Danindetroit
New member
Has anybody ever wounded game and not located it. Anyting from squirrels to elephants.
ever wound an animal and not find it
- Thread starter Danindetroit
- Start date
I, once as an inexperienced deer hunter took a too long shot at a running deer and gut shot it. Instead of sitting back and letting the deer expire I excitedly tracked the wounded animal. I would come across large areas of blood where the deer laid down and would have probably died but it kept getting up and running at my approach. I followed it into a swamp and gave up the pursuit when the water got to my mid thighs. It was also snowing very heavy at the time. Later I learned from a neighbor that he found a deer on the other side of the swamp dead. They waited awhile for someone to claim it and then took the deer when nobody showed up. At least it didn’t go to waste. I’ve taken many deer since without any problems.
Things I learned:
Know your limits as to the range of your hunting weapon
Avoid shooting at running deer.
After shooting a deer stay back for awhile, and most of the time the deer will lay down and bleed out.
If a deer heads to water try to go around the waterway and look for the animal on the other side.
Things I learned:
Know your limits as to the range of your hunting weapon
Avoid shooting at running deer.
After shooting a deer stay back for awhile, and most of the time the deer will lay down and bleed out.
If a deer heads to water try to go around the waterway and look for the animal on the other side.
Danindetroit
New member
I applaud your honesty and integrity, and especially by helping to teach people from your own experience. I think to post took a lot of guts. 
Danindetroit
New member
Just as I thought 1 person owns up to not being a perfect hunter only human.
In Arizona, I shot a running coyote at about 40 yds with a .44 AutoMag and a 180JHP at over 1800fps. The coyote spun around in a cloud of dust and was up and running. My second shot missed.
I made the mistake of going after him instead of waiting. I found where he had laid down under some brush and then run off when he heard me coming. Considering all the blood and other stuff he left behind, it was a gut shot and fatal. If I had waited just a minute or two, he would have died under that brush or been too weak to get away. I could have put him down and ended his suffering.
John
Cape Canaveral
I made the mistake of going after him instead of waiting. I found where he had laid down under some brush and then run off when he heard me coming. Considering all the blood and other stuff he left behind, it was a gut shot and fatal. If I had waited just a minute or two, he would have died under that brush or been too weak to get away. I could have put him down and ended his suffering.
John
Cape Canaveral
Mannlicher
New member
Nope
Its happens, it has happened to me. My first year bow hunting.
I work with a couple guys that hold state records on white tail. Guess what? They have lost animals too. I have seen deer take a single hit and drop in the spot. I have also seen deer in a drive take multible hits and not be found for days, if found at all. If you hunt long enough it will happen to you.
I work with a couple guys that hold state records on white tail. Guess what? They have lost animals too. I have seen deer take a single hit and drop in the spot. I have also seen deer in a drive take multible hits and not be found for days, if found at all. If you hunt long enough it will happen to you.
Arizona Fusilier
New member
Not that I know of, for sure. All the evidence suggested I missed.
Bad feeling just wondering about it, though.
Bad feeling just wondering about it, though.
MeekAndMild
New member
An armadillo once, right at dusk. Found it 2 days later, where it bled out just beyond where I stopped looking.
OTOH sometimes you find something you don't want to know about. The last squirrel I ever shot, about 40 years ago, was wounded and ran into a hollow log. The only way to get to it to put it down was to blast it with a shotgun at about 2 yards range. Not enough left to eat. I"ll never shot a squirrel again unless I'm starving.
OTOH sometimes you find something you don't want to know about. The last squirrel I ever shot, about 40 years ago, was wounded and ran into a hollow log. The only way to get to it to put it down was to blast it with a shotgun at about 2 yards range. Not enough left to eat. I"ll never shot a squirrel again unless I'm starving.
Danindetroit
New member
MM, A tree fell where I worked on a weekend and was blocking traffic, a friend was using a chain saw on monday and was cutting into the big tree, while I was chipping limbs and moving logs, and all of the sudden there was bright red blood flying everywhere off the chainsaw. It turns out the tree was hollow and a fat racoon was living in it. We all have "convinced" ourselves, that the raccoon was already dead from the concussion or from being thrown around in it's den. :barf:
Jayfarmlaw
New member
It happens....Anyone that has grown up hunting has wounded an animal and not been able to recover it. As a teen I wounded a couple of deer and could not find them despite several hours of searching. A few years ago I put a .223 square in the chest of a coyote and to my amazement he took off running. I never found much blood and all I can figure is that the bullet did not mushroom and just went straight through.
While I regret not making a clean kill, my deer hunting strategy has changed, I wont take a running shot, nor will I go for a heart/lung shot. For the last 15 years I have dropped every deer in it's tracks with a high neck shot or head shot. With a shot like that the chances are slim that you will wound the animal. I have not hunted bucks since I was a teen and try to shoot about an 80 pound doe so I dont much care about something to hang on my wall.
AS far as yotes go, head shots are much more challenging and you either miss or drop them immediately.
Coons, skunks, opossums, etc-as long as you dont use a .22, I have not had anything run off. I have been using a .17HMR around the house lately and really really like it, It has replaced my 22 mag as my go-to gun for varmits around the house.
