Lost deer

[wytonpjs]

If you shoot enough deer……. this happens. I usually do similar to others here and mark the shot sight with tape, range the animal and check the bearing. Yesterday, under pressure to complete the doe cull I was in a hurry. I dropped 2 kids on a gently upwards sloping piece of featureless scrub off to the right of an ill-defined track. First dropped on the spot, the other ran about 30m then dropped. I then turned my attention to the third in the group which ran approx 50m to a clump of gorse off to the left of the track, stalking slowly in to close the distance. On the open ground it was a risk but not unsurprisingly, it lifted and ran. I returned to the quad and set off to collect to 2 on the ground in front of me. Could I locate them - hell no. Using the visual clues I had, I did find the first after what seemed an eternity but in reality was I suggest only 5. The second was a challenge. Repeated circling, use of thermal - all revealed nothing but I knew it was dead on that open ground. Back to the shot site, re-range and another go at looking for it - straight to it It had dropped behind an innocuous tussock, virtually hidden from view.

On the way off the ground I spotted another lone roe - same happened again but this time it was with clumps of gorse. Up close, they all look the same After circling what I thought was “the” clump I dismounted and set the Teckel off. Off he went like an express train to the right clump 20m distant. Light was fading fast, I was in a hurry to get off the ground and the basics were bypassed for the sake of expediency. There is a morale…..

 

[sikamalc]

I've had stags vanish after being shot on the open hill. Dropped on the spot, but roll and disappear into thin air. Only to find they have dropped into a runner. Had it happen a few times over the years, and been lucky as the antler was just sticking out of the heather.
That could be why you didnt find the Roe.

 

[Ratel]

I've had stags vanish after being shot on the open hill. Dropped on the spot, but roll and disappear into thin air. Only to find they have dropped into a runner. Had it happen a few times over the years, and been lucky as the antler was just sticking out of the heather.
That could be why you didnt find the Roe.

Had that two or three times. One we never found until months later when Heather burning and one lad saw an antler tip sticking up out of a deep runner.

 

[Mungo]

I've had stags vanish after being shot on the open hill. Dropped on the spot, but roll and disappear into thin air. Only to find they have dropped into a runner. Had it happen a few times over the years, and been lucky as the antler was just sticking out of the heather.
That could be why you didnt find the Roe.

Oh definitely - it had rolled over a lip and in under an overhang. Surrounded by thigh deep rank heather.

 

[Dan Newcombe]

But first rule is keep your eye on the animal and don’t take it off till you have found it.

Easy when you are only shooting one - get into a gang and end up with 6 or 7 on the floor and the whole game gets even more fun

 

[Mungo]

Easy when you are only shooting one - get into a gang and end up with 6 or 7 on the floor and the whole game gets even more fun

This was my first mistake. The two remaining deer had moved a lot further off to one side than I’d realised, and so my alignment was all wrong when I started searching.

 

[Roebuck]

Its amazing how roe can fall into the smallest hollow and not be found , invisible to eye and thermal. I shot a roe once in forestry which dropped to the shot , went over to pick it up and it was nowhere to be seen. It had dropped into a small hole and was completely hidden , very lucky to find it , bit I'm surprised your dog still couldn't find it.

Yes I had a Roe doe shot in hardwood forest marked the shot and thought the drop.point. No luck searchingI went back the next day and after a good search found it under a fallen tree tucked right in!Charlie had been at it!

 

[Cyres]

Good result and thanks for posting. All readers will have gained something from this post.
D

 

[AGR]

Hindsight is a fine thing…

Be easy for me then, I have 20-20 hindsight.

 

[Mungo]

Be easy for me then, I have 20-20 hindsight.

I’m Especially good where OTHER people are concerned.

 

[Dorsettaff]

I think HikMicro are bringing out a new bit of kit later this year........will be ideal for these situations.

It's called the Retrospectoscope......



enables you to look back to see what you should have done in the first place

 

[75]

It's called the Retrospectoscope......



enables you to look back to see what you should have done in the first place

Released months ago and used by most members of SD already!

 

[Sol]

I think HikMicro are bringing out a new bit of kit later this year........will be ideal for these situations.

Sorry to pester but what is your profile picture for months and months I've been trying to figure out what it is I know its a muntjac head but I cant figure out what the white is, is it apart of the muntjac? or... is it like a dog behind?

