If you shoot a deer, be it with bow or gun, get off your butt and find it. I see/hear way too much crap about hitting one but not finding much blood. Then the "hunter" goes back to hunting. F that! If you hit one, you're done hunting until its found! Or you have exhausted every possibility to find it. An hour or two is NOT enough!

If you shoot and don't see it drop, wait a couple hours. A dead deer isn't going anywhere! An injured deer is leaving the county if you bump it. BE PATIENT. You waited all year for the chance to shoot one,you can wait a couple more hours to retrieve it.

Growing up, I was taught once you draw blood you're sole job is to find your deer. If it takes a couple days...it takes a couple days.

USE A DOG if you lose the trail. Even if its just your lap dog. Chances are he will track it. Sure won't do any worse than you already have.

My buck the other day is a prime example...I saw him drop thankfully. There was NO blood until ten foot from his carcass. They don't always leave a foot wide blood trail. Quite the opposite often. Drops the size of pinheads til they stop. High hits take awhile to fill the cavity and leak out.

If you are unwilling to make EVERY effort to find your game, please find another hobby. Please.


AND DONT TAKE POKE-N-HOPE SHOTS! NO MATTER HOW BIG THE BUCK!

!AMEN!

Good post!

I agree also...

But unfortunately things happen... esp when bowhunting!!! And the arrow doesn't always end up where it was aimed...

Even when you take the perfect shot... Those invisible limbs/twigs, miss judged yardage, bowstring hit the sleeve... etc...

We've all had it happen... but we try to keep them to a minimum!!! But not all shots are fatal!!!

I used to help a buddy that processed deer on the side... and it was amazing what we found inside some of them... one deer had multiple slugs, ML bullets, & broadheads in it that had healed over from years past...

I agree 100%... I know a few hunters that shot at several deer and they don't walk more than 50 yards to retrieve them. If it doesn't drop where it was, they let it go.

I don't hunt with them anymore. I searched for 2 different deer for more than 4 hours, next day... even 4 days later just to FIND OUT what the heck happened to them. Those that are "fire and forget" aren't hunters. Should be banned.