Need Opinions - How Long Should I Wait

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I hate to be "that guy" asking this question. Shot a super nice buck tonight. 100% broadside. No pass through. Could see the bright nocturnal and arrow sticking out when the deer ran. Using FMJs with 100 gr Grim Reapers. I can only guess how far the arrow was sticking out... guessing 12 to 18 inches.

He ran about 30 to 40 yrs to a thicket and started making a very low blow sound. It wasnt gurgling and it wasnt like a cough but maybe a low low blow. I've heard a thousand deer blow over the 35 years I've been hunting but never a blow that low sounding. He did it four to five times over maybe 5 minutes then one or two times about 5 minutes after that.

Here is what I'm confident of. 1. Didnt hit two lungs or a heart. If I had, the deer wouldnt have been making noise 5-10 min after the shot. 2. Didnt hit back far enough to hit the liver or guts for sure. So that leads me to believe that it hit the shoulder and penetrated one lung. That is the best and only guess I have.

Its supposed to be cold tonight. I'm thinking I should wait until in the morning to search.

What opinions do you guys have?



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scn

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It probably depends on how concerned you are about coyotes feeding on him tonight. Unfortunately, it happens.

With tonights temps, he will be fine in the morning if nothing messes with him, and, it probably be much easier to track him. Added to that is it would not be legal for you to have any weapon with you tonight to finish him off if somehow he wasn't dead.

A one-lunged deer can go a long ways if pushed. I'd probably wait.
 

Stykbow

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I agree with scn. Waiting till morning is your best bet. Good luck finding him.


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That's where I've been leaning too. Wait until morning. Quite hard to do though.

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THE DUKE":2cb6i1rg said:
Go with gut feeling, have u thought about a dog.
I have but dont have one. I'll be headed out after I grab a bite to eat at least to see if there's some blood or a broken arrow... or better yet, a flashing nocturnal near a dead deer.

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Update... you guys probably figured it out since no update this morning. My brother and his wife came out. We looked for three hours. No blood. No arrow. No deer. Makes me sick. Talk about something that will put you down. Wish I had better news. Thanks for all the help.

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catman529

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You may have hit the heart, the first deer I killed with my bow was a low heart shot and she was alive 2 hours later but very weak.

By the blowing sounds, I'm sure you hit at least one lung. If you hit heart, you almost certainly hit lung.

I would have gone and looked for that deer pretty quick. If it gets up and runs, the heart starts pumping and blood flowing, so it should bleed out faster. Depends on how much land you have to push the deer though. If not much land, I'd have left it a while.

Sounds like a dead deer to me but don't get your hopes up. Good luck


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catman529

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I just saw your update. Sorry to hear. It's possible for deer to survive a lung or heart shot that isn't perfect. It's also possible you hit the shoulder blades above the spine, often called no man's land. In which case the deer will be fine if it doesn't get infected.


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7mm08

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catman529":27s95k8d said:
I just saw your update. Sorry to hear. It's possible for deer to survive a lung or heart shot that isn't perfect. It's also possible you hit the shoulder blades above the spine, often called no man's land. In which case the deer will be fine if it doesn't get infected.


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Survive to run away and die but not survive. Any portion of that heart just nicked will bleed and cause TAMPONADE and will cause the deer to die from low blood pressure, low cardiac output , shock. Trust an old CV PA on this.
 

timberjack86

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Hate to disagree with you Dr but a buddy of mine killed a buck around 10 years ago that another buddy shot and nicked the heart. When he pulled the heart out had a scarred slice in the upper chamber. I saw it with my own eyes. I'm trying to see if he has any photos. I remember him taking them but that was along time ago.
 

catman529

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timberjack86":3r6h6bot said:
Hate to disagree with you Dr but a buddy of mine killed a buck around 10 years ago that another buddy shot and nicked the heart. When he pulled the heart out had a scarred slice in the upper chamber. I saw it with my own eyes. I'm trying to see if he has any photos. I remember him taking them but that was along time ago.
that, and one of our own members Gil had a doe survive a double lung shot with a Rage. She showed back up on camera with massive wounds and survived just fine. It's rare but it can happen.


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Specializedjon

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catman529":2fj9aj16 said:
timberjack86":2fj9aj16 said:
Hate to disagree with you Dr but a buddy of mine killed a buck around 10 years ago that another buddy shot and nicked the heart. When he pulled the heart out had a scarred slice in the upper chamber. I saw it with my own eyes. I'm trying to see if he has any photos. I remember him taking them but that was along time ago.
that, and one of our own members Gil had a doe survive a double lung shot with a Rage. She showed back up on camera with massive wounds and survived just fine. It's rare but it can happen.


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That would be my luck...I shoot a big buck with iron lungs and heart :pray: please no....

Good luck on the recovery. Can't wait to see your hands on him.
 

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catman529":5t0wadi9 said:
I just saw your update. Sorry to hear. It's possible for deer to survive a lung or heart shot that isn't perfect. It's also possible you hit the shoulder blades above the spine, often called no man's land. In which case the deer will be fine if it doesn't get infected.


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Feel pretty certain that it missed the heart. If I close my eyes and think about where that nocturnal was when the deer was running, it's possible the shot was high...definitely too high for the heart. Sure hope it survives.

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Bone Collector

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Back Home":nr24gl7v said:
catman529":nr24gl7v said:
I just saw your update. Sorry to hear. It's possible for deer to survive a lung or heart shot that isn't perfect. It's also possible you hit the shoulder blades above the spine, often called no man's land. In which case the deer will be fine if it doesn't get infected.


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Feel pretty certain that it missed the heart. If I close my eyes and think about where that nocturnal was when the deer was running, it's possible the shot was high...definitely too high for the heart. Sure hope it survives.

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well IMO if he does survive, he may not go far as he is injured. therefore you may get pics of him. Also keep an eye out for buzzards, they may lead you to him.
 

dsa5455

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Hate that you lost your deer. You did a good job of giving a mental picture of everything that happened after the shot. Experience does that I suppose. I tend to agree with you about the shoulder blade hit/one lung. Assuming the Reaper blade stayed in tact after the shoulder hit he may make it for a while. (Just a guess). I will say that he was in that spot for a reason and he may make his way back if he can. I have heard more than one hunter say they found their deer within 60-80 yards from the stand after the season. A good grid search had never found him but there he lays off a trail or next to a log ect. Maybe giving you some false hope here but that moment will be on your mind for a long time so you never know.
 

7mm08

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catman529":3lqx0784 said:
timberjack86":3lqx0784 said:
Hate to disagree with you Dr but a buddy of mine killed a buck around 10 years ago that another buddy shot and nicked the heart. When he pulled the heart out had a scarred slice in the upper chamber. I saw it with my own eyes. I'm trying to see if he has any photos. I remember him taking them but that was along time ago.
that, and one of our own members Gil had a doe survive a double lung shot with a Rage. She showed back up on camera with massive wounds and survived just fine. It's rare but it can happen.


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Guess I've seen too many DUDES stab and shot in the heart, Nick the heart and what goes on there. Too many needle holes from surgery that start to bleed and then at 0200 you are getting the call the patient is going back to surgery for repair it or their " crashing".
 

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