Shot my first deer with a bow this weekend. Unfortunately I lost her. Thankfully it was a doe but doesn't make it that much easier. When I got back to camp one of the guys said to get used to it and that it happens often when bow hunting. So my question is how often do you lose a deer when bow hunting.

Never lost one bowhunting

I've never lost one either.

Dito^^^^^^
Shot placement is the trick

I agree. I placed a good shot just behind the shoulder. Very little blood. The only thing I can think was that my shot was high or my broadhead didn't deploy like it should have. Rage 2 blade with chisel tip. Didn't even pass through to the other side. It's been bothering me as to what happened.

Most folks who haven't lost one haven't shot a bunch with an arrow. It's not a matter of if but when if you draw back enough times. Give an honest effort in retrieval and when you've expired every ounce of effort just chalk it up and learn from it. Hate it when it happens, but be glad it bothers you. I've met hunters who could care less and that's the ones who it happens to the most because they don't learn from their mistakes.

Been bowhunting 5 years, killed 5 deer and one hog. Missed two deer, made one horrible shot on a doe but luckily i found her. I think everyone will lose one sooner or later

yep, its bound to happen

I lost one last year. He was a nice 7 point. It looked like a textbook shot right behind his shoulder, a little high if anything. Got a complete pass through w/ a SlickTrick 100. A buddy and I looked for 4 hours that night and another 3 the next day and never found him. I was sick to my stomach for weeks. I put a big "x" through one of my buck tags and tagged out on does the remainder of the season. Pulled my SD card and had 2 pictures of the same 7. A lot of guys don't give deer enough credit for how tough they actually are.

10 years and 16 whitetails and counting. I've had 3 deer jump the arrow at farther distances of 40 yards. hit 2 of those further back from the shoulder and spined 1 but all were recovered. Now I have had my fair share of clean misses. I try to pick and choose good confident shots and I shoot nockternal lighted nocks to see arrow entry and penetration.
I also practice shooting year round at a 3d deer target atleast twice a week. Outside in real world conditions. Especially in the wind.
And I agree eventually it will happen to me. But if I do all I can to keep it from happening very often. But hey $#!+ happens. Do the best possible recovery and move on and learn something new.

You could check out texasbloodtrackers.com and see if there is someone on the team list near your area that could assist in recovery with the use of blood trailing dogs. You would be surprised the ones they will find and you may ge a hard trail and go a mile and a half without seeing blood but sure enough the dog is still on it. The dogs pair the blood with the interdigital gland and they could run solely on that I the deer ends up plugging the hole.

I've shot thousands of arrows in practice and competition since '82. I've also lost three deer that were pass through shots on deer that I did not find.. I can tell you every detail of every shot where I didn't find the deer. Every one still bothers me and I rethink what I did wrong or could have done differently. I learned from each of them and will not make that those mistakes again. still feel like crap about each of them, but it does happen.

You said thankfully it was a doe, but that doesn't make it much easier.... i oughtta kick your a## a DEER regardless of sex is a living, tasty, and delicious animal. Regardless of buck or doe you should be doubled up in knots. This is the fourth post ive read about lost deer since the season started. Practice and get your s### together ppl. This is not a game. Life is at stake and lost. It shouldn't be taken lightly. Even though it does happen. Im still sick about the first deer i ever shot at twenty yrs ago. I gut shot, and never found him. I still think about that today. It still bothers me. If this doesnt bother you, then you may want to really think about that broadhead and what it would feel like to carry one around inside of you. Ive never had to carry around a broadhead in me, but ive had glass and concrete in me enough to get the idea. Cmon guys. Lets step this bowhunting thing up a notch.

Sorry for the rant. Didnt mean to discourage. Keep at it. Practice practice practice.

I have shot about 12 deer with my bow. I lost the first buck I shot with my bow. It was a little high, but the blood trail was huge for 50 yards, then drops for 200 yards, then nothing. I will remember it always.

I almost lost one the very next year. I found him 24 hours later. I only took off about 6 hours during that time to sleep. That deer had zero blood anywhere. It was also only 40 yards from where I shot it in the thickest stuff around.


From my experience, deer usually run back to where they came from after the shot. If you don't know where to look, look in that direction.

I think your answer is in this post, sorry to hear.

We first off stating that you shoud kick someones a$$ is not the right approach at all. I practice shooting all the time and shoot out passed 100 yards. (just for practice) I can see what he is saying bc i have not recovered a doe before and it bothered me bad. But I also shot about 160" buck in Missouri and never recovered him and I was absolutely sick over it. So you your going to kick my a$$ over that then tell me where to be.

