Have you ever recovered a single lung hit?

Discuss deer hunting tactics, Deer behavior. Post your Hunting Stories, Pictures, and Questions/Answers.
  • Advertisement

HB Store


Swedishbowhunter
500 Club
Posts: 821
Joined: Mon Apr 16, 2018 12:45 am
Location: South East Wisconsin hunts SE,SW, & Northcentral wi
Status: Offline

Re: Have you ever recovered a single lung hit?

Unread postby Swedishbowhunter » Tue Aug 27, 2019 2:26 am

Interesting reading here, i have recovered all but 1 deer that were single lunged. The one I did not recover was shot 2 weeks later during gun season. We had tracked him with excellent blood for 45 yards an hour after the shot. He jumped up and ran another 50 yards and piled up. We waited another 4 hours then crept in to where we could just see him pick his head up. We went back to the house, & an hour later it began pouring, we crept back out but could not see him in his bed, thinking he was dead we crept forward and saw him standing about 35 yards from the last bed, he took off never to be found til he was shot 2 weeks later. Looking back and reading this thread I would have just stayed on him right away. If he was that hurt that he could only run 40-50 yards at a time we might have been able to get him had we stayed on him. I have had several bucks that I thought were double lunged that turned out to be one lung hits that I was able to either get a second arrow in or finish with a knife. But there were all pursued an hour after the shot.


User avatar
Lockdown
Moderator
Posts: 9957
Joined: Fri Jul 18, 2014 4:16 pm
Location: MN
Status: Offline

Re: Have you ever recovered a single lung hit?

Unread postby Lockdown » Tue Aug 27, 2019 3:15 am

Whether or not a one lung hit deer dies within a reasonable time or not depends on what you hit for vessels. Lungs are very vascular toward the center/inside of the lung. On the outer portion, not so much. If you one lung it and clip a big vessel the deer dies from bleeding out and lack of oxygen to the brain, not from suffocation.

On the longer tracks, did it die from suffocation or bleeding out? That I don’t know. I’ve read writings from more than one “pro” that claim a one lung hit deer won’t die at all.

A one lung, liver, diaphragm and guts is a different scenario than a steep angle one lung shot. I did the steep angle thing on a doe in my SD days. Followed her over a mile and never found her. After the shot she took off then stopped and walked for a while. I could see the blood pouring out the bottom of her chest in a steady stream. Blood continued to get more sparse until it stopped completely.

Be careful on those steep shots. Better to let them get past you a bit so you can angle it up toward their heart. The major risk is no exit hole. Good luck finding blood with no exit and entry toward the top of their body.
User avatar
Ack
Posts: 3030
Joined: Wed Mar 10, 2010 6:52 pm
Location: Michigan
Status: Offline

Re: Have you ever recovered a single lung hit?

Unread postby Ack » Tue Aug 27, 2019 6:43 am

Lockdown wrote:Whether or not a one lung hit deer dies within a reasonable time or not depends on what you hit for vessels. Lungs are very vascular toward the center/inside of the lung. On the outer portion, not so much. If you one lung it and clip a big vessel the deer dies from bleeding out and lack of oxygen to the brain, not from suffocation.

On the longer tracks, did it die from suffocation or bleeding out? That I don’t know. I’ve read writings from more than one “pro” that claim a one lung hit deer won’t die at all.

A one lung, liver, diaphragm and guts is a different scenario than a steep angle one lung shot. I did the steep angle thing on a doe in my SD days. Followed her over a mile and never found her. After the shot she took off then stopped and walked for a while. I could see the blood pouring out the bottom of her chest in a steady stream. Blood continued to get more sparse until it stopped completely.

Be careful on those steep shots. Better to let them get past you a bit so you can angle it up toward their heart.The major risk is no exit hole. Good luck finding blood with no exit and entry toward the top of their body.


Exactly....mine was a careless steep angle shot that I shouldn't have taken. Learned a big lesson on that one.
hambone
500 Club
Posts: 523
Joined: Sun May 14, 2017 2:10 am
Location: Missouri
Status: Offline

Re: Have you ever recovered a single lung hit?

Unread postby hambone » Tue Aug 27, 2019 8:31 am

Back when I thought I had to hunt at nose bleed height I had it happen. The single lung hit has been the most dreaded shot I have made on a deer. I try to keep my sets 20 feet and under these days.
Primetime
Posts: 325
Joined: Sat Aug 06, 2016 8:37 am
Status: Offline

Re: Have you ever recovered a single lung hit?

