How long can a deer survive a single-lung shot from a bow and arrow?
QUESTION: I recently shot a buck with my bow, and it was a complete pass-through. Upon retrieving my arrow, the blood on it was light red and there were a few bubbles on the Blood Ring. The first spots of any blood were 10 yards away where he stopped, but after that I tracked the deer over a mile with a steady stream. Then, as quickly as it started, the trail almost completely stopped. Two days after I shot this deer (I had to work and was unable to track it the next day) I went looking again. I was surprised to find a fresh bed with wet blood in it. My question is, how long can a deer survive a single-lung shot? To the naked eye and with binoculars, the shot looked to be low but straight through and right behind the shoulder blade. — Benny G.
ANSWER: I mean you no disrespect, but I’ve tracked countless deer that the hunter (myself included) thought was lung-shot only to find out that wasn’t the case. It’s possible, although uncommon for a deer to survive a single-lung shot. However, the fact that you tracked it for over a mile suggests something else.
First, let’s consider the position of the deer. If it was broadside and you hit right behind the shoulder and had a complete pass-through, your arrow should have penetrated both lungs and possibly the heart, particularly if it was a little low. Obviously, that wasn’t the case or you would have recovered it.
If the deer was quartering away sharply, it is possible that you hit too far forward and the arrow passed through ahead of the lungs. This is a fairly common occurrence as hunters are conditioned to aim for a particular spot and sometimes fail to compensate for the angle and aim farther back. This might result in a serious flesh wound and lots of blood, but the deer might survive if infection doesn’t set in. It’s also possible that you hit the deer lower than you thought, possibly in the brisket. This would also might produce a good blood trail at first.
It’s also possible that you hit where you said but the arrow deflected off a rib and missed the lungs. Strange things can happen in the woods, and sometimes there’s no explanation.