I WOUNDED A GIANT! 

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I think he lived to see another day brother. I'll preface this with saying i am a female hunter shooting 52#'s: I had shot a buck in the shoulder knuckle last year and never recovered him. I tracked good bight blood for 100 yards, then decided to back out and get a dog my cousin had. We tracked him probably a mile or so before giving up as well. He later showed up on trail camera two days later with the wound perfectly in his shoulder. I was happy to see him alive and later got to watch him from the tree stand once more a few days later but never was presented another shot to harvest him. I can remember him seeing me in the tree stand that last time and he looked up at me and almost nodded his head as if saying, maybe next time, good try. Wounding an animal is the worst feeling a hunter can witness but it happens unfortunately, we must learn and do better for the sake of the beautiful creatures we seek to harvest.

We all appreciate the honesty of this video. It sucks to say but knowing I'm not the only one making dumb decisions in the heat of the moment helps. I was out of state in Wisconsin hunting public last year and had a buck surprise me and my brother in-law right after setting up and he walked within 10 yards and I was so amped up I never tried to stop him and I lead the shot. Arrow went high front shoulder, and he let out the loudest croke I've ever heard from a deer. tracked for a few hundred yrds then backed out till late night, tracked again with no luck then grid search the whole following next day with no luck. Made me sick for the rest of my trip especially since I have it on video. I learned some valuable lessons from it and am hoping to put a Muley down in Wyoming this September. Thanks for sharing the real stories with us. Keep Grinding and God bless

I lost a giant whitetail several years go. I was rifle hunting and up in a tree stand. Just before last light several deer came out into view from some thick cedars. Among them was one of the biggest whitetails I've ever seen. Light was fading but about 2 minutes before I couldn't legally shoot, he presented me with a frontal shot. I was using a Lee Enfield .303 and thought I had a very good shot. He dropped right away from the shot and I immediately started calling family to come help with the recovery. After about 30 minutes I climbed down and went to where he dropped but all I saw was a circle of blood on the leaves about 4ft in diameter. I waited a few more minutes until help arrived and then we began to track. It was an easy track as it looked like someone had thrown buckets full of blood on the leaves. After going about 45yards I saw him laying down but head up. I froze for a few seconds and he jumped up and ran off onto a neighbours property. We backed out and went to ask the neighbour permission to track. He said sure and had an ATV trail we could use to get back to the swampy area the deer ran into. About an hour later we started tracking again and the trail slowly started to fade. After going about 500yards the deer crossed a river and started leaving good sign on the other side, but once again crossed onto an adjacent property. We backed out again and had to drive around and locate the property he had entered. It turns out they were hunters as well and when I described the deer they knew who he was and had pics of him on their cams. They all turned out to help with the search. We picked up the trail and again followed it for about 500yards before it ended suddenly in another area which was normally swampy but the water was low this year so it was just immensely thick brush. As it was after midnight at this point, we decided to back out and sleep. Every single person who had helped with the track and saw the blood trail said there was no way that deer survived and that he was laying dead somewhere. I returned the next morning and with the permission of the property owner walked nearly 10km, unsuccessfully grid searching that property for the deer. I was devastated and nearly vowed to give up hunting. After a long time of agonizing over it I decided to punch my tag and treat it as a lesson learned. In the early spring the following year I was up at the same property doing some maintenance for hunting and spoke with two workers who were logging a section of the bush. They said they had seen a deer that seemed healthy except it was not putting any weight on its right front leg which appeared to dangle uselessly. I believe it was the buck I shot and that my round passed along his right side, destroying his shoulder. After that spring I haven't heard anything about that buck so I don't know what happened to him after that.

First thing...Congratulations on birth of you child! Yes have lost one deer, shot a small fork buck because my youngest son was with me and he wanted me to shoot. I thought it was a good shot at the time be we never found him. Bow hunt and it will happen. Thanks for sharing...I'm a huge fan of your Gamechanger Bino Harness!!!

I feel for you on the loss of the buck and missing the birth of your little one... Appreciate you showing not only your successes, but also the failures - it's a lot more "real" when you can see both sides. Probably my most memorable loss was a bow hunt back in NW Indiana. I was just starting out bow hunting and had an old Bear Compound - 4 cams... it was wore out, but I was in college and couldn't afford anything else- I was married, both of us were in college, working full time, so it was tight. I was up in a tree and had a real nice 4x5 come out of the tree line - my stand was about 15' and the buck stopped broadside. I drew back, and part way through the draw, the bow squeaked...ugh... His head came up, looked right at me and took off - A couple bounds to my left, and then turned back bounded off away from me - I was able to complete my draw, and as he came back in front, I shot and missed... That has been the biggest buck I have ever had a shot at, and it haunts me... When I got home, I threw the bow in the dumpster and ended up getting another bow for my next hunt.

Your videos never miss, and it’s good to see the bad parts just as it is the good parts I’m sure most have been in this same situation atleast once unfortunately.

I’m from NM! Lost my first ever Bull Elk in 36 due to a rushed shot at 40 yards!! Bull came in screaming, the adrenaline, nervousness and lack of preparation caused my rushed shot… tracked him until no blood. I believe that deer lived to see another day. I believe had that snow stuck overnight it may have been a different result! Enjoy your content as always!

Great video. Pretty cool that you’re honest and share exactly what happened on the hunt instead of just deleting it pretending like it didn’t happen. While knocking on wood, I tell you I’ve never lost an animal. I have helped look for many though.

It's crazy how emotionally vested we get in the animals we pursue. I wounded a bull elk on the last day of a bow hunt. We tracked until dark, contact Wildlife Resources and explained what happened and got permission to continue to look for the bull even though the hunt was over. We looked for two more days with no luck and a month later a cousin found the dead carcass. That was 15 years ago and it still eats at me that I underestimated the distance, shot a little low and wasted the elks life without harvesting him. I know how this type of thing feels and it sucks and you'll play it back in your head for years down the road. Good luck in your future hunts.

I think that buck is going to make it, I lost a Blacktail buck when I was fairly new in the bowhunting world, it was a really steep uphill shot, I put my pin center mass and let the arrow fly, I watched the arrow hit just above center mass but with the angle exited right next to his spine, I know this because after trailing him with very minimal blood, I saw him going up the next canyon, acting completely normal and still with his running mate, there was a small circle high on his side and right next to his spine, I watched them bed, backed off and let him bed hoping he would expire, he never did, they got up and I watched them both start feeding, I made another stalk, got busted and never saw that buck or his running mate till later in the season, he made it. but it was definitely a hard lesson learned and sleepless nights. Congrats on the new addition to the family!!

