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Unsucessful sticks and stones...

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lowell:
I think this story needs to be told.  I feel bad but I have hit 2 deer this year and have not found them.   I got a sticks and stones deer opening day last year but this year is everything last year wasn't.

  I hit a buck opening day with a quartering away shot.  I thought it was a good shot but I think the arrow bounced from 1 rib to the next and stayed between skin and ribs and did not get past the rib cage.  I really think the shot from a compound would have gotten inside the ribcage. Deer and arrow were not found.

  Tonight I hit a doe at maybe 5 yards from a tree stand.  I hit was what I would thought was a heart shot.  Son, grandson and I tracked a good blood trail for maybe 300 yards as it slowly became less and less.....and it got into some fine grass that made tracking even harder. Since it was not a heart shot, I think it must have been a little low and hit just brisket.  Deer and arrow were not found.

  Just wanted NO ONE to think hunting primitive is the same as bowhunting with non-primitive methods.    The people here that post a successful hunt have done it right but it is not all success.
   
  I'm sorry to bring the mood down here but I'm definately at a low point right now.  Going with steel points for a while till I get some confidence back!!

JW_Halverson:
Sorry to hear that, it's heartbreaking to wound a deer and be left wondering how much suffering you havew caused....IF you have a shred of ethics in you.  And it sounds like you do. 

Can I ask what your set-up might be?  Draw weight?  Arrow weight?  Point weight? 

lowell:
Bow is 46# at my draw,  Arrow weight is 440 gr.  and points are 125 gr.

  I've killed 3 deer with the same bow but with Ace broadheads.  Stone kill last year was with a different bow that was 50# but was hitting better this year with the 46# bow so wanted to use that one. 

  I'm not using stones as my excuse but definately have to have them hit the best spot!!

JW_Halverson:
5 yards from a treestand?  Now if you were just 15 ft up in the tree your arrow angle would be entering the deer at around 45 degrees.  I'd be willing to bet all you got was one lung.  And a deer with one lung can go a long way as you just learned. 

This is one major strike against tree stands.  They make it very difficult to get both lungs on close shots.  The current rage in tree stands is to get 'em as high as you can stand, which makes it harder and harder to double-lung.  The opposite end of the spectrum is being on the ground with the deer.  On a broadside shot it is almost impossible to not get both lungs. 

How about a fishing arrow with barbed broadheads and heavy weight saltwater tackle?  "Pump and reel, pump and reel!  Slack off, let the drag do the work!  Bow to the fish...I mean DEER when it jumps, but don't give them slack line!  Whatever you do, keep your tip up!"

Pappy:
Sorry to hear that,tough to loose one with anything,as for tree stands I hunt form them most of the time and yes the higher you go the tougher the shot,I stay 12/15 feet and never shoot for a heart shot at close range,I shoot for my side
a few inches below the backbone,no problem getting both lungs if you hit there. :)
Most of the deer I kill are from 3 to 10 yards. :) I admire any person that hunts Eastern White tail from the ground and are very successful at it. :)
   Pappy

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