South Dakota Arrowhead Buck

Posted At : February 5, 2010 10:26 AM | Posted By : Mike Hanback
Related Categories: Big Deer Blog

Got this from my friend and outfitter Pat West in South Dakota:

Hey Mike: Had to share this with you. I have never seen it before, nor heard of it.  Here’s a picture of a mule deer we killed last rifle season--a 4x4 that is 28" wide and scores 184. This big guy had a full arrow sticking out of the left side of his head. After examining further, the skin on his head had begun growing around the broadhead that was stuck under the base of his horn, but not in the skull. 
 
We heard that someone had hit a deer in the head with an arrow on the neighbor’s property, but did not recover him. We assumed he was dead. Well, as you can see, he was alive. He was not rutting like the other muley bucks, just hiding out and surviving. You never know what you are going to find in the outdoors.—Pat

Things go wrong and bad shots happen. Some people will say I shouldn’t have posted this because it gives us bowhunters a bad image, but it is reality and we deal with reality here. Let it be a lesson and a reminder: Take good, close, ethical shots so you never hit a deer like this.

I am surprised the buck didn’t snap the arrow off; a whitetail would have. I am glad the rifle hunter shot him. comment

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That is very sad!...BUT....glad some one got a chance to harvest this buck....would be interesting to see if he had any infection around his skull or brain from the wound......makes you wonder what some people think when they take a shot.
# Posted By parrish | 2/5/10 10:40 AM
My friend Brad shot a buck a few years back that had a full arrow sticking out of its eye and stuck into its opposite cheek
bone. The buck was trying to mount a doe just before he shot it.
# Posted By Scott from MI | 2/5/10 11:01 AM
The problem is that "you" feel this is a bow hunting problem. Just because you can see the arrow makes it bad, but "you" gun hunters don't have problems like this because you can't see the bullet. I have seen plenty on deer missing a front leg or a lower jaw or an infected ass or an antler shot off from bad GUN shots. Just becuase you don't see the bullet, dosen't mean it didn't happen. "Let it be a lesson and a reminder: Take good, close, ethical shots so you never hit a deer like with a bullet like the one's I described above". BUT, I SURE IT NEVER HAPPENED TO YOU. That's the "REALITY" here.
# Posted By Silverback | 2/5/10 11:20 AM
There are way too many hunters, bow and gun, who take shots they shouldn't. Look at the picture again of the muley with the arrow
in the side of the head and tell yourself you won't ever take a shot which might have that end result, and live by it. And if your
so called hunting friends take these poor shots or blast away at running deer, tell them your done hunting with them and why. It's a
darn sick sight to see injured deer from poor bow and gun shots trying to survive. One shot, clean kill. Live by it.
# Posted By Nik In Missouri | 2/5/10 11:58 AM
never said i saw this as just a bow problem. i wrote "things go wrong and bad shots happen" w/bow or gun 4 sure; just sending the
message that we all should strive to do better. and reality is that not all my shots have been perfect w/bow or gun, i never said they
were, i always want to do good and better, again the message here
# Posted By hanback | 2/5/10 12:06 PM
It is sad but the reality is that bad shots happen. I'm sure the hunter never intended for it to end up like that. For all we know it could have been a very easy makeable shot and maybe the deer jumped the string and wheeled and the arrow hit him in the head. Like Mike said "some things go wrong". Nobody intends for these things to happen but sometimes bad things do happen that are out of our control. Nobody is perfect and very rarely does someone make a perfect shot everytime. But as hunters, it is our responsibility to practice and prepare as much as possible so that when the moment comes to make a shot (gun or bow) we can make a clean, ethical shot with the greatest chance for success.
# Posted By Matt Elder | 2/5/10 12:31 PM
Well put Matt.
# Posted By pappa necbone | 2/5/10 12:45 PM
My son killed a black bear a few years ago that had an Audi logo in her shoulder...healed completely ! guess if you're going to take one from an auto it may as well be a costly one!
# Posted By Big Daddy | 2/5/10 3:59 PM
Hey BigDaddy,

Do all your huge bucks have logos on them too? Just kidding.

We would like to see some of your wall hangers some time.
# Posted By Chad M. | 2/5/10 4:55 PM
Well the bow shot was definetly unethical but none the less it happend and the deer was still harvested.I agree with everyones comments here.The only thing out of all this that is slightly comical is do you get it mounted with the arrow sticking out of his head?I would! But I agree take good clean shots with a bow,gun or whatever!
# Posted By DaveZ. | 2/5/10 9:51 PM
I have only shot 1 deer with a bow. That was this past season. I was lucky enough to have a made a good shot and he went down 25 yards from where I shot him. I have several friends who quit bow hunting because of lost deer. I guess if you don't have confidence you can get it done, quitting is better than a botched shot. I hope I never have to come on here and tell you fine gentlemen I injured on and couldn't find it. I hope the same for all of you, as well.
# Posted By Curt | 2/5/10 11:16 PM
If you hunt long enough, you will. Or you just won't tell anybody....
# Posted By David in NC | 2/6/10 12:23 AM
My brother in law and a friend of his took a buck (the friend) last fall on my uncles farm in MI. The buck was bedded down and never got up. It had a broadhead stuck in the forehead. It was into the brain but the deer seemed to be functioning still near the end of rifle season. The deer had not lost weight so its bodily functions seemed to be working.
# Posted By Lance | 2/6/10 9:28 AM
David,
I'm an open book. I will tell on myself just as quickly as I'll post a pic of a nice buck. I don't take unethical shots and have been lucky enough to have all but 2 drop in their tracks. I hope it contiues that way.
# Posted By Curt | 2/6/10 11:12 AM
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