Tips To Avoid Losing Bow-Shot Deer

Good blood makes trailing a shot deer easy, and it all begins with good preparation and technique before an arrow is released. The ability to track and trail a wounded deer when the blood isn’t strong is a level of woodsmanship all sportsmen should strive to develop.

Beginning Sept. 14, thousands of bowhunters will enter the Georgia woodlands in hopes of arrowing a whitetail deer. Some will be successful, most will not, and a few will suffer the agony of sticking a deer and not being able to recover it. Drawing blood but not finding a deer is one of the most agonizing and frustrating experiences as a sportsman.

While there are no absolute guarantees, there are things you can do before, during and after the shot that will help you avoid losing your deer.

Bowhunting gets a bad rap from some people claiming high wound rates and unrecovered animals. While it’s true that there are inevitably some deer that are shot and not found, the numbers are not as high as some think. Several studies have examined wound rates and unrecovered deer. A study in Minnesota estimated that wounding loss (the percentage of deer that were wounded, killed, but never recovered) was only 13%.

An Oklahoma study at the McAlester Army Ammunition Plant in the late 1990s radio-collared 80 bucks and held traditional bowhunts. Twenty-two of those deer were shot during the three-year study and 11 were recovered by the hunters. Of the other 11, three of them died resulting in a 14% wounding loss rate. Of the three unrecovered, all were gutshot. Eight of the wounded deer did not die.

One wounded or unrecovered deer is too many, but it inevitably happens for a variety of reasons, mainly imperfect hunters making poor shots or an insufficient effort to recover them. Hunters should do all that they can to prevent this and take the necessary steps before, during and after the shot, and this is even more true for bowhunters where the margins for error are much smaller.

Of course, no hunter wants to lose an animal, and we should do all we can to ensure it doesn’t happen. In this article I will discuss what I believe are steps we can take as bowhunters to ensure we recover deer that we’ve arrowed.

My thoughts are based on 40 years of bowhunting and nearly 150 whitetails taken with a bow. I do occasionally lose a deer, but I believe it’s usually because of a nonlethal hit. My losses are much less often than they used to be.

PROPER EQUIPMENT

It all starts with having the right equipment—your bow and arrow setup. Your bow needs to fit you in regard to draw length and draw weight. The arrow needs to be the right spine to fit your bow. The spine, or stiffness, needs to match the draw weight of the bow, so there is not too much flexing during the release. The string should come back to the corner of your mouth at full draw.  You should be able to comfortably draw your bow without extra grunting or gyrations. Drawing a heavy bow in your backyard in the summer is different than drawing after you’ve been sitting still for hours or if it’s cold outside.

The best preparation should begin long before you climb a deer stand. Go to your local archery pro shop and have them get you set up properly.

BOW STANDS DIFFER FROM GUN STANDS

When choosing a stand location to bowhunt from, it has to be chosen with the most likely shot location in mind. The deer needs to be within about 30 yards or so depending on your ability and confidence level. Setting up on a large field or cutover is great for rifle hunters, but archers may spend time there just hoping a deer comes closer.

Set your stand to be within range of the food source or trail where you expect the deer. Then, the most likely shot scenario is within your ability, resulting in a better chance of making an accurate shot.

But don’t set up too close—you don’t want a deer standing at the base of your tree or within 5 yards or so. Not only is this a difficult shot angle, but the deer is more likely to spook or be alert if it sees, hears or smells you.

If you’re set up near a food source such as a feeder or a dropping oak tree, you need to be able to stay undetected from non-target deer until your target buck shows up.

READ THEIR BODY LANGUAGE

Knowing how the deer is feeling based on its body language is important. A nervous, skittish deer is more likely to move quickly or “jump the string” at the shot. A calm or feeding deer or one that is behaving naturally makes a better target. Watch how often the deer looks up and around, moves its ears and cocks its head to smell the air. Is it jerking its head up at every sound or are its ears constantly moving to listen to every sound? All deer do this naturally to some extent, but a nervous one will be doing it more often.

Deer will often stop and look around surveying the area. When they put their head back down to feed or walk, they’ll often twitch their tail back and forth which often indicates that the ‘coast is clear’ and everything checks out OK. When a deer goes to bobbing its head up and down, stomping its foot and of course blowing, then you know it’s super nervous and alert and thinks that something is up. That something is likely you, and it’s not the best time to shoot, but it may be your last chance to shoot before it bolts.

