Hypothetically Speaking, Its Dusk you put an arrow right in the side of a 120lb doe. She books and you wait. Day light is just about over. You get your headlamp and pack of field dressing supplies some rope and your tags. Where do you go from there? I am able to get real close to these deer and need to know I will be able to finish the hunt properly. Any and all help is great. The doe I am hunting is in my Album. Please going out Sunday and want to tag out this season. -PSE Mat
There's really only one place to go. The point of impact and the direction if travel. Being that you haven't shot the deer yet not too much more that can be given as far as how to proceed. Some reflective tape would be convenient for marlin the trail and shining back on to get the path of travel. Without a good blood trail night tracking slows the pace dramatically and you are focused more on te trail rather than scanning ahead looking for that white belly.
Well at least you are asking befoer you actually shoot one, but go to the impact site & look for blood. Follow direction of travel continuing to look for blood. Find blood & follow it to the deer. If you have more questions read the very informtative thread pinned at the top about trailing a deer.
If it eases your mind a little 90% of the time if not more tracking deer is not necessary if you place your arrow through both lungs you can almost always just walk up to them as they go die within 60-70 yards on rare occasions they make it 100. If you don't take out the lungs or heart things can get a little trickier
Lots of good advice so far. Are you worried about field dressing the deer at night by yourself? Of field dressing the deer in general. If it makes you feel better my first field dressing was an elk at night by myself! I was worried about it as well. I called a friend and he talked me through it on the phone. Now I didn't do everything perfect but I got the job done. I had also watched a few videos prior to that night so I at least had an idea of what was going on. It's actually not that hard to do and you can't really mess up. Sure you can cut some things you shouldn't buy it doesn't affect the integrity of the meat.
Pack your headlamp, and then get another flashlight or a set of spare batteries. I have a set of small aluminum spikes (chainlink fence ties) w/ flouro orange tied to them for marking the blood trail. Reflective would be better for nighttime of course, but orange is better in daytime.
I hate tracking at night. I struggle seeing blood on leaves (color blind). So I don't hunt evenings unless I know they have help. Here's the deal, I shot a dear just this last tuesday. Perfect double lung. She made it 50 yards through thick timber in under 10 seconds. They can make it a long way very fast and if it's thick you will lose sight of them quick. So, once you lose sight, close you eyes and be very still. just listen...if you hear a crash then you know the approx location of your deer. If you don't wait a bit longer. You might still here it. On a good shot it will all be over about 30 seconds after the shot. Just wait a half hour and inspect the point of impact. Smell the arrow. Smell like crap? Bad shot...back out.
Interesting. I'm colorblind also (red/green) and if I'm alone I'd much rather stick one in the evening. I can actually follow a blood trail with a green light. It makes the blood shine black to my eyes. I'm totally lost with a white light or in daylight, though. You should give a green light a try.
The best advice I can give you would be to be honest with yourself on the quality of the shot, where it was standing when you shot it and above all follow it with your eyes taking mental notes of what it goes past and where exactly was the last place you saw it if it doesn't go down. Other than that with you being color blind I'm not sure what else I can say. Do you at least see the shine off of blood when hit with a light? The green light may help but you may also want to do some research/recruiting for fellow hunter help or a tracking dog in your area.
The OP isn't Color Blind. I've tracked many deer (normally with one other person) and several by myself. I was just letting him know I hate tracking at night because I have a hard time seeing blood, but the green light should help me. I'm going to get one tonight maybe.
Gotcha, guess I read the other comments and thought maybe you guys knew him to be. In that case....have the brightest light DoeDynasty89, usually the LED lights or even an old Coleman lantern does the trick!!
Get yourself a gas (propane) lantern. Blood will show up very will with the yellow light from those lanterns. You can even use some aluminum foil on the back half of the lantern (the side that will face you) to keep the light out of your eyes and out in front. It'll also help when you find the deer and start field dressing. Leave that in the car and you'll have it when you need it. For in the field light, I use a headlamp with a high/low/red setting. It takes two AAA batteries. I also have a Coast LED torch which is very bright for distance. I always carry spare batteries just in case and having two battery powered flashlights is good in case one stops working for whatever reason.
Since you're a new member and your asking about tracking, I want to point you in this direction. If you're new to bowhunting, this is an invaluable resource. This really is a must read before going into the woods. If you're not new, forgive me. Just trying to help. What to do after the shot. http://forums.bowhunting.com/bowhunting-talk/52643-official-what-do-after-shot-please-read.html If you're concerned about field dressing, I personally think this is a great informative video. FIELD DRESSING, SKINNING, BUTCHERING to FREEZER - Large Game Processing - Deer - YouTube Next, the best thing I can tell you is stay in your stand until you've completely calmed down from the adrenaline rush, you don't need to fall out of a tree. Spend the time with your binocs looking for the arrow or possibly locating some blood droplets. But most importantly, "burn" the point of impact into your brain. That's obviously going to be your first sign of blood. Find it and follow. Mark the spots with toilet paper. Why toilet paper? It's easily visible and biodegradable. Good Luck! Looks like a nice sized doe.
Thank you for all this useful information everyone. You know hunting is one of the hardest things I have ever done in my life, which is why you all are very much appreciated. I only hope to harvest this deer and show you what I now almost have a full understanding of. I am pumped to harvest this deer and hopefully many more to come. Thank for your experience and knowledge this Harvest will be not only be a success, but a double lung puncture. Thanks again remember my name I am sure I will have many many many more questions.
No problem! It's nice to see someone actually doing some research and then making informed choices instead of the other way round.
