Will he come back to the area

Shot a monster on Monday ended up being a poor shot . Pretty sure that he survived. What are the chances that he will return


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Pimpscoe

Eight Pointer
Shot a monster on Monday ended up being a poor shot . Pretty sure that he survived. What are the chances that he will return


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Based on my experience, yes he will. The better question is will he return during daytime hours. My answer, probably not. I have stuck two big bucks, and tracked both for hundreds of yards. Had both return the next night and the remainder of the year to the corn/food plot. However, neither in daytime before the season ran out. Look at it this way, it's taken this long to see him once, what are the odds again? However, you don't know unless you hunt there.
 
I'm going back in tommarow afternoon and I'm going to hang my cameras again


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Newsome Road

Ten Pointer
Depends. For me, he's long gone. I'd be lucky to ever get another midnight picture of him. My brother, however, has better luck. He sliced open the brisket of a nice buck once. Knew he didn't hit him good so he stayed on stand. Shot the same buck 20 minutes later. This was with a bow, but still....who gets that lucky?
 
I hit this buck high in the backstrap with 8 inches of penetration. Several ppl have told me he is dead some where but I have yet to locate him. I tract him with decent blood for over 400yds. Then the blood just stopped. I'm thinking I hit one lung and he survived it


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sky hawk

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
High in the backstrap, by definition, means he lived, unless it was a steep angle.
 

30/06

Twelve Pointer
Guy in my club went to Ohio, neighbor shot a good buck and asked them to be on the lookout if they find it dead. Few days later my buddy shoots the buck, it was chasing a doe, original shot was high through the backstrap. Guy who shot it initially checked his camera, 8 hrs after being hit it was already back and chasing does, hole looked like it was healing already.

Good chance deer is alive and well, whether or not you'll see him again I can't say, all deer are different.
 

aya28ga

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
There's always hope.

But my experience has been that with a big buck, you usually only get one chance at him in a particular location. If he survived, and if you shot at him while he was cruising his "core area" of his territory, he'll probably still be around, but he'll remember the spot where he got hurt and avoid it for awhile, maybe for good.

If this was a buck who was "roaming" out of his usual territory looking for does to breed, you likely won't see him in that spot again.
 

ChasinTrophies

Guest
I think we give deer too much credit sometimes. Only way to know is to find him again like you did the first time. Maybe he's still in the area. Maybe he's moved to his winter haunts. Maybe he died. Who knows? I've seen pictures of mature deer returning to the spot they were wounded within 24 hours. There are just too many variables to speculate about. Just keep hunting.
 
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oldest school

Old Mossy Horns
that would be the best use of cameras i can think of. confirming a hit one is still alive.

folks experiences vary a bunch on this. too many variables to predict with any reasonableness a specific situation.

Good Luck!
 

cuttem boys

Six Pointer
In 2013 I shot one and didn't kill him. He disappeared for three weeks and came back to the corn religiously but mainly at night. He slipped up in 2014 and I killed him the same date as the year before and out of the same stand.
 
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