The misery of a lost deer.

[mporter012]

I only say this so people know that I'm not the kind of hunter that is just out there flinging ammo. I've never in my life shot at a running deer, I don't take long shots, i consider 250 to be my absolute max range, and in field, i've never shot past 200, and only that 2x (I'm newer to the west, mostly a whitetail hunter). And so in the 25 years hunting, I've never lost an animal, and I've never experienced what i did yesterday.

I put a long stock on a legal but small mulie buck in tough terrain, and unfortunately ended up spooking a doe, and in the process the buck spooked, but I gave a loud grunt and he stopped. Facing right, broadside, 165 yards, downhill. I got set up quick, shot, and dropped him, and he rolled backwards down the hill 3x, then i lost sight of him, and heard a crashing noise. Idk why but i had a bad feeling because i've seen video before where this happens, although i've personally never experienced it. Went down to recover deer, and after about 10 minutes looked up and saw him on top of a knob walk into some cover, and appeared to be limping/wounded (obviously). Couldn't get a shot. I gave him some time, circled way up this mountain in the direction he was headed, and ended up bumping him again, and then spent the next 6 hours looking for him, from 11am to dark. I called a guy with tracking dogs, and he basically said, prob high shoulder, and with no good blood, would be a miracle for the dogs to track.

Couple questions.

1. Assuming it's high shoulder, could he survive or is he likely doomed? I was looking a vital/skeleton diagrams, and it's anyone guess, but a true high should should hit lung, but a mid-should could just hit flesh/bone.
2. Should I notch my tag?
3. Was shooting .308 Barnes TSX copper 168 grain, feel like if this was a .300 win mag, I'd have a deer in hand. Am i wrong? I say this because I'm wonderful if the bullet hit the shoulder and just stuck there, no pass through.
4. What else could i do in the recovery, or do I just need to move on?

I feel horrible and sick about the situation. Thanks for the reading and let me know what you think

 

[HuntHarder]

1. Probably dead or will die
2. It is your call on whether to notch the tag or not. Some guys say yes, some say no.
3. Doubt a 300 results in a dead deer. Missing vitals is missing vitals
4. Continue hunting the area and maybe get lucky that he is chasing does.

Losing an animal is terrible. Monday morning quarterbacking it is part of the process. The problem is: it leaves you with even more unanswered questions and opinions. If you choose to keep hunting, stay in the same area and give your self every possible chance to find the buck you originally wounded. Good luck on your recovery

 

[mtwarden]

If you hunt long enough you're going to lose an animal, it sucks and it hurts, hurts bad.

I lost a bull three seasons ago, very little blood, but enough to track him in the snow. The blood was intermittent, but I still had his tracks to go by. Then it started to snow, not just a little, like a downpour of snow! Pretty soon his tracks were covered and I couldn't tell an old track from a new track. I starting making circles, ever slightly larger from the last known spot he was- hoping to catch a fresh track (or by a miracle a dead bull). This went until dark (he was shot at first light). The next day I went out again (the last day of the season) and spent the entire day making circles and then cross hashing the area- all to no avail.

It was painful to say the least.

No great advice, just can relate.

 

[3forks]

I’ve never personally lost an animal, but was with a buddy who lost one.

Our extensive search turned up nothing, but we assumed the animal would die or had died.

You‘ll have to make the call on whether to notch your tag or not. Personally, I would.

 

[GSPHUNTER]

I lost an Elk in 2017 and it still gives me nightmares. The only positive thing that could possibly come out it was the guide said he had dressed several Elk with bullets from pass hits and the animal had survived. Mine was a 275 yard off hand shot. We both thought I had a shoulder hit. The Elk went down but jumped up when the rest of the herd came out of the brush before I could get a second shot. She ran off with the herd, any blood trail there may have been was trampled in the mud by the running herd. Never saw them again.

 

[mporter012]

If you hunt long enough you're going to lose an animal, it sucks and it hurts, hurts bad.

I lost a bull three seasons ago, very little blood, but enough to track him in the snow. The blood was intermittent, but I still had his tracks to go by. Then it started to snow, not just a little, like a downpour of snow! Pretty soon his tracks were covered and I couldn't tell an old track from a new track. I starting making circles, ever slightly larger from the last known spot he was- hoping to catch a fresh track (or by a miracle a dead bull). This went until dark (he was shot at first light). The next day I went out again (the last day of the season) and spent the entire day making circles and then cross hashing the area- all to no avail.

