Darn snow covered my blood trail! thought on the shot?

[ohmyrod]

Was hunting in Jefferson County shot a doe right before dark and the shot looked good. The deer ran 40 yards into the field and stopped started twitching its tail and slowly walked into a fence row. I waited half and hour and by that time I could barely make out the blood trail from the arrow to where I last saw her. Figured since it was hopeless finding anymore blood Id just come back and walk the fence row in the morning. Last time a deer reacted like this it was dead 20yards from the last spot I saw em. What are your experiences with a shot reaction like this? I already lost one this year and dont want to repeat it!

[ohmyrod]

Nothin?

[exojam]

Unfortunately you may have to wait more than 45 minutes on a Saturday night for a reply from one of the knowledgeable folks.

What kind of blood trail did you get (from hit to lost area)?
Did you find the arrow and if so what kind of blood was on it?

Since you may not get an answer before first light I think it is safe to assume you will be heading out in the morning for a look. Based off of your own experience with a reaction like you had before, you could have a dead deer on yours hands and just need to find it.

Good luck!

[ohmyrod]

Good point just a little anxious lol. Blood was brighter red on the white vanes and looked pinkish and red but it could have been do to the snow mixed with it. No gut smell on the arrow and longer hair on the shaft.

[MOBIGBUCKS]

Sounds to me like you hit her a bit farther back than you think. Its good you backed out and waited. Stick to the fence in the morning but tracking might be hard with the snow.

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[ohmyrod]

Hope I didnt kick her up I did make noise when I looked a bit in the fence row it was thick ...

[MOBIGBUCKS]

Your probably fine if you waited awhile before getting down and looking. Just go slow in the morning. Good luck and let us know!

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[JoeRE]

Unfortunately the tail twitch doesn't mean much. Fatally hit deer do that, but other hit deer do it too. I have seen a couple marginally hit deer walk away flicking their tail and I am pretty sure live. One that I can think of was shot in the brisket, the other the shoulder with little penetration.

It is TOUGH to find a deer under snow - their hide insulates them so well snow just covers them up. I am not sure what to tell you other than good luck, get ready to grid search and look for snow covered lumps. If she didn't go far you should still find her.

[dan]

If I new I did not have liver or guts I would of tracked immediately in snow and kept her bleeding if not heading for private land borders... Since you let her go over night, all you can do is search in the direction she went. Sometimes you can still follow blood after a snow... It snowed on my blood trail last week and I could see it right thru the snow.

[redwhiteblue]

Get a compass and go to the last spot you know the deer was, mark the spot. If you can determine the direction the deer took off, take a heading in that direction, lets say it was at 180 degrees. Move in that direction and take a new 180 reading every 20 yards or so to make sure you haven't veered off course. Constantly be scanning left, right and center. Pace count yourself so you know about how far you've gone and keep going for about 200 yards. Take a reverse heading and head back to the beginning and take another reading at say 160 degrees and do it again. Return, take a 140 degree reading and do it again. Eventually, you will find the deer, assuming he dropped within 200 yards. Go farther out if you think it's necessary, but know the farther out you go, the farther apart your rays of travel will fan out from each other. If you're going much farther, adjust your degree headings down... say 10 degrees, etc.

If you don't have a pace count, it's pretty easy. For me, on flat land, my left foot hits the ground every four feet. 15 paces is 60 feet, or 20 yards, so a distance of around 200 yards would be 150 paces. Your pace count will vary, depending on the topography of the land you're pacing. Mud or deep sand can also throw off your pace. The farther you go, the more off your pace measurement will be. So a good thing to do is to know a couple longer distance pace counts. If you know of an area with exact yardage measured off (football field, shooting range, golf course, etc) take an exact pace count for 200 yards, 400 yards, etc. Having these memorized will greatly reduce the errors that can build up from multiplying shorter measurements.

If you're going a thousand yards or more and worried you'll lose count, get some Ranger beads. Or put 10 acorns/rocks in your right pocket. Every 200 yards, slide a bead down, or move 1 acorn from your left pocket to your right pocket. 5 acorns in your right pocket = 1000 yards.

[exojam]

Good point just a little anxious lol. Blood was brighter red on the white vanes and looked pinkish and red but it could have been do to the snow mixed with it. No gut smell on the arrow and longer hair on the shaft.

I would have been anxious myself, so I do not think anyone is faulting you for looking for some guidance.

Keep us updated with how things work out.

[ Post made via iPad ]

[MOBIGBUCKS]

any luck?

[exojam]

Nothin?

We are waiting for some good news.

[christian1]

I know I have been following

[whitetailassasin]

Yes...news please?

[ Post made via iPhone ]