Finding A Gut Shot Deer

Finding a gut shot deer starts the second you realize it is a gut shot. Most hunters are so excited to go get their deer, they ignore the fact that it is not a good shot, they go looking for the deer, and that is the worst thing you can do to find a gut shot deer. Lets look at some key things to know about finding a gut shot deer.

A Gut Shot Deer Will Die

First and for most lets get this straight a gut shot deer will die 100% of the time. It is not fast and will take time but it will die. When the intestines are cut or busted open it releases poison into the deer's body. Then carried in the blood stream to the whole body. It is no different then when a human's appendix burst. It would kill us 100% of the time if we didn't have doctors.

If Left Alone Gut Shot Deer Rarely Travel Far

When I was 17 I had my appendix burst. If you ever had any problems with you appendix you know that the last thing you want to do is walk around much less run somewhere. Actually the best way to get relief is lay down and roll up into a ball.

That is the same thing a deer wants to do. Most of the time right after the shot, they run a short distance, then walk off hunched over, they find the first place they feel safe, lay down to relieve the pain, and die right there (IF LEFT ALONE).

The Big Mistake Finding Gut Shot Deer

The number one reason hunters don't find gut shot deer is they almost always start tracking the deer and jump the deer up. Most of the time they don't bleed much if any. In fact I put a video below of a buck that I made a mistake on and gut shot. When we was tracking him we never found one single drop of blood. When the deer is jumped up it will run somewhere and there will be very little sign to track.

The Key To Finding Gut Shot Deer

The second you realize it is a gut shot! Not 20 more yards or after you find the first drop of blood. The second you suspect it is a gut shot get out of the area and don't go back for a minimum of 12 hours.

YES, A MINIMUM OF 12 HOURS!!!

What if its raining?

WAIT AT LEAST 12 HOURS!!!

What if its warm?

Yep, 12 HOURS!!!

What about the meat?

If you try to track it before 12 hours the meat will take off running thru the woods with no blood trail behind to follow. Period!

Yes, it is a sick feeling to see an arrow sink into the stomach of any deer or to watch a big buck walk off hunched over in you rifle scoop but it does happen. If you know how to deal with it and actually do it, you will find that deer almost 100% of the time, with little effort, and it will often surprise you how short of a distance it will travel.

I hope you never gut shoot a deer but if you do. Waiting a minimum of 12 hours will save you and the deer a lot of trouble. If you don't wait the deer will suffer more and you will almost never find the deer.

I'm proud to be a hunter,

Jacob Schmitt