It was painful to say the least.

No great advice, just can relate.

Thx for sharing man

 

[mporter012]

I lost an Elk in 2017 and it still gives me nightmares. The only positive thing that could possibly come out it was the guide said he had dressed several Elk with bullets from pass hits and the animal had survived. Mine was a 275 yard off hand shot. We both thought I had a shoulder hit. The Elk went down but jumped up when the rest of the herd came out of the brush before I could get a second shot. She ran off with the herd, any blood trail there may have been was trampled in the mud by the running herd. Never saw them again.

Yes, I think shoulder hits often result in what i saw yesterday, i.e. animal drops, then gets wits and heads off into the unknown, very little blood.

 

[mporter012]

1. Probably dead or will die
2. It is your call on whether to notch the tag or not. Some guys say yes, some say no.
3. Doubt a 300 results in a dead deer. Missing vitals is missing vitals
4. Continue hunting the area and maybe get lucky that he is chasing does.

Losing an animal is terrible. Monday morning quarterbacking it is part of the process. The problem is: it leaves you with even more unanswered questions and opinions. If you choose to keep hunting, stay in the same area and give your self every possible chance to find the buck you originally wounded. Good luck on your recovery

Thanks man, appreciate the thoughts.

 

[tater]

Ten years ago my Dad's wood stock broke and he made almost the identical shot that you described on a large late season whitetail buck (stock split apart at the wrist). Just like yours it dropped at the shot, rolled and ten seconds later got up and ran off.

We tracked it for four hours that day and then i went back the next day and spent nine hours on it. If a bullet clips a spinal process at the top it will briefly disrupt the CNS, but after the brief disruption they regain mobility and run. A true high shoulder shot on an animal with a well constructed bullet is a "dead right there" deal as it breaks the back in addition to smashing the shoulder blade.

Unless he develops an infection, he will survive, as the thoracic cavity is not compromised. I have a friend that is a traditional hide tanner (he provides hides to First Nations crafts people for everything from garments to rawhide for drum making) and he has seen thousands of hides. He has shown me hides with everything from perfect three blade broadhead scars to a lot of healed high back wounds (including scars from cougar attacks).

Pops was shooting a 30-06 with 165 gr Barnes TSX and a 300WM in either case would have made no difference. If a deer doesn't die with your set up, that is not the rounds fault.

Losing an animal should feel like a kick in the nuts. If you respect the quarry and take pride in quick humane kills then it is something that will bug you.

 

[Rich M]

Sorry about losing the deer - it happens.

There is no way to rationalize it, just accept that the buck got away. Maybe the copper bullet didn't do the damage that it should have. Maybe the shot got pulled or jerked in a rush to shoot fast. Maybe this maybe that. There is no known answer, sorry about that.

A shoulder shot doesn't necessarily mean a bad shot. When you shoot something - aim for the exit hole and it goes a lot better.

 

[keenan22baseball]

Sorry about that… i know it’ll eat you up inside.

It’s hasn’t happened to me yet. But seen it once before.. sounds like you hit the no zone.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[HuntInWild88]

I only say this so people know that I'm not the kind of hunter that is just out there flinging ammo. I've never in my life shot at a running deer, I don't take long shots, i consider 250 to be my absolute max range, and in field, i've never shot past 200, and only that 2x (I'm newer to the west, mostly a whitetail hunter). And so in the 25 years hunting, I've never lost an animal, and I've never experienced what i did yesterday.

I put a long stock on a legal but small mulie buck in tough terrain, and unfortunately ended up spooking a doe, and in the process the buck spooked, but I gave a loud grunt and he stopped. Facing right, broadside, 165 yards, downhill. I got set up quick, shot, and dropped him, and he rolled backwards down the hill 3x, then i lost sight of him, and heard a crashing noise. Idk why but i had a bad feeling because i've seen video before where this happens, although i've personally never experienced it. Went down to recover deer, and after about 10 minutes looked up and saw him on top of a knob walk into some cover, and appeared to be limping/wounded (obviously). Couldn't get a shot. I gave him some time, circled way up this mountain in the direction he was headed, and ended up bumping him again, and then spent the next 6 hours looking for him, from 11am to dark. I called a guy with tracking dogs, and he basically said, prob high shoulder, and with no good blood, would be a miracle for the dogs to track.

Couple questions.

