A few years ago I made a major investment in a flashlight. I bought one of the "Streamlight" rechargeable things that lineman and firemen use. It holds it's charge a LONG time when not being used. Depending on which model you got they lasted something like 8 or 10 hours. You can get them in a flood or spot. I choose the flood for tracking. I put it in my vehicle before the season and don't take it out again until the season is over except for charging. It also comes with a car charging attachment. It was something like $115 but I haven't had to replace flashlights or buy bulbs or batteries for a long time except for the two small lights I keep in my pack at all times. One of those is a super "Streamlight" also with a white and an amber LED.

In tracking... patience and persistance is the answer. It's far better to stand in one spot for 5 minutes looking for the next drop of blood or footprint than it is to get impatient and venturing off in to grid searches. They're a last resort. Arrows "GENERALLY" tell us what we got... but NOT always. An arrow passing through intestines LAST may have nothing but intestinal goo on it. BUT, it may very well have done the deed before it got there. The smallest drops of blood may lead to your deer. They're NOT all gushers. Slam bamm heart shots are deadly as all get out... but if the heart stops pumping you aren't goint to get a lot of blood. I've had 3 deer that didn't leave more than a tablespoon of blood on the ground... but they were quite dead in a short time.

I'm not about to flame anyone for an errant shot or a lost deer. If you hunt long enough it'll happen to everyone. If you miss, you could just as easily have hit the guts. You're not better... just luckier. If you haven't missed... you haven't hunted long or taken many shots. Your day will come.

I'm not expert on this.... BUT... I would think a gut shot deer would spoil more slowly than a lung shot deer. With a couple holes in the intestinal wall there's room for the gases that form bloating the deer. I'm sure there's more to it than that... but it seems reasonable.



Edited by - shortdraw on 10/02/2002 13:02:34