I really don't like the wounded deer threads, I am all for helping others to find thier deer, but I really don't feel we can tell them anything that isn't already said in the tracking thread. It gets harder and harder to read when details are left out or just plain old the person screwed upp and they should have known better. On a shot that is just really bad luck, its more understandable. I know not everyone cacn know everything when they go out into the woods, but in this day and age an effort can easily be made to gather as much info as they can before heading out. If they are here to post their misfortune, they were here to read the tracking thread, but its long, and takes time. SO instead we are all subjected to listening to the numbers stack up of unfound deer, cause they look for a magic hint on a computer screen when they should be out there still beating the brush, and trying to apply what they've read in the tracking thread to the current scenerio.

As much as I hate to tip toe around anti's, sometimes it is called for in our screwed up society. These threads don't help.

Don't get me wrong guys. I am not saying that the book wouldn't help out some of these guys. And I would rocomend it if you can.

But for many (such as myself) I would have to track down a book and buy it, when now I already have internet access and plenty of friends here that would be willing to help in a heartbeat.

I will however totally disagree with that statement...basically from my own experience.

I grew up with my mother, 1800 miles away from my father. I didn't really know anybody who hunted while growing up. When my father moved back to the area was when I had my first intro to hunting. It didn't really interest me until a few years later. So being a new hunter did mean being new to the woods. I have learned a lot, messed up a lot in the process. If I would have had a place like this message board way back then, I could have saved myself a lot of trouble.

Hey Muley, thanks for the name of the book...I might try to find a copy for future use.

But please don't shy away from the boards on the account of somebody asking for help tracking a wounded deer. A lot of us know that sometimes a little attention to detail would help these guys out when they made the shot. A lot of us also know that hunting is not 100%. Lets try to help these guys this year, and then next year we will have another few thousand members and the same questions will come up and we will just have to do what we can to help.

Ilbow man, What I meant by that statement is ,ahh nevermind.

No need, here ya go!!!

http://www.sportsreading.com/Finding...970749309.html

good post atlas

I ain't wonded none. Hell, I ain't even seen one yet.

I had no idea this thread would be so contentious. I have read and re-read every post on this thread and it seems we are all a little divided. I'm sure every hunter on this board wnat's to help our fellow hunters, that goes without saying. It really gets frustrating, however, to hear the countless stories of wounded deer. My take is this: everyone should be prepared to kill an animal when the walk in the woods. How many of you read all the magazine articles about lures, scents, rattling, the rut etc? How many of you watch hunting videos and practice calling? Now, how many of you study up on finding wounding deer? You see the comparison? Why should such a critical componant of hunting recieve so little attention until in many cases, it's too late? The fact is, almost nobody even reads about finding wounded animals and tracking.
Before for firing at an animal you should be in position to sucessfully track down and recover that animal. You should gather friends and family to help in that recovery, you should have a recovery book of some sort available to you. When all methods have been exhuasted, then perhaps, you might come on to look for advice in this forum. Any information you recieve is not always better then no information. Bad information is worse, and can lead you down the wrong path. Everyone who hunts with a bow, should own literature on how to recover a wounded animal, period.
I don't want to pretend that I am above mistakes, I am not, and niether is anyone on this board. Yes, wounding in an unfortunate part of hunting, but we need to make this a rare occassion, not a common place event. Every opportunity I get, I go and track wounded animals for friends and family, and usually, the recover is rather quick, but I NEVER assume I don't need the practice.

I think the root of the problem is the transition from hunting with a gun to bowhunting. When I used a rifle, all but one deer I have killed I shot in the neck. When you hit them there they just dump where they stood. Who ever needed to learn about tracking? Even a well placed shot in the shoulder usually results in a very short run and easy tracking. My rifle made a small hole going in and a softball crater on the exit side so a blood trail was something that took little effort to follow. Now here comes the new bowhunter and he shoots in the back yard and does all he can to get ready only to make a marginal shot and then finds that following drips of blood is much harder than following buckets of blood.

There are 71,391 registered members here. Let me spell that out. Seventy One Thousand Three Hundred Ninety One Registered Members. Assuming most are hunters don't you think there are gonna be deer there are hit and are not easily found? I have one or two deer each year that I have difficulty finding. I'm severely color blind and have a very difficult time recognizing the blood on the ground. Luckily I haven't had any deer get away yet that I've hit. Each person will have his or her problems.
I commend any person who gets on here to ask for help. No book...that's NO BOOK will tell you how to deal with every situation that can present itself when hitting a deer and having to track it. Every persons hunt, shot, kill is going to be diff't than any other. Look at the success ratio here of deer found after asking for some help. I have no idea what the success ratio is but I would bet its a whole hell of alot better than if noone asked questions. There would be more deer not found and left for other animals to devour. It would be a good idea for people who need to learn about tracking to get the book, but that should not keep anyone from asking for help.
And how does this fuel the fire for the Anti's? Do they go out and protest, riot, and campaign that there are hunters out there that shoot deer and ask for help on finding it. Is that really so wrong?
I'm sure there are a few people who have lost deer because they didn't want to ask for help because of the arse ripping that goes on in this forum.
I'd say rather than deleting every new topic put up that says I shot and need help...I'd delete every response that says I can't believe you did this..didn't do that...don't know this...etc.

I think the people here who need help know who they can talk to and who they shouldn't bother asking help for. If you have to go to email rather than posting here do it. Don't just give up..ask someone for help...but obviously not most that have responded here.

'Nuff Said

I'll put my money on the guy that read the book and did his research BEFORE going hunting any day vs. the guy who knows nothing and is not prepared for even the most basic situations. No one expects new hunters to be flawless.....just have a good knowledge foundation to work with and build on.


I would bet it is aweful. Single digit % of "need help" threads will find their deer because of help they get here. The problem is they have already done so many things wrong that no one can help them at that point and they are going on pure luck from then on. When someone gut shoots a deer with a low KE setup and 2 1/2" mechanicals and doesn't know where he went except that he saw him run after he went looking for him 10 minutes later............What can anyone here do to help that??


Asking for help is one thing.........everyone needs help at one point or another. We all love to help fellow hunters. It just gets old real fast seeing people in the same old nightmare situations year after year that could have easily been prevented with minimal effort on the hunters part BEFORE hunting season even started.


I'm sorry for not sugar coating the truth but if you come on this forum and say you hit a deer at 40 yards who knows where with broadheads you have shot into a target for 3 weeks (or not at all) you were aiming at his neck, you don't know any details of any kind that would be useful.......you don't know how to track and/or you jumped him twice and chased him into the next county.

You DESERVE an arse ripping!!!

I know my case is extreme but I assure you some or all of those scenerios have been played out here over and over again.

BASIC knowledge is not too much to expect of someone shooting at live animals IMO.



BTW my brother is massive color blind and he was of ZERO help in tracking my first buck...........I feel for you because that must make things even harder. Glad to hear you never lost one.