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Q:
I shot a nice buck today right before dark, and as we were giving it about 30 minutes to expire it started raining hard, we found just a few really dark drops of blood and the rest of the trail is gone, so I'm going to look for it tomorrow. Is there any tips you can give me?
Question by tony167n. Uploaded on September 28, 2009
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Answers (19)
Often people get so caught up in looking for blood that they forget to look for fresh tracks. Look really hard for tracks, blood, hair, and the path of least resistence. Wounded deer often go down hill. Also, see if you can get some help from a tracking dog.
Good advice from BioGuy.
I have found as many deer from the haphazard way they run when injured as I have from a blood trail. Often you can "guess" where they have gone just from asking yourself which direction you would run if severely wounded.
I've never used a dog for tracking, but I know folks that have had excellent success with them. Obviously it pays to know someone with a blood-sniffing dog.
Did you recover the arrow (I'm presuming this was an archery hunt this early in the year)? The lack of blood could indicate the lack of pass-through.
I know it sounds a little retarded here but try to picture yourself a wounded deer. Go back to the last place you had blood and try to visually pick the direction that he might of went. Look for blood on branches side of a tree trunk ect. Remember deer usally head down hill and towards water Good luck finding him, and if you do post it up.
crosshairy guy beat me to it, writing this post when he already posted it. damit, I snoze I lose, LOL good points by both!!
Thank you guys, I am archery hunting, it was really cold and windy so I just walked down this old clear cut with the 20 mph wind in my face, and at the almsot end I noticed this big deer body and huge rack about twenty or thirty yards from me. It was standing behind some thin tall grass so I shot through the grass and heard it hit him, and I watched it run for about forty yards before it went into the woods, where I assumed it died. The only blood we found after rain was four big spots and one of the spots looked like it had a little piece of chunk of whiteish pink lung on it, (it either looked like lung or fat). So I think I killed it, and now I jut have to find it, if I do find it it would be my first buck with a bow and my nicest buck altoghether, thanks for all your advice and I'm still looking for more advice if you would wanna post some other things up thanks, and if I do find it I'll post pics. Also I didn't find my arrow and I didn't see My fletchings sticking out the side when he ran
I did the exact same thing on the evening of Sept 27. Shot my first deer with a bow just before dark in the rain. I thought it was at 30 yds, but ended up pacing out at 45 yds.
I hit it good but low and well forward. The buck ran back to the woods and snapped the protruding end (about 6" including broadhead) of the arrow off on a tree. We searched, no blood. Came back in the A.M. first light, no sign, no nothing.
Frustrated, my friend and I scoured the woods all morning and gave it up.
I can only hope the wound was not fatal.
I feel your remorse, Tony167n. I intend to work on my distance judging, for one thing. Wish I could take that shot back.
Good luck finding your deer. When all else fails I walk in circles that get wider and wider as I go.
Found a blood trail and on it there was a few drips of blood tht looked really frothy so since it was quartering towards me I'm guessing I hit through the shoulder and caught a lung with no pass though, I followed the trail for a good five hundred yards when I ran out of marking materials, so I'm gonna go back in a bit and try to find it. I have another question, how far can a whitetail run on just one lung? Another thing that bothered me was the trail wasn't so strait like a mortally wounded deer usually makes so I'm wondering if he's gonna survive or not?
With one lung a deer can for go miles. If he left a bloodtrail that was appreciable after the rain, he's bleeding pretty good i assume. Hopefully he'll lay down and die. Keep at it. If all else fails try to find a dog and put him on the trail. Curious, did he bed down in that 500yds? Is the blood getting darker, Purplish? That would indicate he's lying dead not far ahead. If your arrow is still in him, hopefully it continues to do more damage as he goes. Good luck.
What you need is a very strong flash light. I use my diving light that uses 4 size D batteries. When a deer dies their eyes are open and if you walk around you will see their eye reflecting light.
quartering-to is a difficult shot at best with a bow, not that you need a lecture now. Hope you find'm
get a bunch of buddies to help you track him...the more eyes you have helping you the better. I haven't tried the blood tracking flash lights but they may help.
So i looked back at the spot i shot the deer at and we found the arrow, and it was a pass through. i found one splotch of blood that looked like it was a lung hit, and the rest of the trail was just bright red. We followed the trail for at least 600-800 yards before we lost it when it crossed a very wet swamp, i think i hit it too far in the front, and maybe clipped a lung...I'll look across the swamp tomorrow but if i don't find it I'll just assume it either died far away, or survived. Thanks for all your comments. Also in the whole trail it didn't lay down once.
were you using expandables by any chance? maybe it didnt deploy..just a thought.
Good for you tony for keeping at it. Many would've given up by now.
No i was using 100 grain muzzys, it got a nice pass through but i think i was just so excited i made a bad shot on him...i still don't believe how tough that deer was to not have stopped or lay down the whole way up there. so hopefully he will survive or I'll find him tomorrow...
Any luck on this?
