M. Hensler mentioned marking the trail. I too do this anytime a deer doesn't fall within sight... although I do it with a spare roll of toilet paper I carry in my pack with me. The toilet paper makes a great visual reference to look back on, as you stick it on limbs and such, and -- if you happen to have to trail one very far, you don't have to go back and recover all your flagging like you would have had to had it been with cloth or plastic flagging. The next time it rains, it will all disentegrate.
Obviously, you have to take into consideration how pressured your hunting area is by other hunters; if hunting public land wherea lot of others hunt as well, you surely don't want to give away your honey hole by leaving even toilet paper which may mark your spot for a day or so...
M. Hensler mentioned marking the trail. I too do this anytime a deer doesn't fall within sight... although I do it with a spare roll of toilet paper I carry in my pack with me. The toilet paper makes a great visual reference to look back on, as you stick it on limbs and such, and -- if you happen to have to trail one very far, you don't have to go back and recover all your flagging like you would have had to had it been with cloth or plastic flagging. The next time it rains, it will all disentegrate.
Obviously, you have to take into consideration how pressured your hunting area is by other hunters; if hunting public land wherea lot of others hunt as well, you surely don't want to give away your honey hole by leaving even toilet paper which may mark your spot for a day or so...
Good idea...never thought of that reasoning. I actually used toilet paper last year when tracking a doe...we had a rain that night and the following day it couldn't be found.
Deer can lose a seemingly amazing amount of bllod before they die.
Great post rybo...and your right about the blood. Recently I've been training a blood tracking dog, a Wire Haired Dachshund....the bill is in the Senate now to allow this in PA. The bill passed the House and we're hoping it'll be law this year, allowing for tracking next year...anyhow,
Training this pup I use 10 ounces of deer blood over 300-500 yards and it's acutally amazing how much blood this looks like on the ground and it's only 10 ounces.
This thread is extremely important......especailly for new or fairly new bowhunters. I can't stress the importance enough of waiting before tracking. Don't take the chance of loosing your trophy by pushing it(jumping it) before it has expired. If you push it once.....your job just got 1000 times harded........normally when one is pushed, there is basically no blood trail. Often you are going to have to prepare for awfully big search for a half a mile in most all directions. Thats really hard!
Let them expire where they first lay down and their always pretty darn easy to find. Let them expire!
Well written article Rob i know i will use it as a reference at one point or another. Any bowhunter, expert or beginner should read this if they have not already. You obviously know exactly what you are talking about through what sounds like years of experience. You always give good advice through your posts or threads, and this is no exception. I hope you and everyone else the best of luck when it comes to tracking your deer this season......and remember to follow the advice of Rob. I will probably take this at place it in my bow case on the inside, so that before i ever take my bow out of the case i will have a reminder. Thanks for the tips and happy hunting to all.
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Rob
- Good post, particularly the emphasis on the waiting times.Here are some other thoughts:
- It is important to get tracking experience. Books, articles, and threads are great guidance, but intimate knowledge of arrowed-deer behavioris learned the hard way. To get that kind of experience, you have to make getting it a priority. You will learn to associate certain general behaviorswith thenature ofthe hit, so it is very important to gather evidence - look at the arrow (and smell it), the hair (long and white?), and how the deer reacted(e.g.if someone tells me that the deer ran off thirty yards, humped up and then walked off, then I automatically know we will wait 6 to 8 hours before taking up the track).Track for your friends & fellow deer hunters in public lands, and develop a reputation of helping others out. I am a volunteer tracker on a military base, and I can get a decade's worthof experience in a season.
- One advantage of experience is you will likely make better decisions, e.g. knowing when to continue tracking, and when to throw in the towel (always a tough decision). Too many (imho) are inclined to give it up too soon (if I never hear (the mythical) "void beneath the spine" again, I will thank my lucky stars!). Experience will also teach you when to back off & wait some more, and when to press on.
- Always use TP to mark a "difficult"trail. TP makes it easy to see "trends",such aswhena deer is starting to wander alongit's track and is looking to bed. Several deer I have tracked have circled or even backtracked on their trail (it's not too common) - every marked spot of blood (within reason) will help sort that stuff out. Marking last blood only can lead to problems in decipheringa complextrack. I was called one night by a friend, after some guys gave up on thetrail that just dried up. They had found bloodsome distance away, and followed it backwards towards the shotwithout marking blood, and without realizing their mistake... It took a while, and we eventually recovered the buck - it wasmy friend'sfirst bow kill).As pointed out in the above posts, pick up your TP as is your want.
- All things being equal, I'd rather track at night after an appropriatewait, than wait longer tothe morning to pick up the trail - I have started some searches at 2am. (One disadvantageto tracking at night in MD is that you cannot carry your bow withyou).In Sept and Oct, ants and daddy longleg spiders will gather on blood specks, makingiteasier to spot blood at night. I use a 250000 candle power spotlight with abelt-mounted battery,and carry two spare batteries in my backpack. I can't tell you how many guyshave only a two AA cell flashlight to track with. Consequently, I carry some spare 3 and 4 D cellflashlightsin my truck so these guys can be useful.
- Carry some peroxide or other agent for distinguishing blood from non-blood in the woods. (Icarry blueblood, a product sold by a bowhunting forensic chemist in Florida; blueblood spraywillreact withbloodand turn it blue; good stuff forwhenyou need it).
- Avoid the thundering herd mentality. Ideally, I like be one of a team of three trackers. One guy needs to be in charge. Inexperienced guys are more likely to charge ahead, disturb sign (we all have to start somewhere...), and must be controlled by the leader. It can getcrowded with more than three trackers. However, ifyou are no longer looking for blood, and have switched to a grid search looking for the deer, then the more searchers, the merrier. One of my arbitrary goals for a grid search (undertaken when the blood trailhas stopped)is to assure myself that there is not a dead deer within 400 yds of"last blood". (I can remember three searches where guys (one was me in my early days)passed within 20yds of a dead deeron a grid search without spotting the deer - buzzards will find them if you can't). I will always try to backtrack a grid-search-found deer (there have been several over the years) to see what clues may have beenmissed.
-fsh
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The gods do not subtract from the span of a bowhunter's life the hours spent in a treestand...
I like to mark each spot of blood to get good trail, then it is easier to guess where the deer is heading.
Carry a small squirt bottle of hydrogen peroxide with you....spray it on possible specks of blood.....it will bubble if it is, if it doesn't keep looking.
If tracking at night, use a spot light to search the woods infront of you. White bellies and eyes will stand out.
Take a break....sometimes if you are looking at a trail for too long, your eyes blur, you mind wanders, and you lose your edge. Take a few minutes to relax, think, and get back into the mode. Maybe even have a quick snack. This will keep more focused and sharper in the long run.
Finally, when you think you have done all you can do and are positive that the deer isn't dead.....look one more time. You will either solidify your conclusions.....or find that one more speck of blood that leads you to your animal. Don't leave any doubt in your mind....if there is even the slightest question in your mind....seek the answer...and don't go home until it is answered.
RE: Annual Deer Recovery Thread.
Plus I usually remember to collect it.
