still wouldn’t have made a good score because I thought the shot probably hit the edge of the heart at that angle.
Good challenge Pat, ready for the next one !
“And where did the white hairs come from on number two arrow?”
Looks like they must’ve shaken loose from the first hit, because I sure don’t see any reason for them to have resulted from the second.
But that’s what he found, so that’s what he said he found. That seems Fair. At least he didn’t use that info as a red herring anywhere ;)
I may have benefited from getting to this later in the day, after Pat cleaned it up a bit.
Lucky for me, I didn’t allow myself to look at feedback on any of these questions before I plugged in my answers - the complaints are always enough to steer me wrong!
I’m just glad that the choices on the last one were what they were, because the blood on the ground near the exit on the first shot could easily have been used against us…
She must’ve hit that tree hard, though. Makes me wonder if he had to drag her out of the way to get that shot… LOL… looking at the carcass, looks like she drove her left shoulder into it, but the pic of the tree has hair on the left side of the trunk as if she’d passed on that side. But that assumes that the pic was taken from a position “upstream” in her line of travel, and we all know that Pat likes to work the trail 360°, just to keep us second-guessing ourselves.
Interesting. I consider the brisket the area in front of the front legs…..
I think Pat missed the tiny slice that was in the pumper.
As much as it pains me to state it, I have hunted with Pat on 9-10 separate occasions, and at the end of a day's hunt, he'd sit down in front of the TV (blasting FOX News, unless I got the remote first, and switched to football) and watched him put together a summary of the days events for the website to enjoy. It is no small task, and requires more time than most of us would probably expect. I am confident that the Bloodtrail challenges are similar, as far as time invested is concerned. Enough of the back patting.....the blood spatter question was the only question that HE got wrong.......
Question 8 has me a bit confused with the answer choices. We're supposed to disregard the first arrow, but it looks like the answers include arrow 1 and arrow 2 choices... I picked my answer only on the 2nd arrow info in the options as instructed and got it right...
Good blood trail challenge! Aside from blood spatter, I got 'em all!
I thought the brisket was arrow 1 and the lungs were arrow 2
“You found the doe. It died within 70 yards after the 2nd shot. You can see the first shot so include that shot when answering the last question: What section or organs were hit by the 1st and 2nd shot?”
I don’t recall exactly whether the question said to disregard the first shot when I FIRST answered or not; but I’m pretty sure that it did. But I’m also pretty sure that then it went on to say to include arrow #1 in the answer and of course all of the answers spoke to what #1 hit…. So I can’t say that I think even the original version was unfair..
At least the directions are nice and clear now. But maybe some of you guys are better at doing what you’re told than answering the question that was asked??
Sadly the blood splatter and the tree with blood on it got me. C still looks right to me for splatter and it appears to me that deer rubbed across the tree. I always enjoy these challenges but it can be a bit humbling. So can a deer trail with hardly any blood to follow. My best( easiest) was a mulie buck I hit in the heart. It sprayed across the sage like a hose. Came up the hill and as it opened up its might as well have been lit up with fluorescent lights. Nice job Pat.
I too call brisket in front of the legs, behind and low not so much.
There were TWO correct answers for number 7, as the deer DID rub blood off on the tree.
The holes from shot one are further back than I expected based on the video. Definitely not catching heart with that one.
I agree, always considered brisket in front.
“Definitely not catching heart with that one.”
Nope, but on the video at full speed, I honestly couldn’t have told you whether that first was just fine or a clean miss! But I figured it probably couldn’t have been a clean miss because this is a BLOOD TRAIL challenge ;)
Pat said this one was textbook, and it was. You guys that struggled need to either shoot more deer or pay closer attention after you shoot. :-)
I never get it wrong on my blood trails but I sure do here.. Fun for sure. Thanks Pat for taking the time to entertain so many.
"Bloodtrail 47, embrace the taint"
The splatter question was not "text book". If you take the time to count every drop, there are more going diagonal than straight down. Not knowing the answer ahead of time, even Pat would have gotten that one wrong. Number 2 was sketchy. Any deer not already tame from corn chowder would have been 300 yards away before getting a second arrow out of the quiver...
Other than that, it was indeed text book. I have been here since BTC-#3 and I enjoy all of them but, don't lie to us Pat and say "text book" if it's not. :)
Pats textbook is written in a different format
“ Any deer not already tame from corn chowder would have been 300 yards away before getting a second arrow out of the quiver...”
