Feedback on Whitetail Shot

veres1210

FNG
Joined
Nov 10, 2024
Messages
4
Hello all,

New to this forum but looking for advice/thoughts. I hit my biggest whitetail ever last night and lost blood in the rain. The shot was 20 yards slightly quartering to from a 16ft tree stand. I'm shooting a Matthew's Halon 7 at 62 pounds with fixed 2 blade broadheads (Stingers). I've dropped a 6 bucks in the last 7 years with this setup and never had an issue, always double lunging them.

This most recent buck I hit right where I wanted to, midway up, right behind the shoulder. We lost blood in the rain and called in a thermal drone, to all our surprise, the buck was alive with the arrow still in him. The arrow looks to be right through both lungs and is buried up the fletching with the broadhead sticking out the other side. My fletching is orange.

I'll attach images but my question is will this deer die from this and how is he still alive after that shot?

Thank you
 

Attachments

  • DJI9520241(3).jpg
    DJI9520241(3).jpg
    203.3 KB · Views: 187
  • DJI9520241(1).jpg
    DJI9520241(1).jpg
    188.8 KB · Views: 185
  • DJI9520241(6).jpg
    DJI9520241(6).jpg
    332.3 KB · Views: 184
  • DJI9520241(4).jpg
    DJI9520241(4).jpg
    325.9 KB · Views: 183
  • DJI9520241(2).jpg
    DJI9520241(2).jpg
    188.8 KB · Views: 186

Rich M

WKR
Joined
Jun 14, 2017
Messages
5,551
Location
Orlando
He’s dead, just needs to die.

Give another 12 hours and sneak in. Hope nothing spooks him. If nothing spooks him he’ll die right there.
 
OP
V

veres1210

FNG
Joined
Nov 10, 2024
Messages
4
I have the drone pilot coming back tomorrow at 5am. At that point it will be roughly 36 hours since the shot. I appreciate all the feedback everyone. If we recover him I'll make sure to do an autopsy and see where exactly I hit. Thanks all!
 

gentleman4561

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Sep 18, 2022
Messages
115
Based on photos and added angle from a tree stand it looks like you maybe clipped a lung, but primarily a gut shot. I bet he will be dead in the AM if the coyotes don’t get to him sooner.
 

Wworker

FNG
Joined
Dec 17, 2017
Messages
49
Location
PA
I agree with the comments above.

The good news is you got that drone and located him right away without pushing him.

It's also a good reminder that our shots don't always hit where we think they did.

Good luck with the recovery.
 

PaHunter86

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Jan 2, 2021
Messages
124
Location
South Central Pa
I doubt if you walked right up to him that he would get up. I tracked one I hit in the guts 8hrs prior but he wouldn't get up. When I put another one in him from 5ft away he tried hard to get on his feet but couldn't.
 

Yoder

WKR
Joined
Jan 12, 2021
Messages
1,645
I agree with the gut shot. Only thing I would worry about is the legality of using the drone to finish off the deer. A Game Warden could see it as using a drone to hunt or some nonsense. Do what you gotta do and then it "just died".
 

mxgsfmdpx

WKR
Joined
Oct 22, 2019
Messages
5,789
Location
Outside
Deer can take over 2-3 days to die from sepsis from a broad head gut shot. Hopefully you caught some lung as well.

I’d recommend sneaking in and trying to kill him or see if he’s since passed.
 
OP
V

veres1210

FNG
Joined
Nov 10, 2024
Messages
4
We went out this morning and he's still alive. The arrow has shifted in him and he's looking really rough, tongue out, shaking when he take a breath, and legs not curled up to his body but awkwardly laying out. He moved a little bit downhill maybe 100 yards. Once involving a drone I can't legally go in and shoot him again until 24 hours after the drone spots him so I'm stuck in a weird spot right now. The drone pilot said he has an loose legal obligation to continue to check on the deer if he believes it will die. We're headed out again tonight to see if he finally expires.

It sucks to see the buck like this and it's likely I'm just going to end up with a shitty story and some antlers since I bet the meat is bad. It's making me reconsider my bow setup, arrows, and broadheads. Thanks for the responses and I'll keep everyone updated on what happens.
 

Attachments

  • 9130760303108620228.png
    9130760303108620228.png
    1.3 MB · Views: 95

Tod osier

WKR
Joined
Sep 11, 2015
Messages
1,698
Location
Fairfield County, CT Sublette County, WY
We went out this morning and he's still alive. The arrow has shifted in him and he's looking really rough, tongue out, shaking when he take a breath, and legs not curled up to his body but awkwardly laying out. He moved a little bit downhill maybe 100 yards. Once involving a drone I can't legally go in and shoot him again until 24 hours after the drone spots him so I'm stuck in a weird spot right now. The drone pilot said he has an loose legal obligation to continue to check on the deer if he believes it will die. We're headed out again tonight to see if he finally expires.

It sucks to see the buck like this and it's likely I'm just going to end up with a shitty story and some antlers since I bet the meat is bad. It's making me reconsider my bow setup, arrows, and broadheads. Thanks for the responses and I'll keep everyone updated on what happens.

Maybe it is just me, but in the last photo it looks like paunch hanging out (under the green text, rimmed by white belly hair), like your broadhead split its belly skin open and paunch is hanging out.

Arrow also looks like it is pointing very strongly to the rear. I wonder why it didn't pass through. I'd think it seems like it must of hit some bone, like entered at or behind the ribs and hit the off side rear leg bone.

Sucks, sorry to hear it, I've made my share of bad hits.
 
Last edited:

CMF

WKR
Joined
May 8, 2019
Messages
881
Location
Mississippi
I wouldn’t worry about your set up. However, I would recommend hitting them in the lungs if you want the double lung shot to work.
Agree, It just didn't hit the spot.
I shot one quartering away once and hit too far forward, mainly front shoulder. Put dogs on him, ran him a mile and dogs came back. Handler said he ain't dead. A youth hunter shot him a few weeks later. Still had a pretty nasty wound in that front shoulder.
Hope you get him.
 

S-3 ranch

WKR
Joined
Jan 18, 2022
Messages
1,112
Location
Texas / Hillcounrty
Agree, It just didn't hit the spot.
I shot one quartering away once and hit too far forward, mainly front shoulder. Put dogs on him, ran him a mile and dogs came back. Handler said he ain't dead. A youth hunter shot him a few weeks later. Still had a pretty nasty wound in that front shoulder.
Hope you get him.
My neighbor shot a monster buck with a bow , asked me if he could have the dog handler find him, handler said his dog couldn’t find him
Two weeks later I saw him close to a stock lake , a 180gr .300wm killed him
Arrow was still inside him
 
Top