Well it is this time of year again.. When you shoot a deer and it does not bleed, what method do you use to find them. Personally, I have a dog that can find them so fast it always amazes me... but what do you use?

Have you ever used a step stick? Maybe we can all learn something here.

Dave
Good Thread a dog would be great i usually try to watch direction of travel and when tracking if I cross any deer trail I usually check them. I usually try to anchor the animal were it stands. But we all know how that theory works.

. I have a thermal heat sensing gamefinder but it has been sitting in the closet for 6 years. I haven't had to use it. But if there ever comes a time when that would occur I would use it along with the old search in an ever increasing semi circle method.

I have an old labrador retreiver that for some reason will trailwounded deer. The strange thing is, he knows which one is wounded and which one is not.Do not ask me how he knows. Trouble now is, he's so old he can hardly walk anymoreso I think its up to me from now on. He's been able to locate some real monster deer for people over the years,and he found a doe for me that I could not anchor.

This is a trick my Dad taught me when I was a very little kid. He taught me to cut a step or stride stick. Wisconsin is blessed enough that normally the ground is not barren or so dry that its like cement. And what you do is find the track of the wounded deer. Note the direction it heads and follow to the last point of where you saw it. Pay special attention to the tracks it is making.

Where you see a rear leg or front leg, that deer will almost 100% of the time make the same stride, depending on whether it is running, walking, etc.. So after it is out of site, a lot of deer wounded will slow down and start walking. Find a track in the dirt and set your step/stride stick on that track. Now find the same leg, next track and mark the stick to where that stride is. If you set that stick in the track you currently have and swing a short circle, you will normally find his next track. So if there is no blood you can look for tracks.

Tracks might be an impression in mud, stones moved out of their resting place, grass bent, sticks broken, but keep that up when you do not have a direction of travel. It will help you track that deer. If you have time, try it on yourself. Walk through the woods or field and then circle yourself to where you start. Take a stick and mark your stride. You will soon start to pick out details of your direction and travel. It is not a fast way to track a deer but with some practice it can help you find a deer that you might other wise miss.

I tracked a deer for my friend once that had ran off on him and there was not a drop of blood. In fact if it was not for hair where he hit it, I would have said he missed. But I followed that deer and under 100 yards later found it under a dead fall. He had walked past it twice. Working the trail/tracks, the stick actually pointed to the white rear end under that brush pile.

Cayugad, great Ideer! I never heard that before. It seems we track someones deer every year, I have about 12 guys in camp and a lot don't spend the time shooting they should. We find where last shot by looking for hair and hair color, tells us where hit. Rhe try spotting a spot or so, the put out a strip of cloth at the last spot we saw a ytrack, blood, whatever. I always try and spot a turned up leaf patch from a dragging leg, or up around belly hieght look for a smear of blood on weeds. I also use scent as if a deer is gut shot, you can sometimes smell that green stuff leaking out of them. We have tried a couple of those lights that use UV and not had much luck. AND WE ALWAYS make the shooter stay out no matter what the conditions are, some will let others do the work.

When we were young, we hunted with a fellow that we eventually told he had to change his ways or hecould not hunt with us. He would shoot at deer and if it did not drop in its tracks it was a miss. We'd then be out walking, hit a blood trail and find his deer.

Why is it some people tell you they.. shot a deer through the heart but it ran off. I tell them it can't be far then. And when you find that stinking gut shot devil they are just shocked they hit so far back...

Must be shooting a bow or a PB!! When bow hunting, I go out to where i last saw the deer look for hair, and blood, if I find it I follow it. If I don't find the hair or blood at where I shot it, I place my hat on a tree or some toilet paper, then I go out about 25 yards and start sweeping arcs to pick up the blood trail. Usually a well hit deer will drop some blood by 25 yards, if I don't find that I look at about 50 yards out. A lot of high hits that don't go thru don't bleed out because there is only 1 hole and it takes the lungs to fill up before it would come out the side, however if it is lung shot (usually is) they are bleeding out of the mouth by then. Best thing is to shoot excellent bullets and do either high shoulder shots, or lower shots behind the front shoulder, bottom 1/2 of deer.

I don't even know what a stop stick is. So yes, I would like to know. Thanks Chap

or an SST

I never had a hard tracking job, theres usually 2 of us together and one stays put and helps lead the other if it was a far shot. My deer dont run far, if at all but the stick trick does seem like it would do excellent and i practiced some weeks ago with it on some deer tracks i had found on our property. The tracks had done into thick carpet of pine needles and leaves and i grabbed a 3 foot long stick put it directly on the visible track and searched a bit and you could spot the slight print and some over turned soil. Its an excellent way to track an animal i believe.

I've never had to track a deer with a ML- they all have done gone and yielded to the force of gravity right away upon being shot. With a bow- completely different story. I generally watch the deer as long as I can as it is running and remember the last landmark I can see.

I'll then walk to that last landmark (tree, hill, etc.) and start looking for blood. If I can't find blood, I'll start making semi-circles in the direction the deer was last headed. Once I get out a few dozen yards, I'll start making complete circles, looking for blood, hair or tracks. It works most of the time, but not all the time- I've lost a couple while bow hunting, not very fun.

This was over on the Savage forum, Barnes vs SW:

http://dougva.proboards34.com/index.cgi?board=Savage&action=display&thre ad=10499

Chap