Its ironically been in the back of my mind for months and months lol.

 

[Dorsettaff]

Sol...Its a latex gloved hand holding the head

 

[VSS]

Sol...Its a latex gloved hand holding the head

Took me long enough to figure out that it was a muntjac head, not a hamster.

 

[Stephenbuck2489]

For the first time in a long while, I lost a deer that I knew to be dead. Extremely frustrating.

Head shot on a calm beast, facing away. Couched up in deep heather on more or less featureless moorland. One roe from a group of 3. Saw the top the skull disintegrate and it dropped to shot. Thrashed around on the ground and kicked itself over a little heathery bank so disappeared from view. Kept crosshairs on for 5 minutes, no further movement. Then made a series of stupid mistakes.

First mistake: Took my eye off the spot and turned to follow 2 other deer that had remained in the area. Decided not to shoot them - it was going to get dark soon, and I didn’t want to be extracting all 3 in the dark. Thought I knew where the first had gone down.

Second mistake: sublimely confident I knew where it was, I didn’t immediately go it it. Instead, went back to the truck (only 500m away) to offload rifle and get roe sack. Did mark where I’d shot from, with a direction indicator.

I then spent hours, first in failing light and then in the dark, walking all over the area trying to find it. The two other deer were still there, and hung around until I was almost on top of them. I had a clear view of the area in thermal, and could see the 2 on and off for the next hour - so I’m certain the ‘dead’ one was definitely still dead. I had a both dog and thermal. Several times the dog indicated a strong scent, but seemed to lose it again each time and then get distracted by the foot trace from the live ones.

I am absolutely certain it was stone dead, and that I must have walked within a yard or two of it multiple times. All I can think is that it kicked itself into a hidden gully, under some heather or into a hidden puddle.

This on top of a miss earlier in the day and a miss the day before. Just not a very good weekend

Strange suggestion i know.

But again. I seen a youtube video of a guy with the very same issue (in standing wheat though)
He looked, looked and better looked with no avail.

So he marked his shooting spot in the field, went home and got a mate with a drone, within 5 minutes located it 10ds from where he was searching.

If you have acces to a drone in future this seems like a bloody good way to locate.

 

[Mungo]

Strange suggestion i know.

But again. I seen a youtube video of a guy with the very same issue (in standing wheat though)
He looked, looked and better looked with no avail.

So he marked his shooting spot in the field, went home and got a mate with a drone, within 5 minutes located it 10ds from where he was searching.

If you have acces to a drone in future this seems like a bloody good way to locate.

Yes.

Though in this case, I did find it later, and it had fallen into a gutter with an overhang, so a drone may not have seen it.

 

[Stephenbuck2489]

Yes.

Though in this case, I did find it later, and it had fallen into a gutter with an overhang, so a drone may not have seen it.

Ahh well that may not have helped. Fair play finding it in the end mqte.

 

[Kernow_Stalker]

I shot a Sika stag last year than ran on for a bit. Broad daylight. Followed a few sporadic bits of poor blood trail and then nothing. Good search around the area for about 20 mins. Then expanded my search bracket thinking it must have ran on. An hour later (and another stag successfully on the deck that popped out as I was searching for number 1) and I sat down near where the blood trail dried up. Had a drink and was pondering my life choices, and I noticed it in a ditch just under a bush no more than 5m from me. I am entirely convinced I had searched the area top to bottom, but evidently not. This was all in broad daylight

 

[Mungo]

I shot a Sika stag last year than ran on for a bit. Broad daylight. Followed a few sporadic bits of poor blood trail and then nothing. Good search around the area for about 20 mins. Then expanded my search bracket thinking it must have ran on. An hour later (and another stag successfully on the deck that popped out as I was searching for number 1) and I sat down near where the blood trail dried up. Had a drink and was pondering my life choices, and I noticed it in a ditch just under a bush no more than 5m from me. I am entirely convinced I had searched the area top to bottom, but evidently not. This was all in broad daylight

Several times over the years I’ve more or less given up searching, and then stumbled over it as I’ve been stomping off to get a dog, or exactly as you, seen it when I’ve sat down to work out how much I can get when I try to sell off all my stalking kit.