# It was a "Perfect Shot"



## 10 Ringer (Feb 17, 2017)

Just to clarify, I have not gotten a deer with my bow yet, and I'm not saying that people shouldn't get shakey and make a bad shot, but I have a ?. I've seen everywhere when people talk about broadheads, arrows, etc. , they say "I made a perfect shot, that certain product (mostly broadheads) must not be worth a flip." And then that is there the reason why the don't use that product. Now I understand that confidence in yourself and your set up is everything from shooting target archery to hunting, but if you was to shoot anything attached to the end of an arrow and it goes through the heart(perfect shot), then how does the deer or animal not die? Now it may run little ways, but I would think a hole in the heart = dead?  And another question, what is more important, blood loss or an arrow through the vitals as far as shooting a little-fixed broadhead or a big expandable. Thanks, 10 Ringer


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## rjcruiser (Feb 17, 2017)

10 Ringer said:


> Just to clarify, I have not gotten a deer with my bow yet, and I'm not saying that people shouldn't get shakey and make a bad shot, but I have a ?. I've seen everywhere when people talk about broadheads, arrows, etc. , they say "I made a perfect shot, that certain product (mostly broadheads) must not be worth a flip." And then that is there the reason why the don't use that product. Now I understand that confidence in yourself and your set up is everything from shooting target archery to hunting, but if you was to shoot anything attached to the end of an arrow and it goes through the heart(perfect shot), then how does the deer or animal not die? Now it may run little ways, but I would think a hole in the heart = dead?  And another question, what is more important, blood loss or an arrow through the vitals as far as shooting a little-fixed broadhead or a big expandable. Thanks, 10 Ringer



Every shot is a perfect shot on lost deer.  Just like the fish that broke the line and got away was the biggest fish ever.

It's very hard to determine where the shot hit when it happens unless you see the arrow sticking out of the deer as it runs off or if you see blood pouring out as it runs away.

As far as vitals or blood loss....with bow hunting, it's blood loss.  Biggest buck I've shot was this past November and I hit it back (way back) and it hit the femoral artery.  Buck was dead within 50 yards.

2nd biggest buck I've ever shot I double lunged.  It didn't drop blood for 40-50 yards and ran almost 200 yards before dropping (and I almost didn't find it).

But, odds are in your favor aiming for the pie plate of vitals than the quarter inch spine or femoral artery....so, all that to say...aim for the vitals.

Lastly, when you shoot a deer with an arrow, be patient.  It's the hardest thing to do....but patience after the shot is worth a lot when it comes to finding a deer.


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## mattech (Feb 18, 2017)

We live in a society that can't take blame for Thier own actions. If you put a arrow in the heart/lungs, it's going to die. Alot of lost deer are due to impatience, both in giving it time to die, and putting in the effort of tracking it correctly.


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## BlackEagle (Feb 19, 2017)

I was guilty of that this past season. I watched a buck for 10 min or so and finally decided to shoot him. It was the easiest 20 yard shot I've ever had. I told Kris87 that I smoked him and couldn't believe I didn't recover him. I mean, I've made that shot 100 times how could it not be perfect? He showed back up on trail cam the next week and I was about 6 inches too high and about 8 inches too far forward into the shoulder blade.


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## mizzippi jb (Feb 19, 2017)

BlackEagle said:


> I was guilty of that this past season. I watched a buck for 10 min or so and finally decided to shoot him. It was the easiest 20 yard shot I've ever had. I told Kris87 that I smoked him and couldn't believe I didn't recover him. I mean, I've made that shot 100 times how could it not be perfect? He showed back up on trail cam the next week and I was about 6 inches too high and about 8 inches too far forward into the shoulder blade.



Aw man.....sorry to hear.  It happens.  At least he made it.


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## Philbow (Feb 19, 2017)

Part of the problem is hunter excitement so they don't actually aim where they think they're aiming. An even bigger problem is that the deer sometimes is ducking/twirling away from the noise/movement of the bow. So what appeared as a "perfect" shot at release is a really, really horrible shot when the arrow reaches the deer.  This "jumping the string" can be so fast that the hunter does not realize what has happened and assumes it was a perfect shot. 
If you punch two holes in the thoracic wall and let air into the thoracic cavity the lungs collapse, no oxygen is absorbed, and the animal dies. Pneumothorax not blood loss.

Except for whatever reason, skin and muscle move to cover the entrance and exit holes, the deer is just tougher than usual, the broadhead didn't function correctly, Etc., sometimes the deer will not be recovered even with the perfect shot. But IMHO this failure to recover is very rare compared to the other "perfect shots".


