Getting Over Wounded Deer and Deer Activity

[BUCKHUNTER30-06]

bflem55, I answered your other post about hitting the 12pt. and losing it. My grandson hit a 4pt his 1st buck with a crossbow Mon. night found a little blood and then the arrow. only about 2 drops of blood after that. 4 of us went out Tue. morn. did a grid search nothing. I then walked on top of a ravine with a creek down below and, about 300yds laying in the small creek was his 4pt. buck. years ago my son lost a buck same way and I had him stay at the last blood and I went to a creek that ran through there. I walked up the creek and then back down the creek. I found his buck almost laying in the creek. a deer when wounded gets a fever and needs to drink a lot so I would check the creek bottom you talk about.

[trperk]

Yeah, and by now there should be some crow activity on the buck if he's dead. At least you could get the rack.

[mrbb]

don't forget there are guys about with deer tracking dogs too, that might recover a dead deer, I know on a BIG buck, I hit a few yrs back in Ohio, I hired one guy, , didn't find it, but it was money well spent trying
as it was a BIG buck, and I looked for days for it
doesn't take much to miss a dead deer either if its thick and lots of cover or hilly and small drop off
I once looked for a week for a deer, had a bunch of guys
and we actually walked past it dead about 10 times and never seen it, till a month later when a buddy found it, , it dove into a small dip in the ground head first and was below ground level, unless you stepped on it, you would have never seen it

so, never hurts to look more
a good area will always pull deer back
and a great buck is worth the effort! or risk to spoook the area IMO!

[Big_Holla]

I'd do everything possible to try to find the one you hit first instead of worrying if your spot would be ruined. A quartering away shot depending on where it went in, penetration and all should be a dead deer. Like mrbb said, check out a tracking dog first and you still have grid searching if all else fails. No offense but 5 hours tracking is nothing when it comes to finding a deer you shot.

[Big_Holla]

Of course I just re-read your post and saw it was Sunday when you shot him. I'd have been looking Monday and Tuesday if it were a quartering away shot that I felt good about.

[bflem55]

Yea we looked and looked on Monday I had farmers looking on the adjacent properties as well. I am thinking that the shot was a little higher than I thought and this deer is still alive.

[trperk]

It's hard to judge where you're arrow landed but I've had quartering away shots where the my broadhead ran up between the scapula and backbone. I saw the buck a month later with a nice scar!