A young kid down the ridge from me shot a buck and tracked it onto my property last year. I got down from my stand and helped him look. I think recovering an animal is more important than my days hunt. With the aid of cell phones we were able to call and get permission to move onto the next property. This will vary with the landowner.

Arrow placement determines how long you have to wait to start tracking. If it's a good shot and you see the deer go down...go get him. If it's a good shot and he runs off out of sight, wait at least 1/2 hour. If you find good blood continue your search. if there is little blood you may want to wait even longer.

If it's a poor shot on an evening hunt I'll always wait until the next day. If it's a poor shot in the morning I'll wait until the afternoon.

If your blood trail is straight and the deer is running over bushes and into trees then it's a good sign he's hit hard. If your blood trail is following trails then the deer either doesn't know he's hit or he's not mortally wounded. Give that deer time.

Look for bubbles in your blood. Good shot. If you have stomach matter then you better come back at least 6 hours later.

If you lose blood don't be afraid to go out ahead and look for blood on main trails.

Most shoot deer will run the direction they came from then circle into the wind.

Regardless of shot placement never give up on a deer. I recovered a 158in buck two days after being shot in the rear leg just above the knee. He got tired and stiff and laid up in the creek bed where my brother in law was able to put the finishing touches on him. He was easy to track because he was dragging his leg.

My routine after any shot is the same. Watch the deer run off and make note of the spot you last seen him. Make note of the wind direction. I leave, go home and put my tracking and dragging clothes on and come back sometime later. Usually with a few buddies.

Some good hit deer are very hard to find even if they are in the wide open, my buddy shot a doe at 40yds with a sluggun, it was in-between 2 alfalfa fields and standing by a hedgerow . He had hit it in the heart but their was no blood, he that he had missed but we looked and found the doe about 60yds away on the other side of the hedge. It was in the open but their was just a little dip in the field that could have lost that deer for good. So even if you think you missed or didn't make a good shot alwase look . Dogs have helped us find wounded deer too but check the regulations before taking the dogs out.

Good luck!!!!

Great posts guys! I'm in the same position as WVotter and have been wondering the same thing as the bow season grows closer.

Here is a follow up question that is related:

Especially in the early season when the temps are still high, how fast do you have to recover the deer before the meat goes bad?

Thanks

I really screwed up last year and this might help others. I arrowed a nice 10 pt opening day last year. On the release he took a 1/2 step forward so I hit him a little back. Rain was in the forecast for that night so I came back about 5 hours later. Around 11pm. I followed the blood trail about 100 yds North where I saw a nice buck bedded in a thicket. The buck ran off to the South so I followed. I thought it was my buck but it was another one. They looked a lot alike. I tracked that deer to the South with no blood at all. I looked for 3 weeks and never found him. My buck was only 150 yds past where I turned around to track the wrong buck. I felt like an idiot. I ended up tagging a rotted maggot infested deer.

Good answers all you might also factor in deer will head to water after the shot.

If you cannot find a deer, look for them in low lying areas. They really like to bed down in standing or running water (probably soothes the wound). WHen tracking a deer, a great way to pattern the path the deer is taking is to take toilet paper and tie little strips on tree branches over the drops of blood on the ground. As you go out farther, you can look back at this path and gauge the general direction the deer was heading to try and find the next drop. I find many deer make a "J" shaped turn at the end of their trail before bedding down to expire. Always keep an eye out sideways while looking down, as it may have circled back in the opposite direction off to your side.

Lots of good posts above. One thing i can add, If the deer is dead near another hunter, i would quickly retrieve and drag it from the area. Waiting 15 minutes to gut it aint gonna hurt anything and i have disturbed my neighbors hunt only momentarily. When i get a few hundred yards away from his hunting area, i'll stop and dress the deer. I have found the most important thing is to watch the deer very carefull after the shot, both for direction and signs of a good hit, or lack of.