Hippie.... I say oh well better luck next time.. It's a part of hunting whether its a rifle or bow. As long as there is the human element it will never be perfect.

This is bow hunting man... A lot of things will happen in the field and its all a learning experience. And you coming off saying you outta beat his a## is a sh##y thing to say! So your gonna tell me you have never made a mistake bow hunting? Because I know for a fact that no one is perfect out in the field

I don't think that was the point he was trying to make from what I comprehend from his post. I believe he means that it doesn't matter the sex of the deer the way it was posted originally saying thankfully it was a doe. Meaning if it was a buck he would have been more sick. A deer is a deer..

It is tough losing a deer, doesn't matter if it is a buck or a doe, both will haunt you. I have lost three in 20 something years of now hunting and remember them all very clearly. The one that haunts me the most was a doe I shot on a Sunday night. It was going to be a late night if I didn't make the perfect shot, because we were heading home. She came out behind a tree and all that was exposed was her ribs and front shoulder, if I shot back towards the guts, I would hit the tree. I drew back, picked my spot and released...perfect flight and watched the arrow disappear behind the shoulder about 4" and come out the other side. Before she made it the 20 yards to the fence, I could already see blood on both sides. Went back, packed up and waited for my father to come in. We loaded up and went to go get her. Perfect blood for 70 yards. Spray on the cactus on both sides of the trail, definite double lung. At 70 yards, you could tell she stood there and bled out both sides. There were two puddles about the size of a dinner plate....then nothing. We started searching in a grid pattern and one guy just started wandering. He found two drops about 150 yards from the puddles. We tracked her another 75 yards and lost the trail. Ended up calling into work and looked the next morning. Never found another drop and never found the deer

There are many that have lost them with both a rifle and a bow. I actually tend to think that rifle hunters have a tendency to lose more than bow hunters because of the over confidence. How many don't even shoot the rifle before season, take it somewhere and pay to have it sighted in, don't sight it in because "it was good last year", and they think that shot placement isn't as critical since it is a rifle.

As far as the IBA that is going to kick someone's whatever...I am sure there are many that would take you up on that offer

I've lost a doe and a buck in over 20 yrs myself. Doe was with a 243 and found an inch long pc of bone and tons of blood for several hundred yds. Never found her though. Shot my biggest buck ever with a 300 and tracked him over a mile with a tracking dog and never found him. He showed up on game cam 2 seasons later. Had a doe duck the arrow Saturday but luckily it was a clean miss. It happens but that's why it's called hunting.

Ever thought of medication ? Deer get wounded with bow and rifle. Get a grip dude! I lost a huge buck that I hit a little to far back. I waited 2 hours but should've waited longer and jumped him.that was 10 years ago. Heck yea I still think about those huge horns and all the meat wasted...but if it was a doe I would not think of it as often. We learn from our mistakes....saying you out to kick someone's azz over saying at least it was a doe? Heck I wouldn't won't to lose any animal but I'd rather it be a doe than a big buck... A big buck took years to reach that point of horn growth and has twice the meat.

First time I connected, the doe ducked and turned...arrow went through her leg by her knee joint. Away she went on three legs, and I almost puked I was so sick to my stomach. My wife was almost as sick as I was when I told her what had happened. I hope I never forget that feeling...I believe it's moments like those that make you a better hunter. I will let a deer walk before taking a shot that I'm not completely comfortable with


And the UIBA has spoken!

This is a sport (we are NOT hunting to feed our families no matter what the perfect hunter stated above - beef from Kroger is much less expensive than venison) and in a SPORT some things happen that are not totally in our control.

I have lost a buck and a doe back when I first started deer hunting. I learned alot from both incidences. Both deer were lost when I did not wait long enough to recover them and jumped them as I was tracking them. Since that time, I have taken extra care to take extra time before I go after one (unless I see it down on the ground from my tree).

One thing to make you feel better - these deer are tough. I had a son get a complete pass through on an eight point one weekend last year. The shot was a little high and we found no blood trail. We looked for the buck that night and the next morning. Believe it or not, the next weekend, my other son shot the same deer and dropped him in his tracks. We found a clean complete pass through shot just above his shoulder but below his spine. That was the shot from last week.

Just keep at it and your recovery problems will become very rare. This is a great SPORT that takes time and experience to become proficient at. Even with that though, you never master it. But that is what makes it challenging and worthwhile to pursue.