# Liver hit deer



## Bohunterdaniel (Nov 10, 2010)

Tell me your thoughts


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## Grizz1219 (Nov 19, 2009)

Hate the thought.. killing shot.. give them 6 hours min... don't push them...


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## mathewshooterxt (Mar 2, 2009)

They will usually lie down right away and die. Like Grizz said- wait 6 hours and go get 'em! Do not push it, let them die.


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## paarchhntr (Dec 21, 2005)

Dont give them a reason to stay on there feet. Back out immediately and come back in 6 hours to get your deer.


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## btomlin (Dec 10, 2003)

I'd give 8-10hrs....just in case the liver shot turns into a gut shot. Game of inches and it's human nature to "want" to believe better than it is. If liver, should be dead in 6 or so and gut 8-10hrs.....the liver hit will still be dead the gut may not if you only wait 6.

I'd also follow the trail....slowwwww, with arrow nocked.


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## Bohunterdaniel (Nov 10, 2010)

So If I wait I will recover right?


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## Leon Mark (Jan 14, 2009)

A depending on the quality of the shot on the liver, the larger arteries are in the forward portion of the liver and the rear they get smaller, a deer will die in minutes after the shot. How much blood was there at the sight of the shot?


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## raylandarcher (Jun 5, 2003)

I second what btomlin said.I would give it slightly more than 6 hrs.I shot one 2 seasons ago in the liver.It walked off slowly.I sat there for another hour then went home.I shot it at 7 am.I went back at 2 pm.7 hours later.It was a very cold November day.Probably in the low 30's.Started tracking it at 2pm by the time i found it,it was 3pm.so 8 hours have passed since I shot it.It only went about 150 yds and laid down.The point is I found it 8 hrs later on a very cold day and when I gutted it he was still very hot inside and steaming.So he had to expire just a hal hour or so right before I found him.If I would have only given him 4 or 5 hours I probably would have jumped him up and we all know how that usually ends.


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## Barlow (Nov 17, 2008)

Bohunterdaniel said:


> So If I wait I will recover right?


There are no guarentees. However, if you follow the advice that has been posted you will stand a much better of chance of recovery then if you go in too soon and push the deer.


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## kebees4 (Oct 11, 2008)

My experiences with liver shots is they don't go far. I just shot 1 last week and he didn't make it 50 yards. I have seen dozens shot in the liver and none went far. If you just graze the liver it might be a different situation. All that I have seen hit main body of liver. That will put them down fast.


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## Bohunterdaniel (Nov 10, 2010)

Thank y'all. Theirs a large river right by where he ran into the woods. I shot him at 7 this morning and Im gonna go look for him at around 3


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## Bohunterdaniel (Nov 10, 2010)

My arrow was covered in dark red blood


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## laut (Mar 31, 2006)

shot a elk at 18 yards through small part of the lung and cut the liver. I stood on the treestand for 1 hr and the elk finally lay down 1 hr later below the treestand. I climb down the treestand and the elk stood up. I was luck to be able to shoot it again throught the lungs. it took off into the bush but die within 40 yards. If you get a liver shot, don't push it and let it lay down.


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## DMAX-HD (Jan 30, 2005)

If you saw him walk away 'hunched up' almost always liver.


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## bowhuntermitch (May 17, 2005)

I shot this buck in the liver this year. Obviously hit him alot further back than i wanted to... i actually heard him crash and watched him through the binoculars while he died. Thus, i waited about a half hour before getting to him. If i hadent been able to see him die,i would have waited like others have said.

Sorry about the truck picture, i hate them, but it was really the only opportunity i had for a picture, being i forgot mine! 

The hole in the deer that you can see, was the exit. The entrance was a little further forward, but not by much. I ended up center punching the liver, and he bled like crazy.


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## DODGE-3D (Feb 17, 2005)

My buddy shot a nice 9pt last friday in the liver and he waited in the stand for 1hr after he shot and we gave 3more hrs and walked in and was 60 yrds from where he shot him ,in his first bed.


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## HammyAbeer (Jul 15, 2008)

I gut shot a deer last week and let it lie for 28 hours and it was still alive.. Barely, but still breathing.


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## harkybowhunter (Aug 13, 2007)

I have shot two deer in the liver, both dropped within sight of my stand. I waited 20 minutes and then got down, both were obviosuly dead. I can't argue against the advice the others are giving either, so use your own judgement. Good luck.


