Shot one, NO BLOOD TRAIL?

[ratsnakeboogy]

Shot a doe yesterday with a slick trick, pass through both lungs and slice the top of the heart. The doe went 35 yards or so into a thicket and piled up. I found the arrow in the ground, but no blood trail what so ever, not a drop. When I field dressed her she was full of blood, but none left the body cavity. Darndest thing I've ever seen, the others I've shot with the slick trick pour the blood. Weird.

 

[JeepKuntry]

Weird things do happen. You should of had a good blood trail with a lung/heart shot. Shots to the top of the lung often have hardly any blood trail because it's all going into the chest cavity. But the good thing is she only went 35 yards and you recovered her!

 

[ratsnakeboogy]

Yeah it should have been good, the arrow entered about an inch above the midline on the right side and exited about heart height on the left side, but she didn't spill a drop. I've never seen that happen before.

 

[DWM]

I have seen that a few times. They bleed inside untill they fill up and die or a low exit wound lets it leak out.

 

[Radar]

I have had the same thing happen with many different broadheads . Deer can cover allot of ground in a few seconds and sometimes it may take 30-40 yards before blood will escape the chest cavity .
It's not the fault of the broadhead.

 

[ratsnakeboogy]

I have had the same thing happen with many different broadheads . Deer can cover allot of ground in a few seconds and sometimes it may take 30-40 yards before blood will escape the chest cavity .
It's not the fault of the broadhead.

Oh, I'm not blaming the broadhead, it did it's job great, I just usually find some blood within 10 yards or so. I think lung tissue clogged the holes or something. I always get a sinking feeling when I can't find blood, and start second guessing my shot.

 

[fishboy1]

I get a sinking feeling anytime a deer runs out of sight and I dont hear a big crash and a lot of kicking coming from one spot.

Done some hard tracking trying to find deer that didn't leave a blood trail or a poor one, even after a good shot.

One year, everybody I talked with was having blood trail problems. I suspect that whatever the deer were eating was making their blood clot faster/easier.

One doe I shot fell within sight. Good blood at the point of impact but NO blood trail. Entrance 1/2 way up and exit low on opposite side. Double lung and heart. When I field dressed 40 minutes later, the blood had clotted to the point that there was very little liquid blood. The chest cavity looked like it was filled with cherry jello.

 

[ratsnakeboogy]

This doe was all clotted up when I field dressed her. She didn't even have a pool of blood where she dropped and I let her sit for 30 minutes before I got out of the stand.

 

[BigCountry71]

Sometimes they take awhile to start to leave a blood trail. Thats why its alway good to mark the last spot you see the deer when it runs off.

To many folks think if they dont see blood right away they give up and go home. Not the case. I have seen them go for 60 yrd before a drop of blood has even hit the ground.

Congrats on the doe.

 

[Radar]

Sometimes they take awhile to start to leave a blood trail. Thats why its alway good to mark the last spot you see the deer when it runs off.

To many folks think if they dont see blood right away they give up and go home. Not the case. I have seen them go for 60 yrd before a drop of blood has even hit the ground.

Congrats on the doe.

Ditto , I will also take a compass reading from my treestand to the last place where I saw the deer . Many times I will walk directly to this spot to look for blood if I am certain the hit was good and I don't need to check the arrow for evidence of the hit.
Last year I walked up on two of the deer I shot that died just beyond the spot where I last saw them . No tracking needed .

 

[Hoss]

Sometimes they take awhile to start to leave a blood trail. Thats why its alway good to mark the last spot you see the deer when it runs off.

To many folks think if they dont see blood right away they give up and go home. Not the case. I have seen them go for 60 yrd before a drop of blood has even hit the ground.

Congrats on the doe.

Ditto , I will also take a compass reading from my treestand to the last place where I saw the deer . Many times I will walk directly to this spot to look for blood if I am certain the hit was good and I don't need to check the arrow for evidence of the hit.
Last year I walked up on two of the deer I shot that died just beyond the spot where I last saw them . No tracking needed .

Big Country and Radar are spot on here. Always follow up on every shot. You Never know. If you can't find the arrow assume your deer ran off with the arrow still in it. If you find your arrow and it shows any sign of a hit, keep looking.

Half way up the body of a deer is pretty high in the lungs and will take a while for the blood trail to make it to the ground. Of course that will also depend on the exit point. When shooting at game the exit is just as important as entry.

So congratulations on finding your doe. Way to go. :grin: Good luck on the rest of the season. When you get your next one always look at the path the arrow took internally and make a mental note on the type of bloodtrail, the length of the trail and general direction. Tha could prove invalulable on a future hunt.

 

[JayMc]

I don't know about ya'll, but I get really shaken up when I shoot a deer. I keep a roll of flagging in my pack for marking trails, etc (just make sure to tear it down afterwards). I have thrown the flagging roll from my stand to the spot the deer was standing before to mark it. It all looks different from the ground, especially in the early season.

 

[stik]

I don't know about ya'll, but I get really shaken up when I shoot a deer. I keep a roll of flagging in my pack for marking trails, etc (just make sure to tear it down afterwards). I have thrown the flagging roll from my stand to the spot the deer was standing before to mark it. It all looks different from the ground, especially in the early season.

if you'll use toilet paper instead of that flagging tape, it is biodegradable and you don't have to pick it up.