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RE: Recovery, What to do after the shot.
If other organs are hit though, like Wimp mentioned above, waiting might be the key. |
RE: Recovery, What to do after the shot.
One thing I wanted to mention is something davidmil touched on. When you hit a deer, you do NOT want all your buddies heelping you, I refuse to track with anybody other than my brother, if he' s around. 3 or 4 people on a blood trail is a disaster waiting to happen, you can always go get more people if you lose the trail completely and have to start walking grids. Leave the friends at home, one bloody leaf on the bottom of someone' s boot can lead you in the oposite direction as the deer went. Ideally, one person to stay with the last blood, and the tracker on his hands and knees, if necessary, following the blood.
One other thing I see often, is marginally hit deer go back where they cam from, and chest shot deer barrel in whatever they' re facing. I always thought a deer pouring blood isn' t exactly thinking about an escape plan, just putting distance between you and him, and a slightly wounded deer is very much alarmed, and wants to head back where he came from, where he knows it' s safe. If you' re following a blood trail, and the deer is picking easy trails, and looping around back into the swamp he came out of, it' s probably a marginal hit, and you should give him plenty of time, no matter how good the shot looked. A deer hit through the lungs or heart does not head towards water, or thickets, other than by chance, he runs and dies in a few seconds |
RE: Recovery, What to do after the shot.
Like I said..... I' m one of those can' t wait for hours kind of guy. I get after them and go.... but I consider myself better than some at tracking. Getting after them has lead to a lot of short trails.... it' s also busted some deer from a bed. A deer is always way ahead of you. You may only track 150 yards and jump him... but usually the deer has been there at least 30 minutes to an hour. That gives him time to calm down and the blood time to clot. If you do jump him at this point there isn' t going to be much blood. If you stop at that point he won' t go much further before stopping and bedding.... but the blood trail is often going to be sparse at best. Be ready for it and you now have a tougher track to follow. If you' re not up to it you might be better off not following in the first place for a few hours. You have to be honest with yourself.... Can I do it or do I need to get lucky to have a chance? I think the idea of keeping the blood flowing has SOME merit.... but it depends a lot on the hit. With a lot of hits it doesn' t matter. Blood make up and a few minutes of quiet time can really clot up a serious wound. Think about the deer you' ve dressed. Even with the most lethal of hits we find football size blood clots just under the skin. They look like a liver almost. A deer has tremedous clotting and healing powers. Have I always been right in my calm down, climb down, gather my gear and follow attitude..... NOPE. A couple times it came back to bite me.... but that' s not all bad after 33 years of bowhunting and 74 dead deer. No matter how many you kill.... if you loose one it can really be disheartening.
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RE: Recovery, What to do after the shot.
Great advice, I wish I read it last year. I learned this very lesson, the hard way.
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RE: Recovery, What to do after the shot.
Lots of good advice in this thread. I intend to video every hunt I can this year and refer the the video after the hit to see exactly where the hit was. Not taping for that purpose, it' s just a nice benefit:D
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RE: Recovery, What to do after the shot.
That' s a good idea brucelit. One of my biggest wishes would be that the people making all those hunting videos would show more of the where the deer was hit (I swear that the hide that), and show us the actual trailing of the game. There is so much to learn in that area that many hunters need to learn. But, then again, it may reveil other things about that hunts that they don' t want us to see.
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RE: Recovery, What to do after the shot.
http://www.geocities.com/az1f/1.html?989889391530
Here' s a way to find those deer. Email the guy and ask any questions, he' s real nice and helpful. Well, I guess nice and helpful are an understatement. He tracks your deer for free! |
RE: Recovery, What to do after the shot.
Weasel, You couldn' t be more right however I feel dogs should be used as a last resort. That way the tracking experience grows with each one. When all else fails, bring in the dogs. I honestly feel it should be legal in every state. I know NY allows dogs on a leash and they are pushing for it in PA as well. I' m hoping it passes, again on a leash and someone could make a little extra cash helping out hunters...