If you’re going to take a shot at nervous deer, it’s advisable to aim a bit lower to compensate for the deer to duck down as it begins to bolt and still hit its vitals.

WHEN TO DRAW

When you decide to draw your bow and take the shot is one of the most underrated parts of the process. Draw too soon, and you may be left holding at full draw too long, causing muscle stress, a gyrating bow and a fast let-down. Drawing at the wrong time will cause the deer to see you and either take off or stare at you intently.

Best times to draw are when the deer’s head and eyes are obscured by a tree or something, when it is looking away or it is distracted. If your draw is hidden by a tree trunk or something, that will work, too. Deer can see in a 310-degree field of view, so they don’t miss much. Be aware of what it is looking at and whether it can see you draw.

One more point I’ve learned the hard way. While you’re intently watching your target deer waiting for the right shot and time to draw, before you draw, take a quick look around to see if there are other deer watching you or that have sneaked in that may detect you when you draw. Many deer have survived because another deer blows or spooks when they see a hunter draw or move.

SHOT ANGLE IS KEY

The deer’s position when you shoot is one of the most vital factors. Broadside is the standard and makes for the best target. But deer don’t always oblige. The quartering-away angle is another favorable position, but the bowhunter needs to aim farther back on the ribs to put the arrow on a course angling across the chest cavity toward the opposite shoulder. Straight down, straight on, facing away, and quartering-to shot angles are very challenging and should be avoided. Those angles have generated successful recoveries, but they are risky, have to be executed right and can easily go awry. Shooting a walking deer is a challenge also, and it’s usually best to wait for it to stop. Or you can make a grunt sound to stop the deer. If you do opt to shoot at a walking deer, aim slightly forward to lead it depending on the distance and speed.

When pondering a shot on a deer, it helps to imagine how the arrow will travel through the deer’s body and where it will exit. You aim right behind the shoulder on a broadside deer knowing that the arrow will travel cross section across the body to the other shoulder. But when the deer is quartering away, an aim point right behind the shoulder will send the arrow to the front of the deer between its front legs and likely miss the opposite lung. So, aim farther back to angle across the chest and penetrate both lungs. The object is to poke a hole in both lungs and/or the heart for a quick kill. Keep this in mind as you choose your shot angle.

WHERE TO AIM

Another point concerning the aiming point is the whitetail deer’s anatomy. The standard and ideal spot is to aim for your arrow to hit just behind the crease in the shoulder in the lower third of the body. There is about a basketball-sized spot behind a deer’s shoulder that will result in a quick kill if your arrow hits it.

An arrow hitting the spine, while not recommended, will result in a paralyzed deer that can’t run off. You’ll most likely have to shoot it again to finish it off. A shot in the high shoulder can hit the spine also as the spine dips down some at the shoulder. A shot in the middle of the back and under the spine will hit mostly backstrap and not hit any vital organs, resulting in a lost deer. That is unless it hits the aorta artery resulting in rapid blood loss and a quick death. But aiming for it is definitely not recommended, and it is usually hit by accident. Other arteries such as the femoral or jugular will also result in a fast death, but don’t aim specifically for them as they’re a small target. A gut-shot deer, though never advisable, will result in death, but it will take as much as six hours, so wait a long time before tracking if you detect evidence of a gut-shot deer.

A topic that spurs some debate among bowhunters is arrow and broadhead choice. There are as many opinions as there are bowhunters. I prefer a heavy arrow (450+ grains) and a fixed broadhead (Muzzy 3-blade, 100 grain). I feel that I get more penetration with this setup. Most of my arrows go completely through deer and stick in the ground on the other side. This produces more internal damage and two holes for them to bleed from. But go with what you have confidence in and the setup that is getting the results you want.

WATCH THE DEER’S REACTION AND RETREAT

The way a deer reacts to the shot and how it departs will tell you a lot about the effectiveness of your shot and how soon you should begin tracking. If the deer “mule kicks,” that usually indicates a solid hit. A deer bounding off with its tail up may seem unscathed, but it could also be mortally wounded. A hunched-over deer with its tail down is typically a sign that it is hit hard and will quickly expire. Observe what you can, but know that there are no absolutes with wounded whitetails.