Be safe,
Jay
While I regret not making a clean kill, my deer hunting strategy has changed, I wont take a running shot, nor will I go for a heart/lung shot. For the last 15 years I have dropped every deer in it's tracks with a high neck shot or head shot. With a shot like that the chances are slim that you will wound the animal. I have not hunted bucks since I was a teen and try to shoot about an 80 pound doe so I dont much care about something to hang on my wall.
AS far as yotes go, head shots are much more challenging and you either miss or drop them immediately.
Coons, skunks, opossums, etc-as long as you dont use a .22, I have not had anything run off. I have been using a .17HMR around the house lately and really really like it, It has replaced my 22 mag as my go-to gun for varmits around the house.
Be safe,
Jay
the possum
New member
Jay-
Care to share some of your experiences with the .17 on them Coons & possums? I'd be mighty interested.
thanx.
Care to share some of your experiences with the .17 on them Coons & possums? I'd be mighty interested.
thanx.
I wounded a 6 pointer this year....I was in a slug zone and using a smooth bore barrel on my 870...Deer was walking through the thick stuff and walked through a small opening about 80 yards away where i fired at it. Not sure where I hit it to tell you the truth but it was on the ground kicking for like 5 seconds and finally got to its feet and fell down again. I thought i had a good hit and didn't fire another round at it until it got up again and started running away like it got hit somewhere in the front legs. I took a couple shots at it while it was running but i'm sure i was hitting nothing but brush. I sat in my stand a little and marked where he ran, i thought he would fall somewhere. Much to my suprise there was no blood or nothing to track when i did get out of my stand. I never did find him or any blood and feel horrible about it whenever i think about it..... I'm decided i'm not going to take shots like that with my shotgun as it is anymore. I plan on getting a rifled barrel /scope set up for it for next year.
rwilson452
New member
hit but got away
I have had a few chucks get hit and make it back to their whole. I ain't going to dig them out. Most I figure will die. call it a self made grave.
I have had a few chucks get hit and make it back to their whole. I ain't going to dig them out. Most I figure will die. call it a self made grave.
lionslayer
New member
Anyone who hunts lots sooner or later is going to wound, perhaps fatally, but nevertheless fail to recover the animal... this may be because a winged game bird buried itself in cover so well that you had no chance of finding it, squirrel escaped to hollow tree, poorly hit deer ran off in the rain leaving no discernible trail or track, and etc. It happens, regretably, but shouldn't be your norm. Self-imposed ethics are supposed to be what we are about, and that would include restricting shots to the conservative limits of your weapons and skills, assiduous follow up on every attempt (I've found animals that I was sure were irretrievably lost, because I persistently and carefully investigated the scene... ) assume you made the shot and follow up on that assumption... With big game, acute tracking skills are helpful, as are helpers' eyes, good light, e.g., Coleman lanterns for night tracking, etc.
Dusty Miller
New member
Like the man sed, use enough gun.
Last year I lost what would have been my first buck.
I shot it center between chest and belly but far enough forward to still get the ribs because I found an inch piece of bone along the trail. The bone was compared to another deer carcass a friend shot. I also saw the bullet hit. When the deer was hit it started to run I fired once more and missed. (.30-06 BTW)
My girlfriend and I waited a half an hour on what I thought was a good shot. We soon picked up a blood trail and began following it quite slowly. After about 200 yards of tracking we found a large blood pool. I shot the deer on private land that borders public land. This blood pool was 30 yards from an ATV trail. We found no blood past the ATV trail. We searched till dark. We came back the next morning with four people and searched for about 3 hours. We found no other blood trails than the one from the night before. We finally gave up and guess that another hunter picked it up and put it on an ATV.
Hopefully this year will be different. I have killed does before but am still waiting for that first buck.
Evan
I shot it center between chest and belly but far enough forward to still get the ribs because I found an inch piece of bone along the trail. The bone was compared to another deer carcass a friend shot. I also saw the bullet hit. When the deer was hit it started to run I fired once more and missed. (.30-06 BTW)
My girlfriend and I waited a half an hour on what I thought was a good shot. We soon picked up a blood trail and began following it quite slowly. After about 200 yards of tracking we found a large blood pool. I shot the deer on private land that borders public land. This blood pool was 30 yards from an ATV trail. We found no blood past the ATV trail. We searched till dark. We came back the next morning with four people and searched for about 3 hours. We found no other blood trails than the one from the night before. We finally gave up and guess that another hunter picked it up and put it on an ATV.
Hopefully this year will be different. I have killed does before but am still waiting for that first buck.
Evan
I'm a new hunter and it happened to me just yesterday. So far I haven't successfully hunted anything. I was after a doe and was playing fawn bleats out of my Foxpro. Five minutes into the calling a coyote came from my left and gave me a good broadside shot at 35 yards. I let go with a 12 ga sabot. He bolted out of there and I noted his direction. I kept calling for about 5 more minutes in case he had a partner. This land abuts a gun club. So the critters around there are accustomed to gunfire. After the 5 minutes I went to where the yote was and saw fur and a few small pieces of meat. There was no bone and I saw where the slug impacted the dirt behind the coyote. It definitely went clean through. I searched for a long time for any sign of a blood trail, but there was none. Two other hunters came by and helped me in my search, but no cigar.
I'll be back out there today. Hopefully he found a place to lay down and die quickly. I'm going back out this morning for deer, but with any luck I'll stumble on the coyote.
I'll be back out there today. Hopefully he found a place to lay down and die quickly. I'm going back out this morning for deer, but with any luck I'll stumble on the coyote.