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Where was it hit?

My brother shot a buck Thursday night. He misjudged the range and the shot was low. He found the arrow and it was covered in fat. We took up the track Friday morning and found a bunch of fat on the trail. Some of it was cull fat and some was just big chunks. We followed a fairly easy to follow blood trail about 900 yards and ended up bumping the buck 15 hours after he shot it. After that we gave him a few more hours and went back on the trail. We found more fat but there was hardly any blood. We think fat plugged the exit hole. We then got together a few more people and grid searched the rest of the day but never found any more blood or the deer. Anyone know where he was hit? Thought maybe intestines but figured the arrow wouldve smelled like guts

Brisket is my guess. They carry quite a bit of fat near that tuft of hair. There are many blood vessels, but it almost always fizzles out, and is what I'd call non lethal. Of course it can get infected, and if he was pushed, you might get lucky to put him into shock. I helped a buddy track a deer hit in this spot. The next day, we tracked him for a mile, and were very lucky to find him chattering his teeth. I literally heard him. He was able to put another arrow in him, but it was almost 20 hours later. He was able to get on his feet, but got hung up in a big wild grapevine, which was his demise.

Alright that would make sense. Thanks Pete. Thought about brisket when he described the shot and arrow but after finding all the caul fat I figured maybe he hit the guts or intestines

I wasn't there, and could easily be wrong, but you described our scenario to the letter. We found him alive, and if it wasn't for a dry sandy creek bed he traveled, we wouldn't have been able to follow his tracks. No blood at this point (perhaps 3/4 mile into tracking). If I hadn't heard him chattering his teeth in shock, I'm not sure we would have even looked in that particular spot. Grid searching is all fine and dandy, but it is so incredibly easy to walk past a deer, and equally easy to bump one who's not bleeding, but exits his bed without a noise for you to hear. You literally haven't hunted long enough, if you can say you've never lost a deer. I've lost 2, but I have learned soooo much through my errors. Many many errors lol. Sorry for your brother. It's pretty disheartening.

I hit one low a few years ago and very similar scenario. I had ok blood for a while until it bedded. I bumped it 4 hours later out of the original bed. My buddy saw him 2 weeks later in the same area.

At least I'll let him know theres a chance it'll survive. Should make him feel a little better. Think we'll check for crows the next couple days to make sure

Sounds like a classic brisket hit. Fat on arrow & maybe on ground. Little blood. I've been on a trail like this, usually only chance of recovery is if you can get another arrow into the animal. Valuable learning lesson, add another arrow to your quiver full of experiences.

I agree with the brisket posts. Usually will kill them with a long track with rifle, however I’ve never seen it with a bow.

It's surprising how many animals survive hits you would think would be lethal. Moreso with a bow than a gun. My belief is if you don't find the animal, and the hit isn't in the guts, many times that animal will survive. It is amazing the broadheads I have found cutting up deer and hearing from others the broadheads found in deer that are perfectly healthy. Some heads have been there for years. Even many gun shot deer not found survive.

Live- Your comments reminded me of a video that I recently watched by John Eberhart who hunts Michigan. He commented that just about every buck he's taken in his career had one or more old wounds from a hunter.

when I helped out part time, years ago, processing deer, it was amazing, the amount of broadheads, found on a deer, shot during gun season. We could fill a bucket.

We havent had any luck watching for crows the last few days. He put out 2 trail cameras and isn't hunting unless he confirms the buck is alive. It's a big piece of public so not sure even if the deer is alive if he'll be on camera

I'm not burning a tag because I lost a deer. Tell him to look at it like atomic particles. The deer came from earth, was grown through earth, and will return to earth. It really is how it is. Whether the animal dies by our arrow, and is consumed by us, or dies in a marsh somewhere, and is consumed by animals, insects, and fungus, someone or something consumed it, and like all matter that cannot be added to, or taken from, it returns to earth. That might be deep, but it's simply perspective, and he shouldn't be so hard on himself. There is an obvious mathematical factor to contend with, whenever we do anything, and deer death through wounding is just another. It happens, and if it hasn't, you haven't hunted long enough. It's okay to feel remorse for a shot that didn't go as planned, but burning a tag isn't the way to get over it! The deer is likely alive, and could have very well moved on. Now that's just me.

If there was that much fat on the arrow, not much blood, I don't think anything vital was hit.

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