There was a member here by the username, Kevin....out of Texas who has tracking dogs, Long Haired Dachsunds to be more specific.... his male has made recovery on trails lost 8 hours prior....talk about good ethics, finding down lost game. |
RE: Recovery, What to do after the shot.
I think it would be great if every state allowed them too. A dogs nose is something else. A few years ago(25-30:eek:) I hit a buck in the shoulder with one of those old time stick things. I really knew the outcome before I started looking but went ahead with the drill. I looked until about 10PM only covering about 150 yards. The next day, probably 16 hours after the shot, a friend with his black lab and I walked in to look. I was going to the last blood. The dog hit the trail before we got there near the stand and followed it like a magnet. At least 1 mile later we jumped the buck after it had fed around and around in 2 fields all night and bedded just inside the woods. He took off like a busted covey of quail and bounded across a field as if nothing happened. We left at that point figuring no harm done. We had found the arrow a couple hundred yards from the shot with very little blood.
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RE: Recovery, What to do after the shot.
Kevins' dog has found a deer 24 hours after the shot.His dogs are something else.I am trying to train a lab to keep around the camp just in case.I have seen untrained labs go right to a downed deer.Labs are a little harder to handle on a leash.
CB |
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RE: Recovery, What to do after the shot.
where i hunt i got to get down and track in 10 20 min.
to many coyotes. i will stalk up to them then wait half hour or so |
RE: Recovery, What to do after the shot.
Kevin I have a cocker/border collie mix that every time I take her for a walk and cross where a deer has crossed she goes nuts trying to follow the scent, how high of a possibility would it be that this dog is a natural?
My other 2 dogs could care less, she would run me into the ground staying on deers trail if I let her. |
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RE: Recovery, What to do after the shot.
Kevin,
Welcome back old friend.....I love your dogs man....I' m really hoping to push for his in PA....as far as ethics go...this is fantastic.. Stop in more often, I miss the pics.... and we might have more to talk about....I might be in the market....if laws allow. |
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RE: Recovery, What to do after the shot.
Thanks for the link Kevin, I stopped by, joined and signed the guest book....let' s hope...it sounds like a great opportunity to find many unrecovered animals.
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RE: Recovery, What to do after the shot.
so rob watt ur saying is it doesnt really matter where you hit the deer its going to die no matter watt? and you should just wait dont sometimes they bed down and it stops bleeding and they go on again becuz ive had ppl tell me that
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RE: Recovery, What to do after the shot.
so rob watt ur saying is it doesnt really matter where you hit the deer its going to die no matter watt? and you should just wait dont sometimes they bed down and it stops bleeding and they go on again becuz ive had ppl tell me that |
RE: Recovery, What to do after the shot.
sorry about that rob miss read a little bit thanx for clearin that up
good luck hunting |
RE: Recovery, What to do after the shot.
Great post! I was learned 1 hour wait...but the min.2 hour wait is a much better. also I' d like to share a hunt where my partner shoot a doe , somehow in the ankle. this was with a rifle. 3 of us tracked all day. we kept catching up to her but had a hard time to get a shot off. it got dark we left. Next morning we found right away where we stopped lookig..she had bedded for the night. she kept going to a steam to cool the wound, while in pursuit. with in a coupple hours we caught up with her on this second day of tracking. we spotted her walking up in a steam. we cut around quickly upsteam
and finished the harvest. We did not want to lose this animal. it would not be fair to let the deer suffer. Our idea was to tire-out the deer by pushing it and hoping for a second shot. We knew that the deer would not bleed out and expire with this ankle shot. The hard tracking in a dusting of snow was worth it and rewarding. It turned out to be a great " HUNT" for all three of us. |
RE: Recovery, What to do after the shot.
Great posts guys.I' ve taken a lot of deer over the years,but I have to admit,I remember the great tracking jobs to find the smallest does that tend to bring me the most pride.How mant times have you tracked that small doe and found the deer' s secret trails?My advice,never give up!!!
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RE: Recovery, What to do after the shot.
