lost one last night

Red Label · Post by **Red Label** » Mon Nov 01, 2004 5:40 pm

Some of you have confided your true confessions on here so here is mine.
Long story but I want to share all the details to both clear my mind and to let some of you learn from my mistake.

I found fresh scrapes yesterday morning and set up on them last night, high in my climber 20 yards off the field edge. Didn't trim shooting lanes as I had a couple windows to shoot through (I thought).

Just at dusk a real wide 8 pointer walked down the corn edge testing his scrapes. The wind had shifted 90 degrees and was now almost at my back, and he caught a whiff of me...not enough to blow him out but enough to wind him up real tight. He froze just outside my optimum window and we stood locked for 5 minutes...me with my safety off and him twitching and bristling at every forest noise. (never shoot an alert deer....I think I said that once

) He turned a half a step and I figured I had a big enough hole to shoot through and let one go. It caught a twig and I watched the vanes go into his neck...not good.

I watched him go, marked last sighting in my head, waited until dark and climbed down. Left my climber and gear there, and went and fetched my son. Once again gathered the lights and gear and went out to find him. Over an hour elapsed. Called RJ for help but he had a trail of his own on a different farm to contend with!

Picked up REAL serious blood and tracked it for 150 yards or so...it slowed to a trickle as he crossed a green field and we lost it half way across the field. I left Chris on the last blood, circled the field and found his entry into the pines. We tracked through the pines mostly on our hands and knees, successfully going another 100 yards or so to the swamp edge. A few heavy blood spots, then nothing. Marked last blood and went home, helped RJ and called VA. RJ, VA, Chris and me met up at 10:30 PM and went back to last blood with my lantern. RJ immediately found more and got us about another 150 yards into the swamp in 2 hours. By this time the only light blood we were finding was where he brushed the cattails, no more blood on the ground. Called last blood at 12:30am, went home.

I went back out at dawn and grid searched the whole swamp for an hour....nothing! On my trek back to the farm (now over 1km away) I circled the cornfield along his scrape line. I miraculously found 1 tiny drop of congealed blood on the far side of the corn, nowhere near where we were last night, and all his scrapes had been tended. I am confident this buck will survive as he never once bedded the whole time we trailed him.

Woody's guidelines state that a deer hit above the neck bone will generally bleed profusely for 150-200 yards, then stop, and will more than likely recover from the wound. I am convinced this is exactly what happened. Although I do feel bad, I know we went the whole 9 yards and if he survived the night he will likley pull through.

Thanks to VA and RJ, you guys have a ton of experience and it was nice to have a few extra eyes along.

I have now been indoctrinated (reluctantly) into the "lost one" club.

Mike

Woody Williams · Post by **Woody Williams** » Mon Nov 01, 2004 5:47 pm

I'd say the chances are pretty good that you just dinged him.

He will live to be hunted again.

Now that you've had a chance to replay that shot a least a thousand times what would you have done differently if you had it to do all over again?

Beter luck next time..

Red Label · Post by **Red Label** » Mon Nov 01, 2004 5:53 pm

Thanks Woody.

ALWAYS knock down a couple saplings before climbing up...

NEVER shoot through a small window at a slightly quartering towrds deer...

NEVER shoot when the deer is really revved up...

I believe all the above + a little greed on my part all played a role in this one. This would have been my first serious rack-buck and perhaps I wanted him a little too much.

Mike

tkstae · Post by **tkstae** » Mon Nov 01, 2004 5:57 pm

You did everything possible. All that hard work tracking him paid off in you knowing he lives to be hunted again.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Mon Nov 01, 2004 6:17 pm

Sorry to hear he's not hanging in your garage, but glad to hear he's still out sniffing for hot doe.
Great job staying on the track!!
Funny how those twigs become invisable in the late afternoon light.

Now go back out and get 'em!!

Hi5 · Post by **Hi5** » Mon Nov 01, 2004 6:29 pm

A while back I posted a mildly chiding response to a chap who, as I recall, said he quit when the blood trail got spotty.

