Went in woods for a quick still hunt on Saturday to mainly check my trail cams as I didn't have the time to get in my tree stand. We'll on my way out, half hour before I am supposed to ready for an evening event, a big buck walks unsuspecting in front of me broadside at 40yds. I have one clear alley for a shot and took it when we walk into it.
Because I had solid plans to get to and had to get out of the woods ASAP I jumped on him too soon and hence, never recovered him. Very, very depressed about this. I have a huge 10pt on my trail cams and this may have been him, I couldn't get a good eye on the rack as it happened so fast (but I was sure it was a decent one).
I really just wanted to vent my story to you guys as most people don't get the emotions involved in this. But, there was a couple odd things and I wanted to see what people thought of where I may have hit him, etc. So if you're inclined to give me your two cents, read on.
I am not sure where I hit him. It was long shot and I did not see the impact (did hear the "twap" noise of it though). Arrow passed through but did not have a lot of blood on it. Mostly fatty matter, etc. There was some fat on the ground near the impact. Trailing him there was very little blood. A drop here and there. No real puddles or accumulation. He was tearing up the ground a bit more than normal which makes me think was struggling. One strange thing (at least to me) is that I found two small (about 2" long) bone fragments. I was assuming rib parts. But, they were not in a blood puddle or even a spot. They were wet with blood but that was it. And they were 100 yards apart. The other sign I found was a small pile of gray matter which I suspect is a gut shot indication. I tracked him a bit on Sat night (and pushed him too much) and then went back in for hours yesterday. He was zig zagging and circling back and the blood and any indication on where he was heading to lay down dried up. Any thoughts on that evidence? Is there a chance he was just injured? The bones and gray matter really make me think he is down but then why so little blood?
Because I had solid plans to get to and had to get out of the woods ASAP I jumped on him too soon and hence, never recovered him. Very, very depressed about this. I have a huge 10pt on my trail cams and this may have been him, I couldn't get a good eye on the rack as it happened so fast (but I was sure it was a decent one).
I really just wanted to vent my story to you guys as most people don't get the emotions involved in this. But, there was a couple odd things and I wanted to see what people thought of where I may have hit him, etc. So if you're inclined to give me your two cents, read on.
I am not sure where I hit him. It was long shot and I did not see the impact (did hear the "twap" noise of it though). Arrow passed through but did not have a lot of blood on it. Mostly fatty matter, etc. There was some fat on the ground near the impact. Trailing him there was very little blood. A drop here and there. No real puddles or accumulation. He was tearing up the ground a bit more than normal which makes me think was struggling. One strange thing (at least to me) is that I found two small (about 2" long) bone fragments. I was assuming rib parts. But, they were not in a blood puddle or even a spot. They were wet with blood but that was it. And they were 100 yards apart. The other sign I found was a small pile of gray matter which I suspect is a gut shot indication. I tracked him a bit on Sat night (and pushed him too much) and then went back in for hours yesterday. He was zig zagging and circling back and the blood and any indication on where he was heading to lay down dried up. Any thoughts on that evidence? Is there a chance he was just injured? The bones and gray matter really make me think he is down but then why so little blood?