A bad night tracking

[.243 Deer]

Goodluck in finding the buck !
Definitely consider reaching out to some dog trackers, most of them work for free and they are very helpful in finding deer.

 

[lafn96]

Good luck.

Look up the Tennessee Blood Trailing Network on Facebook if you need to get someone with a dog to help. They typically work for tips and/or a portion of the deer, if I understand it correctly.

Can put in your zip code here, and it will show you the closest trackers -

Find a Tracker - United Blood Trackers

All UBT members are eligible to be listed on the Find-A-Tracker map.A listing on the map does not represent The UBT’s endorsement of a tracker’s ability or business practices.Dog and handler teams will have varying levels of experience and training. OR Or, do a more general search by state...

www.unitedbloodtrackers.org

 

[mcbuck58]

Good luck

 

[KTS]

Good luck, sure hope you find him.

 

[Snake]

Hope you find him .

 

[mayberryrick]

Any update?

 

[TIGGREM2]

Spent a good part of the day looking for him unfortunately the trail went cold ! No blood at all ! Picture of half a crossbow bolt we found before we started to track him . Never had one explode the way it did ! It like it was just snapped in half ! I think he shot and hit a shoulder and the force broke it ? I dont know !

 

[TnKen]

Shoulder shot. Little penetration and a goo initial blood trail. I've tracked a few like that and never found them.

 

[Snake]

Hate it brother but we've all been there .

 

[.243 Deer]

Sounds like the deer ended up living (hopefully). Shoulder shots are tricky and deer are tough animals. I'm sorry that you couldn't recover him though. Here's a pic of a deer that survived a mostly perfect shot. Notice how the bone grew around the arrow shaft. Deer are crazy tough !

 

[Ladys man]

Sounds like the deer ended up living (hopefully). Shoulder shots are tricky and deer are tough animals. I'm sorry that you couldn't recover him though. Here's a pic of a deer that survived a mostly perfect shot. Notice how the bone grew around the arrow shaft. Deer are crazy tough !
View attachment 247413

That's insane, never seen anything like that

 

[cbhunter]

Sounds like the deer ended up living (hopefully). Shoulder shots are tricky and deer are tough animals. I'm sorry that you couldn't recover him though. Here's a pic of a deer that survived a mostly perfect shot. Notice how the bone grew around the arrow shaft. Deer are crazy tough !
View attachment 247413

My favorite broadheads too. They are amazing survivors

 

[BSK]

Deer are crazy tough !

Yes. They. Are.

 

[Lt.Dan]

Spent a good part of the day looking for him unfortunately the trail went cold ! No blood at all ! Picture of half a crossbow bolt we found before we started to track him . Never had one explode the way it did ! It like it was just snapped in half ! I think he shot and hit a shoulder and the force broke it ? I dont know !

It probably won't be the last deer he loses. Sorry it has happened. But he's not alone. Most of us bow hunters have lost one. Keeps a man awake at night. My guess is the same as others. The arrow looks broke off. Probably not a lot of penetration. I don't see any blood on the vanes. He will most likely live. I had one leave a solid blood trail for 300 yards. Then dry up and I never found that deer. Even had a dog look for it. It was a new to tracking dog, the tracker was confident in him. But he lost the trail.

 

[hitek7]

Most likely shoulder shot. Seen too many of those already this year. Back is much better than forward if you want to recover a deer.

 

[Ski]

Most likely shoulder shot. Seen too many of those already this year. Back is much better than forward if you want to recover a deer.

If there's anything I could stress on younger bow hunters, it's that right there. Stop aiming for the heart.