How long to wait after an Iffy hit?
 

Sometimes bad shots occur, whether you pulled it, flinched, deer flinched, moved at last minute, etc. The question I'm wondering is:

Once you've used your firearm, and you realize "uh-oh, I may not have hit him/her as well as I would have liked", what is the general consensus on how long you should wait before searching for the deer? Im assuming the waiting game is to give the animal time to die so that you dont come up on him, spook him, and have him run to the next county, but sometimes is just so hard to sit still and wait knowing that you might have put a bad shot on the deer and he is out there suffering because of your ineptness.

So whats everybodies thoughts on this?

RE: How long to wait after an Iffy hit?
 

Depends on how "IFFY"! Different circumstances call for different actions and wait times. If you know you made, for example, a gut shot, I'd wait atleast 6 hours or more.

RE: How long to wait after an Iffy hit?
 

Check out the sticky "Recovery..........", in the bowhunting section

RE: How long to wait after an Iffy hit?
 

That would depend. Often times while gun hunting I have several people with me. We drive small woodlots. SO If I know I have hit a deer we will set up tracking it just like putting on a drive, that way if I push the deer at all, it will go past a poster and they can put it down. A lot of people wouldn't agree with that, buts its how we do it.

RE: How long to wait after an Iffy hit?
 

ill wait a minimum of 6 hours if questionable, considering hunting on property with adjoining private property with owners who wont let you pursure a wounded deer that you pushed onto there property.

RE: How long to wait after an Iffy hit?
 

I always wait at least an hour before I walk over to where the deer was standing when the shot was fired.
I then inspect the site to try to get a clearer picture of any info, blood, hair etc.

I then slowly begin the search and mark all sign left behind.I always ensure not to disturb the sign left by the deer by walking to each side.
If I kick the deer up, I again wait another hour and repeat the process.

I honestly believe that biggest mistake hunters make is not taking the time to let the deer bed down. Pushing the deer
may decrease your odds for a successful revovery.

My thoughts are if the deer is hit good, he'll be down in a short distance and he ain't going anywhere. If he's not hit good, then
I always let him realize he's not being pressured and hopefully he'll bed down to be recovered later. A deeralways knows when he's being pushed.

RE: How long to wait after an Iffy hit?
 

I've only had 1 shot not drop the deer instantly.
last year in the pea soup fog with him quartering away at 25-30 yards I had the scope on 9x by accident and hit forward on the shoulder, he thrashed for a few minutes till I put a round through his neck.

Regardless, even if the deer is down where I can see it, I give 30 min. minimum. If it ran off with a good hit: 30-45 min. With an 'iffy' I'd say 2-3 hours. Because I was with my buddy in Ozona when he gut shot a nice buck, and we only waited about 1-1.5 hours, and spooked him about 50 yards from where he was hit. Given a little more time he woulda expired right there. As it was we never saw him again.

RE: How long to wait after an Iffy hit?
 

This is my rule. Weather a good shot or not I sit till my nerves calm down then go back to the truck and change out of my insulated bibs because weather I'm tracking or dragging I get hot, plus I never park close and it helps pass the time. I can usually get back to the impact point 30 min after the shot and check for blood. If the blood is good (lots of it and appears to be a heart lung shot) I move in. If it isn't good (little or no blood or gut) I back out and wait 2 hours. Sometimes if I know that I can move though the area quietly (fire break) I will circle around the last head of woods I saw the deer in to narrow down where I think it is.

RE: How long to wait after an Iffy hit?
 

Several times I have watched deer take there last step from my treestand. I still wait 10-15 min to calm down so I don't fall out of the tree. I wait 45-60 min to begin tracking if they run out of sight. Once tracking if I feel a gut shot I wait 6 hours. Real dark blood sign is possible liver hit and I wait 4 hours. If I think it's a solid muscle hit which is also displayed as real dark bloodI will track faster to bleed them out. If I feel a lung or heart shot I continue tracking as 45-60 min has elapsed. Evaluating the blood sign is real key to holding back or proceeding. Alot of literature is avail on blood trailing but most of it comes from raw experience. If anyone ever calls you to help them blood trail then jump at the opportunity.

RE: How long to wait after an Iffy hit?
 

I think you can tell alot by what the deer does after the shot. If they tuck there tail up between there legs, and run, it's probebly a pretty good shot. If they throw it up, like when you jump them, may not be a real good shot, give them 5 or 6 hours. Just motavates you to wait for the perfect shot oppertunity, even if you don't get the shot.

RE: How long to wait after an Iffy hit?
 

It all depends on where you hit the deer. Like it has been said before, look at what you have at the impact sight and go from there, but if you really question your shot, dont push him/her, mark the impact sight with a piece of orange tape or toilet paper and go another 20-30 yds in the direction the deer ran and mark the next spot of blood and then leave. Get others to help you track the deer and remember the line the deer took, if you know the area well, you can gauge where the deer might be headed, which is usually the thickest stuff he/she can find to bed down.

RE: How long to wait after an Iffy hit?
 

probably at least an hour


because you know what they say when in dout get the out

RE: How long to wait after an Iffy hit?
 

Jimmy S is right. I always wait at least an hour. Inspect the area where the deer was hit. If I find that I hit the deer in the guts, I will wait a few hours before trailing. The deer's circulatory system pumps almost no blood to the stomach while the deer is up and moving, and it pumps most of the blood to the stomach when a deer is bedded and digesting, so if gut shot, leave the deer alone long enough for it to lay down and bleed to death. A gut shot deer won't bleed out while it is up and moving. Check the color of blood and see if there is any tissue or hair, then you can tell about where you hit the deer by this sign. Lots of blood with white flecks and white hair is a good sign, (so is lung or heart material). Red blood with no white flecks indicates a muscle shot, red blood with white flecks/bubbles means a lung shot, dark smelly blood with stomach matter means a gut shot.

