Humble pie...

I feel your pain Jesse. We do our best sometimes and it just doesn't work out how we hoped to. There are so many calculated risk we take every time we release an arrow or pull the trigger on a gun. It's just a shit end of hunting, I've been there just like many others have. It's always a matter of not, if but when!

It sucks but its happened to most all of us at one point or another.
Being bothered about it is a better sign than not giving a shit. You probably wont make that mistake again.

Now get back out there and fill that freezer!

I've become extremely familiar with "dead" deer that don't die. This is why some days I hate arrows with every fiber of my being. I often say I'm going to start bow hunting with a gun and Mason is always quick to say he will turn me in immediately. However, he too found out this weekend how quick a "good" shot can result in a fruitless long walk. I told him if he is going to continue shooting deer with arrows he needs to get used to this crap. Sometimes our best efforts are just not good enough. I hate it. We all hate it. It's part of it in spite of our best efforts.

She definitely checked her back trail so that tells me she was hit pretty good. Might not have been lethal but it sure didn't feel good and she was looking to see if anything was coming after her. Most of my deer that I have killed did one of two things. 1) They did a straight sprint and fell over. 2) They did a horseshoe run and piled up.

Deer I have seen do what yours did we never found so I assume they survived.

It sucks and most times we are left with so many questions it drives us insane. Take it as a learned lesson and get back out there buddy.

Keep your head up Jesse, it happens to all of us. Even people with way more experience than you. Get back out there and take care of the next one bud.

I feel for you Brother. I hit my Giant 8 point in the exact same spot last year, except from a stand. Thought he was dead. I even had Phil bring Hank to no avail, kinda. I found him 2 months later in an Area that Hank didnt wanna leave that night. Only found him because we smelled him on a 60 degree day. Im still baffled if I killed him that day or if he died withing a few days after. Whether a Doe or Buck, it hurts us because we care and respect the animals, and the work it takes to ethically harvest one.

Ive killed many deer much lower than where the red dot is on that deer. Sorry you didn't get her Jesse. The placement looks very good if that's where it was, 1/3 up from the bottom of the chest cavity and behind the front legs a couple inches. Stay with it.

Great post! If thats the exit not sure how she went vert far. But I've seen some crazy things happen.

It happens to everyone. Sure fuc#$ up your head. Makes you sick. Nothing you can do about it sept suck it up and move on to the next hunt with high hopes. That's what I do anyway.

These are by far the toughest pills to swallow. If your arrow passed through where you assume it did in my opinion that is a dead doe. I don't think you can place an arrow any better than you did, again my opinion. Should have got a hit low in the lungs and in the heart.

I hated those Montec G5 broadheads. I made a great shot on a buck and had no blood trail to follow but luckily found him doing a grid search. My brother had a similar experience with the G5. I would say if you were shooting another head it would have greatly improved your odds of recovery.

Sometimes a few inches makes a huge difference . As you release to arrow alot of different factors come into play and perfect shots can become less than perfect quick . I hit a doe behind the heart and below the lungs a long time ago . I had pin drops for blood and figured I'd hit her low and She was gonna be ok . She went 70 yds and bedded , I bumped her and she didn't go far and bedded again. After bumping her a couple times she was to wore out and I ended up shooting her again as she lay in her bed at 5 yds .

I've also been involved in recoveries where they "smoked em " only to find out later that wasn't the case . One buddy once swore he heart shot one and when we walked up on it dead he had shot it thru the hams and severed the artery resulting in a short blood trail and recovery .

I guess my point is , the arrow doesn't always go exactly where the pin was , and deer react to the shot or are slightly quartered when ya thought they were broadside . It's just human nature . Keep at it and hopefully the next arrow ya release results in a short recovery.

Another lesson I've learned is I don't over think things . On a non alert deer I put the pin 6" behind the shoulder in the middle of the body up and down and send it . Alert deer pose a different scenario and every situation is gonna vary some , but if ya put a arrow thru the center of the rib cage they ain't going far .

Don't worry. I shot a doe a few years ago and perfect placement at 25 yards. It went 1/2 way in. Found half of the arrow and never found her. The next summer my brother and I was fishing at the lake and jumped her. The arrow was still sticking out. She ran into the woods and then I saw the remaining arrow/broadhead fall out. The shot only took out 1st lung and she lived. They are one tough animal.

It happens, not much to add than what others have said.

Sorry to here that, it's happened to every hunter out there. Myself included. They are tough animals