It's definately a crap shoot. Over the years, I've gut shot 5 deer and only recovered 1, and only because there was snow on the ground and I was able to watch the deer from my stand. I was able to stalk quietly to get close enough to put another shot into it. If you shoot the deer in the morning, at least you have plenty of time to wait it out. At least 3-4 hours before tracking it. An evening "bad hit" is another story. Wait or go? I only hunt the mornings myself but like I've said, 4 deer lost, so its tough no matter what. There's no easy answer, just try to do the right thing for the situation at hand and hope for the best.

 

Predators or no predators, when in doubt back out.

 

I started bow hunting in the late 70's, i have never left a deer over night without trying to recover it, heck, iv'e been known to go russle up a couple of my buddys to help me track and hold lights. I guess a lot would have to do with how cold it is . wether it would last the night, but i must say, that the new technology sure has changed things, and i dont find myself in that position as often as the old days, if it rains over night your screwed, if its really warm out your screwed. My thoughts have been to do everything i could to find that deer, if i jump him, wait another hour or so, and have at it again. That's just me , to each his own. Happy Trails
I started bow hunting in the late 70's, i have never left a deer over night without trying to recover it, heck, iv'e been known to go russle up a couple of my buddys to help me track and hold lights. I guess a lot would have to do with how cold it is . wether it would last the night, but i must say, that the new technology sure has changed things, and i dont find myself in that position as often as the old days, if it rains over night your screwed, if its really warm out your screwed. My thoughts have been to do everything i could to find that deer, if i jump him, wait another hour or so, and have at it again. That's just me , to each his own. Happy Trails

 

If gut shot leave him alone. Chances is he'll lay down and probably bleed out if he isnt bumped. How long?!? I'd leave him the night and hope nothing got to him before I did. Only problem here is it's WAY too hot during bow season and the meat lying against the ground would probably be ruined.

 

When i gut shoot one i wait 30 mins climb down from my stand go to where the shot was mark the direction i know it ran then i will walk back out to my vehicle from another direction grab something to eat and a few helping hands and head back after a few hours to track him down as best i can. Ive only lost one it was gut shot went in after him after waiting 30 minutes and jumped him up and never saw hide nor hair until 2 weeks later i found what was left which wasn't much just some bones.

 

I gut shot one yrs ago, i learned couple things on that one that may help you. 1st. most of the time the deer will only go about 200 yds & lay down. 2nd. It takes awhile for them to die like that. I waited 6 hrs, mine was still alive but had stiffened up so much i got my 2nd & killing shot into her, a Doe.

 

It's a crap shoot, you're damned if you do and you're damned if you don't. If you start too early you drive your quarry up country until it's out of the state , if you leave it 6 to 8 hours some coyote is chewing on it. Now believe it or not there are gutshots and gutshots as there are lungshots , some of these are not deadly every time but that to is small comfort. Also every time is a different situation , so you take everything in consideration , if there is snow , give it at least an hour or two and track slowly, if it's starting to rain, better go get at it etc. Do the best you can, follow up to determine whether you are able to retrieve your deer, if you fail make sure you've done your personal best, it can be hard to live with. JMHO. Cactus

 

Best answer,,do everything to avoid a Gut Shot, in the first place! I know though things can go wrong. Past years I have stuck mostly to morning hunting just for the reason I hate stumbling around in the dark. Yet I know I am missing a lot of hunting time. So past season I hunted many evenings too. Good thing I did as I shot a 6 yr old buck just at dark. I was pretty sure of a good hit, but he ran away fast so I went home and waited until 10PM to go and look for blood. He only ran 70 or 80 yrds and fell. I have jumped a bedded deer. It was morning. I waited 3 hrs. The way he ran I assume he was alright,,going up hills and over fences with blood dwindling. The only sign was white hair on my arrow so I figured a low chest shot under him. Will always wonder though,,"If I had left him a few more hours?" Coyotes always a threat, but I think jumping a deer would make me feel worse than finding one eaten.

 

Predators or no predators, when in doubt back out.

what he said

 

This is exactally what I thought I would hear in response. Some simply back out. Some do what I do what a few hours then start tracking. I'm thinking, given different circumstances, I will stick to waiting 2-3 or 4 hours then start to recover. I would think it would be extremely important to begin the tracking assuming the animal is still alive and might jump at any time. Given that I would track the first few hundred yards in extreme stealth mode!! Almost a still hunt. If it's at night of course that is impossible to do with spot lights. So I'm thinking you start at a marked spot maybe 50 yards or so from the stand location and attempt to blood track with as little lighting as possible. Sticking to being as slow and quiet as possible.
I don't think there is any right answer. With new technology making good clean kills is at a premium. Most of the responses I've read are from seasoned hunters who made a bad shot back in the day with equipment that is no where near what is available today. I remember 25 years ago that 4" groups at 20 yards wasn't that bad. Today if your not splitting arrows at 20 yards something is wrong with your bow. I know the biggest problem I had back 25+ years ago were my Broadheads. I used Razorback 3 and 5's. They flew all over the place!! Shooting field points was easy. Then we would put the broadhead on and the groupings went to crap. Keep the responses coming in.

 

Mike, yes the equipment is better but it doesn't guarantee a perfect shot. That arrow can tweak a weed or limb and change the POI. The deer can duck or jump a shot or you flinch because of buck fever. There are just a lot of variables to consider. We try to reduce those variables but a bad shot can happen. It happens with old and new hunting technology.

