Lost a deer for the first time!

I was out stalking yesterday afternoon at some woodland of which i and 5 others lease the stalking on, i was with 2 of the other stalkers, an on arival we decided which high seats we each wanted to go to, and we went our seperate ways, i got setled into my seat, i had been there about an hour and a half, when a buck walked out 170yards to my left, it was a 6 pointer, no medal but not a bad head, it was quatered towards me with with its head down feeding, so i took a kneck shot, but just as the trigger was breaking the deer lifted it head, clean miss! The deer ran 30 yards and stoped broad side on to me , so i took the engine out, the second shot was good but the deer ran into the wood, i waited 15 mins, by this time the other 2 stalkers had walked to my location, so we set off to try and find it, when we got to spot the deer was struck, we found a good blood trail, we followed the trail to the wood at witch the blood stoped, we crawled through the wood for an hour with no sign of blood or deer. This is the first deer i have had run, and the first deer ive lost, the lads said it might be the first, but it wont be the last deer you lose in woodland, i havnt been able to stop thinking about it though, just keep thinking i should of gone for the kneck again
 
One reason you should have access to a good deer dog. There is a register of stalkers willing to track wounded deer if you don't have a dog yourself.
 
Thats too bad....
BUT: There are lads on here, offering a free tracking service for cases like this!
Just give them a call and they will help you out.
Absolutely no reason to give up....
 
Shoot enough deer and it happens where ever you decide to put the bullet head ,neck or engine .ive lost sleep on it whittled for days on end at least if you've tried with a deer hound you've done your best ! any syndicate should have or have access to a deer hound they are as essential as your knife Ect .
good hunting

Norma
 
Just my personal opinion but trying to neck shoot a feeding deer at 170yds off a high seat seems well dodgy! Luckily it was a clean miss. If a deer's feeding then give it a low whistle then neck it as it stares at you. Your second shot was the right one in those circumstances. If you're gonna lose a deer I'd rather lose one with blood pouring out its chest than a neck/head wound. Might be lost but it will bleed out and die assuming you hit it fair and square.

Not having a pop at you,just voicing my thoughts on the matter. Each to their own.

PH
 
That deer is not lost, not even close to it, as the post went on this morning and reference was made to yesterday afternoon it's still only around a 12hrs old track!

It's like the OP has given up already on finding it. If he is correct about the bullet placement with the second shot (which can be backed up with the blood and other sign that's been found) its right now lying there waiting to be found, and from what he has described its not sounding so far that it would even be a difficult job for a tracking dog.

I'm more curious to hear how this story finishes after contact is made with someone who has a proven dog capable of doing cold tracks. This one is not even 24hrs old until sometime this afternoon...
 
If your second short was a positive one, straight in the engine room, you'll probably find the adrenaline from the miss has probably carried the deer some way. It could have been dead on it's feet when you hit it, but unfortunately they can travel some distance (eg 200 yards) even when hit hard!

Stalk enough and these things happen. I do feel for you, but the best bet is to have a thorough check the morning after, and if possible find a tracker close by!

Good luck and I hope you find your quarry
 
Every poster ( and I say it that way to politely agree a point made :tiphat: ) has put up good points. Its a debate that rages from time to time on here and I dont intend to get embroiled! :D

From what you say, it is near certain that what you have 'lost' is a dead animal - and far, far better that being the case than a wounded one. Having a dog isnt possible for everyone, but as others have highlighted there are options to get access to dogs for follow-up in such circumstances. It is something that I would commend to anyone - do your research beforehand and have the relevant number (s) saved on your phone before the need arises. Its simple to do and having done it you go a long way to dispelling the assertion of your friends that ( semantically ) lost animals will be inevitable.

That's better for the image of stalking, the animals and not least the peace of mind of the stalker.
 
I was out stalking yesterday afternoon at some woodland of which i and 5 others lease the stalking on, i was with 2 of the other stalkers, an on arival we decided which high seats we each wanted to go to, and we went our seperate ways, i got setled into my seat, i had been there about an hour and a half, when a buck walked out 170yards to my left, it was a 6 pointer, no medal but not a bad head, it was quatered towards me with with its head down feeding, so i took a kneck shot, but just as the trigger was breaking the deer lifted it head, clean miss! The deer ran 30 yards and stoped broad side on to me , so i took the engine out, the second shot was good but the deer ran into the wood, i waited 15 mins, by this time the other 2 stalkers had walked to my location, so we set off to try and find it, when we got to spot the deer was struck, we found a good blood trail, we followed the trail to the wood at witch the blood stoped, we crawled through the wood for an hour with no sign of blood or deer. This is the first deer i have had run, and the first deer ive lost, the lads said it might be the first, but it wont be the last deer you lose in woodland, i havnt been able to stop thinking about it though, just keep thinking i should of gone for the kneck again

Try speaking to roe stalker/ Jon Snowdon he's has a dam good dog
 
Rob I have spoken with Paul chairman of the UKSHA he is down in norfolk tracking but I am a member of UKSHA and willing to travel up to have a look with the dog to try to help. I have sent a pm with my tel number, thanks wayne
 
Rob I have spoken with Paul chairman of the UKSHA he is down in norfolk tracking but I am a member of UKSHA and willing to travel up to have a look with the dog to try to help. I have sent a pm with my tel number, thanks wayne

Well done mereside! What a great offer, hope the lost deer is found!
 
I fail to see why this has to go down the road of falling out over taking any shots, its happened so lets not start a bun fight, atb wayne
 
Stalk enough and these things do and will happen. Not every one has, can or wants a dog.

Great on Mereside for coming to your aid but take some time out and reflect about what you could possibly do next time to try and improve the odds if at all possible i.e. don't go barging into the woods were you think it is, stalk your way in quietly and methodically... That kinda thing.
 
I fail to see why this has to go down the road of falling out over taking any shots, its happened so lets not start a bun fight, atb wayne

Absolutely Wayne. There is many a deer been wounded or missed when the chest has been aimed at from a lot closer than 170yds.

Let's hope this highlights how when it does go a wee bit wrong how there are some about willing to get involved with their dogs to help out...
 
Absolutely Wayne. There is many a deer been wounded or missed when the chest has been aimed at from a lot closer than 170yds.

Let's hope this highlights how when it does go a wee bit wrong how there are some about willing to get involved with their dogs to help out...

Well said, and let's hope more pick up the phone when things go wrong
 
Back
Top