Losing Arrows - How do you deal?

[Larkid]

I'm sure you've all been there. You silently sneak up on that healthy deer in the clearing, waiting for him to lower his majestic head to graze before you stand up and draw back your bowstring. You're close enough that he senses you and spooks, but by the time he's moving your arrow is already loose and hits him in the flank.

But not the heart.

Off he goes, over the ridge and into the trees and you follow, guided by the line of red drops in the snow. But then something weird happens - the blood trail just stops. No sign of the deer, no sign of where he went. If he bleeds out somewhere, you're not going to find it before the wolves do.

You lost the meat and the hide, no big deal. But you also lost an arrowhead.

Rarer than bullets (unless you've managed to figure out how to make them yourself) but infinitely reusable as long as you don't lose them, the loss of an arrowhead can effectively end your ability to hunt.

How do you deal?

[cowboymrh]

Whenever possible, I hunt on frozen lakes such as Crystal Lake and Mystery Lake, and my favorite is on the ice at Coastal Highway where I hardly ever lose an arrow.

And if I do, I'll eventually stumble upon it a few days later. Also, try and let the wolf do the killing, then you can scare him off with a close arrow shot.

Good Luck

[PPartisan]

I'd sooner die than lose an arrowhead (and I've come close) :lol:

[elloco999]

Usually when this kind of thing happens, I go inside, wait an hour and go back to the spot I saw the deer last and look around that area. Usually, you can find it there somewhere although they can end up in the most unlikely places. Sometimes, you'll find the deer closer to the place where you shot it. Once they are no longer spooked, they always come back to their "route".

(unless you've managed to figure out how to make them yourself)

You can go to Desolation Point and use the forge there to craft new arrowheads from scrap metal.

[Packet802]

So I guess thanks to beginner's luck the very first shot I took with my brand new bow and arrow hit a deer and he ran off. Luckily I was able to follow him until he fell and got my arrow back! Yay! Next shot was at a wolf on the coastal highway lake who I managed to hit and he also ran off. But it was getting late and my condition was already deteriorated so I dropped a burnt torch where I shot him and watched him run away to memorize the direction and had to head for shelter on jackrabbit island. The next day I went back to the torch and tried to follow where he went but couldn't find him anywhere. I've now searched for 3 or 4 days all around but can't find him. Do all deer/wolves eventually die if wounded or is it possible he lived and de-spawned taking my arrow with him? Is it possible he is alive and still walking around with my arrow in him? Has anyone ever killed a wolf and found an old arrow in him that you thought had been lost?

[Dagmar]

I only hunt deer when the weather is clear. Most of the time I get an instant kill to the head but if not, I don't lose the blood trail because of the fair weather. In general it's more efficient for me to wait for a wolf to kill a deer, then kill the wolf while he is feeding so I get the most meat I can for the loss in condition to the bow and the arrow and getting a one shot kill against a wolf is easier than it is against a deer. If the weather is bad I fish instead if the region allows it.

[elloco999]

If you want to get the most out of your arrows, the best way is to let a wolf kill a deer and then shoot an arrow close to the wolf. The wolf will run away and the arrow will only receive a 5% condition drop or something like that, while hitting the wolf will cost you around 30% condition and if you're unlucky and don't kill the wolf instantly, it will run of with your arrow.

[Sante67]

I've lost 4 or 5 arrowheads in my current game. It's been very annoying, and I've gone back out over the course of several days after losing a kill/arrow and scouring the area for the corpse, only to come up empty. I don't tend to use the scare wolf tactic unless I just plain missed. While it's a valid tactic, I try to immerse myself in a "what would I do" vibe. And purposely missing a wolf certainly wouldn't be the case lol!

I still have 4 arrowheads left, and lots of rifle ammo. I'm planning to head to the forge eventually but it will be when I "need" it, not before then. Hoping DP will be the last stop in my character's journey.