As a dad of 6 and a little further down the road from you I appreciate your comments! It is a balance for sure. I can always remember I knew in my gut when it was the right thing to do to head out or stay home. There Is nothing worse than hunting when you know you should be doing something else. It takes sacrifice for sure, and I failed probably Many more times than you ever will, but when you’re in the right place at the right time giving 100% you know you will be successful whether it’s with the fam or in the mountains!! Appreciate the content and the transparency! I think he made it. As long as the rut didn’t run him down too much and he has plenty of water.

Really enjoy all the effort to film in 4k and your color grading! Well done as usual. Such a wonderful visual of hunting entertainment! Thank you!

I've experienced making a bad shot due to lack of a good range. Its a hard lesson to learn. Thanks for showing the bad and the ugly along with the good, it helps make us all better hunters! Your wife is a saint!!! Keep up the good work!

One of the first years I lived in Montana, I was hunting spring bear. I spotted a nice bear across a steep creek ravine. I circled around him to have the wind in my face and snuck up to about 40 yds away. As I was squeezing the trigger, I was not paying attention to my footing, and a slid just a little as the shot broke. I thought I hit the bear, but the weather turned immediately after the shot. A snow squall started and dropped an 3” of snow, covering any and all trace of the fall line or blood trail. I searched up and down that cliff face for 3 hrs that night, another 5 hrs the next morning, and another 5 hrs with a dog the day after that. Never found the bear.

I've lost a deer as well. I thought I did everything right. Hunting alone, thought I made a good shot, gave it some time, and then went to look for him. VERY little blood and too many tracks to know which ones where his. I searched high and low for that deer for 3 days. I looked everywhere. Never found him. Crushing to say the least. Don't beat yourself up brother, most of us have been through it. If there's one thing I've learned in my 55 years,, is that NOTHING goes to waste in nature. Many critters benefitted from him if he died somewhere. If he didn't die, even better. He had good bloodlines and hopefully had a chance to pass on his genes. Kudos to you for showing it all on film. I know that can't be easy. And, congratulations on your new baby!

I’ve never harvested a big game animal, however, I appreciate you sharing the lessons learned from this hunt. Every time I go out hunting wounding and losing an animal is always a big concern and something we as hunters need to keep in our minds. As far as whether he lived or died, toss a coin, odds are 50-50 but you at least kept hunting that buck to the end. Looking forward to what you guys have in store for future videos

I had this same encounter on a whitetail buck just 2 years ago while bow hunting Indiana! I had previously ranged certain areas around my stand and of course hit high when he came in. I rushed the shot and did not take the few seconds to get the exact range. He was chasing a doe and I watched him continue to chase even after I hit him. The next morning, I watched him come in chasing a doe again! I could see the large cut and hole left from the rage Broadhead I was using. It just so happened to be gun season now. My thoughts, I think he did exactly what you were saying! He is out and about chasing does and not skipping a beat! Great video and we appreciate the honesty of every bow hunters worst days! It happens to every one of us!

In my first year of bow hunting, I shot my first, and though I made a good shot, it turns out I probably got him in the liver. Long story short, I spooked him and never found him. Love the honesty in posting this video.

A couple years ago I was fortunate enough to have two separate shot opportunities at separate heard bulls. My first opportunity I was able to call the heard right in front of me at 40 yards. I sent my arrow right into his shoulder blade where it went about an inch in and broke.. second bull was about a 55 yard shot, that arrow went just high above the lungs and that bull also lived to chase cows another day. Both shots were in the evening so I understand the sleepless nights. Gotta keep your head up and try to do better on the next hunt. Good luck and congratulations on the new baby

I lost my first buck when I was 9 years old. That feeling you never shake, especially at that age. The rest of the time out there watching my pop hunt was not a good time i felt like a failure. Thankfully Ive learned from it and with the grace of god every animal ive shot at to this day has been a clean kill. Even for my first bow hunting deer last year. Every morning is a wake up with a prayer and a thanks to god for the opportunities he gives us.

love the authenticity and honesty bro.

I've lost a nice muley myself, shot across a hill, he jumped the string and my arrow hit inside right hind quarter. He ran over the hill, gave him time and followed bloodtrail. While bloodtrailing I jumped him bedded ,gave him more time and jumped him again. Same process over and over, glassed him late evening alive and well, made the call that the dirt clogged up the wound. Congrats on baby muley freak!

This is my first year hunting with a bow and this is my biggest worry. i hate the idea of wounding an animal and not recovering it. Thanks for sharing this story. This has got to be one of the toughest things to share. In a world where everyone is afraid to fail we have to realize that its only through our willingness to fail and ablity to learn from that failure that we can really accomplish anything great.

My first time hunting with a bow was super crazy for me. I have grown up hunting big game exclusively with rifles. So for my senior project for high school I decided to stretch my hunting abilities and give bow hunting a shot. Me and my dad went out to Texas and hunted whitetail spot and stalk style… no blinds and low fence. To say it was incredibly difficult was an understatement. I had shot at a couple deer and was amazed to watch them duck under the arrow. I was thankful for clean misses though. The errors I had made through the week taught me valuable lessons and on the second to last day I finally made a clean shot at 40 yards and bagged my first archery deer. And I was hooked! I still hunt rifle but nothing beats the rush from a bow hunt! Keep up the good work! Love the videos 👌🏼

I am from New Mexico also; I harvested my first deer ever from the same area you were hunting. I also lost a deer my second-year hunting in unit 16, I SHOT A 12-point buck on my second hunt and first alone hunt. After shooting my buck I didn't give him time to expire, and I went to investigate immediately and spooked him. I tracked that deer until it got dark and got lost, I eventually found my way back to camp only to realize everyone was out looking for me. the next day we went out looking for this buck but were not able to recover him, worst feeling ever but lesson learned.

Losing a deer like that sucks. I remember being 12, and it was my first time ever bow hunting, my dad bought me a Hoyt Carbon Element brand new 55lb a year before. My first hunt with it was in Mississippi hunting on a friends property. There was a 167" mature 8 point that had been hanging out in a food plot next to a powerline ever few days around 5pm to just before dark. I was in the stand one evening and me being a first time bow hunter, I didn't range the deer before shooting, I had only ranged him when he first walked into the plot. When he appeared, I shot him low much like you did with this deer. I ranged him at 37 yards, when I shot he was at 50. I was beating myself up for the rest of the season, I was young and my heart was pounding out of my chest in the moment. Luckily I got another shot at him the next year.

