Shot Placement-Anatomy-Tracking

What was the goal of your post again? How far did deer go and shot's value was it?

Chad, I hear guys talking about aiming all over a deer. Your low aim at heart makes sense except what happens if the deer doesn’t drop and you hit that leg bone blocking the heart? If it wasn’t for that issue I think most would aim there.

Don’t know how far she ran . From all the deer I have shot and what I have seen shot doe do not usually run as far as bucks, especially in rut. How far they run can be a crap shoot. I once shot a buck with s as 270 and blew out half its heart. He still ran close to 300 yards . Drenilin is a crazy thing . But the shot in the pictures appears to be going from the head of the deer towards the back of the deer. Looks tofar back from where I would want it to hit. Maybe Liver shot but could have got some lung . Also looks like shes trying to jump the string but waited s bit late.

From the looks of the 2 pics she appeared to be just slightly quartering away.
1) I'd say the arrow cut through both lungs and possibly caught the liver as well. I don't believe it caught the back top part of the heart.
2) I'd guess she probably jumped up into the air and bolted off. Guessing how far is pretty tough as each deer is always different. I shot some in that exact spot with my bow and they crashed within 30-40 yards and yet others went 100-150 yards or even a little more.
3) I would think there was plenty enough blood to follow her trail pretty easily and it should have been bright red to a frothy pinkish color.
4) I'm thinking she was a pretty short track job and likely under 50 yards but again, each deer is different and reacts as such to the impact of an arrow.

one thing you need to factor in, was it a complete pass-thru or did the arrow hang up at the fletching? A deer running with the arrow still embedded in its body will almost always run further than a deer who's arrow passed thru or kicked out right after the shot.

UPDATE… Second stage of recovery.
When she ran I was quickly adjusting video so didn’t see if she had tail up or down but she went quickly for 75yards.
Then she stopped and stood(Uncomfy but not hunched) for 20 seconds.
Then she slowly walked 75 yards without stopping till outa the field.
First brush she laid down facing me at 65 yards.
Head up just laid there 5 or 10 minutes.
Got up and right back down.
5 more minutes and she got up and trotted outa view. If she was coherent she could of seen me for sure and likely smelled.
I waited about 2.5 hours and looked at arrow and tracked to her bed. Knew where she bedded so didn’t look real close for blood in field but saw none at all, even right after shot or going into bed.
Pic shows blood on arrow and both the blades were deployed.
Pic of deer was as she walked off.
I never saw her exit side but arrow in video looked like pass straight through, and I thought she was ever slightly angled away so unless rib deflected it should of exit slightly forward of entry.
I drew many conclusions after this second stage of recovery but I’ll keep to myself and let y’all be in my shoes and tell me what you thought to this point and what you would of done.
Remember guys, this is learning exercise and nothing is absolute but wanting logical thoughts on what happened and how to proceed.

It looks a bit too high, but more importantly, a bit too far back toward the gut. Based on the angle the bolt is flying in.

I am sure it was a clean kill. Most likely right lung pumping frothy blood, maybe not so much on the left lung.

Tracking was likely over 100 yards.

You lost me on this one bud, can we just get to the finish line.

DQ, sorry, I thought I did good.
Besides, the finish isn’t as important as what was learned along the way.
A recap for the speed readers that didn’t follow closely.
Step one-I shot and recapped what happened until she was outa sight.
Step two-I tracked her till she bedded and I recapped what I saw during that time.
Step three-yet to be revealed.

Keep in mind guys, that 200 yards may not be all that far for any fatally hit deer to go if on an all out adrenaline pumped death run. But in her case she walked and bedded for a total of half hour. Doesnt it seems that shot would of caught enough lung to stop her TIME WISE sooner than that?

200 yards is a long way for most any fatally hit animal to run.

That distance it’s certainly the exception and not the rule

If she needed down and got up again 30 min later (not being pushed ) the shot wasn’t great.

If you want a heart shot, wait until at least the near side front leg is forward if not both front legs are forward, otherwise your hitting lung which isn’t bad.

How hard is it to figure out where to shoot?
It’s harder for 99% to put their bullet/arrow in a spot than it is to identify!

“How hard is it to figure out where to shoot?” I think for a bow Hunter it is much harder than many think.

Figuring out where to shoot is easy. Follow the leg up 1/3rd of his body and let it fly. with that shot you have a little leeway either right or left. I prefer a lung shot over a heart shot but if you can get both, its great.


I think you are overthinking and overcomplicating this whole ordeal, shoot a deer tight behind the shoulder when broadside or when quartering away always aim for where you want the arrow to exit, not enter. I have not shot alot of game with a quartering away shot, i really prefer broadside, getting a good double lung with a big mechanical broadhead usually leads to a short and a easy to follow tracking job. I've had deer that didn't bleed at all but died within 50-60 yards as well, so there is no guarantees in bowhunting. No one is gonna be able to predict with 100% accuracy what is gonna happen even with identical shots


Here is a good compilation video to watch to get an idea if your in doubt on where to shoot game

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3S1kKCuBZA

I’ve been accused of over thinking all my life. I appreciate y’all trying to help me but it’s worked for me all my life and it’s doubtful I will change.

