Help Shoulder Hit

[pmedrn]

I hit a deer in the shoulder and feel just terrible! The deer took off with my arrow and I lost the deer and arrow. It bled very little and ran off. Tracking is veey hard due to 6 foot tall crp grass. Could this deer live through this? I hope I might get another shot at it. Im  pretty new to hunting and any help would be appriciated. Thanks Frank

[DeerCamp]

Sadly shoulder hits are one of the toughest hits to find. Myself I have never fouind a deer that I hit in the shoulder. Im sure its possible the deer could live from it. However it could pass as well. I think your best bet would give the deer plenty of time to lay down search again for more blood and if you lose blood then its time to comb the area. Search for long distance.. But hey dont get to down on yourself. They happen a lot, so just make a very good effort to find him.

[ranwin33]

If the arrow penetrated the shoulder and got a lung, or took out a vein then you might recover him.  Back out, give him the rest of the day, then look for blood.

[JPH]

I shoulder shot a large bodied buck last year. He ran about 30-40 yards, then stood and looked around like nothing at all had happened for about 5 minutes. I could see the blood running down his shoulder and leg. Oddly enough he turned down a trail and limped back to me and I made a second, double-lung shot that killed him quickly.

I tell you this because it gave me a lot of insight into what happens with a shoulder hit. At first it seemed as if the shoulder hit had done nothing more but cause venous bleeding and make him limp. But once I double lunged him, he went down very quickly. Much faster than a double lung with a healthy deer.

Upon examination, I found that the broadhead (a Rage-2) was lodged so tightly in the scapula that I could not pull it out. It had penetrated to the other side by about 1/4". This had made a dime sized hole in the chest cavity and a small amount of trauma to the lung tissue.

I think he would have died of this wound, but the bleeding would have left a very sparse trail. I got very very lucky.

I would not give up on your deer but I also would not beat yourself up over this. It does happen and if he did not die where you can find him, he may survive.

[Patriot]

I smoked a doe right in the scapula a couple years ago while bow hunting.  My arrow only penetrated a few inches (shooting 63 pounds....deer was 15 yards away).  My arrow broke off, I looked all day and never found her (CRP / swamp land).
 
Also, there is a great article in the recent issue of D&DH about this very issue. 
 
Be sure to do your due diligence and look for the deer.  Don't beat yourself up if you can't find it.
 
Best of luck.  Please keep us posted.

[pmedrn]

Thank you all for your help. With continued practice I will deliver a better shot next time.

[reeper0697]

Several seasons ago I hit a deer in the shoulder as well. I looked all over as well as had some others come help me look. We didn't find any blood and combed the area for hours upon hours for several days. A few days later I checked my trail cam and I got the deer on there with a big tatoo on its shoulder to where I had wounded it.
 
I sat in the stand again hoping it would come by since it was still in that area. Well it did come by limping on that front leg. It absolutely tore me up inside. The deer gave me another shot opportunity and I made sure I was right on it where I needed to be. I let the Rage 2 blade fly, one side opened up in flight, and it cork screwed out of control.
 
It is just very unfortunate and heart breaking to wound an animal.