I mostly rifle hunt, but want to get into archery hunting more. Watching your videos teaches me a lot about it. So thank you.

I lost a decent whitetail about 7 years ago, I was walking in from the stand on a morning sit . He was walking behind the stand and I didn’t see him till I got down, but he had seen me. I set my rifle up on the legs of the stand, he was turned broadside and looked like he was about to take off. So I didn’t take my time and sent one as soon as it looked good. He dropped, I waited probably 30 seconds before heading towards him. He jumped up and took off into the neighbors property. My father and I got permission to recover him, there wasn’t much blood to begin with so we were just looking in a general direction. He called the search off after it got dark. The next year they found him on his property not far from where we quit looking. Still not happy about that one, but i’m going to try my hand at archery this year and I know it’s going to be a big learning curve. Im glad there are people out there willing to show this side of hunting so that others can learn from it. I honestly don’t think that you killed him, but there is a lot of other ways that he could’ve died as a result. I’m not sure how late in the season you were hunting or how bad the weather can get, but if the weather didn’t kill him there is always a predator looking for an easy meal.

I think he lived. Haven't lost one yet but I know that feeling. Great video!

Hunting in Montana, I shot a doe on private land that I had permission to hunt. Two buddies watching through binoculars. Made a 71 yard perfect shot. Tracked her for about a mile. Ended up shooting that dough three more times. For good shots. Had good tracks and good blood. My buddies watched me whack the dough each time. The shortest 35 yards. It hit the end of the Cooley and hung a left. Five of us spent, the rest of that night and the whole next day looking for it and never found it. It sucks.

Thanks for sharing your experience and heart ache with us. I certainly will remember your experience and apply it to my hunting. Cheers!!

thats a tough one. I think he's still out there roaming. I do appreciate the honesty though, man. Although tough, most people probably wouldn't even post this video but that's just how it goes sometimes. Fortunately for me, I've never had to go through such a thing. There's always next time! At least for now, you've been blessed with a new little one so congrats on that.

Damn. I live in NM and apply for this unit ever year. Seems the only place I get to see elk or deer hunting in NM as a resident is to watch RU-vid.

Thanks for keeping it real! I had to learn the hard way also and that is my number one rule NO RANGE NO SHOT! After 40 years of bow hunting and going from the equipment we had then till now and all the mistakes I made we don’t have enough time!

Congratulations on the new addition to the family nothing like those babies

Im willing to bet he lived. They are some tough critters and always surprise us with what they can endure. Ive lost a buck before and it’s gut wrenching. Not easy my man, but it makes me appreciate success even more.

Hindsight is always 20/20 you always reminisce on what you could have done differently! My first archery antelope after 2 weeks of blown stalks on them I finally got a chance at one he was bedded and I let my emotions have the best of me and didn’t wait for him to stand up and I think somehow wiggled it between the spine and lungs or something tracked his blood till I lost all signs of blood. I kept going back and 3 days later I saw him on the hoof still arrow still in him crazy how strong wild game is! 2 weeks later rifle opened up and I went back and closed the deal. The roughest 2 weeks of my life though knowing that he was suffering.

Last year I wounded a giant here in Nevada. All year I thought about him. This year I went back and found him alive! A true giant. But, my wife is about to give birth to our third boy. And as we watched this together she just eyed me down the whole time to let me know I will not be going back out.😂 congrats to you

Awesome video. It happens. You filmed it and didn’t hide it. Upstanding young man in my opinion. I’ve lost a deer before myself. Good chance he survived. I’ve seen deer hit low before and basically have a flesh wound that bled like crazy and lived.

Amigo te escribo desde España y te quiero decir que todos hemos fallado algún animal alguna vez, no eres peor padre, ni peor cazador, simplemente eres un hombre al que como a mí me apasiona la caza y la naturaleza y eso nos lleva a estar muchas horas fuera de casa y nuestras mujeres nos conocieron así y saben que es lo que nos hace felices y ellas son felices viéndonos felices a nosotros eso es el amor. Tranquilo ese venado siempre te ayudará a ser mejor cazador y mejor persona, enhorabuena hermano. Viva la caza! ❤

Man. That’s heartbreak like no other on all fronts.. these deer are so damn tough. I bet he pulled through. I definitely feel for you. Called in an elk for a friend who made a shot that we weren’t sure about and everything always seems good until it isn’t. Tracked him until blood went scarce and searched for 2 more days after that. Never found him. Worst feeling as a bow hunter but it happens to even the best archers. Keep making this content showing the true nature of bow hunting and keep teaching from mistakes about hunting and family. Amazing video. Always look forward to a muley freak vid. Cheers

I lost the first buck I ever saw hunting. I was sitting on an edge of the field with my brother. We had just got in our spot and not five minutes later a buck walked in front of us. I got instant buck fever. Similar to you I never got my range. Shot right over its back. Hurt me. Not to mention I was embarrassed and disappointed. I felt like I failed my brother I thought about stopping hunting forever. But my brother encouraged me. I worked hard that next off season and accomplished a lot of goals. I learned my lessons. But I will say this in your case brother. You should be proud. God works in mysterious ways. Baby came early, missed the deer, etc. you learned something from it. Find the blessing in it! 🙏🏻