Once while bow hunting a deer ran right under me bleeding from the top. I got down and met the hunters tracking it. 4 hours latter I was leaving and met them again in the parking lot, They lost the trail. 2 months latter I shoot a doe during shotgun season(special permit) low and behold when butchering there was the arrow and broadhead in her shoulder and leg all healed over. They can survive bad shots. Glad I got her though she didn' t seemto be affected or hampered by it.
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RE: Recovery, What to do after the shot.
Great posts guys. Its heartbreaking to lose them.
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RE: Recovery, What to do after the shot.
OK, I guess it' s about time I put in my 2 cents worth, I can' t believe this has not been mentioned....
I am writing this as fact, when in fact, I only know it to be true because it has been 100% accurate for me... A mortally wounded deer (heart/lung shot) will run a straight line until it dies, even uphill and thru very rough terrain. Keep some toilet paper and mark the blood every 20 yds or so until you get an idea of the path the deer took. If after 75 yds or so all of the peices of toilet paper line up in a straight line, then continue on that straight path until you find your deer (only if you have lost the blood trail). A deer that is not hit hard (ie-gut shot or flesh wound) will " pick and choose" it' s path, usually the path of least resistance, trails or downhill, etc. If you start blood-trailing a deer and find yourself on deer trails or trailing the deer by the easiest flight path, then you probably have a long trail ahead of you. WAIT! BTW - ILLDS, YES! Lanterns do work better than flashlights but be careful, they get hot and can inflict some killer blisters on your hands and arms. |
RE: Recovery, What to do after the shot.
One thing that I have noticed is that most of the deer that I have shot seem to turn in the direction that you hit it. If you hit in the left side it kind of veers to the left.
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RE: Recovery, What to do after the shot.
Rob,
Excellent advice. The only thing I' d like to add is to wait at least four hours after a liver hit. I' ve had them jump after almost 3. |
RE: Recovery, What to do after the shot.
JRW, I agree with you on that. I actually had a buck live 5 hours after a liver hit. He was alive in a bed. I accidently walked right up to him (he was in heavy cover), and I was able to put a finishing shot into him. he wasn' t going anywhere I don' t think from that bed, but the point was he was still alive with his head up.
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RE: Recovery, What to do after the shot.
JRW, BobCo19-65...
Great advice guys....my times frames are a minimum...when in doubt wait longer because a dead animal can' t go anywhere, a live one can....great points guys. |
RE: Recovery, What to do after the shot.
Now I' m really getting a little antsy especially after reading this thread. Trailing to me is one of my favorite things about bow hunting. Don' t matter if it is my deer or my partners. Ahh, I still have 19 more days till the opener. As my wife tells our son, I guess I just " sit on my hands" for a while and wait.
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RE: Recovery, What to do after the shot.
Some very good advice indeed, the only thing that I could think of adding is always, always, always follow up your shot even if you think you missed and can' t seem to find the arrow that you think is lost in the leaves. Follow the direction the deer went for 50-100 yards and look for the faintest spot of blood until you can be sure it was a miss.
Case in point, I had a novice bowhunting buddy hunting with me a few seasons back and he took a shot at a doe at a marginal distance and thought he missed. When I approached him, he was looking for his arrow, and was pretty sure he missed and not excited at all. So I suggested we follow the trail for a ways and see if he did indeed missed. Low-and-behold after about 30 yards of trailing we found small specks of blood. To make a long story short, we found the doe dead within 75 yards, and she had a marginal hit. The key was I told him to stay in his stand till I came and got him at 10:00 (he shot the deer at 8:30), and that we still thoroughly investigated his shot. |
RE: Recovery, What to do after the shot.
A great post as expected - thanks Rob!
