Tough night for my 15 year old

[44magpastor]

My fifteen year old has been working a part time job for several months. He saved his money and bought his own crossbow, a Wicked Ridge Invader 4, from Bass Pro. He worked hard to get ready and yesterday afternoon, we went to the woods. About an 45 min before dark, he came to my blind, and told me he had shot a deer. He found the arrow and some blood. I get my stuff together, and we go back to his stand.

Sure enough, there was a light blood trail. Due to the heat, I decided to go ahead and try to find the deer. After maybe 50 yards, the trail got heavier. It was clear that it had bedded down and gotten up. I SHOULD HAVE BACKED OUT AND WAITED. I knew better, but I got excited for my son, so we kept trailing. The blood trail eventually grew lighter, but it was steady, and fairly easy to follow. We tracked the deer for probably 300 yards, until we reached the property line.....where we did not have permission to continue. By the time we reached the line, we were only finding a drop or two every 10 feet or so.

My son was very upset that he shot a deer, and couldn't recover it. I told him it was good to be remorseful, but not to give up. Sometimes things happen and we have to learn and move forward.

In hindsight, I think he hit the deer a little far back. I should have waited a couple hours and and we would have probably found the deer.

I hate losing a deer, but it was a good lesson for both of us. We learned and will try not to make the same mistakes again.

 

[NCHillbilly]

I hate it for him, but it has happened to most of us at some point. It has to me. It's a thing that makes you feel bad, for sure. But, there are so many variables at play when you're hunting live animals that it's just something that is almost impossible to completely rule out. All you can do is to try the best you can to have it not happen.

 

[bfriendly]

Don’t let it keep him down and get him on another Deer ASAP ....it’ll always leave a hole inside, fill it with His first Xbow kill!

 

[alwayslookin]

Tough night for sure but it happens. All of those experiences, good and bad, make you a better hunter. I'm sure he learned a lot despite the outcome.

 

[specialk]

let him read this thread....and know it happens....i've shot'em with rifles and couldn't find them.....get back up on the horse.....

 

[blood on the ground]

Yep we have all been there!

 

[kbuck1]

Best of luck to him next time. Could you not get in touch with the other landowner?

 

[35 Whelen]

Happened to me with the first animal I ever shot with archery equipment, a bear. Couldn't find it that evening, my brother and I went back the next morning and spent 6 hours looking for that bear. Never found it. I was so upset that I never went bow hunting again for several years and sold my bow. Just bought a crossbow this year and back at it again. It happens to all of us, even with a rifle. Bottom line is it is a learning experience/life lesson that we experience and learn from. Animals die, sometimes by our hand, most of the time not.

 

[ghadarits]

Its a tough thing to have happen especially for a first deer with a crossbow. Hopefully it will be the one and only time it happens to him. As long as he tried to make an ethical shot and you guys put in the effort to find it which it sounds like you did then theirs nothing to do but try again. I've had it happen to me and I'm sure to most of the other people on this forum at one time or another. That doesn't mean you have to like it, it just means that you're human and there for not perfect.

 

[Todd E]

Encourage. Encourage. Encourage.

Im 50 years old. Love archery, though im not archery only. Lost one saturday eve. Gut shot. Knew I should have left and came back 6 hrs later with a dog. Heat and yotes made me look after 1.5 hours. Lost blood at property line. It happens. Hurts. But it happens.

 

[wildlands]

Find the information on the landowner and make contact just in case. Let them know that you had lost one and did not want to trespass to find it. But just in case for future reference you wanted to get in touch with them and introduce yourself in case you have to call them. A lot of landowners will be very appreciative that you did not trespass and that you were attempting to make contact for the future. Does not always works but usually does.

 

[elfiii]

Yep. If you've been succumbed to this pursuit for any length of time and you say it's never happened to you then you don't hunt very much or you ain't tellin' the truth, the whole truth and nuthin' but the truth. The two I screwed up on over the last 35 years still haunt me to this day, especially if I hunt the spots where it happened.

I believe if you learn the lesson when it happens to you and in the future you're more careful about which shots you'll take and which ones you'll pass on out of respect for the resource then the animal did not die in vain.

Your son is lucky. He's got a good dad and he's learned this lesson young so his deer hunting pursuit is going to be more fulfilling down the line.

 

[JustUs4All]

The lessons we learn from our failures are frequently more valuable than those learned from our successes.

 

[bany]

Probably not a human in the history of the pursuit that hasn’t experienced this. Feeling horrible and learning from it makes the difference moving forward.
Some of these animals survive....

 

[Flash]

I hate that for him. He was telling me the other day that he was going hunting. It's happened to me before too.

 

[brownceluse]

Similar situation happened to my son when he was about 12. I was trying to get him on a deer so I stayed until Sunday evening. He shot a big nanny doe right before dark. I was pretty sure as she ran off she had the tail tail sign of a gut shot. She looked humped back as she ran off. I told him I was pretty sure he gut shot her but I did hear her fall I though. So we sat there another 25 minutes waiting on it to get good and dark. Daddy was in hurry because he had to go work Monday morning at 6:30...... So against my better judgement and his excitement to get his hands on his deer we went after her. And sure enough it was piled up exactly where it sounded like I heard her fall. About 70 yards from where he shot her. But,,, she got up and cut a rug.... We backed out and went to camp. Waited an hour and went back with the help a buddy and jumped her again about 100 yards away. So we backed out and went home. He was mad at daddy for leaving..... My buddy found it the next weekend about 100 yards from where we last jumped it. So my boy learned a valuable lesson that daddy already knew but was in a hurry....?

 

[Browning Slayer]

Happened to my 12 year old yesterday on a nice 7 point buck... it sucks!

 

[44magpastor]

I appreciate all of the words of encouragement. Josh was better yesterday. When he got home from school, all he could talk about was going out and practicing more with his crossbow. As soon as he gets home today, we are going to shoot.

 

[coolbreezeroho]

It happens to us all

 

[XIronheadX]

Parents sometimes feel the same as the kid. And it takes us back to our own days as a kid. I was as happy as my grown son when we tracked and found his buck Saturday. I don't feel my own anymore. I feel his. Your son will be fine. He has the right attitude to go practice. And he'll be successful. More joy is to come. For both of you.