10-21

[blackpowder]

Not to bother with the details.  At 545 this evening i was fortunate enough to shoot a deer. Thats the good news. Ha. 
 

i am using a crossbow for the first time. And those things are fast. I bever saw the impact but hear the load “pop” and tbe deer ran about 25 yrds before looking hurt and walking slow. 
 

Got down. Cant find bolt. Found blood within 3 yrds of the impact. Then more till the water. Crossed the little bit of water and found about 10 ft of blood but it was going into high ground and i didnt want to make noise so i backed out. 
 

i will go back in the morning. But what are the thoughts on the blood from the pics. 
 

what bothers me the kost is not seeing the impact. 

[Russ 11]

You will definitely want to invest in lighted knocks . Only way to see where you hit . Like you said , todays crossbows are just too fast .  Good luck on your search tomorrow. 

[3Blade]

Hard to tell but I’m guessing liver hit

[BowhunterNJ]

Definitely possible you zipped right through and the bolt is buried in the ground where the deer was standing when you shot.  Good luck in the am!

[mike033089]

Not sure how far the shot was but I’m going to be pretty confident and say that the bolt blew right through that deer.  It’s probably like mentioned above, buried under the leaves.  Good luck tomorrow. 

[Greybeard]

Unfortunately you won't know until you look in the morning.  They can bleed a lot and survive.  How did it look hurt?  Crunching up it's midsection could mean a stomach-gut hit.  Limp most likely in shoulder.  How high is higher ground?  They usually don't go uphill unless they aren't about to die, and won't make it far uphill if they're on their last breath or bleeding out.  Good luck in the morning and let us know how you make out.  Hope it doesn't rain again tonight.

[blackpowder]

Thanks guys. Shot was within 20 yrds. Not an opening i expected to shoot. 
 

i was hoping someone wouldnt say liver. It didnt look dark enough for me to think that. 
 

also looking hurt just meant slow. He wasnt arching his back or crunching like a gut shot deer. 

[LPJR]

27 minutes ago, Russ 11 said:

You will definitely want to invest in lighted knocks . Only way to see where you hit . Like you said , todays crossbows are just too fast .  Good luck on your search tomorrow. 

^^^^^^ This ^^^^^^

We will never use the crossbows or Switchbacks again without using lighted nocks for both. Today's equipment is too fast not to. 

Buy ones specific to your arrow or bolts inside diameter. 

These fly true and work flawlessly. 

Amazon.

GL with your deer. Should be recovered quickly in the morning. 

[blackpowder]

Just now, LPJR said:

^^^^^^ This ^^^^^^

We will never use the crossbows or Switchbacks again without using lighted nocks for both. Today's equipment is too fast not to. 

Buy ones specific to your arrow or bolts inside diameter. 

These fly true and work flawlessly. 

Amazon.

GL with your deer. Should be recovered quickly in the morning. 

Ty i know you post a lot. Can you tell from the pics if you think the hit is good. 

[LPJR]

1 minute ago, blackpowder said:

Ty i know you post a lot. Can you tell from the pics if you think the hit is good. 

Was just zooming in on your pics. Like @3Bladesaid, tough to tell from the pics. 

However.......

To me, I thought I saw tiny bubbles in the one pic which makes me think it is lung blood. Also the blood does not appear as dark as liver blood usually does. 

Well done backing out. I think you will have no issue recovering your deer in the morning. 

 

[Live to Hunt]

7 minutes ago, LPJR said:

Was just zooming in on your pics. Like @3Bladesaid, tough to tell from the pics. 

However.......

To me, I thought I saw tiny bubbles in the one pic which makes me think it is lung blood. Also the blood does not appear as dark as liver blood usually does. 

Well done backing out. I think you will have no issue recovering your deer in the morning. 

 

[Buck154]

When in doubt back out….always the smart move. 
what heads are you shooting?

[VFL]

Looks like some bubbles to me. Good luck!

[Rjtfd]

Looks like liver. Was it quartering? Possibly touched a lung but my guess is liver and it blew right through. Bolt is buried somewhere. Good luck. I’d take a quick look but don’t disturb area too much and maybe give a tracker a call if you can’t find it. 

[electricstart]

 Good luck keep us posted