I got my first opportunity on a bull elk last year while muzzleloader hunting. I believe it was the 6th or 7th day of season. My friend and I had trekked from basically 10,000 feet to 11600+ feet everyday including the day before season trying to figure the elk out. Bugles started on the second evening of season and since then we had gotten inside of a hundred yards a couple times but no opportunities came of those encounters. The day before I got my opportunity we found a big bull way up above tree line screaming and chasing cows and smaller bulls, just being really aggressive. He was so loud we thought he was in a flat near us but he ended up being about a quarter mile away. It was late and we watched him go over a ridge so we backed out for the day. We got started kinda late the next day and walked up to where he had been and there was no sign of him, but just as we came over the ridge there was a cow elk real close in the open and some other elk just below us at the edge of the trees and we heard a couple bugles down in the trees. The trees were down hill from us and the thermals were working so wind was in our face. I snuck out between a bush and a tree where I could see down this open field to the edge of the trees and the trees I ranged at about 80 yds. I tucked into the edge of the tree and let out a high soft bugle, and immediately there was a roar from the trees. Just a few seconds later this big antlered amd bodied bull maneuvers his way between the trees and comes out staring my way. I get set up to shoot and wait what feels like 10 minutes for him to decide to chase a cow back into the trees which makes him broadside to me. I aim low and squeeze slow and then the air is filled with smoke from my barrel. He flops hard like loses all four legs at once and hits the ground with a thud. I'm thinking I've done it, while I watch him I start to reach for my reload and I'm fumbling a little as I start to see him try to get to his feet. Without getting to his feet he rolls down hill onto his back, and his legs start to flail. I start to get reloaded as I watch him flail and again I think oh yeah thats totally it. And then somehow he is on his feet, maybe it happened as I looked down to get a primer or as I was making sure the rod went down the barrel far enough, I dont know. But just as I get my gun to my shoulder his butt disappeared into the trees and I had no follow up shot. We wait several minutes waiting to hear a crash but there are so many other noises from elk running we're never sure if we heard one or not. After a while we decide to head into the trees and see what we see. The ground is covered in pinecone pieces that are a redish brown color, on top of that it starts to sprinkle, we find two spots of blood in three hours of searching and those are within 15 yds of where he went down/rolled. Sprinkles turn into thunder and lightning and pouring rain. Up that high thunder and lightning are not that far above your head and it feels unsafe so we bail back to camp. Rain turns to snow and it leaves 6+ inches of snow on the mountain by the time we get back there the next day. We watch the same or another big heard leave the drainage we were in as we hike in the next morning but its foggy and we cant tell if he's with the group or not. We spend the day walking all over this area hoping to find a big lump in the snow. Even walked up to about 12,000 ft to look down across everything. But nothing comes of our searches. I hate that it was my first real opportunity on a bull and it also happened to be a very large specimen. Like very much the bull of a lifetime and it was only my first opportunity. He was big bodied, long and wide antlers, realy tall fourths with long and wide split 5/6, from the front the whale tail curled back in to be visible between his fourths on both sides. Just unbelievable. I assume I hit him high but I'll never really know. Its been 11 months and I still think about it probably a couple times a week. My line to shoot has always been 100 yds with a muzzleloader so I felt really good about this situation. Not sure what I'd do differently next time except maybe try to run somewhere to get a better view of him after he slipped into the trees. I hope I hit him really high and it wasn't fatal, but that's unlikely. I also hope your buck lived.

Man, crushed for you but appreciate the authenticity and ownership!

I appreciate the real life footage. Such a heartbreak all around but thank you for showing the true story. We can all learn from it. And congrats on your baby!!

I arrowed a monster muley last summer. I tracked good blood for half a mile and couldn't recover. I spent the next week grid searching and called in recovery hounds, with out any luck. One month later he came through looking just fine. I am about to hunt that same deer here in Arizona in less than 20 days. Great content, and your videos have provided me a lot of assistance in my hunting journey! Kept it up.

Losing any animal sucks and anyone thats a bowhunter has had it happen. Its just part of the game. No matter how much you practice eventually you face the fact. Its absolutely gut wrenching and can really take a toll on your mind. Best of luck this upcoming season and congrats on the new addition.

I have never lost a deer but there was a time when I was bout 12 or 13 where I thought I had lost one. I had never been more disappointed in myself as much as I was that day, but luckily I ended up finding him. I was absolutely shocked at how much will power these animals have, especially hearing how you said he was about to go down but took off after those does again. I believe that the buck has made a recovery and it is good. We all make mistakes but because you didn’t make the best decisions at the time, that doesn’t make you a failure as a hunter or father. Really enjoyed the video and stay blessed.

I have not lost a buck, but the terrain was not on your side, that is one of the craziest places in my home state to hunt. Great video!

My grandpa used to say that deer were able to heal them selves with their fat to cover the wound and also by laying in the dirt to stop the bleeding. But I think that deer lived for sure. I’ve lost the biggest buck of my life to a terrible shot that was far back. I tracked the buck for 1 mile, and the blood stop after he bedded down. After that, there was no more blood to be found, followed his tracks for about quarter of a mile and then he jumped a fence into private property. After that I figured he was strong enough to hop a fence, well he was strong enough to live on. The next year I ended up finding him but he would stay on the boarder line of the private property. Sad to say I wasn’t going to be able to get the biggest buck of my life. But that’s life I guess, live and learn, just have to keep pushing forward. Good luck this 2024 hunting season Erik! And congrats on your new addition to your fam!

I think this deer has a very good chance of living based on how he was moving. My lost deer story was one that caused me up upgrade my rifle. Tracked a good 170” buck for several hours, was chasing a couple does. Finally was able to get set up ahead of it. Used a tree to rest and felt like a made a good shot with my 6.5 creedmore. Deer fell on his face, got up and was unable to use his backside front leg. Gave him some time and when walked up no blood and never found the deer! Sickening

Congratulations Eric to you and your wife on the new addition to the family! I know exactly how you feel. Replaying and questioning every moment of the hunt right up until the shot. I had an archery bull elk hunt in unit 1. I had this bull I would hunt every evening and on day 5 he was chasing a satellite bull away from his cows and as I try to get into position I inadvertently pushed his cows out. He came back panicked when he couldn't find his cows and he wouldn't come into cow calls. He was a smart bull who had obviously been around the block a time or two. He held up in the tree line and wouldn't come out every time I cow called he would answer but would not comment to coming in without seeing the cow. On day 7 I located him in the same spot he was still looking for his cows. I would call and he would answer. Just as luck would have it a young bull had a cow with him and was cutting across the feild as soon as he saw that bull with that cow he bolted out of the tree line and pushed the young bull away. I watched him chase the cow around for a couple of minutes and saw he was going to push her right to me. So I drew back my bow and held it what felt like forever he pushed the cow with 10 yards of me and she stopped and was staring at me. He stopped at 20 frontal. I kept saying to myself please just turn but unfortunately he didn't he stayed looking at me with me getting shaky from holding the bow so long i decided to take the frontal shot and thought I would be able to sneak the shot in. How he was positioned it went through his neck coming out his left side complete pass through. I watched as he walked off with the cow. He had his head down. Not wanting to push him my son and I watched him head up and out of site. About 5 minutes later we see another bull with cows headed into the same direction as we last saw the bull. It was getting dark so I decided to come back in the morning that was probably one of the longest nights of my life. We hit the spot at forst light and immediately pick up good pools of blood. Blood on both side of his tracks with bubble in some of the blood so feeling a false sense of confidence that we would come find him laying there, the blood ended with 2 big pools of blood and then not a trace. We searched for 3 days for him even recruiting extra help. My only conclusions was that other herd bull crossed paths with him and pushed him out of the area before he was able to bed down. I never felt so sick in my life leading to all the unknowns did he die somewhere or did I only clip 1 lung and he survived. I truly know you pain, doubts and disappointment. I ended up punching my tag because even though I never found him I considered my hunt to be over. Ya I could have continued to hunt but sometimes being an ethical hunter is more important than tagging out. On a side note, I had a similar situation with the birth of my youngest son 18 years ago and to this day my wife tells everyone how just after 2 hours after the birth of our son my freind had called me asking for help because he had just taken an elk and needed help packing it out. Not the brightest moment in my life and I get the reminder from time to time from my loving wife. What I thought would have been a 2 hours pack out had turned into me being gone for 6. LOVE YOUR VIDEOS MAN KEEP THEM COMING AND LOVE YOUR GENUINE PERSONALITY BRO.

