Hey, if it helps just one person, thats great. Have a good season.

Shane

Bringa hunting buddythat has the same tracking style as you.Some guys goWAY TOO FAST for me, I take my time and find thebits of blood or hair that are hard to find on a tough track.I have tracked w/people whoskip ahead 100 yards to try to find the deerfaster, and only ended up spooking the deer out of its bed and losing the trail after that.

I also bring some water to drink, clean the deer if necessary & wash up.

Toilet paper to mark the trail with. cheaper than the orange tape and is still easy to see if it isn't raining out.It decomposes pretty quick too.Plus if nature calls, you'll be gladyou had some!!
Head light at night is a great tool to have!

a compass is very important. it's way too easy to be staring down at a blood trail and not notice which direction your heading.

Just a FYI tx: If you take a doe this year, track her down yourself and mark the trail. Go back home and get your dog and let her track. My buddy does it with his dog and she greatly improved her tracking. Within about atwo years the dog could track gut shot deer. Im sure you already thought of it, but just tryin to help out.

I strongly agree with the water and compass.

while i do agree with everything that is listed on here. if one person took all this stuff hunting with them an previous threads about what people take with them when they go huntin, blows my mind to think about carrying all this stuff with me for an evenings bow hunt

This is what I posted yesterday for my "after the shot" bag.

In the bag I am placing:
-Flashlights (a Surefire G2, a Mag light, and a head lamp)
-Gerber EZ saw
-2 knifes
-A deer drag
-laytex gloves
-A cloth towel
-A garbage bag
-Marker flags and surveying tape
-On hot days I will use the HS game keeper spray
-water

I am thinking about trying the HS Butt- out. Is there anything I am missing for my pack?

I keep a Coleman lantern in the hunting vehical. Nothing better than it except the sun for following a blood trail.

The #1 thing I would say you must have though is PATIENCE!

The way I see most tracking jobs botched is by not waiting long enough to start... not analyzing what has/is happening.... and rushing down the trail just looking for large pools of blood.... sometimes its just a drop... you have to take your TIME!

The other key thing if you are tracking with two or more people is good communication... you cannot have one person rushing ahead... and another behind acctually tracking. You will step all over each other's feet... and it will be very frustraiting. This goes double when tracking game that is likely not very well hit, and triple when using a firearm. If you don't have everyone where they are supposed to be... its an accident waiting to happen.

this is a pet peeve of mine , if you use something to mark your trail with be kind enough to remove it when your done , bugs me when i see it just left in the woods

I take those pieces of survey tape (non-biodegradable)with me when I see them in the woods. As far as I'm concerned, that's littering.[:'(] Not to mention, you're showing everybody where you hunt because you can't get there without a marked trail.