Last weekend, I made a great shot on a doe with my Diamond and followed blood and looked for hours. There was a huge pile of blood at first but slowly tapered off and never found her. Last year I shot a buck and found 3 or 4 piles of blood with a bunch of lung matter in each of them... blood tapered off and never found him.

Personally I am 3 for 5 on recovering deer that I have shot with my bow in the last 4 years of bowhunting.

My great friend is the best hunter I know, but just lost his 3rd buck in 10 years this morning since they bought their ranch. He is 2 for 5 on recovering bucks (unsure on does).

I'm curious to know what you guys think is a good success rate on recovering deer that are shot with a compound bow? Or what have been some factors you think that have led you to better success rates? Or mistakes you've learned from that were costly.

Probably the best thing I learned to do was wait for the right shot. Nothing risky.

How long did you wait before trailing the deer you lost?

I have lost 2 out of 25ish

None in the last 4 years that I shot

I’ve never lost a deer.

I’ve lost a hog I hit in the back and a Javalina I hit in the face.


IMO if you hit a deer in the vitals he is as dead as he would be as shot with a rifle, maybe more so

A bow is a deadly weapon. It’s all about shot placement.

I've never lost one that left blood on my arrow.

Ive yet to lose a deer. I have lost as hog. I always go for a double lung shot on deer. Aim lower than I do on rifle. High shot equals long track.

I'm old as dirt and hunted with long bows ( Bear Kodiak Hunter) as a young man' I wounded several and became disillusioned with the sport.I'm small framed with shorter arms and a long bow with 26" draw just didn't give me the speed/ power. Then Mr Allen came along and like magic I could send and arrow blazing through the air without the holding stress and my desire to over draw. I became accurate and lethal. Archery is the greatest hunting sport of all BUT it requires self control, discipline, and practice, practice and practice. I still never shoot over 20 yds but I haven't lost a deer in the last 15 and waiting for the proper placement is essential. Heart and lungs will always ensure success.

I only bow hunt for Whitetail, and have lost one deer in 30 years. That one deer was 25 years ago when I waited 15 minutes to start to sneak around and look for him, big mistake. I bumped him once where he had laid down in a thick shin oak patch, spent the next couple hours following minute traces of blood in the dark. Two days later, I found him when the buzzards gave him up nearly a mile from where I shot him. Investigation resulted in an arrow placement a couple inches too far back, and only got liver. Fatal, absolutely...quick death, not when an excited hunter tries to claim their prize too quickly and their quarry gets spooked with adrenalin and runs a mile before laying down again.

Lessons I have learned in priority order:
1. Preparation. Practice shooting from the position of your (various) stand configurations (sit, stand, tripod, ground, ....)
2. Accuracy. Accurate judge of distance. Accurate shot placement.
3. Patience. Patient to wait for the right shot. Patience to wait for the properly placed broached to do its thing.


And, at times, doing all three lessons well might still not be enough. THAT is why I love bow hunting.