Med body, small rack 8, bizarre twist - literally

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Species8472
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Med body, small rack 8, bizarre twist - literally

Post by Species8472 »

Took the afternoon off and headed to camp for an afternoon sit. My chosen spot was an elevated blind overlooking a meadow with half a dozen apple trees that still have good numbers of apples. There is also a mineral lick i built 10 years ago in the meadow. I have added salt and trace mineral religiously every spring and fall for the last 10 or so years. This is the blind setup:

Image

I was settled in by 3 pm and was texting a buddy off and on about various hunting topics as i did not really expect much activity until later in the sit. Well mid text at 3:30 what i thought was a 6pt walked out and gave me a perfect broadside opportunity at 20 yards. I put the phone down settled the scope on his vitals and the micro sent a bolt his way. There was the classic thwack followed by a jump on his part and he took off running full tilt in a westward direction. I lost sight of him about 20 yards into his run when he reached the edge of the meadow.

I finished my coffee and climbed down about 15 minutes later to inspect the scene. I could find no evidence at all. No bolt, no hair, no blood - i started to get a funny feeling at this point and started replaying the events in my head. I than followed the portion of his run that i saw and no sign of anything. I than searched in a 150 to 200 yard radius from the last sighted location and nothing. I did not go beyond 200 yards as this is the furthest I have ever had a properly double-lunged deer ever go. I reasoned no sense going further as if he is gut shot i do not want to bump him. At this point it was 530 and i decided something is wrong and i need to give the buck some time before i look further. Still not a single hair or drop of blood located at this point.

I went home, had dinner, and than loaded my Walker/Rotty cross into the truck. Not a conventional tracking dog but he has never failed me and the $12 for his annual license is always money well spent. We arrived back at the scene at 8:15 pm in the dark and i set him loose at the spot I last saw the buck and gave him the "get him" command. He took off running with me struggling to keep up. We ended up going 800 yards through thick cedar, swamp, across a creek and up and down a few hills before I heard that familiar baying that says "I got something." I arrived on the scene and sure enough the hound pulled it out again - no way i would have found that deer - never a hair or drop of blood found.

Here is the bizarre literal twist. The arrow entered a little high but in good lung territory but than instead of exiting on the opposite side it somehow turned (hence the twist) and exited on the same side just in front of the hind quarter. I have never seen anything like this before and have no explanation for it. Turns out one lung was hit and he was gut shot. The body showing the entrance in lung territory and the exit low and close to the hind quarter:

Image

The full deer with his bizarre little 8pt rack:

Image

And the hero of the story in the truck on the ride home:

Image

As an aside during my initial search i found at least half a dozen small scrapes already - kinda surprised me this early.
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Stepnoutnb
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Re: Med body, small rack 8, bizarre twist - literally

Post by Stepnoutnb »

Congratulations, Glad you had the dog. Great recovery too. Thanks for sharing.
I have no experience yet shooting game with a crossbow or bow. I’m just trying to observe and accumulate as much information as possible.
Curious what bow you used?
What Broadhead you used?
Seems like the shooting elevation is steep in the picture do you use a angle compensating range finder? I have a Bushnell arc 1600. Although I’ve never used the arc feature for hunting I’ve tested it quite a bit. It seems the angle has to be very steep to make any amount of difference with the horizontal distance. Especially with a 20 yard shoot.
Did you have to lug the deer the full 800 yards or were you able to get a little closer?
Thanks in advance.
Great job.
Wayne
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Re: Med body, small rack 8, bizarre twist - literally

Post by Doe Master »

It still amazes me how fast a deer can really move . I once was sitting on the ground and shot a doe at about 15-20 yards . The arrow entered where I was aiming but came out just beside the spine . The old girl rolled with the arrow entering her . Because the recovered arrow was a straight line from where shot . :shock:
Congrats on a arduous track and recovery . Makes us appreciate the short ones even more . :)
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evaughan
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Re: Med body, small rack 8, bizarre twist - literally

Post by evaughan »

I’d guess the arrow stopped in the animals body cavity then worked it’s way back and out as the animal ran.
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Re: Med body, small rack 8, bizarre twist - literally

Post by mr meat »

Congrats on the buck and finding it
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Re: Med body, small rack 8, bizarre twist - literally

Post by grouse »

You cannot beat a story that involves a successful crossbow deer hunt with a dog as a hero! Congratulations, and extra kudos to you for your perseverance. As to your shot, you obviously made a good shot but something probably went wrong with the arrow or broadhead. Sometimes there is no accounting for what happens. Good story with a good ending and a great life memory for you!
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Re: Med body, small rack 8, bizarre twist - literally

Post by Timbrhuntr »

Congrats on the deer and get that dog a nice steak he deserves it lol
So is your one ontario buck tag filled now :( :D
I haven't even put a stand up yet !
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Re: Med body, small rack 8, bizarre twist - literally