I have observed over the years that a well-hit deer that has taken a broadhead through both lungs or the heart will usually expire within 100 yards and about 10 seconds. Depending on the thickness of the forest, many times you will see it fall. More than half of the deer I shoot, I watch fall and expire, no tracking needed. With that in mind, if a deer does run out of sight and I feel that I hit it right, I’ll wait about 30 minutes and then start tracking. Usually I can find them dead within 100 yards. If I don’t, that’s when I back out and give them more time or get some help.

Shot placement and the deer’s reaction will often dictate how long you should wait before tracking. Thirty minutes is minimum, but some hunters are comfortable with longer waits. It’s usually best to wait longer if you’re not sure rather than risk bumping a dying deer from its bed causing it to run farther, complicating the tracking job. The popular phrase, “When in doubt, back out” can apply here, but other factors are the temperatures and varmints. It’s usually very warm in the early bow season in Georgia, so a dead deer left overnight will likely spoil and ruin the meat. There’s also a good chance that the coyotes will find it and help themselves.

Another piece of the puzzle is examination of the arrow. If the arrow can be found, it can tell you if it passed through or how far it penetrated. Bright blood on the arrow (or on the ground) usually indicates a lung or heart shot. Dark blood is from the liver, and any green means a gut shot.

On Nov. 9, 2021, I was set up on a hardwood ridge in DeKalb County during the middle of the rut. About mid-morning I looked up to see a good buck walking quickly toward me. A doe had moved down below me, and he was trying to cut her off. As soon as I saw him coming, I had to quickly stand up and grab my bow and get ready for the shot. The buck angled toward my right at 15 yards but at a steep, quartering-away angle. I grunted to stop him and had to quickly take the only shot I had. I aimed and hit him high and slightly back on his right side to angle down into the chest cavity.

After the hit, the buck trotted in a loop back around the direction he came from, and I could see the arrow sticking out of him. When he paused at 40 yards, I tried to get another arrow in him, but he walked off before I could. As he slowly walked off, I knew that this was unlikely to be a quick kill, so I eased out of my stand and went back to the truck.

I called a friend to help me track, and we returned several hours later. With a high entry and no exit, the blood trail was minimal, and we didn’t find any to go on. My friend had to leave after a while so I called a man with a tracking dog. We began walking the direction that the buck walked and found the buck lying dead about 200 yards away. From the way that the buck was lying, it appeared that he had lied down on his own before he expired as opposed to crashing and dying while running.

The author with a DeKalb County buck he shot and killed with his bow on Nov. 21 during the 2021 season. The big 11-pointer weighed 195 pounds field-dressed.

The buck likely laid there a while before expiring. So, the decision to wait was the right one. Pursuing him too soon may have jumped him up out of his bed and made the tracking process much more difficult. Knowing when to take up the track can be critical to the success of recovering your buck. Read his reaction, the arrow placement, blood trail and retreat for keys in determining that. That buck, an 11-pointer, turned out to be my heaviest buck, field-dressing 195 pounds.

GET HELP WHEN NEEDED

When you don’t see a deer fall or don’t find them close by, you may need some help. More eyeballs on the trail will help in finding blood and the animal. One strategy is to have one person follow the blood trail while the other sweeps ahead looking for the downed deer. When the blood drops are small, spaced out or hard to find, leave something at the last spot like tissue or flagging tape to help connect the dots.

As a general rule, wounded deer will head to thick cover or a creek, but there are no absolutes, and deer can and will do anything, especially a wounded deer.

If human help does not produce, it may be better to call in the dogs. Canines have superior noses and can find deer that aren’t bleeding or ones that are seemingly lost.

GON produces a list of tracking dogs (see page 72), and you may need to call one. Keep in mind that most handlers charge for this service. If you’re going to call a dog tracker, the sooner the better, and it’s better if you don’t stomp all over the track and leave your scent everywhere.

I learn something from every deer that I shoot and recover. Every blood trail is a learning process, and the more experience the better. That’s why I shoot my share of does. Not only is it good management and provides meat for families, but it is also good blood-trail practice. I hunt for big bucks like most hunters, but having dozens of successful doe kills in your memory bank helps when the big boy does show up and you’re able to let an arrow loose.

You’ve done this before so many times, and being good and effective at blood trailing a deer can become instinctive.

The excitement and enjoyment of archery season can quickly become a nightmare when you wound a deer and can’t find it. Nobody wants it to happen, and we should take the necessary steps to avoid it.

Following these tips may help you make a better shot, assess the situation and recover your deer.

Here’s to short and successful blood trails!