Longbow hit deer question.

So I hit my first deer with a longbow. I’m not sure if it was in spine or
Top of shoulder blade? So here’s is what happened. Doe came in perfectly broadside at
16 yards straight in front of me. As I pulled back she stopped, I let arrow go and she stepped
Toward me so when arrow hit she was just starting to turn. There was no loud crack more of a thud but it looked father back then shoulder blade. Arrow stuck in what looked like 6 inches or so.
She ran maybe 10 yards and flopped over. And was kicking kind of with front feet. I got another arrow out
Got down and she got up. Went about 20 yards and fell over again in thick thick cover.
I thought Maybe it was spine and wanted to try to shoot again but she got up again and went another 20 yards
Or so and heard crash again and didn’t hear her get up but I found the arrow with no broad head and blood about 6-8 inches up the arrow and some fat on it. And I left for the evening and will look in the morning. So has anyone hit a low spine shot and had a deer get up and run off and then end up finding it? Or
Maybe it was shoulder blade? Idk for sure what to think 🤔

I had somewhat similar when I gut shot an antelope, you made a good choice to pull out for the night.

It's not worth speculating, nailed or not nailed. Do your due diligence in the morning, or as I would now, and see what happens. Best of luck.

That's a strange one?
Several things. The no " loud crack" tells !e not a spine/ shoulder hit.
The " this" sounds like a body shot.
Can't say I've ever seen fat on an arrow with a high hit?.
Good choice of backing out.

Probably liver and gut. The coyotes will be eating good tonite.

Yeah while backing out and giving a wounded animal a few hours can be a good thing. letting them stay out all night isnt always a good thing. Im bad about trailing them down and finishing them off and getting it over with. If they arent dead in an hour or two chances they wont die at all or the blood trail drying up with them still moving. Or worst thing is coyotes getting to them first.

It's best to leave an unknown hit till morning, coyotes or not. I'd rather find it eaten by coyotes then push it and never know.

Nice and cool tonight, you did the right thing to back out. I disagree with The Possum Man about deer not dying if they aren't dead after an hour or two. Plenty of gut shot deer need 8+ hours to expire. Chase after a gut shot deer too soon and it will still likely die, but you probably won't find it.

I've never seen a deer run and crash and get up and do it again a couple more times. That's a strange one. Update us tomorrow when you find it. I'm curious to hear where you hit it. Good luck.

I’ll give an update. The going down and getting up is why I thought it maybe had something to
Do with the spines but if it was the Spine the arrow wouldn’t have gone in 6 inches.will
Find out tomorrow I guess.

Good luck! Really hope you find it and I give you credit for sticking with it.

Moosetrot

Sounds like an ok hit but just a little early getting down and the adrenaline pushing the deer.

If you spined her she wouldn't be able to pop up like that.

Here's to wishing for short trails and backstraps in the morning.

Know anyone with a blood tracking dog?

In my opinion you were right to back out for the night. I have been told the same thing twice about the coyotes will eat good tonight and both times I recovered my deer in the morning. Best of luck and will be looking for your update.

Go check in morning when you can see better and the deer can bed down and stiffen up.
It would just be guessing now so go look in daylight. Let us know what you found.
Hit one once in the ear from above, straight down. No clue where I hit it at the time, hardly any blood but arrow had some on it. Never found deer next day. Tried hard though. Two days later got a deer back under same stand, and field dressing it noticed an "x" cut nearly through its left ear. I guess it was fine and my previous shot wasnt even close to being fatal.
Jim

By morning, when you recover the deer, won't the meat be spoiled?

I'm of the school of go after it fairly soon. So the bears or other hunters or spoilage don't claim it.

I fancy myself something of a tracker and am always looking for opportunities to increase my skill. After fifty yards or so, you should have a good idea where the deer was hit. If the animal was hit in the body and didn't fall over within a couple hundred yards, it was likely gut shot. I give these guys half hour to an hour to get sick, as the experts advise, before I'm on their trail. I am sorry to report that I have never been able to recover a gut-shot animal. Sooner or later the wound closes up, clots, stops bleeding, leaving nothing but indistinct random footprints in the forest duff.

