Shot two doe, both perfect double lung crossbow shots in the lower third of the chest, exactly what you want in a archery shot.
First shot, with lighted nock showed solid hit and could see the arrow in the ground after doe ran off. Blood trail was non-existent for about 40 yards and then the last 15 yards was copious amounts of blood. Interestingly, the bolt had hardly any blood on it, to the point I initially thought I might have missed her, esp with the non-existent initial blood trail.
Second one, my son shot, lighted nock and the only way I knew it was a hit was the bolt deflected once passed through her and then I lost it out of sight. This bolt was easily found close to the impact site, completely covered from front to back in blood. Never have seen an arrow or bolt so covered in a slick of blood.
What made this track interesting was again the lack of initial blood, and about 25 yards in my son picked up a leaf with a spot that was a different shade of red, asked me if this was blood. I saw something similar a bit up and thought initially it was just fall color change in a leaf, but as we continued it was obvious it was blood. Within 15 more yards there was copious amounts of blood again and the doe was not far.

I did not know that blood can turn from one shade of red to a much more fluorescent shade of red in the cold. Have never seen that before. The color change was very vibrant and just not at all something I have seen before, even in human medical stuff. I wonder if the blood almost freeze dried or flash froze or something that made it such a vibrant fluorescent color. I now wish I would have taken a pic...

Anyone seen something similar?

You will get different colored blood from different parts of deer. Arrow could of hit a lung and the heart, stomach, or muscle and give you the color variation.

Verde

May comment more later when time. It was single digit tempts, correct? Disappointed you didn’t get pic of blood. We need everyone to keep data on any bow track so we can learn. Also, video super helpful.
I know TxBuc a little so I’m serious but poking fun at him a little…,

While I hear what you are saying, this was a function of the temperature and not location hit. The deer was hit solid double lung and probably aorta or heart due to the blood on the bolt, should have been that bright red blood we typically see with a good lung shot or solid muscle shot. I realize liver and gut shot can give a deeper red color and muscle can be different from well oxygenated blood from the lungs, but this was not any of those. This was a bright almost glowing color or red, similar tot he red seen on a red maple in the fall. Very bright, but distinct from typical blood from a deer.

Only reason I am certain the blood color was temperature related is the bolt was coated with the same color and it was almost freeze dried. Not ypical of a wet bloody arrow or bolt typically seen, nor of just dried blood. This was a weird reaction of almost freeze dried blood from the extreme cold we had this weekend.

Killed a Mule deer in Wyoming with a rifle when it was -15 and the blood was orange.

^^^^^

You can get that with lung shots Lungs full of air the deer will usually go further and less blood on the arrow but bright red blood high oxygen content in the blood and bright colored when you do find it. Lungs fully exhaled they are much more solid compressed with darker less oxygenated blood. think Artery blood bright red, vein blood darker red.

Either one you get the most blood out the holes when exhaling and especially after chest cavity fills up to the holes.

If I am wrong so is a Dr. I used to hunt with.

Kmon knows his archery stuff. I agree with him on the late blood trail usually because the chest cavity has to fill up first. The lower the hole the sooner it fills up and comes out. For various reasons this doesn’t always seem to be the case.
I know your point wasn’t the amount or timing of blood but the color and I cant help you much with that beyond what’s been said. I have recently become pretty good friends with a real good deer tracker with a dog and Im learning a lot from him. I’ll ask him about this at some point.

Yeah, like i saod, i should have taken pics. I agree with everything kmon said, and understand that fully being a surgeon myself….however, this was like freeze dried blood, very weird color and dried/frozen quite quickly.

Was just trying to see if anyone else has seen weird blood color in super cold, and if they hadn’t help educate the possibility that blood may look different in super cold than typically seen in TX. Pics would have been ideal, sorry i didnt take any.

Pics would be interesting for sure. frothy bright lung blood might freeze quicker and be bright. Thinking back to an elk in Montana when it was sub zero temps on the hunt the elk blood was sure bright on the ice and snow. Low I saw on that hunt was -21 but was glad when we got above zero on the 5th day of the hunt. met that front driving up in Denver, made for an interesting drive from Fort Collins to White Sulphur Springs, MT.

I’ve seen blood on the ground from well over a thousand people in every kind of condition from single digits to 115 degrees. Both trails and pools, and it’s always looked like the colors and consistency from where the bullets did their damage. I’ve blood tracked a lot of deer too and on a visual level blood is blood regardless of if it’s from a 2 legged critter or 4.

Whitetail blood trail in the cold on the snow that a blind man could follow - heart shot archery deer:

Sow hog about 225 pounds, supersonic Barnes Tac TX 300 Blackout. I popped her deep in the night at about 18 degrees and this was later in the day. It was full of air bubbles from a lung hit so the first 60 feet or so was visibly lighter looking until the bubbles were gone. The rest of the trail was darker arterial blood. When I took the pic the whole trail was the same color.

https://mriquestions.com/why-are-veins-blue.html
answer here.

Didn’t seem to answer it at all, but I’m not too bright, maybe.

Related to the amount of oxygen in the blood that (technical) connects to iron in the blood.

I’ve seen all kinds of strange things when shooting deer with an arrow.

And yes, I’ve double lunged deer and there wasn’t any blood on the arrow or broadhead, then got to the deer and it’s laying in a pool of jellied blood.

I'm spoiled I guess to be hunting in Texas. It don't get that cold to change blood color AND if it does...I ain't going out there. I'm not that mad at them now s apposed to when I was younger.