Help- Gut shot deer?

[djohns13]

I hope you have found him already but if not, I would search the really thick cover that you last saw him enter.  And I mean search, meaning down on your hands and knees looking for sign.  If you still can't find him begin to sweep your search outward in a grid like pattern.  If all else fails, look for a water source downhill, he might have headed there.
 
Good shooting.

[schlupis]

bigwisconsinbucks first off dont get down on yourself that deer if gut shot is dead no worries. I have gut shot a few deer and found all of them even the ones that I jumped before. If you jumped him once I dont care what anybody says that deer is not going to run for mile he probably ran a hundred yards or so and lay back down again..
 
the other thing is if you thought the deer was broadside but you smell gut on the arrow he was probably quartering from you.. I killed a doe last year that I thought for sure was broadside only to find my arrow had gut on it.. After I shot I watched the doe for over a hour stand at 70 yards from my stand looking around I thought for sure I missed then 90 mins after I shot I watched her walk out of sight and heard her fall over.. There was good blood trail all the way to the doe. when we found the deer I saw my entrance hole was back near the guts and exit hole was right behind the front shoulder so just because the arrow has gut on it doesnt mean the hit was all gut.
 
SO if your deer bedded down that quick then he is hurt bad and will die.. good luck in finding and dont stop looking until you are sure you and your buddies have covered every possible place the deer would go to die....

[msbadger]

Well it sounds like you feel you've lost the meat already but I hope you find him anyways because seeing where your hit was will be of great help later....My 8pt last year was a shot that sounded similar to yours..he was liver side to me with just a slight quartering away....hit was low and exited low....he went 100yrds and dropped ...but arrowed smelled so I backed off for 2 hrs and when gutting I had hit liver ...sliced lung and sliced front part of full ruman...which made cleaning a nasty affair...sprayed inside with wht vinagar to cut down on bacteria growth...while skinning and quartering......PS no waste he's feeding natures creatures if you found him too late

[Squirrelhawker]

I've been thinking of last year since this thread started...
 
Sitting in one of my favorite creek bottom stands I watched this doe group feed towards me for 25 minutes. This is the worst for me. I do much better when I don't have to think about things too long.
 
The lead doe drove me nuts forever and I rushed the shot, hitting her too far back. When I found the arrow I backed out, leaving the arrow sticking in the stump right where it passed through her.
 
The next morning I was in the stand early. As it got light I couldn't see the arrow. I spent an hour looking for it with the binocs, but no arrow.
I decided to get down and see what the deal was. As I stepped off onto the ground, there was my arrow laying at the foor of the ladder.
Still puzzled it didn't dawn on me yet what had happened.
I knew the doe was hit bad but hit hard and there was good blood at the trail head. I had backed out right away and the creek bottom was a well used, safe travel corridor for these deer with tons of places to lie down. We had recovered several deer over the years because of their unwillingness to leave the bottom.
 
I started to track her and after 200 yards the sign was gone. My buddy and I swept the bottoms for half a day. And then it started to dawn on me. I left in the dark and came back in the dark. The only person that would have pulled that arrow out and laid it at my stand was a coon hunter. What I'll never know was the intent behind the message. Was it "sorry, we ran your deer out of here" or "we ran your deer out of here and we don't give a rats nest" Out of my control but still somewhat of a heartbreaker for me. 
 
 

[bigwisconsinbucks]

I found him!! I went back out with 1 of my buddies yesterday. We found his bed again and tried to find blood, but it had all washed away. We started walking through the thick briars, treetops, and all kinds of other brush. After following a trail for about 75-100 yards I found him. My buddy and I had to drag him up a big hill but we made it. It turned out I hit him higher than I had originally thought and I have come to believe he was quartering to a tad. I actually got 1 lung and the liver and the arrow exited towards the back and low. Also, the meat was still good because luckily it was cool yesterday. I'm so pumped! He's only a 1.5 year old 5 pointer, but for my first bow buck it's awesome. I also had numerous trail cam pictures of him. Thank you everyone for your input and help. We truly have a great community of hunters on here.

[schlupis]

bigwisconsinbucks thats great glad you found him knew you would, congrats on the buck send a pic if you got it.. good luck the rest of the season to you....

[passin through]

Cool!  Congrats Wisconsin[:D]

[JPH]

That is awesome man! Congrats!
 
Let's see some potos!

[djohns13]

Congrat Bigwisconsinbucks, great job.  All on here are proud of you for sticking with the search to full resolution.  Finding the meat in salvagable shape is just a bonus.
 
Good shooting.

[fasteddie]

Congrats on not giving up and recovering your deer ! [:)]