Sounds like from just hearing the shot placement . Your deer is going to live . It's hard to say. I have seen many high shots to bleed like that but never be found.
Best of luck to you. It's just to hard to call with out knowing more. Here's a article I wrote that I hope will help. You did get down to soon to track and glad you stopped and waited to go back...
Hunting hats off to you for that , as you know it will better your chance in finding your buck.
Best of luck to you and hope to read where you did find your buck.
Help Recover Your Deer By Following These Easy Steps
As archery season is now in, many hunters will spend a lot of time on their hands and knees following a blood trail. At one time or another this happens to every bow hunter. The key is learning how to read your arrow, what your deer’s reaction was, along with how much time should you wait before you start looking to recover your game. Many times we start to soon to recover our game, and this will only push your deer father into the woods. As a hunter, you have an obligation to your quarry to know how to follow a blood trail and successfully recover the animal and complete the hunt. Many shots require the hunter to track the trophy to the end of the blood trail.
At the shot, it is critical that you carefully note where the deer was hit, how it reacted, and the direction it went. If the deer slumps towards the ground, chances are the shot was a lung shot, or hit somewhere else in the front part of the body. If the deer hunches up, you can bet that the shot was a stomach shot, or hit somewhere else in the gut. If a deer falls immediately, but then gets back to its feet and runs away, chances are that it was a shot somewhere to the back, but did not break the spinal cord. If you hit the deer in the back , the deer may bleed little or, in some instances, bleed profusely. Profuse bleeding from a back wound is misleading if the wound was above the spine, missing the spinal cord or any major artery, the deer will likely holed up in a thicket for a few days, and then be his normal self again. As a bow hunter you can better your chances to recovering your deer by learning to read your arrow shaft. Your shaft can be a very important indicator to show where your deer has been hit. Too many times we try to recover our game before it’s time, and this decreases the odds of recovery. It’s a bow hunters worse nightmare, to make a bad hit on a deer. The first thing when climbing down your stand after you have made a shot on your deer is to look for your arrow and then read your arrow shaft. For bow hunters, the arrow and the dept of it’s penetration will provide much information about the potential path and longevity of the wounded white tail.
If you have made a gut shot your arrow shaft will look and feel greasy, may show small blood streaks and may smell sour. If you have made a paunch or forward stomach shot, your arrow shaft might be grainy and show pieces of undigested vegetation and grain. A liver hit a arrow shaft will be heavily covered from end to end with dark red blood. On a brisket shot the shaft will be really greasy, show smears of blood and may be some lighter colored hair.
If you have or suspect a bad hit on a animal it is always best to give plenty of time for the animal to expire. Wounded animals usually only travel a short distance before laying down. Trailing too soon will cause the animal to move from it’s position and further complicate recovery. Bow hunters can often tell where the arrow hit the deer. Deer that are obviously hit will stagger, run hunched over, or hobble off. And many deer may run in a panic without regard to the best path through the woods over small trees and brush in an attempt to flee the area.
But most critical of all is to observe the direction the deer is going and watch it as far as you can. Most deer will be headed toward a creek or thicket. Being keenly observant at the shot and the immediate aftermath will help in confirming a hit and getting started in the right direction. Rule of thumb for properly hit deer is to wait 30 minutes before attempting to recover. There has always been much debate and discussion over the proper amount of time to wait before taking to the trail on a bad shot. A deer hit in any place other than the chest shoulder area should be given at least 2 hours or more. A gut shot deer should be given several hours. The problem with taking up the trail too soon is jumping a dying deer out of it’s bedding place, causing it to run further and complicating your tracking.
When the deer is on the move, the blood drops will take on an elongated shape, which can tell the tracker the direction and approximate speed of the animal. Keep in mind that the deer in most cases is running as it is bleeding, depending on your shot placement you made on your game. Blood drops that are far apart indicate either a fast moving animal or one that is bleeding sparsely. When trailing your deer look for blood drops on the ground and leaves, look for smears on grasses and brush a few feet above ground. Blood that is smeared in the hair will often be rubbed against brush as the deer moves along.
When you are finding blood pools you know the dying deer has laid down or stopped for a while. Deer that are close to death will often lie down. Along with a deer with a bad shot will lie down as well. When hunters are tracking a wounded deer you will also find the deer leaves a pool of blood where it was laying. Which means you are pushing your deer , give your animal time to bed down and die. If you give it plenty of time to die with out pushing it. It will be easy to recover and your meat is still good, for you will see that your deer has not been dead long once you have recovered it.
Shooting a bright colored vane or feather is always best, this allows you to see where you have hit your animal. I always shoot a bright yellow or green vane so I can get a look at my shot placement. The main things to remember when you are tracking a wounded deer is Don’t start trailing to soon, if you lose your last blood, you need to start back to the last blood trace and retrace your steps. If your arrow stayed in your game and your not seeing blood on the ground, look even with the deer’s body on the trail to see if its up higher on the leaves and limbs. Stay on your trail and don’t give up. If you lose your blood trail , walk in expanding circles around the last spot of blood until you find more blood, hair, signs of trampling, or the deer itself. Hopefully, your shot will be an immediately fatal shot. If not, look until you are ready to give up, and then look for another hour. When you least expect it, your trophy buck will turn up.