Still chasing the massive buck from earlier in the season, but I also don't want to eat tag soup.  Got out around 4:00 today, later than I wanted to, jumped a deer on the way in.  Set in my stand, and right around sundown two does come in and walk right underneath me.  One spooks but the other is curious about the deke I have out.  Hit her at about 25 yards but I had trouble estimating where I hit.  Hit her with 55lb draw/Shuttle T-Lock fixed blade broadheads, and my first thought was that I might have hit brisket.  The arrow seems to support this outcome:





Not a whole lot of blood, mostly just the greasy meat you associate with a lousy shot.  No bueno.





However, the deer looked injured as it walked off.  It was moving slow and looked unsteady.  I start following the trail that it went down and immediately find blood.  Good, heavy drops.  It walked into a swampy area and despite the water, there water had several discernible puddles of blood within it.  About 25 meters down the easy-to-follow blood trail, this makes me think it was a good lung shot.











Anyway, the blood trail goes back to dry land, and is easy to follow.  Generous drops every couple feet lead me to a creek that marks the property line.  Just across the creek, I find this puddle, probably about 18-24" in diameter.











I did not previously have permission to enter this property, so I poked around, saw another fist sized pool about 5 feet NE of here, a few more small spots of blood further NE, and then lost the trail on the edge of some unmowed corn.  I spoke to the neighbor tonight and they're fine with me coming back tomorrow if I can get off work early.  The blood trail, as of the large pool, was probably around 100 yards in length.





Here's the kicker - the property owner and his dog were out near the creek while I was still up in my stand holding tight after the shot.  When I saw the big puddle of blood, my thoughts are the deer either stumbled there, or bedded until the property owner and his dog jumped it.  The good news is I can almost see the rest of the field to the road beyond the corn, so if the deer didn't double-back across the creek, it's unlikely it could have left the corn without me seeing - unless it moved after dark.





Is it down in the corn 10 yards from last blood?  Did the neighbor bump it?  Bloodiest brisket hit ever and the deer is 10 miles away never to be found now?





I guess I'll find out tomorrow, but I want to invite lots of idle speculation as I impatiently wait for daylight.  Of course I've got important meetings at 8, 10 and 12 tomorrow, so I'm hoping to punch out mid-afternoon and hit that corn.



 
 

Adding aerial trail.  Circle is the hit, dots indicate frothy blood, mess at the end to the NE indicates the larger pool.  Neon greenish line indicates path of neighbor and dog.  Scale is such that if you stretched the trail out straight it would probably be less than 100 yards.










 

That has to be a dead deer .Looks like she left a damn lung on the ground. She aint far in that corn.

I was thinking the same thing with the lung on the ground.

Get out there and find her I know she's down!!!!!

What you've showed us indicates a very dead deer that was dead long before the neighbor's dog came through.

I'm expecting a deer pic in this thread by lunch.

I'd also say that this has to be a dead deer.  That's quite a bit of blood, and certainly looks like frothy "lung blood"....I think that deer is dead.  I just hope the coyotes didn't find it before you do.  I know in my neck of the woods, the coyotes would likely have chewed it up by mid-day today...especially if it's cover of a corn field.  Standing corn I assume?

Good luck, hope you find it!!

Enough blood and quite possiblely and lung shot. I bet you find your deer quickly.

Dead deer........no doubt whatsoever.

Yeah she is a goner for sure, now go find her and dont let her go to waste!

I am dumbfounded.  Left work at noon and searched til sundown.  No further sign.  My buddy walked around for a couple hours too.  Walked a grid through the corn and at  least two passes in the treeline for every wooded area within a quarter mile.  I really thought this would be a one hour recovery tops, I've never seen a blood trail so pronounced even with a rifle.  Seriously bummed, feeling jinxed this year.  Yotes are a problem but I'd expect to find pieces of the carcass in that range still.  Ugh.

Were you able to go back and find the blood from yesterday? Did it just completely stop after that?

It's possible that the exit wound got plugged up with wound tissue and she stopped bleeding. It happens.

Based on the bubbly blood pics, she's almost certainly dead.

Yesterday's trail was easy to follow.  Even in the water, bloody areas were still visible.  Clear drops on leaves and branches in dry ground.  Puddle wasn't as pronounced but still easy to see across the creek.  Blood thinned out quickly after that and lost the trail in the corn.  Gridded the corn, then basically went around the entire field - pretty large - and walked twice in the treeline around it, first just on the edge, and the second time about 25m in.  I have no idea how a deer with no blood pressure could cover the distance, but I figured I'd check anyway.  I'm stupefied.  The farmer started bringing in some of the corn today and says if he sees anything, he'll let me know, but with temps in the 50s I'm iffy on a deer after 48 hours.  I don't expect him to find anything though - it's not a huge field and I had good vis while I worked my way through the rows.



Just frustrating - still never taken anything with my bow in two seasons, haven't been out for gun since 2010.  Finally hit something and after getting a great trail it vanishes into thin air.