Unread postby Primetime » Wed Aug 28, 2019 4:04 am

I have lost one and recovered one. Both were mature does. Both were quartering to at a more aggressive angle than I could tell from the stand. There was no blood trail for the one I recovered either. The one I lost I probably started tracking way to early than I should have so that was most likely my fault.
User avatar
elk yinzer
500 Club
Posts: 1229
Joined: Sat Jul 29, 2017 5:39 am
Location: Central PA
Status: Offline

Re: Have you ever recovered a single lung hit?

Unread postby elk yinzer » Wed Aug 28, 2019 4:40 am

Doe I shot last year, didn't realize she was quartering-to or she jumped the shot a bit. I hit center mass of the lung area, could see impact plain as day. Looked like the perfect shot and I thought it was dead broadside.

Got down an hour later, smelled guts on arrow. Red flag #1. Proceeded with extreme caution for about 20 yards, found sparse blood, red flag #2. Immediately backed out.

Returned about 5 hours later, jumped her 60 yards into the trail. Within 40 yards of where I had previously turned around. Couple more steps or careless walking and I probably would never recovered her. I was floored, thought for sure I'd find her long dead. I got within 10 feet of her before out eyes met and she jumped up. She was hurting bad and had a few beds around and inside this huge laurel bush.

Returned the next morning and immediately got to grid searching as I knew blood was a waste of time at that point. Found her about 50 yards farther. It was 20 some degrees overnight so that was an easy decision. Warmer weather I would have had to return that night and look or risk losing her. All the meat was fine but she was bloated and nasty to deal with from the guts. Nothing beats the gutless method in those scenarios. In 20 years of hunting it was my first gut shot.

I've shot 1 other doe and 2 adult bucks I can recall where I only caught one lung due to quartering angle, but watched all 3 go down in sight. Just caught different arteries in those cases. Not all lung hits are equal, depends a lot what you catch on your way through.

I'm always a proponent of waiting when the situation allows. I think the "keep them bleeding" myth is magnificently terrible advice.

Image
Here's the entry side. Exit was same height about 6 inches back, guts. Necropsy caught one lung pretty solid and barely clipped the other. Hit some liver and a lot of guts.
Treasurer, United Bowhunters of PA
https://ubofpa.org/membership-3
dan
Site Owner
Posts: 41590
Joined: Sat Feb 13, 2010 6:11 am
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HuntingBeast/?ref=bookmarks
Location: S.E. Wisconsin
Contact:
Status: Offline

Re: Have you ever recovered a single lung hit?

Unread postby dan » Wed Aug 28, 2019 5:07 am

The only times I ever recovered a 1 longer was when I got right down and pushed them. One i followed about a mile and 2 i killed later with as knife. And a couple in between. Every single one lung deer i ever waited before tracking was not found. Pretty sure i was the 1st one to talk about pushing one lungers and lots of people got on my case about it. If you search this site you will find some good really old threads about the subject going into detail.
User avatar
UntouchableNess
500 Club
Posts: 2070
Joined: Tue Aug 16, 2011 9:28 am
Location: Eastern Iowa
Status: Offline

Re: Have you ever recovered a single lung hit?

Unread postby UntouchableNess » Wed Aug 28, 2019 5:48 am

My 2017 archery buck was a one lunger. GREAT blood the first 15 yards, thought for sure I was going to walk up on him in under a 100 yards. Figured I'd share the experience with Julie, waited for her to drive out and pick up the trail. Trailed that buck back and forth across a creek, jumping him repeatedly. Enough drips of blood to stay on the trail, though we lost it a couple times and had to think like a deer and anticipate the path he probably took. He was hit early in the morning, it was noon before I got another arrow into him. I think pushing kept him bleeding and he was getting tired, distance between jumping him got shorter.
Redman232
Posts: 1251
Joined: Wed Aug 15, 2012 2:20 am
Location: NE Indiana
Status: Offline

Re: Have you ever recovered a single lung hit?

Unread postby Redman232 » Wed Aug 28, 2019 6:53 am

Recovered 1 and lost 1. Straight down on a doe, came out the middle of the brisket, somehow missed the heart. Saw here walk off down the ridge for 150 yds or so. Waiting 3 hrs or so, followed dime size drips of blood for about 300 yds and found her dead in a bed. Shot a buck in 2016, quartering to me a few inches behind the crease. Only got about 8" of penetration, backed out and came back in the morning. Lost blood after about 80 yards, was pretty sparse to begin with. Grid searched for 4 days and then walk the section a couple days, later that winter and never saw another sign of that deer, I can only assume the deer made it.


  • Advertisement

Return to “Deer Hunting”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 84 guests