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## birdman (Apr 24, 2004)

The only one i ever liver shot went like 50yards and layed down in a open field..She got up when i got out of my stand a hour later when it was dark and went like 200yards and lay down again..i came back in 4 hours later and she was still alive but couldnt get up...like has been mentioned your deer is beded somewhere and after 6 hours you should be able to find it...a deer wont survive a liver shot...JMO


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## JakeJD (Jan 14, 2009)

I liver shot a mature buck last year. Low exit hole with blood everywhere. Out of fear for pushing the deer, I snuck out of there that evening and went back the next morning. I found the buck alive about 100 yards away around 14 hours after the shot. He was able to get up and slowly trot off. I had to run to catch up with him and shoot him again to finish the deal. No doubt that a liver shot is fatal, but mature deer can live for quite a while with only a hole through their liver.

Best bet for a liver shot is to sneak out of the area and be sure not to push the animal. If I would have tracked the animal that evening, there is not doubt that a quick shot of adrenaline would have put the buck outside of recovering distance.


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## btomlin (Dec 10, 2003)

Bohunterdaniel said:


> So If I wait I will recover right?


Too many things could happen to say for sure. Take your time. Go slow. Glass ahead of your position. Keep the assistance to minimum unless a grid search is needed. I track every deer like it is still alive until dead is confirmed....that means no talking, arrow nocked, stealth mode!

Deer SHOULD be dead by 3pm, but COULD be still alive at 3pm. That would be the earliest I would begin. Don't let others talk you into going earlier, it's your deer....your decisions.

P.S. Dont forget to get those pics posted!!! Good luck!


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## Arrowhunter (Jul 26, 2005)

I liver shot a young buck the other morning. It was angled toward me a little more than I thought when I shot, it ran bleeding great blood trail for a good ways- thinking I made a better shot than I did we started tracking walked within 50 yards of the deer still alive 6 hrs later we stalked closer to put a finshing shot. When I pulled the trigger I really thought I had put a lethal shot on the deer, if it would have been in the evening I would have bumped that deer probably would not have found it.


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## MOC (Jul 4, 2003)

DMAX-HD said:


> If you saw him walk away 'hunched up' almost always liver.


Um, I don't think so. If you see them walk away "hunched up", it's almost always gut. Liver shots, the typical reaction is not much reaction, or they run as normal.


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## Stanley (Jan 18, 2005)

Always puts them down. Just never know how fast.


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## [email protected] (Jan 17, 2005)

Thinking a liver shot will always be a quick death is wrong. I have been involved with 4 mature bucks shot in the liver that were found alive and finished off between 8-14 hours after the first shot. All verified direct liver hits when field dressed. Yes I have hit some there that went a lilttle ways and died in minutes but...if it's me I am waiting at least 8 hours unless I see it die.


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## red44 (Apr 11, 2005)

My experiences with them is to let them lay. Depending on what exactly in the liver is hit makes a big difference in how quick they die. Your goal now is to recover the deer. I'd do the 6 hour wait if you can. I've had 2 get up and go after only a couple hours and they were tough to find. If I'd left them they likely would have been in that first bed, instead of going on and on.
Smart people learn from other's mistakes. :smile:


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## lnovander (Oct 17, 2010)

I 've shot 2 inthe liver one went 50 yds the other about 150. They both walked off slow and hunched up. Take the advise let him lay minimal 6hrs


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## highwaynorth (Feb 17, 2005)

Usually with a liver shot they want to bed down right away. If you don't jump them you can usually find them close by.


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## Skeeter 58 (Jan 25, 2009)

In my personal experience I have liver shot 2 deer. One was dead when I finally found it about 2 hours later but had been dead for some time. The other didnt go very far and I saw it fall and die. I have read about 6 hours but thats not been my experiences.


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## Grizz1219 (Nov 19, 2009)

If it is solid liver hit they won't be hunched up... You catch guts and yeah, they will hunch up... You catch a piece of one lobe of the liver and they will last longer... But after 6 hours, you should be able to get close enough for a finishing shot in needed... My opinion... as long as it is day time.. Hit late in the day.. leave over night...


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## Ray Ray (Aug 1, 2005)

I had 2 liver shot deer go down in 40 yards & 1 that was alive after 8 hours. They will die. Don't push them & they will be close to where they were hit.