He died, but it's part of archery hunting. You tried and learned from your mistakes. It is what it is. I'm lucky enough to not have gone through that, but I could imagine it would be heartbreaking.

Three seasons ago I had what was going to be my first mule deer ever, I had a great spot for ambushing ranged the buck 70 yards, I drew back and by the time my shot broke the buck had lunged forward towards a doe and ended with the result of a liver/ gut shot. I backed out and called a buddy for help locating the buck. We ended up finding the spot where the buck had passed but by the time we got to the sight a mountain lion had drug off the buck and could never find my deer after tracking the lion tracks

Oh man that’s a tough one brother. I know the feeling, I believe he lived, and congrats on the new addition to your family. I have had a heartbreaker also, so it started early morning looking over some rim country. It was a cold, cloudy, rain off and on Christmas Eve day on the San Carlos. My dad and I spot one of the biggest typical 4 point Coues deer I’ve seen or hunted. He was rutting does about 800 to 1000 yards below, wind was in my face. So I decided to go straight at him. Marking a single dead juniper tree in the middle of live ones, he would be 50 yards or so to the east of it. Weaving through the trees I get where I wanted to be, took a knee and waited to see where I would see him if I would ever, all of a sudden from the left about forty yards or so to my left he steps out, I range. Miss. Left. He runs left, ten seconds later same thing same result. Another 10 seconds same result, but runs right & away from me, he stands there facing away from me as I watch through a 3ft high pine tree that’s between me and him. Then he walks right back to the first spot he walked out from, 40 yards away, miss right! He turns and stands behind the lone 3ft pine tree, steps out to the right boom! Another miss! Behind the pine tree he goes again for what seemed like an eternity, I’m sure he was wondering what’s going on as I was kicking myself for missing shots that are chip shots and shots that I’ve nailed over and over with ease during the offseason. Then it dawned on me. I was not playing the left to right wind, just as I figured it out he was 30 yards walking directly at me, so at full draw with my Switchback XT I put it just left of him. The very last arrow on my quiver hit its mark buried deep in his chest (frontal shot), blood gushing out, he darts off. Excitedly my dad and I quietly jump for joy, as we gather ourselves I tell him, let’s just check for blood and try to find the arrows that missed. We found a blood trail like some took a water hose and sprayed blood out of it. So I say let’s let him be til the morning since the sun was setting, no! He follows the blood trail and bumps him out of the bed we would have found him in, in the morning. I had a shot at forty yards, but it being too dark to let it fly I just watched as the giant buck disappeared into darkness. The bed my dad bumped him from was a pool of blood. I spent 5 days griding every inch of a 3 mile circle…. With a group of my friends..Nothing! The worst feeling ever, I even told my wife “I’m done with bow hunting, I feel like garbage” hands down worst feeling ever! But because of her encouragement I’m still bow hunting.

Yes I lost a buck one year. It was a small buck. He was hit 3 times with a 338 win mag. We followed the blood trail for hours. I thought we would find him, but never did, which surprised me because the blood trail was really good, also we even found chunks of bone in the blood trail. Eventually we lost the trail even though there was about 6 inches of snow. I was sick about losing the deer.

That buck lived to see another day! Mistakes happen and all we can do is learn from those mistakes. I lost the first buck I ever shot with my bow. I ranged him at 45 yds but ended up flinching. Initially I thought I had a clean miss, it wasnt until I went to recover the arrow that I saw it was covered with light blood and guts. I tracked him for 3 hours through tree groves so thick that I had to crawl on my hands and knees to follow the trail. Ended up bumping him from his bed and never saw him again...... lotta lost sleep from that one.

First off congratulations on number 6! I am in a similar situation going on a mule deer hunt the first few days of September and my wife is due with our 7th on September 22. I hit by far my largest muley last yr, +-170 on a hard quarting away shot. I thought for sure he was dead, not a doubt in my mind when I saw the shot. Shot hit center body and the arrow penetrated all the way to the fletching. We tracked the deer for over 1/2 mile before running out of blood. I spent the next 3 days walking every drainage and glassing every hill within a mile of the shot. Never did find the buck, Absolutely heart breaking. But these animals are incredibly tough. I truly believe my deer is dead somewhere, but I gave it everything I had and still came up empty handed. I honestly think if you didn’t hit body and just broke the front leg I believe that deer can live as long as he doesn’t rut too hard and wear himself out beyond recovery. I hate you lost the buck but way to stick it out and keep looking (I probably would have went home to my wife and kids)

I can imagine this video would be a hard one to put out there, good on ya for not shirking away and allowing others to learn alongside you. I think the buck lived, they are tough animals. Though I’ve had many failures in the field the ones at home hurt more. I can relate with you on feeling like a failure at home sometimes when we spend time in the field. The fatherly responsibilities suffer when we leave loved ones at home, however we justify it. Although this is the case, it is equally balanced with opportunities to mold us with grit and determination as we continue to shape our character and become better men and fathers as we spend time like this out in the field. Life is full of opportunities with checks and balances, as I’m sure you already have, now is time to put equal effort and sacrifice back in at home. Best of luck to you and yours!

I lost my first ever buck with my bow. This was last year in Arizona. He was moving along and wouldn’t stop for me. I did not get a chance to range and dial, so I guessed him at about 45 yards. (Turns out he was at 52 when I went back and ranged it.) I let the arrow fly between two trees and I thought I missed low. When I got closer I found a few drops of blood, and my arrow with a small amount of blood, but was only able to follow the trail for about 15 yards. I believe he lived (at least I hope) I’m hoping to get my first buck this year on my Utah rifle hunt! I hope both my buck and yours lived! I would love to have another chance to hunt my buck. I don’t have enough experience to know how to tell if they’ll live, but I’m hoping to get there!

Tough lessons! Hunting done the right way! Respect✅

Man what a tough experience! Certainly not an easy experience to share! So thank you for being vulnerable and sharing the reality of being a hunter. I’m a new hunter and still striving to get my first animal down. 🤞🏻 I’m not the best judge of if or if not that monster buck lived or died, I think he lived though. They are hearty tough animals!

