Gut Punch this weekend...Friday evening I got a picture of a good 12 I have at our farm. He hung around

[rstallings1979]

the same plot all through the night and into the early morning hours on Saturday. It was hot so I had no plans on hunting at all but I knew he was bedded close by to the plot. I woke up Saturday and told the wife that I had to go after him. My oldest was playing in a baseball tournament so I decided to do an evening hunt and watch him during the day Saturday. I get settled in the stand and a doe pops out about 6:10. I was watching her feed on acorns next to the food plot for about a 5 minute period and then there he is walking out the same trail. I take my time because I had a feeling he would push her around a little. He checked her and continued on around the edge of the plot. I picked a good spot ahead of him to set up for a shot. He came into the scope view and I squeezed as he was quartering away a bit behind the front shoulder. He donkey kicked and took off. I was certain he was hit good just by his reaction. I found decent blood for about 45 yards. 3 different patches of blood with a few drops and then it went cold. No more blood at all. I called for a dog but they were already tracking. I grid searched the next morning with no luck. The rain washed away most of the blood from the 3 patches I found but I did find some white/gray hair. Maybe I just hit him low...who knows. Either way I am sick about it. Here are pics of the deer and the blood as well. I know its hard to tell on blood but maybe you guys with more experience tracking deer can possibly shed some light.

 

[catch22]

white hair is on the belly area.....which can also produce the donkey kick. hopefully you just grazed him and youll get another crack at him

 

[transfixer]

Since he was quartering away you may have hit a little further back then you intended, which might explain why the blood kinda fizzled out after 45yds, I'd go back and expand your search another 150yds beyond the last blood, look for thick cover, somewhere he might have laid up if gut shot , without being pushed if he was mortally wounded he would have laid down within 150yds more than likely

 

[Barron79]

I might be seeing it wrong but I have tracked deer that were shot too far back and every time I see that urine mixed in the blood. Usually that means that deer was hit in the kidney area. Looks wet like urine in your blood. I have tracked them were all you have is ants showing up on the urine spots, no blood. These deer die for sure. Almost every time I find them near water sometimes even in it. I would head over when you can and look for buzzards but grid around water sources. Good luck sorry this happened I know it’s a terrible feeling.

 

[Semi-Pro]

That sucks. I would go back and look for smell and or buzzards

 

[DSGB]

Could have hit low or possibly hit far back and guts plugging the hole. Could the dog not have come the next morning?

 

[rstallings1979]

Could have hit low or possibly hit far back and guts plugging the hole. Could the dog not have come the next morning?

Rain set in that night and had a good wash of the ground. I did get a dog in there after lunch yesterday but he was a little unsure. He did take one trail to an old beaver pond and wanted to cross it but we backed out due to snakes and gators. The problem is there were deer in there pretty hard while I was looking yesterday morning. not sure if the dog was on the right trail. He could have been and it was just a low belly shot.

 

[jiminbogart]

What a deer! I hope you find him.

 

[Rackmaster]

Since he was quartering away you may have hit a little further back then you intended, which might explain why the blood kinda fizzled out after 45yds, I'd go back and expand your search another 150yds beyond the last blood, look for thick cover, somewhere he might have laid up if gut shot , without being pushed if he was mortally wounded he would have laid down within 150yds more than likely

This!

 

[bowandgun]

Check the water sources creeks pond etc as mentioned. Probably dead if no bone fragments.

 

[RipperIII]

Hard to tell from the pic,...but there does appear to be other fluid with the blood, as others have mentioned, urine is a possibility. Blood not frothy either, looks dark.

Quartering shots can be a bit tricky.

I had a buddy who shot his first buck quartering toward and hit him in the liver,...got down and tracked him almost immediately.
called us in to help at dark, blood ran out after about 50 yds. we tracked, or searched for about an hour in the dark with the property owner, then backed out.

Owner found him the next morning almost 200 yds from where he'd been shot.

Good Luck, Great looking buck!

Buzzards can be your friend sometimes.

 

[stonecreek]

Hope you find him.

 

[Rich M]

Hope you find em. Keep an eye out for the buzzards.

 

[Kev]

You hit him in the guts and since it was quartering away you had no exit. I’ve done that twice with really nice deer. One I found the next weekend thanks to the stink and buzzards but one I never found.

 

[theoldguy]

From what I can see in the blood, it looks like there are food particles in it, which means gut shot. Looks exactly like the blood I had on the one I shot last year. He was quartering to me and the shot hit him in the shoulder and exited out the bottom of his belly between his hind legs. Had blood for about 50 yards and it it slowly dissipated. He headed straight to a small creek, crossing it and followed it for several hundred yards before laying down in a grass patch. Put the dog on him and found him several hours later. He had packed mud in the wound.

 

[buckpasser]

The only thing I’ll add is that all deer hair looks white when scattered on the ground. Since you said gray and white I’ll wager you hit him exactly where you think you did. If you put in the effort and possibly reach out to neighbors, you have a decent chance at the rack. Good luck!

 

[mguthrie]

Hate to read stories like that. Sounds like you did everything possible to find him. Hope you can at least recover the rack at some point.