Outstanding post!! What you see in a blood trail is worth a 1000 words 95% of the time. Let me add too that where we think the arrow went isn't always the case. Better to be safe then sorry. 2 hour minimum for me no matter how good of a shot I think I made. In my honest opinion most people lack good tracking/blood trailing skills and allot of animals are lost because of this. Part of a good tracker/blood trailer is having patience.
Well let's see.....I shot my buck at 10:26am....watched him fall and "die" under 30 seconds after my 20 yard shot....I backed out and didn't go to him till 1 hour had passed....that was on a deer I saw die right in front of me with 99.999% assurance. If dead or dying and bedded they will not go anywhere, no need to rush things. Goosepond Monster is a great example of waiting, backing out, tracking later, bumping him, backing out, going back A LOT later and finding him. Here's the proof, first pic taken seconds before arrow released, second pic is me coming around the bend to go to him 20 yards left from cam's pov. (I was up one of the oaks in the middle of the picture)
There is also a huge difference in knowing you made a good shot and thinking you made one. Last year, for example, I knew without a doubt that I double lunged or heart shot my buck. I gave him 1/2 hour and found him 100 yards away dead and starting to stiffen up. Now, a couple years back, I shot a good buck that I thought was a good shot, but wasnt 100% sure of the placement. I gave that deer 2 hours, went to take up the trail and got spotty blood. I backed out and gave it another 4 hours and came back in the afternoon. When I returned, I followed the sparse blood to a big hollow with a small stream at the bottom. I had a hunch he was hit back further than I thought because he was headed to the water. I quietly glassed the stream from above and sure enough, he was laying a the side of the creek dead. Now, if I would have kept on the trail earlier that morning, there was probably a good chance I would have bumped him into the next county. When in doubt, back out. If its cold and there are no weather issues that dictate going after the deer sooner, you are far better off. The patience you use to hunt deer should also be applied to recovering deer. Its important to slow everything you do down. Stop, think through everything that just happened, from the shot, how the deer reacted, where it was last seen, the blood on the arrow or the ground, etc. Take your time and piece it all together. Study it and than study it some more. Look for any little clue. Hair color, torn up leaves, broken branches, etc. Also, know your hunting ground. Know where the thickest areas are or where there is water. All of this will be used to put a picture together.
As I release the arrow I leap from the stand and deploy my parachute. I glide after the wounded animal from my aerial pursuit I can see which way he travels. As I gain on him I release my parachute falling directly on the bucks back and riding him to his final resting place. No tracking necessary. **The above depiction was fictional and not an actual event. Extreme caution should be taken when hunting from a tree stand and the above should not be attempted unless you are an idiot.**
LOL. I agree with alot of what has been said in this thread. That is why Rob/PA wrote the "What to do after the shot" thread about 10yrs ago. Its posted here every year...ALL NEWBIES should read it. That said, I honestly don't care if someone comes on here and asks for advice. If they don't know what to do...maybe (slim chance) someone here can help them. Above all else...time is your friend. When in doubt, back out.
Obviously, if the shot is questionable i will back out. But if i feel its good, 20 minutes and im gutting my deer. Also, OBVIOUSLY, the rage plug was a joke (Some of you guys i swear....)
Just another helpful tip - ALWAYS bring your bow on the track job. Never know when you're going to need it, and I'd rather not need it and have it than not have it and need it.
When I went to track my doe last year I got a shot at a coyote. Wa pretty awesome actually and I got a full body mount done Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
Yeah, actually this is one of my favorite stages of the hunt.... Just shot a deer, pressure is off - just reflect back on all the hard work throughout the year... Heck, even if I see the deer drop I usually wait an hour - just to soak it all in and make sure I give the animal enough time...
I always go for spine shots, they drop in their tracks and never move..... I'm surprised someone didn't say this already....
Wow.....thats a little messed up to me...I hate watching a spine shot deer lay there until I can get to it or put another arrow in it.... even if it's a few seconds....no thanks......I will always go for lung/heart Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk 2
Lol...it is messed up....What good is a pot left unstirred? I've seen spine shots intentionally taken on TV shows...I hate it.
Is there a thread on here or a website somewhere that best explains blood on arrow and ground after shot?
At my butchers shop there are a bunch of broadheads that were stuck in bone and a couple stuck in skulls. Gotta love morons Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
I've never had a deer run more than 10 yards after i shot him with my 7.62 rifle. I've never shot a deer with a bow though... I've put the rifle away and I am strictly a bow hunter now.
