I've shown this before but this thread seems appropriate to show again. This buck had been shot twice before with a bow, had a broadhead encapsulated in one of his shoulders, and had the tip of another buck's antler tip embedded in his skull plate. And he was alive & well & moving spry.
Here he is at a scrape and you can see the huge scar from the entry wound of a previous archery shot. He toted that scar for at least two years before I killed him.
Here's the exit wound from same shot. It was healed up & calloused but not closed. I could put my finger in and touch the membrane covering his ribs. The exit wound was a round hole but the entry wound had scarred closed and showed two offset blades that look like those newer double bevel heads. Regardless that arrow passed all the way through and had to have hit both lungs. No idea how it missed his heart. But it's one clear example that even the perfect shot doesn't necessarily guarantee a dead deer. That's a double lung through the shoulder out the other side pass through. Imagine how that hunter felt after tracking what had to be an incredible blood trail and not finding a dead buck at the end of it.
If that wasn't enough I found this head and few inches of arrow lodged/encapsulated high in the same shoulder as the exit wound from the other shot. It was much older but it's almost exactly the same scenario as OP's buck. He survived it just fine and went on with life as if nothing was wrong.
And last & probably least was this broken antler tip the taxidermist & I found as he was taking the hide off his skull. Another buck's antler broke off in this buck's skull and it healed over. Poor fellow had a rough existence.
Here's a clearer pic I took with my phone of that entry wound scar as he lie dead after I shot him. The lesson I took from this deer was that it doesn't matter how awesome you think your set-up is or shooting skills are. The deer doesn't have to die for you. Anybody who archery hunts enough, especially hunts adult bucks, will experience failure regardless of how bad@$$ you think your equipment is. This buck humbled two hunters before me, and other bucks have humbled me. It sucks wounding an animal and the worst thing we can do criticize the hunter's choices because at some point that shoe will inevitably be on our own feet. Sometimes it's possible to do everything right and still get bad results.
Here he is at a scrape and you can see the huge scar from the entry wound of a previous archery shot. He toted that scar for at least two years before I killed him.
Here's the exit wound from same shot. It was healed up & calloused but not closed. I could put my finger in and touch the membrane covering his ribs. The exit wound was a round hole but the entry wound had scarred closed and showed two offset blades that look like those newer double bevel heads. Regardless that arrow passed all the way through and had to have hit both lungs. No idea how it missed his heart. But it's one clear example that even the perfect shot doesn't necessarily guarantee a dead deer. That's a double lung through the shoulder out the other side pass through. Imagine how that hunter felt after tracking what had to be an incredible blood trail and not finding a dead buck at the end of it.
If that wasn't enough I found this head and few inches of arrow lodged/encapsulated high in the same shoulder as the exit wound from the other shot. It was much older but it's almost exactly the same scenario as OP's buck. He survived it just fine and went on with life as if nothing was wrong.
And last & probably least was this broken antler tip the taxidermist & I found as he was taking the hide off his skull. Another buck's antler broke off in this buck's skull and it healed over. Poor fellow had a rough existence.
Here's a clearer pic I took with my phone of that entry wound scar as he lie dead after I shot him. The lesson I took from this deer was that it doesn't matter how awesome you think your set-up is or shooting skills are. The deer doesn't have to die for you. Anybody who archery hunts enough, especially hunts adult bucks, will experience failure regardless of how bad@$$ you think your equipment is. This buck humbled two hunters before me, and other bucks have humbled me. It sucks wounding an animal and the worst thing we can do criticize the hunter's choices because at some point that shoe will inevitably be on our own feet. Sometimes it's possible to do everything right and still get bad results.