Baiting is illegal where I shot this deer. There was no corn or bait used on this hunt. This was a wild, young deer I shot for the freezer. Please get your facts straight before making assumptions that imply I’m violating game laws.
^ yep. It's a doe fawn fellas. They're not the brightest or most wary critters. And I've seen even mature deer do some wierd s@#! after the shot.
Here is one example. I missed a 2.5 year old whitetail buck with an inline muzzleloader. He was walking along a logging road parallel to my stand, maybe 80 yards out. At the shot he stopped and stood there looking around. Then he turned and calmly walked straight to my stand. He literally walked UNDER the stand platform. After he passed I performed the slowest, quietest, most painstaking blackpowder reload in history. Look it up it's in Guiness. (Kidding) And then i dropped him with a heart shot at 35 paces. No corn, no apples, no bullshit.
Ya fuzz, taint that the truth. I shot a 3 year old wt buck on an alfalfa field edge. Zipped him thru both lungs. The buck jumped forward 6 feet, looked around then went back to feeding. He was crunching his last mouthful of alfalfa salad (not corn chowder) when he started to wobble. He fell right beside the arrow that was driven 6” in the dirt. Think Pat could have made a btc out of that one? How far did the deer go? 50 yards, 75yards, 100 yards , or 3 feet?
A buddy of mine made a rookie mistake and got busted in his stand, deep in the woods in northern MN.
The buck flagged, ran off, and circled down-wind… about 20 yards and less than a minute later. Dressed out over #230. Pretty sure not a dumb fawn.
And I hit a younger doe - probably a 1.5 YO - over the spine at extreme close range, topping one lung. She went full-on Rodeo until both halves of the arrow had fallen to the ground and walked away pretty casually. That story ended with her circling back to offer a second shot at right around 20 yards.
A deer that doesn’t have an arrow in it and which isn’t being chased by anything has no reason to go charging into an area “out ahead” which it hasn’t scoped out for threats. It makes way more sense for them to head back in the direction whence they came - especially if they’re not feeling great and there’s some secure cover to bed down in.
Dammit, missed that last one too. 1st shot looked low enough to have just caught skin and I always assumed the "brisket" to be further up on the chest and the second shot looked high enough to have missed the on-side lung. Tricky,tricky. Was a fun one. Thanks Pat!
Re: xman's comment: the first buck I shot with my recurve was slightly quartering to me. I hit him back through the gut. He ran 15 yards left to right, staying in front of me. Second shot was a few yards closer than the first, taking out both lungs.
In 2021, I shot a 2.5 year old buck in the foreleg. He ran 20 and came back. 2nd shot missed low. He ran 20 and came back again. 3rd shot was at 4 yards, high right lung, low exit left lung. Sometimes deer do stupid things, and die. Hell, I missed the same doe 3x once. She lived.
Lungshot, I made the exact same mistake that you did. I thought the second would have clipped the heart. I’m glad a trail better than that in real life scenarios or I would have gone hungry several times……
"over the spine at extreme close range, topping one lung. "
Let me get this straight. You shot over the spine, and hit one lung?
XMan. lol. I was thinking the same darn thing. Lmfao.
Probably possible if the deer was essentially directly beneath you.
You folks questioning the "brisket". A brisket is in "front" - but it does run underneath the deer as well...the pic of the deer he used had the legs quite a bit forward on its side, than would normally see a deer standing, exposing some of the brisket. It was correct.
“ Let me get this straight. You shot over the spine, and hit one lung?”
Yep, sure did. As I said, “extreme close range”. If you don’t think that’s possible, then you’re showcasing YOUR ignorance, not mine.
"Probably possible if the deer was essentially directly beneath you."
I suppose but... wouldn't that be "beside the spine" instead of "over" it?
I would be curious to hear more specifics before saying it's possible or not.
Ah, Bowsite semantics ...lol
Love these discussions almost as much as the challenge itself. Thanks Pat for providing great content!
Love these discussions more than the challenge itself. Thanks Pat for providing great content to get a good nit-picking going.
Thanks for the fun Pat. I didn't do as well as would have liked but it is the challenge that makes it fun. Keep up the good work, please.
Nothing a deer can do surprises me anymore. I haven't "seen it all", but I've seen enough to know that they do crazy things that don't make sense to humans. Overall, this was a good challenge. Thanks for keeping at it Pat!