I wanted to make another point - and its been mentioned by others a couple times........ Not all deer that look to be mortally wounded will expire. - In fact some pretty good research has been done that indicates that more than 1/2 of all deer " lost" in traling will survive. Some of these studies were done on Army Bases where strict in/out - Surveys were able to be conducted with no bias. As an example - I shot an 8 point several years back that had a broadhead firmly lodged in the pelvis, from the year berfore. His rack was a little lopsided as a result - but there was NO WAY to tell this deer had suffered such a wounding at the time I killed him - he showed no ill effects - yet the damage to the pelvis was extensive - and Healed over. One other time a freind took a doe that had a Perfect " X" of a 4 blade broadhead - scar, under the front leg throught the brisket. The wound was perfectly healed and I doubt that deer ever slowed one bit. My point is ---- Don' t give up - But if you cannot get another reasonable shot into the wounded deer - understand that it IS POSSIBLE that the deer is not mortally wounded, regardless of how the shot seemed. |
RE: Recovery, What to do after the shot.
if an animal is hit good i' ll give em 20 min if not hit well at least 2 hours depending on the amount of blood. Bright blood is a good sign usually that means lungs. look for blood on trees and branches not just the ground this will give you an idea on how high up the animal is hit. always have 2 people or else flagging tape when recovering game in order to mark blood spots. mark each blood spot u come to or have someone stand there so that if you lose the trail momentarily u can just go back to your last flag or hunting partner and look for the blood trail again where you last saw blood. another good idea is hydrogen peroxide in a spray bottle if u can' t tell if a spot is blood or not mist some hydrogen peroxide on it and it will bubble or fizz if its blood.
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RE: Recovery, What to do after the shot.
Bright blood is a good sign usually that means lungs Lung hit will usually be a bit pinker however, and should contain some bubbles. |
RE: Recovery, What to do after the shot.
I Follow thru with my shot, no peaking, watch to see how the deer reacts, watch the deer run and mark the last spot I saw it and its direction. I usually wait a good 30 minutes regardless, before getting out of my stand. I then pack up my stand, gear, etc. I then head to the last spot I saw the deer, making sure to follow where it went from the spot of the shot. Try to locate my arrow or verify blood.
If the blood is thick and easy to tract, I track. If the blood is nothing more than slight drips, I' ll sit and wait another 30 minutes. This works for me. I have only lost one deer and it was due to a poor shot and it was right at dusk so the trail was tough from the start and the next day turned up nothing. |
RE: Recovery, What to do after the shot.
After reading through all 3+ pages of this topic, I find my question unanswered.
I put a good shot on an 8 point last Friday night. Quartering away, 18 yards, uphill from my tree so the shot was only slightly angled down. It was a good shot so I sat down to wait. An hour later I could not find my arrow with the binos, so I got down and looked at where the shot was. No arrow, but I could see it about 30 yards down where he had run. I looked at it..lots of dark blood. I think liver, so I back out to wait some more. Then it starts to rain. A little at first then harder. I got on the trail as fast as I could and worked it only about 80 yards before it was totally washed out. By then, It was totally dark and pouring rain. We came back the next morning and found nothing. I went back out on Sunday and walked a grid by myself. I found no sign of anything. What a terrible feeling. So here is my thought. Nobody has addressed the weather. In 3+ pages, I think it was mentioned once. Am I the only one that has had to track a deer in the rain? What else should I have done? I really do not want this to happen again. Brian |
RE: Recovery, What to do after the shot.
ostdc, I agree weather can really be a tough thing to work with. And you are correct, it would make sense that you had a liver hit since you found dark blood and it was a quartering away shot. It makes sense to me. Did you find any beds within the 80 yards that were able to track? That is right around where the deer should have bedded down. Usually with a liver hit, if the deer is not dead in the first bed, he will bed down within another 20 yards or so.
What I do in situations dealing with the rain or snow, is to still give the deer enough time to expire, unless the hit requires me to get on him right away. So, In your case, I would have done the same thing. Do yourself a favor and get the book Finding Wounded Deer by John Trout. In the book he does address the issue, and he is an complete expert in the field. You will feel better about your trailing skills after you read the book. I can justify that myself. |
RE: Recovery, What to do after the shot.
Saddly for me I lost a deer last year,it had snowed the evening after I had left the woods,I was coming back the next morning.I also looked the next evening after work.I finally found this deer this past spring mushroom hunting.It is a heart sinking feeling.I have to admit though I had noticed hawks and gulls circling that area days after but didn' t figure to check the area.Great topic ,I think we can all learn from this discussion,or at least be mindfull of our shot placement,and wait time.Thanks Rob.Bill D>
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