The other kind of bad shooting I've seen results in leg or hip hits. I go after these right away. If you can't catch up with them quickly, when they're still dealing with shock, they're gone.

Jim

You may not have much of a blood trail to follow. Watch for blood sign up off the ground on the side the arrow entered in case there is no exit.
What broad head you using?

I’m looking forward to the update NE. I’m curious as to where you hit her as well, hope you find her.

Also, I agree with the above posters that you made the right decision backing out for the night. I have done that many times and recovered the deer the next morning. Hopefully, your outcome will be the same.

James, I've never heard of any expert recommending only waiting an hour to go after a gut shot deer. Those deer cam take 8-12 hours to expire, and getting after them too soon just results in jumping them from what would've been their death bed and usually losing them unless you have tracking snow or a dog.

Hopefully it doesn't happen again, but if it does, maybe let it go 8+ hours before trailing. During hunting season it's usually cool enough the meat won't spoil overnight, at least the majority will still be good.

X2

Just my 2 cents so take it for what its worth: To me it sounds like there was a process hit (one of the bones protruding from the side of the spine). Not necessarily a fatal shot, but it could be depending on if you hit a vein or artery along the spine.

I shot a buck one time who ducked the arrow. Like you said, Loud "crack" ran then flopped, got up and repeated this a few times within my line of sight. I had to track that deer nearly a 1/2 mile before I found him and get a 2nd arrow in him. Very little to no blood. And what blood we did find, was at about 4' high where the leaves wiped against his back. When we found last blood in the thick highbush honeysuckle and autumn olive, we would get down to ground level and look for the trail. We would each pick a different trail and follow it a few hundred yards. Not a fun track, but it did lead us to the deer. I assume the shock of the shot stunned the spine making them flop.

x3. I always leave a gut/liver shot deer 8hr before we follow up. I'd hate to bump them and never find them. Usually the bed down pretty quick and expire close to water in my experience..

Agree with the rest. Myself after a shot with gun or bow if I have not seen the deer go down I usually get my stuff together and get out of stand. Wait about half hour and then go to where the animal was shot. Check the sign there and then determine if I need to walk out and wait or if I can start the trail. Always looking for indications as the trail is in progress. Dark blood is usually always liver or gut shot animal. Smell of the blood will determine which most of the time.

James I consider myself a good tracker as well. Over the years if there is going to be a trail on an animal in our large group myself and my father take up 95% of those tasks. Over the years we have lost 2 deer. One that was leg hit and most likely survived and one that was lost due to a heavy snow coming down and covering all sign. 100's of deer and a fair amount of those either leg hit or gut shot. When in doubt always let em lay. After that sheer determination, good tracking skills, attention to details, and a never give up attitude. Found them after a snowfall and one leg hit deer took us 8 hrs and parts of two days to catch up to and finish off.

I was using Kodiak 409 arrows and Razorback 2 blade without the bleeders. Heading out at 8:30 to see if I
Can put the puzzle together.

Best of luck to you. Hope you find the deer.

Good luck and keep us posted.

any update?

What ya find?

Well after going back out there and looking at the arrow again, and blood. I think what happened was I hit
The spine bone and it shocked it and that’s what caused her to fall down. Found a few spots of blood where she was on the ground and where the arrow broke off which was just the broad head. Then followed her tracks for about 75 more yards where the water receded In swamp and was black silt so I know it was her and found a coupe specks
Along the way. She got into high ground and never found more blood. She never staggered after the first fall like I thought, so that’s the conclusion.

Sorry, it happens. There is a big blood vessel along the spine so should could of bled out, hard to say for sure.

Yeah but I read in Outdoor Life that if...........

Sorry you didn't find her. I agree with you about striking the spine. Either she hit the ground attempting to break off whatever she felt sticking out of her, or your arrow jacked up some nerves going to her shoulder. If the broad head stuck solid in a vertebra, she won't get hacked up with every step, and might survive it. Sleep well. She was probably scheduled to be hit by a car in the next week or two, anyway.