Wild Bill Bucks
New member
Thought I would throw this in for some of the new-comers. I'm sure they would like to have some thoughts from the rest of you guys.
Being prepared for tracking is a must if you are going to be succesfull at locating your deer after it is shot.
I take a pencil, notepad, marking line, tissue paper, a watch and a compass and a good flashlight with me.
As soon as I make my shot, I write down the time, and direction I heard my deer last. After about 20 minutes or so, I quietly get down and look for my arrow. If the blood on it is bright red, I know I have made a good shot, if the blood is watery or there are signs of grain or seeds on it, then I have probably made a gut shot, if the blood is frothy or has bubbles in it, then I probably made a lung shot, If the blood is dark red then I have probably made a muscle shot and the chances of finding my deer goes way down.
I then tie off my tracer line to a bush, and mark my blood spot with some tissue, and begin trailing my deer.
It is important to move VERY slowly so you don't cover up your trail by walking over it to fast. Be observant and look for blood on trees and grass above the ground. Every time you come to a blood spot, mark it with your tissue. This will keep you from losing your place as you look around.
If you run out of blood, STOP, and squat down and look around for"The path of least resistance", that being a hole in the brush, or an opening big enough for a deer to get through with out having to dodge. You can't do this standing up, you will have to squat down to give your line of sight the same as the deers.
Most wounded game will not run uphill, or into areas that require a lot of ducking and dodgeing, and will mostly take the path of least resistance trying to get away.
Most of the time you will pick your blood trail up again by doing this.
Be sure to keep your marking line going until you find your game, as this will give you a trail back to your stand.
Marking line sounds like a trivial thing, but it is easy to get turned around (especially at night) when your nose is on the trail.
By tieing it to your deers leg when you find it, will also give you a trail back to your deer. If your like I am, I have to go get my 4-wheeler to get him out and the line gives me a way back to him.
I'm sure some of the other guys can tell you how they do it, but this has worked for me, and so far(knock on wood) I haven't lost but one deer in years.
Being prepared for tracking is a must if you are going to be succesfull at locating your deer after it is shot.
I take a pencil, notepad, marking line, tissue paper, a watch and a compass and a good flashlight with me.
As soon as I make my shot, I write down the time, and direction I heard my deer last. After about 20 minutes or so, I quietly get down and look for my arrow. If the blood on it is bright red, I know I have made a good shot, if the blood is watery or there are signs of grain or seeds on it, then I have probably made a gut shot, if the blood is frothy or has bubbles in it, then I probably made a lung shot, If the blood is dark red then I have probably made a muscle shot and the chances of finding my deer goes way down.
I then tie off my tracer line to a bush, and mark my blood spot with some tissue, and begin trailing my deer.
It is important to move VERY slowly so you don't cover up your trail by walking over it to fast. Be observant and look for blood on trees and grass above the ground. Every time you come to a blood spot, mark it with your tissue. This will keep you from losing your place as you look around.
If you run out of blood, STOP, and squat down and look around for"The path of least resistance", that being a hole in the brush, or an opening big enough for a deer to get through with out having to dodge. You can't do this standing up, you will have to squat down to give your line of sight the same as the deers.
Most wounded game will not run uphill, or into areas that require a lot of ducking and dodgeing, and will mostly take the path of least resistance trying to get away.
Most of the time you will pick your blood trail up again by doing this.
Be sure to keep your marking line going until you find your game, as this will give you a trail back to your stand.
Marking line sounds like a trivial thing, but it is easy to get turned around (especially at night) when your nose is on the trail.
By tieing it to your deers leg when you find it, will also give you a trail back to your deer. If your like I am, I have to go get my 4-wheeler to get him out and the line gives me a way back to him.
I'm sure some of the other guys can tell you how they do it, but this has worked for me, and so far(knock on wood) I haven't lost but one deer in years.