There are always outliers in the mix of normals. I agree the majority of shots are pretty much line it up and shoot, but when the “weird” happens, it makes us ponder. As i told FR, not all deer read the textbooks.

This deer should have been an ez kill. Should have gone down a lot earlier. But it didntt. I shot a doe this weekend and with the dead deflated lungs and hanging by the legs the liver only went as far in as the eighth rib, which would be 5 from the back. Every anatomy is slightly different. Not all deer read the textbooks.

Everything is on a bell curve.

90% of good shots will be text book short tracks lots of blood. 10% of good shots will have you questioning your sanity and 10% of bad shots will result in a dead deer.

I shot a buck at 17 yards right behind the shoulder with a rage trypan. Perfect shot, deer ran off and I’m thinking it’s a short track job. Find the arrow and expect to find the buck in short order. Deer ended up going over 300 yards and the entry was right where I thought it was…great shot.

Last year I shot a doe with my recurve, she was alert and looking at me when I released ( mistake no.1) she lunged forward and I hit the deer just forward of the hips where it buried about halfway in. I found the deer 50 yards away from where I shot her stone dead.

If you can ever find a video from Bone Collector TV show that was filmed in Old Mexico around 2010 of Travis Turner shooting a buck with his bow it is worth the watch. He shoots a broadside buck behind the shoulder and it looks like a double lung dead deer shot. 1.5 hrs later and 1000 yards away Michael Waddell shoots the same buck with his bow after it walked in front of him. When I watched the video on the TV show and the buck walked in front of Waddell I said that is the same buck T-Bone just shot. It was for a fact the same buck. How the buck lived and went that far is unbelievable. All kinds of scenarios were played on forums about it. T-Bone is an excellent shot and it looked like a dead deer...but it was not even close when it walked out in front of Waddell. I've tried to find the video on Youtube but have never been successful.

Straight from Travis:
Waddy/Bone Buck Mexico

We are still scratching our heads on this one . Just like a lot of things in hunting and heck even in life we may not be able to ever totally understand. But I will include some facts and or more info that may help us all understand things a lil better .

We had trailed the deer for about 150 yards 45 minutes after shooting him since we had reviewed the footage in the blind and seen it was a good hit . It was a good blood trail . As we were trailing the Buck outfitter drove on us trailing the deer not even knowing we had shot it was just time to be picked up . The direction in which he came to us was semi between Waddell and myself . When he approached us we told him about shooting the Buck and talked a bit at his truck for about 10 or 15 minutes. We then decided to go pick up Waddell and bring him back to finish blood trailing My buck in a group effort assuming by seeing how good the shot was and blood trail that we were close to finding him. Thats when we drove up on Waddell and got the info about him shooting the Buck. ( Side note: I know folks are thinking how come we weren't texting with each other or the outfitter. Well there is NO service in Mex . So it is old school hunting, we had no communications with each other til we seen them).

So by the time we get to Waddell to pick him up approximately and hour or so had past . And Waddell had shot the Buck just 10 to 15 minutes pryor to us getting there.

Now here are some other facts and therioes , with the footage that Waddell had after I had shot him and before he shot him you could tell he rushed in there to Waddy's stand . And also when he would stop he would close his eyes and tail would sink and would wobble . This deer was going to die for sure but it seemed he was living on bursts of adrenaline and we were amazed he went that far .

•It was a complete pass thru on my shot and Waddell's shot.

•The entrance and exit holes with Mine and Waddell's shots were big and yes the T3's for sure worked and opened just liked designed .

•After gutting the deer and trying to see what damage was done by what arrow it was too hard to tell with both arrows passing thru the vitals you couldn't tell what arrow and what or who's Bhead did what damage exactly .

•Would he have died from my shot ?. Absoulutley

•Would we have found this deer if he wouldnt have ran to Waddell ? maybe not with out a dog as much ground as he covered . It would have for sure been tough.

My theroy on the situation is this I must have hit a portion of the vitals to let the buck live a little longer than normal . And we may have got on his trail a lil fast . And maybe the outfitter coming up may have spooked him to hurry over Waddell's way and also increasing his adrenaline . rather than bedding down and dying. There were lots of cows in the pasture and it being open country may have made him seek the closest cover and or drainage which is where Waddell was. I have also noticed that deer in Texas and Mexico are a lot smaller bodied and they do seem to be more skitish and I guess a better word is jittery and the seem to run farther and faster and seem to have a stronger will to live , more adrenaline, but im sure this happens nation wide also . Just seems like a lot in tex .and mex. I also feel with us being able to review the footage helps a lot so that we can see the shot placement . When we all hunt alone you have to play all these things thru your head over and cant find the right answers to help you recover the animal .Instead of reviewing footage like we are able to do. At the end of the day this is for sure a head scratching incident that did end very lucky for us . The whitetail Gods shined on us . Other wise this would be another story like we all have or have heard of the one that got away that was hit very well . The whitetail deer is an amazing animal and we so enjoy hunting them. Its not the Broadheads fault its just what it is and all apart of hunting.

Yours in Archery, Travis T-Bone __________________ "Me I'm just a hunter" and I give em a smile.