Still alive after 24 hrs -- Die or not?

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Has anyone ever recovered a deer after jumping it up 24 hour later? Can a deer live that long with a gut shot? Makes me sick that - yet again - that I shoot a nice buck and lose it.

I shot the buck at 9am on Sunday. Jumped it up at 4pm that same day and then again the next morning (thinking it would be dead). I have no idea where I shot the deer but of course aimed for vitals. Both times after jumping it up, it left a faint blood trail. After the shot, he ran full speed with no clear sign of a broken leg (although as fast as he ran, I could have missed it).

After 30 years, one would think I'd be a better shot. On the range, with bow and gun, I'm dead on. But when there's two floopy ears on a big body, especially with antlers, I can't hit crap. I am totally soul crushed to lose this buck. I hope it lived.

 

[easy45]

If it lived that long with still enough power to run off full blast and not show signs of being weak then I would suspect that as long as it doesn't get a bad infection that it will live

 

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If it lived that long with still enough power to run off full blast and not show signs of being weak then I would suspect that as long as it doesn't get a bad infection that it will live

When we jumped it up, we never saw it. So, I'm not sure if it ran full blast at that point. I only know of it running that hard just after shooting it.

 

[Shed Hunter]

Bowriter should be able to give you good advise. I've personally never been in that situation, but I feel the deer will likely live after that long.

 

[ROVERBOY]

Yeah, there's a good chance if he's still alive after 24 hrs. and still getting around good that he may be ok. Deer are pretty tough. I killed a buck about 15 years ago that had been shot in the shoulder with a bullet from a sabot shot from a muzzleloader(it had no grooves in the jacket)and the buck looked fine when I shot him and was not limping or anything. The wound had pretty much healed over.

 

[Timber Ghost]

We dressed one Sat morn that had a 3 inch section of carbon arrow and a rage broadhead inside his chest stuck in the inside of his sternum. It had entered through his ribcage, and his heart was laying on top of it. It appeared to have been there for a couple of years. He was a big, tough boy.( dressed 165)

 

[TRIGGER]

We dressed one Sat morn that had a 3 inch section of carbon arrow and a rage broadhead inside his chest stuck in the inside of his sternum. It had entered through his ribcage, and his heart was laying on top of it. It appeared to have been there for a couple of years. He was a big, tough boy.( dressed 165)

No way it was a rage just can't be possible.

 

[jaybird62]

Shot a Hickman County buck a few years ago that caught a bullet the season before. He only grew one side of what had been a 10-point rack. That one side scored 70 1/8. The other side was a 10-inch spike. He got shot on a Monday and broke his shoulder, again, and was feeling good enough by Friday to work his scrape line. That was his unlucky day.

 

[HenryCohunter]

Haha

 

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thanks for the feedback. my guess is that I hit him in the brisket or maybe the leg. Even a gut shot should have put him down sooner than 24 hrs.

 

[Timber Ghost]

Shot a Hickman County buck a few years ago that caught a bullet the season before. He only grew one side of what had been a 10-point rack. That one side scored 70 1/8. The other side was a 10-inch spike. He got shot on a Monday and broke his shoulder, again, and was feeling good enough by Friday to work his scrape line. That was his unlucky day.

Yeah, this buck had a messed up rack. One side was a heavy 4pt, the other was a stubby 3pt, TWRA off said the arrow was what caused that. A bad injury to one side most always causes the opposite side antler to be messed up.