Hey brother, props for still showing this video even though you made a bad shot. We’ve all been there, some people just don’t have the guts to admit it, let alone show the video of it! I have lost more animals with my bow than I would like to admit! Bowhunting is definitely a roller coaster, I think that’s why we like it so much! You can’t take anything for granted. Keep up the good work guys!

Me and a buddy were hunting whitetail in Indiana, shot a decent buck at around 300 yards, the buck dropped in its tracks I heard that shot hit! He then got back on his feet and we shot him again, the buck dropped again. He got up again and ran about a mile and a half. Some neighbors saw him a few hours later perfectly fine. Definitely a heartbreaker! Love your videos!

That bucks lives on. Almost losing his women was going to hurt him more than that arrow

First I really appreciate your show and have learned a lot from watching Muley Freak and listening to the Grind Podcast so thank you! I lost a decent typical 8 point whitetail in Missouri. I was hunting a food plot from a tree stand about 30 feet up. I rattled in this buck and I had a good chance for a broad side shot at about 40 yards, I decided to wait and see if I could get him closer. When he turned his head I grunted and he b lined straight towards me. I got him into 8 yards right below the stand. I thought I had a good angle and put it a little high on his shoulder and sent the arrow. He was hit and took off running up the mountain on the other side of a creek running along the perimeter of the field. I waited 40 minutes and got down to follow the blood trail, I ended up jumping him and pushing him further into the mountains. I backed out and called a dog and waited till that evening to go back to find him. The dog got the trail right away and followed it for a mile until he lost it we called it a day. I continued to look for a week and could not find him and notched my tag and ended my season. From that moment forward I will not take shots from that high that are that close to the stand.

I’ve only been bow hunting for a few years now and the closest encounter Ive had to losing a deer was actually the buck in my profile picture. It was my very first deer and I was shaking so much from the anticipation that I hit him high and in the shoulder. Luckily I was using a fixed blade so I still thought it would get enough penetration but I was still nervous. My grandpa and I tracked him for 200 yards or so in circles and then decided to let him be until that evening. Lone behold he just made one gigantic loop and he was dead 20 yards away from my stand. I think that buck of yours survived. I’ve heard of stories like that before where someone has made too low of a shot with a bow or rifle and they end up bleeding a lot but still getting by.

I think that the buck lived. I have made a bad shot on a whitetail about 20 years back , it was very windy and I couldn’t hear anything that day, I turned to my left and there was a big buck walking up out of a ravine, I pulled my bow string back and let a arrow fly at 38 yards and I hit him in the left side of his hip, he just stood there like nothing had happened. I knocked another arrow, ranged him again and let another arrow fly and the arrow hit him again about an inch from the first arrow. I tracked him for six hours that day and all of the next day and was not able to find him. Two days later he was seen with 2 does and one of the does was pulling one of the arrows out of him. At the end of gun season he was killed by a guy hunting on another property close by where I was hunting. I was sick about making such a bad couple of shots. Now I only take shots that are around 30 yards and closer, at 64 I still try to hunt as much as possible and only hunt with a bow, never lost a deer that I have hit with a bullet. Happy hunting this season.

Five years ago I was rifle hunting mule deer I spotted a stud I was with my lil brother and we get to about 243 yards and I know that close but I had buck fever right when I had him on my sights I couldn’t stop shaking and I shoot and he goes down we started celebrating jumping up and down. The next thing you know he gets up I didn’t realize I shot him far back and when he was moving he’s back leg was messed up I started shooting like crazy didn’t hit him and he goes up the hill and over I looked for him for three days the last three days of my hunt never found him that was my last year of rifle I was so hurt I close my eyes and I still him that’s why I moved to archery I had way better luck with a bow!!! Thanks man for ur content but I know how bad that hurts!!! Congratulations on your family on getting bigger it’s a blessing god bless my brother

I feel from what you described in the video that the buck might’ve lived. They are some tough animals, especially during the rut I had a nice buck come in with a bunch of does one time it happened so fast! he was quartering to me when I shot. I hit him in front leg. He went down initially than took off with the does stopped at about 100 yards wobbled. I thought he was going down so I didn’t take the second shot and then, he got another burst of adrenaline took off over the ridge didn’t see him tracked him blood for about 400 yards didn’t find him. Next morning Saw him out there in the field limping around totally fine just limping . Months later I saw him on trail cam pictures. End of the season he healed up, had a little slight limp, but, he survived so I wouldn’t stress it too much, dear are some resilient animals

I lost the largest whitetail buck I've ever seen in Idaho, or for that matter, the largest one I've ever seen while hunting anywhere. I happened to glass him from over 2 miles away from where I was hunting and was able to get in my truck and drive within a quarter mile away from the doe he was chasing. As luck had it, it decided to play itself into my favor, as the doe the doe turned up a trail coming within a hundred fifty yards broadside to me with the huge 175+ buck having his nose behind her tail. I placed what I thought was a perfect shot, right in the kill zone behind his right front leg, and he dropped to the ground hard. Then, all of a sudden he came back to life, and. took off like a rocket for the doe, who was cresting the trail ahead. I didn't take another shot at him, although I could have as he stopped for a brief couple of seconds at the top of the hill because I knew he was hit hard and I didn't want to risk breaking a piece or his rack. When I got to the top of the hill there was a large pool of blood, and that was it. The doe stood about 90 yards away and not one sighting of the buck. We looked for him until after dark. My son was in a fraternity at the University of Idaho and I put down the coordinates of the site and offered $1K to another who could find the deer the next day, which was a Sunday. Around 87 showed up. They never found it. I posted a reward for $500 for anyone who found it the rest of the season, but it was never claimed. I have shot that buck thousands of times throughout the years that have passed since that day and will continue to count them into my grave. I learned something very special that day many years ago. This is why they call it hunting!

My mess up was one of the first year I had gotten into elk hunting. I had snuck into a bachelor herd of elk I could see 2 little rag horns and a spike. I was 55 yards from them so I picked the bigger of the 2 rags sat and waited for them to stand up from being bedded down. When the group finally stood there was a mature bull with them that I couldn’t see because of a large group of bushes that was by them. Due to the excitement and me being a rookie he looked close enough to the same yardage as the others so I let an arrow fly and I watched the arrow drop and just barely skim the bottom of him. I felt terrible because I knew it was a hit but I knew it wasn’t great, I walked over and found blood and searched til it disappeared. I never found him. I ranged back to where I was standing when I shot and it was 12 yards different. I decided to put up a camera because I knew the elk frequented the area and 2 1/2 weeks later caught him on camera and he looked like he was doing well so it made me feel better but it haunted me for a few weeks!

