Page 1 of 6 123 ... LastLast
Results 1 to 20 of 104

Thread: Dead zone shot...

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Location
    Sparkle City
    Posts
    2,775

    Default Dead zone shot...

    My 8 yr old shot a giant saturday morning. Horizontally, the shot was money. Vertically, kind of high. When he shot him, the deer ran probably 40 yds and everything went silent. We backed out and gave him about an hour or so. I tracked him 600 plus yds with decent blood. It was high up on leaves and on the ground. The blood up high was stringy almost the consistency of snot but bright red. Never saw any bubbles and the blood on the ground was also bright red. The deer ran down hill for the most part, then got in a gully and ran up a steep bank. (started worrying). He circled back going towards where he shot him then lost the blood. Brought one dog in saturday around lunch time. She trailed him backwards all the way back to the stand and was give out once we got her back going good. Brought another dog in yesterday but didnt have any luck. Never found the arrow either. Hoping to see some buzzards later this week or possibly see him back on camera somewhere. My question is, is the dead zone shot a legit thing, or do yall think he's laying somewhere dead? Hindsight is I should've snuck back in there by myself and tried to shoot him bedded down, but I was confident he smoked him.
    Last edited by Drakey; 09-19-2022 at 01:32 PM.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Posts
    1,034

    Default

    He is laying up somewhere. There are very few places in the thorax and cranial abdomen where an arrow going through them will not result in death in minutes to hours. If the arrow went through the thorax, it will collapse both lungs so long as it passed through or came out eventually (meaning the entrance/exit wounds are not plugged). I would estimate that without finding the deer in short order, it is likely that the major vessels and heart were missed.


    Don't give up hope, hang in there for your son. I hate this for you both, losing an any animal is extremely disheartening.
    Last edited by abarill; 09-19-2022 at 01:51 PM.
    Never confuse enthusiasm for capability

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
    Location
    Charleston, SC
    Posts
    8,491

    Default

    That sucks to hear, what was the draw weight and how far was the shot?

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Posts
    10,551

    Default

    what kind of penetration did he get? What kind of broadhead? Any chance the arrow deflected upon entry being that it was a high hit already? Being an 8yo, I would assume very low draw weight, combined with a high shot, no bubbles in blood...... Its possible that the arrow didnt penetrate the rib cage and only suffered a flesh wound.... look for buzzards! Good Luck!

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jun 2011
    Location
    Columbia, SC
    Posts
    3,946

    Default

    First one of the season unless it’s fake
    Sea Ark 1542 w/ Yamaha 40
    Xpress 16 w/ 50 Hammer
    War Eagle 15 w/ 30 Hammer

    --------------------------------------------------

    "Sometimes you gotta grab the bull by the horns and the women by the tits and take charge in your life" - General Patton

    "I'm very drunk and I intend on getting still drunker before this evening's over."
    - Rhett Butler

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Nov 2006
    Location
    Spartanburg
    Posts
    49,653

    Default

    No such thing as a dead zone. You're either in the chest or you aren't. There's no dead space in the chest.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Location
    Sparkle City
    Posts
    2,775

    Default

    He shot it with a crossbow at 20 yds on the nose. I'm not saying that it didn't pass through, but I never found it. It's really open where he shot it, so I feel like if it had went through, I would've found it.
    Last edited by Drakey; 09-19-2022 at 02:07 PM.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Location
    Sparkle City
    Posts
    2,775

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Glenn View Post
    No such thing as a dead zone. You're either in the chest or you aren't. There's no dead space in the chest.
    I thought the same thing until I googled it. It says it's between the lungs and spine. It said "pink, sticky shreds of blood" which is what I was finding.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Location
    Sparkle City
    Posts
    2,775

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Buckin Bronco View Post
    First one of the season unless it’s fake
    What?

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Mar 2016
    Location
    Horry, SC
    Posts
    5,516

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Glenn View Post
    No such thing as a dead zone. You're either in the chest or you aren't. There's no dead space in the chest.
    What Glenn said. The dead zone is a myth. If it was high it may be through the backstraps.

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Jan 2007
    Location
    Blythewood, SC
    Posts
    2,613

    Default

    There is no way that I can fathom that a 20 yard crossbow shot wouldn’t be a pass through
    Last edited by kquinn; 09-19-2022 at 02:13 PM.

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Location
    Sparkle City
    Posts
    2,775

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Coastal Woodie View Post
    What Glenn said. The dead zone is a myth. If it was high it may be through the backstraps.
    If it was that high, would it have bled like it did? He was bleeding pretty decent. There was probably 4 places where he stopped and it was a spot about the size of a paper plate each time. The rest of the time, it was a good enough trail where you didn't really have to get down and look for it. But then, it just stopped.

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Nov 2005
    Location
    Fort Kickass
    Posts
    50,993

    Default

    Best advise I ever got while looking for a big one I knew I had killed was...

    Big deer do big deer shit. He's there and and he's dead. You've probably walked by him a dozen times, like I did mine. They like to scrabble up under the most impenetrable shit you can find and die there.
    "Rivers and the inhabitants of the watery elements are for wise men to contemplate and for fools to pass by without consideration" -Izaak Walton

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Sep 2011
    Location
    Summerville
    Posts
    5,873

    Default

    Muscle bleeds a lot
    Member of the Tenth Legion Since 2004

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Jun 2012
    Location
    Charlotte, NC
    Posts
    925

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by kquinn View Post
    There is no way that I can fathom that a 20 yard crossbow shot wouldn’t be a pass through
    Happens often with giant mechanical broadheads. Not a nock on em, because I’ve seen them work just fine quite often, but if you’re after penetration, especially on big deer, they are a momentum killer. Some are better designed than others, of course.

  16. #16
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Location
    Sparkle City
    Posts
    2,775

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by kquinn View Post
    There is no way that I can fathom that a 20 yard crossbow shot wouldn’t be a pass through
    Now it's not one of those $2000 deals. It probably shoots 250 fps give or take.

  17. #17
    Join Date
    Mar 2016
    Location
    Horry, SC
    Posts
    5,516

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Drakey View Post
    If it was that high, would it have bled like it did? He was bleeding pretty decent. There was probably 4 places where he stopped and it was a spot about the size of a paper plate each time. The rest of the time, it was a good enough trail where you didn't really have to get down and look for it. But then, it just stopped.
    He will bleed like a stuck hog if it went through the back strap but the deer will live. I had it happen a couple years ago. I'll see if I can find the trail cam pic a couple weeks later with the hole in him.

  18. #18
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Location
    Boiling Springs
    Posts
    6,370

    Default

    Should of called Spud?

  19. #19
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Location
    Sparkle City
    Posts
    2,775

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by BigBrother View Post
    Best advise I ever got while looking for a big one I knew I had killed was...

    Big deer do big deer shit. He's there and and he's dead. You've probably walked by him a dozen times, like I did mine. They like to scrabble up under the most impenetrable shit you can find and die there.
    There's one big gully close to where we lost him. If he's dead, I think that's where he's at. We took the other dog in there yesterday and walked him up and down it but never found anything. I've never wanted to find a deer so bad in my life. It's the first one he's ever shot at, so that part sucks too.

  20. #20
    Join Date
    Nov 2008
    Location
    In My Truck
    Posts
    3,653

    Default

    Hitting too high can be a problem for sure.

    i never find those deer.
    Windows Down!

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •