Hit One, Tracking, NEED INPUT
 

Estimated 19" inside spread, 10 point with at least one drop tine
28 yd. shot, broadside, treestand aprox 16ft. high.
Arrow entered on right side, about 4" back from shoulder and 2" higher than center. DID NOT get full penetration but 29" arrow was burried to the flechtching.

Buck ran for about 40 yards then slowed to a walk, he went over the hill and I lost sight (80 yards total).
I gave him an hour and a half, started tracking, good bright red blood with bubbles (lung). Got over the hill and he started stumbling, some very thick bright red globs, but starting to see some darker blood. Jumped a deer but couldn't see it, blood trail followed that deer. Gave it an additional two hours, picked up the trail again, we are now about 300 yards from where he was shot. Still good blood, not little drops but "splashes" every few feet, less lung blood. Traveled another 100 yards on a side hill, he then made a sharp right turn down hill and quickly looped back up hill. his path makes a "P" (turn the P on its side so the loopy part points down) I lost the trail where the loop met back to the original, too dark but the blood was still fairly easy to follow. I'm afraid he went back on his own trail and then vered off somewhere. Besides saying "good luck and keep looking" Does anyone have any advise? Fairly open woods in this area with a few deadfalls, a small brushy pond at the bottom of the hill, a larger more open pond over the top of the hill about 3/4 mile away. Anyone ever use a dog to follow blood? I will get out there about 1:30 today at the earliest.

RE: Hit One, Tracking, NEED INPUT
 

I'm thinking one lung (back of), and liver. If it is a tuff buck he may keep going up to 6 hours (he will more then likely die of the liver). If I am correct, in the hit, you will have a dead dear. Try to bring a buddy an start over, stay alert to his back tracking.

RE: Hit One, Tracking, NEED INPUT
 

I feel for you Handles as I lost my first deer this year after a long track. I posted this info recently, and it was passed onto me from my uncle who reads books on the Benoits of Maine.

The "P" you describe is similar to the "J" the Benoits say a deer will do when looking to see what is tracking it. The deer probably saw you as you started into the "P". That being said, I was told that I should have placed a highly visible object at the point I last saw blood (an orange hat maybe?), then start doing ever increasing rings (I did back and forth search patterns) around that point in 10-20 yard increments. Live and learn.

I do (and did) know that deer tend to walk downhill when mortally wounded, and that they'll often prefer to lay down in a creek bed. Apparently, massive blood loss creates intense thirst and its instinct to go there. They will go for cover like hemlocks or rhodys too.

That's all I can comment on. I'm definately no tracking expert, but these things were told to me by much more experienced tracker/hunters.

Good luck and keep us posted.

Fritz

RE: Hit One, Tracking, NEED INPUT
 

Dogs work very well here. Usually a lab or hunting dog. Other thing to do is try to follow blood if you can. If you cant since the woods are open you can recruit your buddies and grid the area Sounds like a fatal shot but you never know. Good Luck

RE: Hit One, Tracking, NEED INPUT
 

If you can get a few buddies to help, it would definetly make for a better track. Just start over from the point of impact, and follow the blood trail as closesly as possible. Try to look where he might have been back-tracking and veered off. If you can't find anything and the P is the last spot you can track, then start making some loops and check both pond location's. A hit deer will travel to water immediately.

Make sure and stay on the blood trail as much as possible without veering off and guessing the direction. But if you can't pick up the track from the P where he hit his own path, then you will have to make the circle grid to make an attempt to find him. If you have a good tracking dog, that would also help in the search...but if your dog is one that just run's deer then it probaly won't be worth bringing him into the area.

Please keep us updated on the track and how everything turn's out. A photo with you and the buck would be a good conclusion to this post. ;)

RE: Hit One, Tracking, NEED INPUT
 

My advise is to call in sick and go claim your buck. By the route you are describing it sounds like you were pushing the deer. It's no uncommon for a deer to try and "loop" on you if you are close behind.

Did he actually complete the "p"? If so the best be is to clearly mark the blood trail you followed him in on and then look for where he veered off again. By the description of the hit, the blood trail and the distance covered I believe you only got 1 lung. The deer can go quite aways but it's uncommon for it to survive that type of hit although it dose on occasion happen.

From where he meet back up with the original trail I'd keep a keen eye toward him breaking down hill or toward water. The more of these stories you read that have a conclusion as well as from personal experience leeds me to this conclusion. I'm quite confident if you get out there asap now that you'll locate him.

I know you don't want to hear it but Good Luck:)

RE: Hit One, Tracking, NEED INPUT
 

Keep on the bloodtrail just as long as you can. That deer is probably dead from what you describe, but he may have been thinking well enough to attempt to throw you off by backtracking. Decypher that, and get on the trail.

Don't worry if the blood dries up. That's about 30-50 yds from where you find a lot of them.

When he made that P shape, he may have been trying to find a vantage point above his trail, to bed down and watch what was trailing him. He may be dead in that bed. Look for a good vantage point or some thicker cover, blowdown, whatever, above that trail and he may be in it. You mentioned a pond. If all else fails, I would make a bunch of swings through the area between the end of the trail and the pond. He may have been making his way to water. Look in the water too. We reovered one that got in the water and died, all we saw was an ear until we got right to it.

Keep at it. Seriously, sometimes it just takes a while. If all else fails, do the grid thing.

RE: Hit One, Tracking, NEED INPUT
 

Thanks for the quick replies, Uncle Norby you might be on to something. At last light I noticed a blowdown and some thick veggitation about 60 yards uphill from where the two trails met. I didn't want to go stumble around in the dark, so I will check out that area.

RE: Hit One, Tracking, NEED INPUT
 

Hang in there Handles. Persistence is going to be the key in finding your deer! I agree get some freinds to help look! That buck is most likely down. Look around the thickest places you can find and alone any water sources. And when you think you have looked far enuff go a little further!

RE: Hit One, Tracking, NEED INPUT
 

I know you will, but let us know what happens. If he is big as you think it will be hard to stop looking. Keep trying