1. Assuming it's high shoulder, could he survive or is he likely doomed? I was looking a vital/skeleton diagrams, and it's anyone guess, but a true high should should hit lung, but a mid-should could just hit flesh/bone.
2. Should I notch my tag?
3. Was shooting .308 Barnes TSX copper 168 grain, feel like if this was a .300 win mag, I'd have a deer in hand. Am i wrong? I say this because I'm wonderful if the bullet hit the shoulder and just stuck there, no pass through.
4. What else could i do in the recovery, or do I just need to move on?

I feel horrible and sick about the situation. Thanks for the reading and let me know what you think

Ok first if shooting the TSX It was a full pass through at that range.
If shooting down hill you more then likely shot high. There is a space above the lungs and below the spine that when hit deer will drop get up and keep going. I've seen it! They do have a chance of survival. There are videos and pictures online of deer hit this way and they are still alive next year. It could also die if the area gets infected.
They only reason I could see a 300wm making a difference is the energy would have been higher resulting in more hydrostatic shock maybe causing more hemorrhage or shocking the spinal cord enough to be fatal. But non of that is garenteed.
Crappy situation but it happens. I would take pride in the fact that in 25 years you have never lost an animal. That's more then alot of people can say. If you can keep hunting the area. He may turn up or you may see alot of crows and magpies and coyotes that will lead you to him

 

[Opah]

A wounded animal is prime rib for the predators, so vitals or not the predators are going to smell the blood and it is game over.
Search the best and as long as you can, shit happens bullets can stray, hell between you and the game a stray wind can screw a good shot.
but it happens and it sucks for the most of us.

 

[BucksNDucks]

MPorter I feel for ya and know the pain, I’m also going through the same
Same happen to me a little over week ago, watch him drop and what looked to be a done deal only to see him stumble over the top of the ridge a few minutes later!!
It’s hunting and as stated prior, you hunt long enough it’s bound to happen.
You did all you can do and glad to hear you put your time in!!

 

[Hunt30]

It’s hunting. Situations like yours are inevitable. Do the best you can, take ethical shots and live with the results. Whether or not you continue to hunt is a personal decision. For me, I’d keep hunting.

 

[PLhunter]

This year was a brutal one for me losing animals. Previous 20 plus years of hunting I lost 3 animals that I can remember. Two elk and one deer out of several dozen successes. This year I lost an elk and a deer. The deer was especially hard. He was the biggest buck I have ever shot on a limited entry tag. Tracked him well and ended up bumping him 6 hours after the shot. Stupid decision. He was bedded down. I should have just observed and waited for him to stand up. Instead I tried to reposition for a follow-up shot. He bolted and took off like he had never been touched. Off onto heavily patrolled private lands. I see him bedded under that tree over and over and over again. Happened last week and am a long ways from being over it. Mine was a called brisket hit. I hit low.

I decided to still fill my tag. However, the perfect opportunity to do so was presented. As I was waiting for pickup a buck with a very very bad limp presented himself. He wasn't large but I figured if I am going to take a buck after wounding one this is it. The buck had been shot twice with a what appeared to be .223 fmj rounds. Pencil hole through the shoulder and brisket. Shoulder blade was shattered but he was still actively participating in the rut. They are insanely tough animals.

 

[Cynoscion]

The post above describing the reaction to a spinal process being hit is what most likely happened to the OP. I’ve guided WTD hunts in south Texas for 20+ years and seen it a dozen times or more. Clip a spinal process, instant but temporary paralyzation, animal gets up and never slows down. I’ve seen them on camera later with nasty, puss filled wounds and then healed up the next season. It sucks but it happens if you shoot enough critters. Good on you for trying to find him as long as you did.

 

[WCB]

1. Probably shot through the backstraps and temporarily disabled the deer.
2. (seeing #1 happen a few times) I would not punch my tag
3. Caliber had absolutely zero to do with this. If you hit it through the actual shoulder spine level or lower dead deer.
4. With a rifle in depending on terrain and if I can see the deer I do not wait for recovery. Situation like that if I drop a buck and he rolls down and disappears I am trying to get above him to see where he is. I have seen too many elk and deer get up and take off again (most die a short sprint later or just get up and fall down again.) Same with open country archery spot and stalk. Shoot a deer and it runs out of sight rather quick I am on its ass to "keep" eyes on it. My Opinion.

Also, did you shoot at him the other times you saw him?