Hey buddy I believe the buck survived. The fact he stopped bleeding and the will to survive these deer have is impeccable and unwavering. I’ve been in your shoes! I have lost 2 deer myself one was a bad shot and the other was exactly the same as yours I rushed my shot no range and grazed the bottom of his chest cavity. The bad shot was a really big heartbreak for me. I was 45 yards from my buck, ranged and came to full draw. there was a branch in the way so I stepped to my left. I pulled my shot and shot about 10 inches behind where I was aiming and a little low. Found the arrow. Covered in blood and stomach contents. I knew the hunt was on to find him. I spent 5 days looking for the deer mile after Mile of no luck but gridding and zigging and zagging. knowing he would expire in the area I kept looking. After the 5th day of searching I decided to go home and come back after season to look for him so I wasn’t pushing any deer out of the area. As it was a good area and hunter used it pretty often. I ended up finding the deers dead head 30 yards off the path that I walked. Put me at ease that he did expire within the 5 days and didn’t go near as far as I figured he did. I passed him the day after I shot him early in the morning just no smell as it was cool at night. Thankyou for the videos and for being willing to share your heartbreak video and congratulations on the new baby god bless and hope to see you out in the mountains and see more videos from you

Ranged up a nice buck archery hunting - was elevated and the shot was pretty steep. I forgot my rangefinder flashes two readings: the first is true distance, and the second is the angle-compensated distance. I was too excited about the buck that I set my pin for the first reading, and not the angle compensated distance. Shot clear over the top of him.

I’ve had a very simple experience with a high country mulie… I was bowhunting and took a long shot on a big buck. The buck slipped/turned on the release. There was a ton of blood and we found multiple beds.. 3 weeks later a rifle hunter harvested the buck and posted a picture on a local forum. I contacted the hunter and he confirmed the buck had a couple extra holes. I’m confident your buck survived. T

It’s unfortunate but if you hunt long enough mistakes are bound to be made. As long as you do everything in your power to try and find the animal that’s all that matters. I’ve taken a bow shot at a giant whitetail that was chasing a doe during the rut. It was so focused on the doe that I couldn’t get it to fully stop and thought I’d be able to still execute the shot... Not timing things correctly sent an arrow into the front shoulder. Arrow hardly penetrated and the buck continued to run off. I searched and searched but no blood was found. Deer are tough animals and I still hope to this day that the deer made it after that. I wouldn’t be surprised if yours did too. Congrats on the new addition to the family. You sure have an amazing wife for letting you go on such trips and holding down the fort.

Deer are incredibly strong and I like to think he made it. I lost the biggest deer of my life my first time hunting Kansas. Was hunting late season Kansas with my bow, and my buddy was hunting about 700 yds away from me. We were planning on picking up his dad from the airport around midday so planned to get out of the stand around 10 AM. At 9:55 he texted me saying he was packing up and will meet me at the gate. I closed the windows of the box blind and packed all of my gear into my backpack and started to climb out of the stand. I was halfway down the ladder when I looked to my left and 300 yards away a giant 9 point stepped out, and he was walking right to me. I quickly climbed back into the stand and texted my buddy that I had a giant approaching. I sat on the floor of the blind and nocked an arrow and tried to get my range finder back out. I got back into the chair and opened to window facing the buck. He came to 40 yards and started to turn and I prepared to draw, but he threw his nose in the air. He started walking straight to the blind and eventually stood directly underneath the stand. I could his breath rise up to the windows of the blind, I couldn't believe it. It was at this point that I realized that the window was not open in the direction he was walking. As the deer eventually moved out from under the stand, I started pulling on the string of the window to open it, the string was tangled. Every time I pulled, it would make noise and barely move the window. I got it halfway open and said it'll have to do. The deer was at 30 yards broadside. I drew and as the bow broke over it hit the plexiglass since it was only halfway open and the buck was on high alert. I had to lean way back in the chair like I was riding dirty. Settled middle middle of the lungs because I didn't want to hit the window of the blind. Let the arrow go and he ducked. Hit no mans land. I was devastated. Thankfully, we got pictures of him a week later alive and well. I hate wounding animals, it's soul crushing.

I would say he lived. Never lost a deer before but I have lost a couple elk and I understand that sick feeling for sure. Great effort on trying to find him.

First of all Erik, huge congrats on the birth of your 6th child, that's awesome. I haven't hunted enough and am fairly new to bowhunting to say that I've not lost or wounded a deer yet. Lastly, you had a pretty decent blood trail and from you explaining that he almost tipped over sounds like it was a lung shot. I'm sorry that you weren't able to find him. That all being said, I'm sure he is alive, crazy how fast those animals can heal, adapt, and survive.

I truly feel your pain, I have lost several big mule deer bucks do to bad luck and it truly sucks.

I feel like every bow hunter is familiar with the emotions depicted in this film. Had a similar situation on a spike elk hunt where a rush to get a range, the heard moved, I didn’t re-range and guessed a yardage. I hit the elk high in the dead zone. We tracked on our hands and knees for hours with no luck. Hard to admit mistakes made, especially on animals we respect so much. But I appreciate your transparency and wish all the best to you and your family!

I hadn’t ever killed a buck with my bow and first day of season back in 2019 I ended up gut shooting a 140 inch whitetail. My cousin and I went out the next day, split up, and searched for him. My cousin found him bedded in some thick brush, but he took off and didn’t have any kind of blood trail after that. I got permission to search on the neighbor’s property a week later to at least find his horns and found one of his front legs. Went back out the next day with my cousin and we found his other front leg. They were fairly close to a creek so we went to check the creek and find all of his hair in a bed. What’s interesting about it is right next to his bed is a few 5 gallon buckets with marijuana plants growing in them. So whoever was tending those plants had to have taken my buck.

Dude that's rough! I actually lost an Oryx very close to where you we're deer hunting and it hurts to this day! Rushed a shot and hit him too far back and spent the next 4 hours chasing him until he fu ally made it to the missile range fence. It was heart breaking. I appreciate you nothing that tag as a NM resident and hopefully you get another chance! Awesome video!

