Killed a doe - Very odd blood trail
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Killed a doe - Very odd blood trail
Figured I would detail the blood trail from my doe kill this week. As far as shot opportunity, it was about as slam dunk as archery hunting gets. I was two LW sticks up, so platform at roughly 10’ with the doe slightly quartering away at 5 yards.
Everything happened fast and I didn’t see where I hit, but it sounded good. Nice little “thump”. I caught a glimpse of her through the trees about 100 yards away and she appeared to be slowing down some. I got down immediately to inspect my arrow expecting to see bright red lung blood.
My heart sank when it was covered in green slime and stomach contents. It was guts, no doubt and it stunk. How could I have botched that shot?!? Did she take off as I shot without me realizing it (not string jump, just bad timing)? I was baffled and pretty mad at myself.
Since I knew she wasn’t close by, I took up the blood trail for 20-30 yards. Red blood up fairly high on the entry side with stomach contents low on the trail on the exit side. NOT HAPPY.
I backed out and waited for my Dad to come and help. I figured I got high lung, then punched through the diaphragm low. Possibly a one lung hit. I’ve read about pushing one lung hit deer, but that goes against everything I’ve ever had success with while blood trailing. With the rain coming in a couple hours, now was the perfect time to test that theory.
With the low exit, blood was pretty good. For a fair amount of the track it was easier to find stomach contents than blood, but we often found both. I started coming across blood with bubbles, confirming a lung hit. The trail was fairly easy to follow, and we only lost blood when she would suddenly change direction. She lead us through her bedding area and we found one 8” diameter pile of roughage/stomach content in a bed. It appeared she was standing as it was piled there like it was dropping from her body. There was also a small pool of blood from the entry side.
She made a big loop and we eventually crossed her original path. Shortly after we hit water with very sparse grass poking through. At this point I’m thinking we’re in the beginning of a wild goose chase. Shortly after I shined my light around the open water and found her expired.
She made it about 200 yards and was already stiff. I looked her over and shot placement was good. I was aiming a touch back to avoid the scapula at that steep angle while still shooting for both lungs. Missed my mark by and inch, maybe two. Both lungs were 80% deflated and I missed her heart by a few inches.
Entry high and a touch back
Exit low just behind the leg
The chest cavity was FULL of stomach matter. Only thing that makes sense is I cut her esophagus and it was all backflow from her stomach. Dad couldn’t believe it and neither could I. I’m talking 1/4 of an ice cream pail of nastiness. Thank god I had gutting gloves as I removed as much as I could, then after pulling the guts we rinsed her in the pond.
I did have a deer years ago that I double lunged and hit the esophagus and found some corn in the blood. But that was just a few kernels.
Just figured some of you might find value in what happened.
Everything happened fast and I didn’t see where I hit, but it sounded good. Nice little “thump”. I caught a glimpse of her through the trees about 100 yards away and she appeared to be slowing down some. I got down immediately to inspect my arrow expecting to see bright red lung blood.
My heart sank when it was covered in green slime and stomach contents. It was guts, no doubt and it stunk. How could I have botched that shot?!? Did she take off as I shot without me realizing it (not string jump, just bad timing)? I was baffled and pretty mad at myself.
Since I knew she wasn’t close by, I took up the blood trail for 20-30 yards. Red blood up fairly high on the entry side with stomach contents low on the trail on the exit side. NOT HAPPY.
I backed out and waited for my Dad to come and help. I figured I got high lung, then punched through the diaphragm low. Possibly a one lung hit. I’ve read about pushing one lung hit deer, but that goes against everything I’ve ever had success with while blood trailing. With the rain coming in a couple hours, now was the perfect time to test that theory.
With the low exit, blood was pretty good. For a fair amount of the track it was easier to find stomach contents than blood, but we often found both. I started coming across blood with bubbles, confirming a lung hit. The trail was fairly easy to follow, and we only lost blood when she would suddenly change direction. She lead us through her bedding area and we found one 8” diameter pile of roughage/stomach content in a bed. It appeared she was standing as it was piled there like it was dropping from her body. There was also a small pool of blood from the entry side.
She made a big loop and we eventually crossed her original path. Shortly after we hit water with very sparse grass poking through. At this point I’m thinking we’re in the beginning of a wild goose chase. Shortly after I shined my light around the open water and found her expired.
She made it about 200 yards and was already stiff. I looked her over and shot placement was good. I was aiming a touch back to avoid the scapula at that steep angle while still shooting for both lungs. Missed my mark by and inch, maybe two. Both lungs were 80% deflated and I missed her heart by a few inches.
Entry high and a touch back
Exit low just behind the leg
The chest cavity was FULL of stomach matter. Only thing that makes sense is I cut her esophagus and it was all backflow from her stomach. Dad couldn’t believe it and neither could I. I’m talking 1/4 of an ice cream pail of nastiness. Thank god I had gutting gloves as I removed as much as I could, then after pulling the guts we rinsed her in the pond.
I did have a deer years ago that I double lunged and hit the esophagus and found some corn in the blood. But that was just a few kernels.
Just figured some of you might find value in what happened.
- Jackson Marsh
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Re: Killed a doe - Very odd blood trail
Yeah that is weird, looks like near perfect placement to me. Strange stuff sometimes happens with archery hunting. You must have severed the esophagus.
