Ever not recovered a deer?

[jrain904]

I had the misfortunate event of shooting what would have been my biggest buck and not being able to recover it on Friday. What a terrible feeling, so many different emotions all at once. I had united blood trackers come out with a dog and all. May visit the area later in the week to look for vultures. This is the first deer I haven't recovered.

This experience led to me wondering if its true that every archer will experience this at some point. Also whether or not deer that are not recovered usually make it or not.

[Kraftd]

I'm sure there are the odd anomalies that truly have never lost an animal, but I suspect it is very very rare for anyone who hunts for any reasonable period of time.

Where do you think you hit it? There is a fair bit of info out there that suggests more lost deer survive than people think, but obviously not always the case.

Either way, it sucks. If it doesn't gut you to think about, should probably rethink your priorities, imo. The emotions are just as strong or stronger when I think back to the couple I've lost than most of the ones I've killed.

[Abishai]

I have lost 1 muzzleloader deer and 2 bow bucks.

[Dewey]

I didn’t recover a buck I shot in 2017. It still bugs me every single day even though it was my first one in over 15 years. Unless it’s a extremely high percentage shot I’m not taking it. I will do anything I possibly can to avoid that from happening again. As a hunter there is no worse feeling. Not sure how some guys can shrug it off and just act like it never happened. It should bug you and most important teach you a lesson what NOT to do next time.

[bowfreak8]

I have lost several... Most came when I was younger and took foolish shots or got too nervous.

It happens to everyone who hunts no matter how good a shot you are. Just gotta try and learn from it.

[First Sit]

I've lost a few deer. I thinks it's hard not to if you hunt long enough despite trying your best. What we do with that experience is different from one hunter to the next but all of us should be analyzing what happened to avoid it moving forward. One big thing is paying attention to shot angles and understanding where your arrow is traveling through the vitals. I put a shot on a good buck a few years ago that was my own fault. Ended up being a one lung hit. Sometimes deer are angled slightly one way or the other despite looking perfectly broadside. Steep angles can also cause issues with 1 lung hits too.

[Grizzlyadam]

Shoot enough deer and eventually it will happen.

[Trout]

Lost a few when I was first starting out from poor shots caused by not picking a spot, and then not giving them enough time to expire before I started tracking. That went away until I ost the biggest buck of my life last year. He was veering away as he moved left to right and I was so focused on my shooting lane that I didnt realize he was almost 10yds further away by the time he got there. Happened really fast and had I realized how far he was, I would have waited for a closer shot but I pulled the trigger and shot him in the upper leg. He was spotted a couple times this summer, I guess he has a slight limp now. Hoping to redeem myself this fall.

[rfickes87]

i think more about the ones i didn't find than any of my successful hunts.

sucks.

always gave my best effort trying to retrieve them though.

[<DK>]

Shoot enough deer and eventually it will happen.

Yep x2, if youre going to chase them w a sharp stick - then its just going to happen. Keep your chin up! Its hard to not to feel gut wrenched... They are tough animals! Thats why everyone preaches the perfect shot, though it hardly happens that way. They can die from weird / odd shots and they can survive on ones you thought were money. A rut buck can run a LONG ways before dying w a well placed shot too.

Ill tell you the same thing someone else here told me -- youre in the game and youre on them! Keep it up and try to keep forward thinking.

[MrT]

I lost a doe this weekend. Could not find her. Pretty sure shes dead. It happens every now and then. Obviously not as detrimental as losing a big buck, but it's still unfortunate.

At the very least, remember that something out there will eat it.

[Hawthorne]

I have wounded and missed my share of bucks. Most of them have been on close shots. 10-15 yds. Very humbling

[IndyDawg]

I've been fortunate to not lose any hit deer. The problem was I had nasty buck fever growing up and had lots of clean misses. My marksmanship under pressure was flat terrible for someone who was always a good shot otherwise. I have gotten better with age and opportunity, but still haven't lost one that I actually hit.

[bowtarist]

I've lost a couple. The last one I lost was a big 8. I couldn't get a dog in there until 2 days after the shot. That situation caused me to get my own dog and train it up. If the dog didn't find the deer, there's a great chance the deer will live. Infection or something like that would be the only thing I would think that would kill it if it were to die. I get pictures back every year of deer we've tracked and not found. They'll show up on a trailcam somewhere within a few weeks or couple months. I know how bad it sucks to lose a deer and I feel that way even if I can't recover one for someone else. It's a hard thing to get over.

[Rsnyder]

Lost two does to gut shot. One couldn’t search next day saw vultures on her three days later when I got there again and one I pushed too early never seen a deer run as fast. Gut wrenching but get back in the saddle and learn from mistakes. These in probably 15 years of successful killings. Whoever said it before is correct. The emotional effects last longer on those than the high of a success