wait it out, always wait it out

[muddy]

Just got done helping a buddy recover a badly gut shot deer. It was pretty much all intestine but a small clip of the liver. He texted me at dark, we talked out the shot, and convinced him to wait till midnight morning to track. Without a pass thru I was a out 50/50 on recovery but like we thought at the bottom of the hill the deer blood trails visibly showed he started walking slow and stopping often. After 300 yards we started finding beds and I immediately said "he's done over this rise I bet." Sure enough we went 50 yards and there he lay. You could see at least a dozen beds where the buck would get up from the discomfort of the arrow in his guts and relocate positions. Just like when our guts hurt we can't do much but curl up and try to reposition as best as we can.

Anyway, moral of the story, ALWAYS wait overnight on a gut shot, sleep in, and give them plenty of time.



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[stash59]

Solid advice on a solid buck!!

[Crazinamatese]

Thats great advice, and congrats to both of you.

[Stanley]

You just can't push a gutter that is for sure. Great lesson for all.

[Southern Man]

Good call Muddy.

Great Buck, congrats to your friend

[U.P. MAN]

Advice doesn't get much more solid, especially after this trip!

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[HoosierG5]

Yup. If theres rain you still have a better chance to leave it over night. Just think of all the distance a wounded animal can cover...all the while laying down blood/hurt for predators to find. Most will bed down w/in 100-200 yards. And die there if left....

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[Canis Latrans]

But how is the meat now, on a gutshot deer that sat there for that many hours? I ask not to cause trouble, but because it is relevant to my situation.

[muddy]

But how is the meat now, on a gutshot deer that sat there for that many hours? I ask not to cause trouble, but because it is relevant to my situation.

It was green and he pitched it.

[ Post made via Android ]

[Canis Latrans]

What's the point of backing out to come back to green meat, with the animal having to be completely wasted? Seems like trying to get a second shot would be a better way to go? That's what I did with my first deer. I hit it a few inches too far back, and tried to get a second shot. It walked away so, due to conventional advice I pulled out until morning. Now I have questionable meat and wonder is I should have just tried to shoot it again.

[muddy]

Because in this instance he shot right before dark. You cannot legally carry a weapon while tracking.

Sneaking up on a bedded gut shot deer is incredibly difficult, good luck and let me know how it goes. 99%o of the time you're going to bump that deer off his fist bed and never regain the blood trail or the deer.

My goal when hunting is to regain the deer so letting them lay is what is smartest to do. If they're green then it's chalked up to needing to make a better shot. We have urban hunting in our area so if I NEEDED deer meat I'd have my name down on the call list at the PD.

It sucks to lose a deer, to coyotes, bad tracking choices, or exposure... but it happens

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