After the shot to find first blood mark hit from nearest tree or other landmark. When you get down from a tree it looks different from the ground. Also, while tracking, stay as quite as possible. No talking. If you must bring a young person, make them stay behind you and to the side while being quite.
Rob, that pup you're training may come in very handy. Last year, my German shepherd got loose and tracked me and my wife as we searched for a deer I shot. I didn't want him there, but he got one whiff of the last blood we could find and tracked the deer I never would've found. He's never had training of any kind, but he had to be restrained or he would've run all the way to the deer. There were large gaps with no blood whatsoever and just tiny specks in many places, but he took me straight to the deer. The deer would have never been recovered without his help.
He'll be on my list of "help aids" from this point on!
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Today' s small bucks are tomorrow' s trophies.
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DaveH, very true brother. Axel, my Wire Haired Dachshund is there when all else fails, once it's legal in PA...not this year however but the bill has passed the House and is waiting in the Senate. Fingers crossed.
I know in MD it's legal, in fact, the breeder I picked my dog up from does deer recovery in MD. Once legal in PA, we can be found on United Blood Trackers.org...it's the right thing to do.
Why wouldn't that be legal? If you loose a deer just take your dog for a walk, there is no law aganist that. If he happens up on a downed deer thats just coincidence. Hope that passes so you don't have to worry about it though.
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Arrows and Words. Use them wisely, once released they can't be brought back.
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All good posts here guys, but something that comes to my mind in the waiting game is "what about the meat?" Are you guys comfortable with the meat after it sits for 6 to 12 hours after the shot? Would you be ok with eating it? sorry, I'm not trying to rain on the post, but to me, it's a real important thing to consider. Venison is our only source of red meat, and I hunt for meat first, so the waiting is gonna be real hard for me.
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"If we don't end war, war will end us!"
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Mastevt, I don't believe any of the meat would be spoiled after only 12 hours unless extreme heat is present as in early season. Once the temperature drops like most of our seasons the meat will be okay. Look at it this way, if you jump the deer you not getting any meat. 12 hour waits are rare unless you have to wait over night and most of those are cooler. Use your best judgement.
I just skimmed most of the responses, but I'll add what I also do. When I hunted in clearcuts in WV, I would always have a few ariel photos printed out that I kept in my truck. After shooting a deer that ran into the clear cut (they all do!), I would back out, go to the truck, wait a bit (its much easier inside the warm truck with the radio and dvd player) and give the deer time to expire. I would leave my backpack in the truck,and substitute it with a clipboard with an ariel photo of the area I hunt, and a magic marker, and compass. I would mark where the stand is, and the direction the shot took place. after every so far of tracking, I would look at the compass, and put a dot on the map of where I was, and how many steps I took between dots. (gps helped greatly for this also). After taking 3 deer out of one stand, I got an EXCELLET idea of where the deer went when spooked that were using the funnel, and it helped to add another stand for the opening day of rifle season. I shot a total of 10 deer from the same stand, and all but two ran on the same exact route and died within 20 yards of each other. The other two were spine shot and dropped on the spot. Before you ask why I did all that work, remember that when your 125 yards closer to the middle of a 200 acre clearcut, its easy to get turned around when dragging out your deer. This is a garunteed way to ensure you'll get out as quickly as possible. Just recount your steps back.
Also, if the shot is early in the morning when the grass is still wet, you can see the trail of where the deer was running, and remember to look up where the wound was for blood, not on the ground in thicker cover.
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Dear, Mr. Trophy Hunter - I just shot the buck you passed up.
Proud member of the Quality Deer Mis-Management Association
Josh, thats a really good idea to keep track of the different paths wounded deer have taken. Could be of great value if you lose the trail of one in future. I may just have to try that one.
Also, I just wanted to let everyone know that there is a really good article on blood trailing in this months Bow and Arrow Magazine. Its a good reference with all types of senerios in it.
RE: Annual Deer Recovery Thread.
