What is the longest distance you have ever trailed an animal and recovered it? Not talking about following one up and finishing it off, just the trail after the first shot.
I know it can be difficult to estimate distance while trailing, but for me as best as I could judge, it was in the neighborhood of 250 yards on a whitetail.
How about you?
About the same before I lost all sign...I then called a dog tracker(its legal here), who promptly showed up. I brought him to the last blood, and he found the deer less than 80 yards away...straight UPHILL. Seems the yotes got on em soon after the shot, and ran him dry, then ate him. We found a head and neck, and one shoulder(it was laying on), everything else was eaten in the two and a half, three hours from the shot.
About 200 yards with out a heart,,
ive tracked one a good 250 yds with a clipped heart running on pure adrenaline... this guy ran across two farm fields to get to cover and died when he just got to the edge of the thicket.
I have tracked and recovered one that went well over 800 yards, made the mistake of going after him to soon with a gut shot. We backed out and found him the next morning 600-700 yards from where we jumped him. Shawn
I liver shot one that went around 300 yards.
I once followed a gut shot elk for a little over a mile before recovering it.
I had a similar experience Walt. A guy I was hunting with hit a bull through one lung, and we trailed over a mile according to the map, not counting all the doubling back and zig zags. He hit him in the morning, and we finally jumped him shortly before dark. Backed out, and found him the next morning not far away.
5 - 6 miles up hills, through cover, across a major river and back and back to near where I started the deer made a huge circle. It was a freak accidental hit. I shot at an old dry doe she was evey bit of 175 pounds.She "jumped the string" aka ducked the arrow and a button buck spun around at her motion into the path of the arrow. I finally got close enough to see the little buck and the arrow went through his brisket and I saw him several times that week and he looked like he would make a full recovery. But I made every effort to get another arrow in him. I'm a lardass so that 1 - 6 miles was work. I was with huinting partners younger and fitter than me and they ghad trouble keeping up. I would have given myself a heart attack before I would have quit.
The first deer I put my Lacy pup on went about 1 1/4 miles miles. She was only 5 1/2 months old at the time and I was`nt sure she was really on it the whole way until the end. The arrow went the deer below the rear hock about 6" above the hoof hitting the femoral artery.
We had a Blue Wildebeest in Africa that Jason hit in the liver and one lung. It was 22 hours and 2.4 GPS miles before we recovered it. Most incredible tracking job I've ever seen. We learned a lot over those two days about sign and most important "don't give up".
Mike
probably around 400 to 600 yrds.
I've seen deer cover ground that would make a speed goat jealous, yet expire with 20 seconds, and then spend hours and hours tracking a deer that didn't go too far, yet wandered aimlessly and left a trail that seemed to go everywhere.
About 400 yds. - single lunged her
Rio gobbler. Actually shot high with a Landshark 160! and cut an artery in neck...tracked it 315yards according to my GPS in the sandy hills outside Carrio Spring Tx. notice the gash on the neck....i was lucky or good , don't know which!
(http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c114/swamprooter/RioTurkey.jpg)
I punched through a shoulder and one lung on a small doe then pushed her. 400 yards as a crow flys, about 2 miles with all the twists, turns, and circles. Every time I wanted to quit my buddy pressed me on. I did the same for him. Was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. I told myself if I could find that deer I could find ANY that were mortally wounded. NEVER GIVE UP!
My Uncle one kunged a big doe one winter. We tracked at least a mile. Good thing we had snow.
Four years ago on a jugular vein hit (don't ask). Let him go half an hour, then tracked him about 300 yards and jumped him(after dark). Left and came back the following morning at daybreak and found him about another 80 yards from there. Luckily no 'yotes so I was able to save all of him.
Over a mile, crossed the creek a half dozen times, through the swamp, briars, tag alders on hands and knees thick brush. There was snow on the ground and the blood trail was plain as day. Dont know how he did it. When we opened him he was bled dry!
Eric
Dang Joey you're looking old...those boys wearing you out?
What kind of bow is that? Very pretty.....
I am and fat and tired and broke. No one told a 2 and 5 year old boys would be tougher than a Paradise Swamp Rooter on swampchestnuts. You holding up alright?
I ounce shot a doe and she went 400 or so yards. The bloodtrail was one of the best i have seen and yet she was still alive when we finally caught up with her. I have noticed that whitails have different wiils to live, some just give up while others will make you work.
Several years back my brother shot a buck up in the UP. The thing turned on the shot and he caught a hard quartering forward shot. Tipped a lung, liver, guts and broke his back femur. Good blood most of the way. Tracked that deer over a mile, the last 60 yards there was not a drop of blood to be found. There was almost no blood in that thing when we gutted him. One of my most memorable trailing jobs and very rewarding in the end. dino