RE: How long to wait after an Iffy hit?
 

Bocajnalaexactly hw we do it. If i am by myself I'll wait and hour or so and get a track on. If it ain'y bleeding to hard I'll back off and come back at late night w/ the boyos. I am afraid to let them go all night for fear of spoilage and beleive it or not coyote.

RE: How long to wait after an Iffy hit?
 

I would gioce it an hour as well so it will have a chance to lay down and hopefully stiffen up some. Then I would stay alert while tracking in on it.
If it has been laying down and has started to stiffen then you should be able to get another shot at it.. if it gets up and tries to run.

RE: How long to wait after an Iffy hit?
 

Ive never waited more than 5 minutes when shooting a deer with a rifle, 75% of those times were DRT's.

RE: How long to wait after an Iffy hit?
 

I used to like you. Then three years ago I shot two does back to back. I checked for blood within 10 min. and found none so I decided to track them through the game trail and leaf litter. I jumped one about 45 minutes after the shot never to be seen again as she flagged me and bound over the fence to the next property. I had hit her in the top rear of the lungs she had bedded down and was bleeding out but I moved to quick. The other deer had run in the opposite direction and I didn't push her same shot same senario but she bled out and died 25 yards from the shot. I learned a lot of patience that day. If it isn't DRT take some time.

RE: How long to wait after an Iffy hit?
 

But you found no blood. Thats the key word. How can you tell an iffy shot without going over to the place the deer was standing. wait maybe 5 minutes and go look for sign, then decide if you need to wait longer. I never have though. Not bragging, I just dont take iffy shots to begin with, so I havent had a problem.

RE: How long to wait after an Iffy hit?
 

at least over night. Let it lay down and stiffen up.

RE: How long to wait after an Iffy hit?
 

Gangly, the best resource I have seen regarding evaluating a hit on a deer, tracking, and recovery strategies is this book.

Finding Wounded Deer, by John Trout

http://www.amazon.com/Finding-Wounded-Deer-Outdoorsmans-Edge/dp/1580111904

I reread several chapters every year to refresh myself.
Good luck.

-Bulz

RE: How long to wait after an Iffy hit?
 

thank you all for the very informative advice. Bulzeye, I will definately look into the book you recommend and see what I can make of it.

RE: How long to wait after an Iffy hit?
 

If you've made a good shot...and you have good speed....and you're hunting from the ground...and you have a knife...I think after you've made the shot and slowed him down a bit you obviously take off on foot immediately in an effort to chase him down and put him to rest by hand.;)

RE: How long to wait after an Iffy hit?
 

You say that jokeingly, but I have been there.
I was hunting a suburban area with my bow and made a shot on a young doe, it looked perfect but turns out it was a little low, we heard her crash, gave her 5 minutes and went after her. Well she got up and bolted with both front legs shattered, she made it to the top of the hill and across the road, as were standing there we here a little kid yell " look mommy a deer" Mom says " ahhh looks like a car hit it." They were walking the road. Welll it made to the other side where there were a lot of houses, it was getting dark and we just waited till it got fully dark. We went tresspasing to try and find this deer, I came up on it twice in the dark and pushed it farther up into this one homes big yard, I was about to give up and my buddy said no we have to retrieve it. I said there only one way, bum rush it. So we did, I just took off running in its direction and heard it once again, I actually pushed it back towards the road, I seen it in the dark flopping and flailing in a clearing and just rushed and tackelled it, I held it down, by this time she was pretty much exhausted and weak, but I tackelled her and slit her throat with my knife. Dragged it acroos the road through the creek and up the hill. whew ! But we got it.
We still talk about that night.

RE: How long to wait after an Iffy hit?
 

I'd bet you do. HAd to be an interesting adventure.

Gangly,
The book is priceless. John Trout has assisted in the bloodtrailing and/orrecovery of several hundred deer. He kept meticulous notes on each of theseoutings regarding everything from the deer's reaction to being hit, location of the hit on the body, blood color and location, spattering, squirting,distance to first blood, quality of blood trail, bleeding from both sides vs one, hair on the arrow and at the scene, what type of hair comes from which part of the deer's body, distance to first bed, how many beds, deer bumped from bed while being trailed, blood in beds, going toward water when gut shot, deer circling back, wait times, and the effectsthat weather can have on those times,and many other factors and observations.

The book is a summary of his experiences and conclusions with lots of illustrations. It teaches a hunter how to be a detective to discover evidence at the scene and along the trail, then gives you the tools to use that information to have the best chance of recovering your deer.

RE: How long to wait after an Iffy hit?
 

i know its not ideal im so excited usually i cant wait at all

RE: How long to wait after an Iffy hit?
 

Well thats the thing mossberg, some times you have to use the signs the deer gives you to make the right choice. Cool storie zrex, A couple years back I stuck a small buck in the last week of season in Ill. It was a good shot, but he went about 100 yards over a creek, and into a old couples yard. I tracked it to their back yard, and contemplated just going and getting it, but went to the door and asked. This old lady come to the door, and said, " I hope it's that little SOB that ate my roses all summer long" It was.

RE: How long to wait after an Iffy hit?
 

Yodel,
That's funny. :D
I'm glad to hear to had better luck getting permission than one of my buddies did on opening day.
Check THIS out.... [:@][:'(][:@]
http://www.huntingnet.com/forum/tm.aspx?m=3074205