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## dragman (Jul 12, 2008)

Oldest (13) shot his first deer with a bow this year 14" inside 8 point and hit him through one lung and the liver deer made it 40 yards. we waited 30 minutes and retrieved him.


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## rigginuts (Dec 27, 2008)

A broadside liver shot is a deadly shot. A quartering liver/gut shot is a different story. While both shots are killing shots the liver/gut shot will require a longer wait. If your arrow is bright red and has no gut fluid or gutty smell on it, chances are the deer will die quickly. For a shot that just nicked the liver and caught gut a longer waiting time is in order.


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## Up in the tree (Nov 17, 2010)

More than likely he will get up severla times and walk short distances but it is a fatal shot! Be patient and give him time


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## hunting170 (Sep 12, 2003)

[email protected] said:


> Thinking a liver shot will always be a quick death is wrong. I have been involved with 4 mature bucks shot in the liver that were found alive and finished off between 8-14 hours after the first shot. All verified direct liver hits when field dressed. Yes I have hit some there that went a lilttle ways and died in minutes but...if it's me I am waiting at least 8 hours unless I see it die.


I was actually with Robin on one of these recoveries. Deer was shot at 4:30 in the evening. The next morning we waited-out a bad thunderstorm, and went to search for the buck. Found it laying in its bed, but still alive at 9:30. It still had enough life left to jump out of its bed, and run as we were trying to find an opening for another shot. That`s 17 hours after the shot. Since that day I always give liver-shot deer a minimum of 8 hours to expire.


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## Stuka1166 (Oct 19, 2006)

HammyAbeer said:


> I gut shot a deer last week and let it lie for 28 hours and it was still alive.. Barely, but still breathing.


28 hrs to die ???

Sounds REAL nice !!!


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## bardman (Oct 18, 2006)

Long as you can afford to wait the better. Let them die where they lay. Check around water as well if you cant find or lose blood.


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## completepassthru (Feb 3, 2008)

I saw 2 deer hit in the liver this year. Neither deer made it 60 yards and were dead fast. Both were friends i was hunting with. One was shot with a 1 1/4 in. shockwave and the other was shot with a 2in. Hammerhead. Waiting 6 hrs seems like a long time to me. I personally would not wait that long on a solid liver hit, especially with the large 2in. 3blade broadhead i use. But waiting 6 hrs is safe i guess.


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## Bohunterdaniel (Nov 10, 2010)

I recovered the deer!! I gave him 5 hours and he ran about 300 yards. Blood didn't pick up until about 200 yards. Then picked up on the trail and went right to him. Upon finding him I hit him in the gut/liver and it cane out on the opposite side by the shoulder. I got a little lung. I'm pretty stoked since it was my first time to ever hunt Kansas and my first sit in a tree in Kansas. 135 inch 10 point. Nice deer. I'll try and post pics from my iPhone. Anybody know how to do it on a iPhone?


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## RCL (Apr 23, 2004)

Congrats on the recovery........:thumb: :RockOn:


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## dtspoke (May 8, 2009)

Good job.

Tough to find one that travels that far.


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## Hog Man (Apr 11, 2010)

two words..................BACK OUT!


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## The Mad Hatter (Jan 9, 2007)

Great job on the recovery. Now lets see some pics!


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## Bohunterdaniel (Nov 10, 2010)

How can I post them from a IPhone?


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## Whitefeather (Jul 27, 2003)

Bohunterdaniel said:


> How can I post them from a IPhone?


Send them to your email or mine and i'll post them up. Congrats!

[email protected]


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## ruffme (Aug 4, 2005)

Leon Mark said:


> A depending on the quality of the shot on the liver, the larger arteries are in the forward portion of the liver and the rear they get smaller, a deer will die in minutes after the shot. How much blood was there at the sight of the shot?


My one and only liver shot...deer laid right down 5 yards behind my stand and died in less than 3 minutes....not a drop of blood it was all in the body cavity.


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## 2LungKing (Aug 11, 2005)

ok lets see it ?


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## Bowhunt160's (Nov 15, 2009)

My deer last year lived 18 hours and was still alive enough to not get close to him. We stayed with him long enough to get another shot on him.


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## btomlin (Dec 10, 2003)

Good job on the buck!!!

Word to the wise however, without the lung at 5 hours you prob. would have had a different outcome.


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