I hope he reads your account, and I say this for two reasons. You are to be praised for your thoroughness and persistence. It also serves to help educate less experienced hunters, and that should be a benefit to all.

Woody Williams · Post by **Woody Williams** » Mon Nov 01, 2004 6:32 pm

All good advice Red...

As I said - better luck next time..

wabi · Post by **wabi** » Mon Nov 01, 2004 10:13 pm

Red Label,
Sounds much too familiar, but at least you saw the hit and have a good reason to think he's still alive and reasonably well.
Lost my first one this year, and I didn't see the hit, but after returning to my stand and replaying the shot in my mind I think I let an arrow deflect off a small cedar twig. Never found any evidance of him dying, and the one I hit too far back (a few days later) when he took a step just as I shot (read gut-shot) and did find the next day had bloated and spoiled, but the buzzards were circling later that afternoon, so I'm sure the scavengers would have found the other one if he died. The next day I invested $$$ in a "pole trimmer" with limb shears and a 14" saw blade. From now on I will have wide open shooting lanes and pass any shots not in those lanes! The step the second one took was an unfortunate event that I'm willing to pass off as just plain old bad luck! He wasn't aware of me, he was in easy range (about 20 yards), and he just choose to move as I committed myself to the shot. I saw it happen, but I couldn't do anything about it but track him until I knew the outcome. Two of us spent about 8 hours finding him, but it was 18 hours after the shot, and too late to salvage ant meat.

Woody Williams · Post by **Woody Williams** » Mon Nov 01, 2004 11:02 pm

Hi5 wrote:A while back I posted a mildly chiding response to a chap who, as I recall, said he quit when the blood trail got spotty.

I hope he reads your account, and I say this for two reasons. You are to be praised for your thoroughness and persistence. It also serves to help educate less experienced hunters, and that should be a benefit to all.

I'm not sure what kind of hit that PaJack had on his deer but Red did the proper thing on a "meat hit". a "meat hit" deer should be pushed slowly for a slong as you can. that si not true on every hit.

pajack made the call on his deer to back off and from his post I would have done the same thing. You'd be surprised what you can see in daylight that you would completely miss in the dark - including the deer itself.

Again - he did not "quit" the trailing. He backed off until morning and resumed. IMO - he did right..

Fur & Feathers · Post by **Fur & Feathers** » Tue Nov 02, 2004 6:27 am

Red, You may get another chance at him. If he is still tending scrapes he is still around. My guess is you see him again. You did all you could to recover him. Your hard work trailing revealed some clues he is still alive & mostly well. What a story to be told if you get another shot at him. Good luck.

Hi5 · Post by **Hi5** » Tue Nov 02, 2004 1:36 pm

Woody

I have to admit that I don't have enough information either to criticize or endorse PaJack's actions. I don't know him as a hunter to be able to surmise what level of diligence he would apply.

I was taking from his post that there was blood sign, but it was becoming less obvious., not that there was anything special about coloration, or texture, etc.

No doubt daylight is far better for tracking. The gamble in waiting for daylight is the possibility of an intervening rain storm, predators finding the game first, or the meat spoiling.

We can always ask "what if" when our best effort fails, but my own inclination would be to try to follow the trail until the sign disappeared. That may not always be the best decision, but if the hunter is not a real expert on reading blood sign, it may on average be the best advice.

GREY OWL · Post by **GREY OWL** » Tue Nov 02, 2004 2:29 pm

Sorry to hear about your bad luck, Red. But what I did picked up on was your remorse and sadness for losing a wounded animal. That in my mind shows respect for the quarry your after.

Red!!!!! its really, really , really to bad your hunt here in Sask. never worked out. On our property, there sits a solid 4-5 inches of snow in the bush. No losing deer in those conditions.

Unfortunity that's hunting, win a few lose a few. I'm sure that deer will survive this event.

Get back on ya horse Red, there's one out there.

Grey Owl

peter p · Post by **peter p** » Tue Nov 02, 2004 8:15 pm

If he went back to his scrape line, set up there again and see if you can get him.

shifty · Post by **shifty** » Wed Nov 03, 2004 9:58 pm

Cris is pretty short you think he would see the blood first.