Post by gerald strine »

Great job on the recovery it was worth the effort I would fry up that heart for the dog for his keen work.
Not sure what cause the arrow to kick directions perhaps one blade cought a rib at a funny angle causing a direction change or perhaps the deer started to turn at the shot we most likely will never know take pride in the end result.
He has a interesting rack buy the way pretty cool.
What broad head you shooting ?
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Re: Med body, small rack 8, bizarre twist - literally

Post by xcaliber »

Sweet, give the dog a bone!
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Re: Med body, small rack 8, bizarre twist - literally

Post by vixenmaster »

1st let me congratulate you on yer nice tick toter. Plus congrats to yer Furbaby n the heck of a trackin job it did for you. Great recovery. Sometimes deer turn when hit as the arrow hits, reaction to the hit. I shot a 9 pt couple yrs back, looked like a decent broadside shot. What happened was i hit on rightside jus behind the right front leg. I tracked deer 50-55 yds n the when i cleaned the deer. Arrow was inside buried up in the left hind qtr. The B-head had broken the shank off in the heavy leg bone.
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Re: Med body, small rack 8, bizarre twist - literally

Post by Species8472 »

Stepnoutnb wrote:
Sat Oct 05, 2019 4:00 am
Congratulations, Glad you had the dog. Great recovery too. Thanks for sharing.
I have no experience yet shooting game with a crossbow or bow. I’m just trying to observe and accumulate as much information as possible.
Curious what bow you used?
What Broadhead you used?
Seems like the shooting elevation is steep in the picture do you use a angle compensating range finder? I have a Bushnell arc 1600. Although I’ve never used the arc feature for hunting I’ve tested it quite a bit. It seems the angle has to be very steep to make any amount of difference with the horizontal distance. Especially with a 20 yard shoot.
Did you have to lug the deer the full 800 yards or were you able to get a little closer?
Thanks in advance.
Great job.
Wayne
Bow was a Micro 335. It looks like a steep angle but is deceiving that pic was taken a little to close to the blind. Platform and blind are 12 feet above the meadow. Only had to drag about 70 or 80 yards as the deer ended up about that distance from a small food plot that has ATV access.
Never violate a woman, nor harm a child. Do not lie, cheat or steal. These things are for lesser men. Protect the weak against the evil strong. And never allow thoughts of gain to lead you into the pursuit of evil.

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Species8472
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Re: Med body, small rack 8, bizarre twist - literally

Post by Species8472 »

Timbrhuntr wrote:
Sat Oct 05, 2019 9:58 am
Congrats on the deer and get that dog a nice steak he deserves it lol
So is your one ontario buck tag filled now :( :D
I haven't even put a stand up yet !
Fortunately we have additionals in our WMU.
Never violate a woman, nor harm a child. Do not lie, cheat or steal. These things are for lesser men. Protect the weak against the evil strong. And never allow thoughts of gain to lead you into the pursuit of evil.

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Species8472
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Re: Med body, small rack 8, bizarre twist - literally

Post by Species8472 »

gerald strine wrote:
Sat Oct 05, 2019 10:13 am
Great job on the recovery it was worth the effort I would fry up that heart for the dog for his keen work.
Not sure what cause the arrow to kick directions perhaps one blade cought a rib at a funny angle causing a direction change or perhaps the deer started to turn at the shot we most likely will never know take pride in the end result.
He has a interesting rack buy the way pretty cool.
What broad head you shooting ?
Shooting 125 grain Montec G5s
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Re: Med body, small rack 8, bizarre twist - literally

Post by Riflemanz »

Congrats!
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Re: Med body, small rack 8, bizarre twist - literally

Post by Stepnoutnb »

Species8472 wrote:
Sat Oct 05, 2019 12:39 pm
Stepnoutnb wrote:
Sat Oct 05, 2019 4:00 am
Congratulations, Glad you had the dog. Great recovery too. Thanks for sharing.
I have no experience yet shooting game with a crossbow or bow. I’m just trying to observe and accumulate as much information as possible.
Curious what bow you used?
What Broadhead you used?
Seems like the shooting elevation is steep in the picture do you use a angle compensating range finder? I have a Bushnell arc 1600. Although I’ve never used the arc feature for hunting I’ve tested it quite a bit. It seems the angle has to be very steep to make any amount of difference with the horizontal distance. Especially with a 20 yard shoot.
Did you have to lug the deer the full 800 yards or were you able to get a little closer?
Thanks in advance.
Great job.
Wayne
Bow was a Micro 335. It looks like a steep angle but is deceiving that pic was taken a little to close to the blind. Platform and blind are 12 feet above the meadow. Only had to drag about 70 or 80 yards as the deer ended up about that distance from a small food plot that has ATV access.
Awesome deal, when I was much younger I’ve had some pretty tuff drag outs. When I hunted with a rifle.
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