what is your percentage ?

mdcrossbow · Post by **mdcrossbow** » Thu Oct 05, 2006 12:56 pm

of recovering deer ?

This should get allot of responces if we are all honest with our shots.

So far this season I have been out 3 times and taken 2 shot's
one doe and one buck; both recovered.

sence we all like to see how many years of experance their is between us all It would be nice to see what the percentage of recovered deer we get.

The anti's will monator this and I think we can put a stop to there redrick that bow hunters lost 70 percent of their deer.

Is this a good idea or not ?

ecoaster · Post by **ecoaster** » Thu Oct 05, 2006 2:00 pm

100% for every deer I have shot at (7). And I am 3 for 3 so far with archery.

TYE · Post by **TYE** » Thu Oct 05, 2006 2:02 pm

I missed an 8 point buck one time with my rifle.

Actually, that's a lie. I've missed two 8 point bucks with my rifle.

RyanB · Post by **RyanB** » Thu Oct 05, 2006 2:38 pm

I am 2 for 2. One doe with my old Vixen excalibur and the other one was a buck with my .243 The doe was 3 feet away from me (I was on the ground) and she only went 40 yards and was a double lunger and was an easy track! The buck was out 50 yards (in a hardwood bush and I had just done a serise of grunts...I was in a stand) buck heard the shot, looked my direction trying to find the deer that had just been grunting (I thought I missed) came running toward me grunting like a mad deer!, pumped another shot into it at 30 yards...kept running and grunting all this time I thought I had missed each time. At 10 yards from my tree I nailed him again and down he went. When I got out of the tree and looked at him all 3 shots were within 2" of each other and 2 shots were thru both lungs and the other was thru the heart which didn't leave much of it and I think the heart shot was the first or second hit.

I was amazed at the amount of addrenalin that is in these deer durring the rut and what it takes to stop them. Even after he fell to the ground he was still grunting and trying to pull him self up with the front legs! simply amazing!

Ryan

TYE · Post by **TYE** » Thu Oct 05, 2006 2:40 pm

Forgot to mention I redeemed myself by shooting 3 deer after that.

mdcrossbow · Post by **mdcrossbow** » Thu Oct 05, 2006 3:02 pm

I keep telling my son who is getting realy into bow hunting to Wait and then wait again for the best shot posible. Usualy if the deer comes in an is not nervice and if you have any doughts about the shot presented then wait. More time then not a deer will offer you a better one.
This is just a reminder to the young hunters.

BigUgly · Post by **BigUgly** » Thu Oct 05, 2006 3:37 pm

I've shot and recovered 7 deer. Last year I got one double lunged that took hours to track. Never give up is my moto. I actually tracked the one last year in shallow water at times buy looking for stirred up mud. This was well after dark. One of my buddies jokinly calls me bloodhound. He shot one that he couldn't find and called me to help. Took me to the last place they saw blood. As I was looking at the last blood spot I actually smelled the deer. It had went another 25 yards before it feel behind a blow over.

wabi · Post by **wabi** » Thu Oct 05, 2006 4:06 pm

I have no idea how many deer I've recovered, but it has been quite a few (probably well over 50) with both gun and bow. The few losses stand out well in my memory, though. A couple of them I'm very sure survived poor shot placement. One last season caused from a fletching tearing loose and causing the arrow to go off course. I saw the arrow hit high and far back, and the blood trail was good at first but soon dwindled off to nothing. I'm sure it was a muscle hit and missed the vitals but I have no way to be sure the deer survived. Another was due to a mechanical broadhead opening in flight and it hit the shoulder blade. That deer was seen a day or two later and was walking slow, but walking. I lost one when a sudden downpour hit and I lost the trail, a big reason I don't hunt if heavy rain is predicted! Of the lethal hits I've made most of them have been found, but hot weather beat me to a couple of them. No desire to stick a knife into a deer bloated to twice it's normal size!

Seems like I've had the most trouble in the past couple years since I went back to wearing glasses (bifocals) and just can't see as well at night. I've got an eye exam scheduled for next week, and I hope my eyes have recovered enough to back to contact lenses!

Golden Eagle · Post by **Golden Eagle** » Thu Oct 05, 2006 4:08 pm

22 recovered and 2 lost. Archery and rifle.

crazyfarmer · Post by **crazyfarmer** » Thu Oct 05, 2006 4:56 pm

I can count:-P

last year I took roughly 15 since I use damage stamps on a farm(normally get 13 of them). Years before are about the same. Last year I lost one with a bow but recovered 15 outta 16. Normally every year I lose 1 or 2 out of 15 so

then also i pass on about 60-70 deer everyyear also

mostly damn doe

chris4570 · Post by **chris4570** » Thu Oct 05, 2006 5:19 pm

Only one did I not recover, although the deer made a full recovery from my misplaced arrow. The rest made it to the freezer.

That one made me a better hunter. I am more patient and will only shoot when there is no chance of the shot going astray.

DuckHunt · Post by **DuckHunt** » Thu Oct 05, 2006 6:20 pm

I've recovered 12 out of 14 with vertical archery gear. This will be my first season with a crossbow.

The first one not recovered was hit in the shoulder blade. The arrow impact was a loud crack and got <3" of penetration. As the deer departed the arrow snapped off as he passed a tree. The buck was harvested by a friend later in the week and I recovered the broadhead still buried in the bone when we dressed it.

The second I misjudged the distance in an open field. I hit about 12" back from the shoulder about 1" below the spine. There is absolutely nothing vital in this area and the deer made a quick recovery. We viewed the buck the next day in a field with a herd and you could easily see the 3-blade broadhead mark on both sides with a spotting scope. We even watched the deer lick at the wound. It was a nice 8pt with about an 18" spread. It too was harvested a few days later by a fellow hunter.

I've also lost two out of roughly thirty I've shot with firearms. Suprisingly, both were pretty close shots (<35 yards). One was a bad decision to shoot at a doe quartering too much toward me back when I was a teenager. I don't think the bullet entered the chest cavity based on the amount of hair at the scene. It looked like a barber shop. The second was a small buck that I shot free handed at about 20 yards and missed the heart by about 3 inches. Unfortunately the three inches was down and forward hitting in the elbow joint as it was coming back. I visibly saw the impact point shatter the front leg. This deflected the bullet down and like the other I don't think it entered the chest cavity. Both deer left limited blood trails. Both bedded down within a few hundred yards. Both were jumped up and subsequently lost shortly afterwards.

We all learn from our mistakes. Its been over ten years since I shot one that I didn't recover. None of my last dozen have left my sight.

deerman · Post by **deerman** » Thu Oct 05, 2006 6:25 pm

Its about 2 lost and 80 plus deer. Thats for all weapons used;Bow,xbow,Muzzleloader,Rifle,shotgun and pistol.

jay73 · Post by **jay73** » Thu Oct 05, 2006 6:51 pm

I guess I'll be the first crappy record.

I've lost 2 and recovered 3. Not too great so far.

Jay

kendo kid · Post by **kendo kid** » Thu Oct 05, 2006 7:49 pm

I am 60 years old and have hunted for many years. I have shot more deer than I can remember. I have lost only one and that was due to bad arrow placement on my part that was too high. I have had low and slow hits but have tracked down everyone of them. The high forward shots are not necessarily mortal and the deer recovers. I have just one that got away and I remember that one as well as I remember the really big bucks I have taken. So I am somewhere between 1% - 2% non recovery rate figuring on more than 50 deer.