Good job on persistence.
think about the direction he was heading, and if there is real thick brush or a water source i would head that way, take a few guys and spread out!
we went back to the swamp we lost the trail in with a few more people and looked for a few hours in and across the swamp and didn't find any sign. then almost every day after school i went back there to look for crows or eagles flying and didn't see any. one day at duck i heard four wolves start to howl, so i don't know if he is dead or not...I'm thinking of hunting there again and seeing if i can put another arrow into him if he's still alive..thanks for all your comments, and good luck hunting
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Often people get so caught up in looking for blood that they forget to look for fresh tracks. Look really hard for tracks, blood, hair, and the path of least resistence. Wounded deer often go down hill. Also, see if you can get some help from a tracking dog.
Good advice from BioGuy.
I have found as many deer from the haphazard way they run when injured as I have from a blood trail. Often you can "guess" where they have gone just from asking yourself which direction you would run if severely wounded.
I've never used a dog for tracking, but I know folks that have had excellent success with them. Obviously it pays to know someone with a blood-sniffing dog.
Did you recover the arrow (I'm presuming this was an archery hunt this early in the year)? The lack of blood could indicate the lack of pass-through.
I know it sounds a little retarded here but try to picture yourself a wounded deer. Go back to the last place you had blood and try to visually pick the direction that he might of went. Look for blood on branches side of a tree trunk ect. Remember deer usally head down hill and towards water Good luck finding him, and if you do post it up.
crosshairy guy beat me to it, writing this post when he already posted it. damit, I snoze I lose, LOL good points by both!!
Thank you guys, I am archery hunting, it was really cold and windy so I just walked down this old clear cut with the 20 mph wind in my face, and at the almsot end I noticed this big deer body and huge rack about twenty or thirty yards from me. It was standing behind some thin tall grass so I shot through the grass and heard it hit him, and I watched it run for about forty yards before it went into the woods, where I assumed it died. The only blood we found after rain was four big spots and one of the spots looked like it had a little piece of chunk of whiteish pink lung on it, (it either looked like lung or fat). So I think I killed it, and now I jut have to find it, if I do find it it would be my first buck with a bow and my nicest buck altoghether, thanks for all your advice and I'm still looking for more advice if you would wanna post some other things up thanks, and if I do find it I'll post pics. Also I didn't find my arrow and I didn't see My fletchings sticking out the side when he ran
Good luck finding your deer. When all else fails I walk in circles that get wider and wider as I go.
Found a blood trail and on it there was a few drips of blood tht looked really frothy so since it was quartering towards me I'm guessing I hit through the shoulder and caught a lung with no pass though, I followed the trail for a good five hundred yards when I ran out of marking materials, so I'm gonna go back in a bit and try to find it. I have another question, how far can a whitetail run on just one lung? Another thing that bothered me was the trail wasn't so strait like a mortally wounded deer usually makes so I'm wondering if he's gonna survive or not?
What you need is a very strong flash light. I use my diving light that uses 4 size D batteries. When a deer dies their eyes are open and if you walk around you will see their eye reflecting light.
So i looked back at the spot i shot the deer at and we found the arrow, and it was a pass through. i found one splotch of blood that looked like it was a lung hit, and the rest of the trail was just bright red. We followed the trail for at least 600-800 yards before we lost it when it crossed a very wet swamp, i think i hit it too far in the front, and maybe clipped a lung...I'll look across the swamp tomorrow but if i don't find it I'll just assume it either died far away, or survived. Thanks for all your comments. Also in the whole trail it didn't lay down once.
I did the exact same thing on the evening of Sept 27. Shot my first deer with a bow just before dark in the rain. I thought it was at 30 yds, but ended up pacing out at 45 yds.
I hit it good but low and well forward. The buck ran back to the woods and snapped the protruding end (about 6" including broadhead) of the arrow off on a tree. We searched, no blood. Came back in the A.M. first light, no sign, no nothing.
Frustrated, my friend and I scoured the woods all morning and gave it up.
I can only hope the wound was not fatal.
I feel your remorse, Tony167n. I intend to work on my distance judging, for one thing. Wish I could take that shot back.
With one lung a deer can for go miles. If he left a bloodtrail that was appreciable after the rain, he's bleeding pretty good i assume. Hopefully he'll lay down and die. Keep at it. If all else fails try to find a dog and put him on the trail. Curious, did he bed down in that 500yds? Is the blood getting darker, Purplish? That would indicate he's lying dead not far ahead. If your arrow is still in him, hopefully it continues to do more damage as he goes. Good luck.
quartering-to is a difficult shot at best with a bow, not that you need a lecture now. Hope you find'm
get a bunch of buddies to help you track him...the more eyes you have helping you the better. I haven't tried the blood tracking flash lights but they may help.
were you using expandables by any chance? maybe it didnt deploy..just a thought.
Good for you tony for keeping at it. Many would've given up by now.
No i was using 100 grain muzzys, it got a nice pass through but i think i was just so excited i made a bad shot on him...i still don't believe how tough that deer was to not have stopped or lay down the whole way up there. so hopefully he will survive or I'll find him tomorrow...
Any luck on this?
Good job on persistence.
think about the direction he was heading, and if there is real thick brush or a water source i would head that way, take a few guys and spread out!
we went back to the swamp we lost the trail in with a few more people and looked for a few hours in and across the swamp and didn't find any sign. then almost every day after school i went back there to look for crows or eagles flying and didn't see any. one day at duck i heard four wolves start to howl, so i don't know if he is dead or not...I'm thinking of hunting there again and seeing if i can put another arrow into him if he's still alive..thanks for all your comments, and good luck hunting
Post an Answer