 

I gut shot my first deer this season. Noticed it hunched over and walked slowly into the woods. Waited about 2 hours and picked up a huge blood trail about 30 yards for POI (no blood on arrow!!) deer went another 20 yards and died. It basically field dressed itself. Come to find out there is a large artery that runs along the belly. My spitfire severed this and thank goodness death came quickly. Still feel bad about shooting it there, and I discovered my scope rail screws had loosened up!! Fixed that with locktite and haven't missed a double lung in the pass three hog/deer kills.


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Bigship: Don't beat yourself up too much, most of us have been there at one time or another. You recovered yours a lot of us didn't. Cactus

 

So the question is... If you hit a Deer, Elk, Moose, Goat, Sheep, or whatever your hunting TOO FAR BACK and it appears you have made a gut shot, what do you do??

Unless the terrain is extremely open and you can visually follow the animal if you jump it, I would wait a minimum of 12 hours or more before following up. If you wait at least 16 hours, your chance for recovery is above 90% within 200 yards of where it was shot. Go too soon and your chance for recovery plummets.

Ultimately, the goal is to recover the animal. Yes, you may lose it to predators. Yes, you may lose it to spoilage. You owe it to the animal to wait, find it, and tag it whether it is salvageable or not.

I have gut shot two. I lost one when I was young and dumb. I backed out, returned in 6 hours. Jumped it out if its bed and never found it. The other one I found dead at 14 hours, 80 yards from where I shot it.

 

Why in the HECK does it say 0 zero views on this topic? There are about 10-12 responses. And I'm sure there would be more if the topic looked like people had interest. To me this is very important!! I asked the question to get feedback. Hello C. N. Let's fix this!!

 

There we go!! Looks like it's fixed. Now it's showing up as read and responded to.

 

Here is another Question that relates to where your arrow hits, Gut or Lungs. Do you stop a moving deer with an urrp or not, before you shoot? Seems all the hunt videos show that now,,UURRRP, the deer stops, they shoot. I have been doing this the past couple yrs. Have not had a buck bolt on me yet. You have to be ready to shoot though when it stops!

 

some times your lucky..you can see were you hit and know it wasnt a good shot.unfortunately ive done this...I wait and stalk.how long you wait and how far you stalk.thats a horse of a different color.lve done it but its never good when the animals not recovered.when I know it was a bad shot I get on it within an hour.

 

I dont have a problem shooting a walking deer as long as he's close. Usually I'll give a short whistle or say "Hey!" though.

 

Ive heard of people whistling before ive always went with a short uurp but i tried the whistle this past year worked on a 4 point so i would say either works just fine as long as its not to loud.

 

On a gut shot deer, I mark the spot shot and last seen from the stand. Back out away from the deer, so I don't accidently bump it on my way out. Go get something to eat and a good flashlight with fresh batteries. After about 3 hours I will start tracking. If I find where I bumped him I will back out another 3 hours. This was the last one that I waited for overnight . It went about 150 yards. I found it at daybreak.

 

All my deer I shoot I stop with sound. I make dut sound and they stop on the spot, then I shoot them!

 

Has anyone tried that "blood-glow" stuff that was originally developed for crime scene investigations? I bought some last year (enough to track 4 deer for $24, on-line). I never got a chance to use it as my heart-shot buck only went about 40 yards, dropping dead with a loud crash, just out of sight. You mix the stuff with windshield wiper fluid and spray it with a squirt bottle or hand sprayer. It supposedly makes the smallest drops of blood glow bright green in the starlight or moonlight. No flashlight or lantern is used. Rain supposedly makes it work even better and glow brighter.

They say it is particularly effective on gut-shot deer and I have heard that it is almost 100% on those from some outfitters out West. They say it is a lot better than tracking dogs. I am not from Missouri, but I still wont believe it until I see it for myself. Listening to those guy's reports, and having it in my pack and a sprayer of windshield wiper fluid in the truck, does give me more confidence to stay in the stand until the end of legal shooting light on afternoon hunts. I missed a lot of prime hunting time in years past, as I always wanted to leave some daylight for tracking if needed.

 

If you've hunted for several years, chances are that you've gut shot a deer for any multiple of reasons. I've noticed with those that I've gut shot that these things often happen, but not in any order, as follows: (1) the wounded deer will seek a position to watch his/her backtrail. This is often on an elevated position, such as a ridge or creek bank; (2) the deer will often return in the direction from which he/she came, perhaps because they know that this was a safe route. Often, the return route will be in a "U" shape rather than a straight line; (3) wounded deer often seek a water source, so be sure to walk the creeks, check the ponds, etc. I give a deer several hours if hit in the morning or over night if hit in the evening. They often only go a 200-300 yards before laying down if not pushed. Yes, sometimes the coyotes get to them before I do which is unfortunate; however, I've had very limited success in pushing a gut shot deer immediately after the hit. After waiting several hours, it's not unusual to find a gut shot deer still alive but unable to get up, so a finishing shot is needed. I've not noticed that meat from a gut shot deer tastes any different from a heart/lung hit. Anyway...that's my experience from 50 years of deer hunting.

 

I had to find one for my brother one time after he gut shot it just before dark. He told me where he was hunting and the next morning it took me 20 minutes to locate it without any blood trail. I simply found the nearest game trail and followed it to the nearest water. Found it laying right there in the creek next to the deer trail.