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## bowbuck (Feb 21, 2017)

I am not the slayer some here are but usually put arrows into 3-4 a year.  I have lost a couple too.  In my experience what happens after the shot is what makes or breaks a lot of "unrecovered deer."   A lot of people
Have little to no idea what the deer did or where it went after the shot.   A shot deer can cover hundreds of yards in mere seconds and leave a minimal amount of blood due to the quick pace.  If you are not able to track that deer until it slows or falls then it's a lost deer. I have had several go 20-50 yds with just a spot or two of blood dropped until the body cavity filled up and they poured it out.  I have also had them jump, take a few steps and fall over.  

Last season I stuck a big doe slightly forward at 18 yds apparently quartering to more than I realized. Got one lung.  She ran about 50 yds and I thought she went down. I gave it about 30 mins and started tracking. The first 100 yds went smooth then I couldn't find blood. I searched for 30 mins and walked circles. Walked deer trails. Nothing.  Finally I just continued the way she was last going.  150 yds later I found her dead bedded just off the trail.  I could find no blood on her back trail at all.  Without persistence, Rage broadheads would have cost me a deer. ( I would have swore I double lunged her at the shot. )  a lot of folks just give up on them way to easy especially early in the season when it's hot and it's " just a doe".


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## DCHunter (Feb 21, 2017)

bowbuck said:


> I am not the slayer some here are but usually put arrows into 3-4 a year.



Sounds like a slayer to me.  I admire humility though.


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## rutnbuk (Feb 21, 2017)

Ahhhh the ole perfect shot! Yes indeed- those are words I NO longer text from the stand unless I can see a white belly off in the distance. One time I texted something like "tagged out just double lunged a nice eight come help me drag him".  That was surely one dead deer in my mind.  Well we jumped him the next day and the spot of dried blood high up on the shoulder didn't look so "perfect".  I got him on camera multiple times weeks after that.  We nicknamed him "Lazarus".  The words "perfect shot" can be quit humbling sometimes- LOL.


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## mattech (Feb 21, 2017)

No bragging til your dragging


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## NCHillbilly (Feb 23, 2017)

If it was a "perfect shot," the deer would be laying there.  I have made a few shots that I thought were perfect, to find out later that they were far from it.


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## kmckinnie (Feb 23, 2017)

Some of my perfect shoots where complete misses. 
No tracking needed.


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## Kris87 (Feb 23, 2017)

I do like TV and just say "smoked 'em" before the arrow even hits.


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## Philbow (Feb 25, 2017)

Kris87 said:


> I do like TV and just say "smoked 'em" before the arrow even hits.



And on TV every shot, at least on some shows, is a "double lunger" no matter the angle.


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## Bucky T (Feb 25, 2017)

Every deer reacts differently when getting shot. 

I've had some deer take an arrow through the lungs and not even flinch. Walk 10ft, wobble, and fall over.   

My biggest buck took a slightly quartering to shot in the lungs and casually trotted off. I didn't get great penetration...  I watched him lope and turn into the woods 100yds away...  my buddy and I decided to mark where he cut in then come back. He was laying just inside the woods.  Another nice buck I shot grunted when he was hit and tore out across a field. He kept running as hard as he could go but his head dropped down and his rack hung up in the ground and he did a complete front flip at full speed!  He stopped rolling and that was it. 

Another buck I was certain that I shot in the "heart".  Made it 1.5 miles as the crow flies from where I shot him...  I tracked him without a dog for 7hrs. Finally caught up to him in a creek....  I had left my bow on the ground on the other side of a privet thicket....  I jumped off the creek bank on to his back and grabbed on to his rack...  We had one heck of a wrestling match and I finally got his head under the water.....  The crazy things you do when your 19yrs old....  lol....  I hit him under his heart. It exited and cut his elbow on the opposite leg. He bled almost the whole way, but he was limping favoring his other leg. He was leaving a deep, splayed print.  Helped when the blood would get thin at times..

These are just a few of my examples.  Always try for a clean broadside shot. That crease behind the shoulder is the "spot" I like to pick. Deer are tough as heck and are amazing creatures!  You will be surprised at their will to live at times. 

Good Luck!


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## BowanaLee (Feb 25, 2017)

And sometimes it looks good but it wasn't.


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## Bucky T (Feb 25, 2017)

No words for that Bowana???


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## philtuts (Feb 26, 2017)

I like that. "No bragging till you're dragging." I've done that a couple times where I text a buddy saying "smoked a doe" and then end up tracking for 3-4 hours and coming up fruitless.


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## finnhunter (Feb 28, 2017)

BowanaLee said:


> And sometimes it looks good but it wasn't.



Nice buck.  Here's another, wounded by a "perfect shot"


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## finnhunter (Feb 28, 2017)

Based on my experience, I would bet that the majority of lost deer is due to the shot ending up too high or the deer is quartering more than you think.  In both cases you might only get one lung and the deer survives long enough for you to lose track.


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