- seazofcheeze
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Re: Killed a doe - Very odd blood trail
Glad you found her, congrats! One of the first bucks I ever shot, I got part of the esophagus. It was more like your 2nd story though with just a few bits of corn/stomach matter. I thought I had got guts for sure, but when we cut it open, it had hit the esophagus. Weird stuff for sure.
- greenhorndave
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Re: Killed a doe - Very odd blood trail
Esophagus was my first guess when you originally posted in Live. I would theorize that they’re strapping on the feedbag so hard right now to pile on fat that she was pretty much gorging herself. Beyond capacity, so the stomach might have been under more pressure than normal and just turbo-regurgitated back up when you cut the control valve.
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Sometimes when things get tough, weird or both, you just need to remember this...
https://youtu.be/d4tSE2w53ts
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Re: Killed a doe - Very odd blood trail
Were you using an expandable broadhead? Those have been known to refract inside the chest cavity causing perfect looking shots to exit in odd places.
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Re: Killed a doe - Very odd blood trail
I only had a similar experience once and was on a very close down shot. Cut half of the esophagus and got some grassy pugnent contents in the chest cavity but not nearly as much as you are talking about. It wrecked pretty bad when I field dressed her but no smell until I started clearing the chest organs at which time it would gag a maggot.
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- Dewey
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Re: Killed a doe - Very odd blood trail
Seen that happen before. Really confusing until you do the autopsy after and inspect the organs.
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Re: Killed a doe - Very odd blood trail
"I was two LW sticks up, so platform at roughly 10’ with the doe slightly quartering away at 5 yards."
I was confused by the whole story, it didn't make sense what you were saying, but since you showed the pictures of the entry and exit the deer was quartering TOWARDS you, not away. Now it makes sense.
Oh BTW your arrow will blow right though the scapula of the deer. It is the humerus you don't want to hit..
Nice shot though!
Thanks for sharing just another data point for a trail I may have to take up.
I was confused by the whole story, it didn't make sense what you were saying, but since you showed the pictures of the entry and exit the deer was quartering TOWARDS you, not away. Now it makes sense.
Oh BTW your arrow will blow right though the scapula of the deer. It is the humerus you don't want to hit..
Nice shot though!
Thanks for sharing just another data point for a trail I may have to take up.
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Re: Killed a doe - Very odd blood trail
Jurist wrote:"I was two LW sticks up, so platform at roughly 10’ with the doe slightly quartering away at 5 yards."
I was confused by the whole story, it didn't make sense what you were saying, but since you showed the pictures of the entry and exit the deer was quartering TOWARDS you, not away. Now it makes sense.
Oh BTW your arrow will blow right though the scapula of the deer. It is the humerus you don't want to hit..
Nice shot though!
Thanks for sharing just another data point for a trail I may have to take up.
I was second guessing myself big time as far as shot angle. “Was the angle more severe than I thought?! Maybe I hit her too low? Too far back??” I’ve shot and trailed a lot of deer, but was pretty confused.
And I also should have marked the pic the first time. She was mostly broadside but quartering away a little.
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Re: Killed a doe - Very odd blood trail
Randyflash wrote:Were you using an expandable broadhead? Those have been known to refract inside the chest cavity causing perfect looking shots to exit in odd places.
I’ve heard of that happening.
3 blade fixed muzzy. I can assure you it was a strait pass through, no deflection. Arrow was stuck in the ground at the same angle as the trajectory. I looked close this morning and it went between the ribs on entry as well as exit.
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Re: Killed a doe - Very odd blood trail
Lockdown wrote:Jurist wrote:"I was two LW sticks up, so platform at roughly 10’ with the doe slightly quartering away at 5 yards."
I was confused by the whole story, it didn't make sense what you were saying, but since you showed the pictures of the entry and exit the deer was quartering TOWARDS you, not away. Now it makes sense.
Oh BTW your arrow will blow right though the scapula of the deer. It is the humerus you don't want to hit..
Nice shot though!
Thanks for sharing just another data point for a trail I may have to take up.
I was second guessing myself big time as far as shot angle. “Was the angle more severe than I thought?! Maybe I hit her too low? Too far back??” I’ve shot and trailed a lot of deer, but was pretty confused.
And I also should have marked the pic the first time. She was mostly broadside but quartering away a little.
Yeah it looked like the area the hair is messed is where the entry was.
"We know they are lying,
they know they are lying,
they know we know they are lying,
we know they know we know they are lying,
but they are still lying."
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
they know they are lying,
they know we know they are lying,
we know they know we know they are lying,
but they are still lying."
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
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Re: Killed a doe - Very odd blood trail
Interesting and congrats. I have had to shake my head and just give up trying to figure things out a few times over the years.
- Wannabelikedan
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Re: Killed a doe - Very odd blood trail
Had a friend shoot a doe opening day with a similar hit only she didn’t go near as far. Double lung and clipped both the heart and esophagus. Out of curiosity .... would you shoot her in that same spot again?
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Re: Killed a doe - Very odd blood trail
Wannabelikedan wrote:Had a friend shoot a doe opening day with a similar hit only she didn’t go near as far. Double lung and clipped both the heart and esophagus. Out of curiosity .... would you shoot her in that same spot again?
I absolutely would. I’m considering it very low odds that it would happen again.
The blood trail was good and everything went according to plan aside from the confusion due the stomach contents. Now that I know it’s possible, it will help my decision making in the future. If I KNOW the shot was good, I know I don’t need to give him/her lots of time to expire.
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Re: Killed a doe - Very odd blood trail
Good job sticking with it and finding her in that sea of grass and water.
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