Dead deer or not?

[pierce_schmeichel]

Hey guys, my wife and I were put in the Badlands this weekend and she made a shot on her first deer and I got it on video. We could not find it at all tho. We looked in a 500yard radius and found very minimal bloodin the first 20 yards. We found the arrow and from watching the video it only got about 7 inches of penetration.

My question is, where do you guys think it hit? And do you think it's a dead deer?

[Pappy]

7 inches is plenty of penetration, but looks high and forward, may have got the top of the lungs but close to being to far forward, not much there between the neck and rib cage but muscle , hard to say weather it made it our not but have seen them hit in that general area live. I had 1 years ago I hit there in early bow season , looked for hours, wound up killing him 1/4 mile from where I shot him in late December, still had the head and piece of arrow in him. They are tough for sure. Always tough to loose one but it happens.
 Pappy

[Muskyman]

Man that’s a tough call on that one. Wouldn’t be surprised either way. Like you said not much up in that area. Another inch or two higher and she hits the spine and it would, as I’m sure you know, drop like it was hit by lightning. Tuff to track without a blood trail. Hopefully it doesn’t dampen her desire to hunt. Good luck out west.

[Eric Krewson]

I have always called that place the "dead air place", people swear that it doesn't exist but after 50 years of hunting and tracking deer shot by others, I believe it does.

The deer will be fine, in my opinion.

[pierce_schmeichel]

I agree Eric. I think it totally didn't even hit the lungs and if it did it only nicked one and it definitely gets to live another winter.