There’s always something new to learn and take away from every hunt. We all make mistakes under pressure. I have lost a nice buck before as well. It was rifle season and I was 15 years old hunting by myself and had several does out in front. Had a nice buck present him self nearing the end of shooting light and it started to snow real heavy. I was selfish and wanted the buck so badly I made a poor decision to shoot and made a poor shot. My father came to help me track him but the snow was coming down so fast it covered up the blood trail and we lost him. I later found him dead that spring and that was a terrible feeling. But I learned a lot from that experience and grew up a lot and haven’t lost another deer. I think that your buck is still out there going, them deer have the will to live! Enjoyed the video and the honesty!

Erik! your effort is remarkable and your dedication to track and find that buck is the most respectful thing you can do for that animal. you are leading by example of what to do in that situation and have gained a new level of respect from me, that was one of your best and worst hunts but i thank you for not giving up! long time viewer and now have even more respect for you as a fellow hunter good job brother!

Watching an animal wander off after taking a shot that you know could have been better and knowing that you wounded it, is such a heart wrenching situation. I know how you feel but I do believe that he was able to survive and fight another day. I made what looked like a good shot on a muley a couple years ago. After it hit him he ran and jumped a fence onto private ground. I continued to watch him and he fell down but was still holding his head up, so I just waited. Eventually his head fell and I thought that he was done. I had to hike out a ways to be able to get service to call the land owner and try to get permission to retrieve him. When I made it back in there I found where he had fallen down but he was gone. There was a significant puddle of blood and I tracked the blood trail for quite a ways but it eventually stopped. I was able to continue with his tracks until, just like in your situation, he traversed some hard rocky ground and I lost him. Judging by the distance that he traveled after I lost the blood trail I feel confident that he was able to survive, but just knowing that I wounded that animal, gave me one of the worst feelings that I have ever had.

In New Mexico a few years ago you the archery hunts were September 1-24th and January 1-15th, you could hunt both months if you haven't killed a deer. Well in September I hit, what was at the time my biggest buck to date with a bow. Thought I made a great shot, he went about 15 yards, fell, got up and well hauled ass. We went to were he fell found my arrow, literally broke my broadhead and my heart sake knew the shot was high shoulder. I had two of my closest friends with me and we started tracking, we tracked this buck for 5 miles before we finally lost his tracks and the last little bit of blood. That sucked. Spent the rest of September looking for him and nothing. Luckily we had January to hunt too. Fast forward to November my dad called, "I found him, he's alive" . The relief I felt was tremendous. January rolled around and I had one goal, kill that buck. The 5th of January I finally laid eyes on him myself and 2 long hours later I was holding him in my hands. The greatest redemption story of my hunting career yet.

Erik, I think the buck in this video ended up dying in the long run... Last year I took a 95 yard desperation shot on a buck last day of the hunt and hit him in the rear behind his liver. I tracked and tracked and tracked, and with no luck called it quits. Come shed hunting season I found his deadhead at the base of a boulder where he must have taken his final rest of his life. I paid my respects to what was left of him and decided out of respect of the animal to leave the deadhead where it was. Will never forget the 2023 Archery season!

Man that is super tough. My daughter should be here this Wednesday and I’m super excited! I elected not no do the archery hunt year because of f this wonderful addition. Respect for being so vulnerable. I have lost 1 deer shot it in the brisket. Missed a buck 2 years ago and that stung big time. I could see it going either way. Those big bucks are incredibly tough

Great video! When hunters are willing to show the mistakes just as you would a success it’s shows a lot of character! I think he lived on. Like you mentioned the rut plays a huge part and I believe it carried him through! Congrats on the new child!

I fell that he lived with the way he moved on with rutting of the does. CONGRATS on the baby. Hope all is well and healthy. 2022 General season archery buck. I had a 5X7 mid 170s buck at 100 yards and was moving in to clear 60 yards when i stepped over a branch and a rabbit of all things took of and pushed the buck and does out to 175 yards. This was my first big buck with a bow so the adrenaline was high. Wind was good and I had sat still long enough to let him and 2 does calm down. I was back on the move, he was now at 65 and I had a good lane to take a shot. Shot was taken and was just a hair low, he jumped forward and ran 40 yards just in range of a second bow hunter and was shot and killed clean. It was an amazing hunt and I ended up with a smaller buck later in the season.

I lost my first ever deer with a bow in south Texas. Made a shot that looked and felt good but was definitely low, we looked and had good blood for forever then it just dried up. We gave up after a long night of grid searching and had to go home the next morning. 2 weeks later we checked the camera and had the same deer I had hit perfectly in front of the camera with the spot where I had hit low being clearly visible. I would like to think that the buck you hit lived to see another day, like you said it’s crazy what the rut can do to these tough animals.

honestly great film, i know the feeling i lost my first ever animal last year on an archery elk hunt still kills me to this day but i tracked him for 3 days & never found him as well. My dad told me if you havent lost an animal archery hunting then you just havent hunted long enough it happens unfortunately but you showing & still posting this is incredible. Life is about making mistakes but its how we learn from them & dont think your a bad father for missing the birth!! keep the head up & congratulations on the new born & the success of muley freek👊🏼

Always love watching your hunts, keep 'em comin'.

I think this Buck ended up dying somewhere in a bush. My first buck was similar. Shot him at around 40 yards with a rifle I picked up from dads gun safe. Ended up not being sighted in and I didn’t take the time to check. He went into the woods and I tried to find him, but never could. Next spring was looking for sheds and I ended up finding him and was able to at least retrieve the antlers. Thanks for sharing!

Losing any animal sucks! Got to remember these animals are fighting for their life. There not just going to give up and die. When you bow hunt it’s bound to happen and just stinks. I lost a good buck few years ago on my birthday like that here in AZ and every time I’m back in that area I replay the same mistakes I made. It’s not a mistake if you don’t learn from it. Got to put in past and don’t repeat. Good Luck this fall and as always thanks for letting me tag along.👊🏻

Sad times man. Live and learn. Keep your head up. I have not lost a buck but unfortunately I lost a boar while hunting in Hawaii a few weeks ago actually. I had a decent shot. Lots of good blood and never found it. I didn't look as long as you, good for you for trying so hard. I just didn't have that much time but I looked and looked and looked and never found him. Definitely eats at you. As for this buck hard to say if he lives or died. Also congrats on your baby. Thanks for the video and sharing this.

He lived on, you did great man. God bless, congratulations on the new baby

What an awesome buck! Gotta love those NM desert muleys. I was solo elk hunting and I range a tree where the bull would be coming out by well he was further back from the tree and I missed him twice…..I was ticked. He moved guess his range again missed. He went 150 yards and watched me look for my arrows haha. He deserved to live at that point. I think that guy probably survived. They are tough during the rut. Great video like always! I need a new podcast episode!