MudderChuck

I think that shows the difference between a true hunter and a tourist with a gun. A true Hunter will put all reasonable effort into retrieving wounded game, it's a responsibility.

Don't get me wrong, many what I call Sunday Hunters are pretty darned good.

I actually enjoy tracking, not everybody does. I really enjoy working my Dog. My eyes are getting bad, I'm not nearly as good at it as I once was, I use my Dog more.

I think many are just lazy and put off something they don't enjoy as long as possible.

mrbb

well I have a different view here>
in many places its illegal to track game that runs on to others land
so, many times I have hunted some smaller parcels where if I jumped a wounded deer even ONCE before it died, it could be on lands I could NOT recover,
I always try my best to have friendships with adjourning land owners and most places I do, but also have coup,ke places that there animal rights nuts and they will NOT let you recover even a DEAD deer, I have gone down the road of getting wardens involved, and others that known the land owners well(good relationships with them) and ended up loosing a deer
and was a pretty darn good hit, just one of them deer that RAN till it dropped and ended up un recoverable, and still stings today knowing what happened there!

I have killed hundreds of deer with all weapons, from 50 BMG down, I have seen a doe once get hit thru both front shoulders with a 750 grain soft point from a 50 bmg, and it was ON video, run over 250 yards, when we got to her you could have thrown a football thru her and NOT hit any part of her
SO I DON"T buy the "X" caliber, or shot placement(minus maybe a brain shot) will drop em ALL the time, as I seen too many cases where things didn;t work as planned

SO< some times there is a decent reason to NOT track right away.
Just saying

many hunters are NOT the best shots or trackers, so many prefer to gamble I think on waiting if they don;t see them go down that risk loosing one they cannot track if they push!

NOT all places are dog legal to track either! or do hunters have access to one that can!

I have recovered deer that had traveled well over 2 miles after being hit and NOT pushed at all, waited till the following day to HELP track them
a dead deer will be there next day or it won't
a pushed deer can be LOST just as much as one being eaten by a predator!

NOT saying wait ALL the time, but if your NOT confident in your shot or afterwards
waiting IS the better option! IMO

rogerstv

I have seen a doe once get hit thru both front shoulders with a 750 grain soft point from a 50 bmg, and it was ON video, run over 250 yards, when we got to her you could have thrown a football thru her and NOT hit any part of her

Are you exaggerating just a little bit ???

rockport

I had a rest malfunction several years ago. Tracked the deer for a mile or so to a property line I couldn't cross. Went to hunt a different stand 1/4 the other direction a couple days later and he was laying there a foot from the ladder.

mrbb

actually NO
in the video a guy stuck his whole arm thru her making a fist and it didn't hit any flesh on the deer?, this was back in late 1990's and again it was on video ? and NO I don;t still have the video, was shot with a state arm's 50 bmg single shot bolt action rifle from a box blind off a rest!
it was maybe a 70 lb doe too, NOT a big one by any means and it RAN , it left a blood trail that looked like someone with 3 ft wide paint roller rolled a path thru the snow to her from the hit site!

just made a LOT of folks just say WOW after they seen it, as hard to imagine a deer being able to run after that hit, but it did?

Short Track Hunter

I shot a deer low in the brisket 1 year. Plenty of blood. Blood on the asphalt pavement where it ran across the road to the next county. I tracked this deer all afternoon, and then again the next morning. The last drop of blood I saw was on the pavement. Then it just vanished.

I even went to the home depot & brought loppers to get through the laurel. I cut down brush, another guy helped me on his hands & knees. I was bummed out for 2 weeks. Big mature doe....

MudderChuck

That is the reason I gave up Bow hunting for Deer. Trailed one through about a mile of Chaparral (I may be exaggerating a bit) felt like two miles, mostly on my hands and knees. It was morning and getting hot quick, the trip back dragging that sucker three feet at a time took hours, I about had a heart attack.

Mickey Finn

I agree. Each situation has it's own factors. But it general waiting 20 minutes or so should be all you need. Once in our UP I went back to my truck and put up my rifle then went to find my deer. There were already wolf tracks around it when I got there. The last time I put away my rifle I can tell you.

MudderChuck

Same thing here with the Fox. they show up when they hear a shot. They have figured out there is likely to be a pile of offal around. Even the Ravens and Jays show up. Kind of like ringing the dinner bell.

rockport

All depends on where you hit the deer.

20 minutes on a gut shot assures your deer is wasted and very well could cause you to lose a liver shot deer.

Hear and/or both lungs the deer should be dead before you can even get started tracking.


I think to many people seem to think you only have 2 options
1. In the first 30 minutes
2. 12 hours later.

You never hear anybody say "wait 5 hours"