I was just wondering, what the farthest you've had to track an animal? The hit being either well placed or not-so-good.
about a 100 yards for me. been lucky
Longest successful tracking job for me was 500 metres.
Tracked a wildebeast in africa for 2 1/2 miles and recovered the animal 22 hours after it was shot. Meat was great.
Tracked an elk almost a mile on gps before recovering after a liver hit.
Jason tracked a turkey that I hit a little back for 3 1/2 hours last year and recovered the bird. That's the best I've been involved with.
Mike
So 100 yards to 2 1/2 miles!
WOW!!!
My buddy gut shot a buck years ago at three steps... We jumped the buck 8 hours later and then again the next morning. This is still one of the largest deer I've ever seen in the woods. The buck swam the river appx 2 miles from where he shot it. We did get in the boat and found one drop of blood on a gravel bar. Never did recover the buck. This buddy never did practice enough and hardly ever from a treestand. Needless to say this happened 16 years ago and we've not hunted together 5 times since...
If I had to guess it was 500-600yrds. As a crow flies it probably 300yrds. Doe one lunged straight down.
Six and a half kilometers - a bit over four miles - trip measured on a GPS. It was a client's wounded warthog. Tracked it to a burrow, and found it still alive! Well placed hit; "contraption" bow; bad arrow setup; poor penetration.
Ed
TGMM Family of the Bow
Tracked a nice 7pt. roughly two miles as the crow flies, if I had to say how far we were on his trail, I would say 4.5 miles. I found him stone dead about 10 hours after the shot. I shot him at 5 in the evening and found him at around 3am. We jumped him twice and I was young and stupid and just kept following him. By the way, I nicked his liver and got one lung. Shawn
Whoa
This has really opened my eyes to traditional bowhunting.
MOstate, it has nothing to do with the choice of weapon, read Ashby's post and my deer was shot with wheels as well. we all strive to make that perfect shot but sometimes things happen and it is our responsiblity to try as hard as we can to recover that animal no matter the choice of weapon! Shawn
Read about Paul Shaefer's (sp?) big antelope tracking feat somewhere in the files here. That one had nothing to do with Trad bowhunting and perceived inabilities, but it had everything to do with certain folks and their belief that it is their responsibility to do everything in their ability and power to not only make a quick lethal shot but also a recovered animal.
Things sometime go bad. Mostate, car hit deer often drag themselves off into the woods in spite of being run over by two or more tons at 80mph. This question was what is the farthest, not what is usual or what is the quickest.
While I am on the stump here... keep in mind that a deer can cover 100 yards before I can type this sentence. The fact that the majority of trad killed deer are recovered in less than 100 yards (according to studies that are published) speaks volumes about quick, lethal, and I think, pretty painless death.
ChuckC
I agree it has nothing to do with the weapon...it's the person holding it!
My uncle shot a nice 8pt. with a muzzle loader last year, poor shot...tracked it for 2 miles!
I know that's not trad related, just trying to make a point.
Bakes
Ok, I guess I misread some things. Thats good to know, the only deer I've ever shot with a bow was with a compound and he went down within 50 yards. So there wasnt any tracking required. And in reality I havent had to track any deer I've shot because they've fallen within sight. But it nice to know that most deer fallen within 100yrds, depending on a few things. I need to work on blood trailing to. But thats something that'll be rewarding at the end
Longest tracking job was years ago when a friend who practiced every day hit a buck square in the center of the hindquarters with his high speed, high-tech wheelie bow.
We tracked him 1/2 the night and all of the next day. Wouldn't even guess the total distance. Finally finished him off at dusk on the second day when he came to barbed wire fence and just didn't have the strength to jump it.
Equipment has no bearing whatsoever on game recovery. It'shot placement above all else that determines how far an animal is capable of traveling after the shot.
Ron
and there's more to tracking than blood!
No problem MO (Joseph), learning is what we do. This is sometimes a touchy subject because people that are not well versed in the topic often think that bows and arrows, especially the traditional kind can't possibly kill a deer quickly and that they cause all sorts of pain and suffering.
In reality, have you ever cut yourself, especially a bad cut ? Doesn't hurt does it. There are reasons for this that others can go into if they really want to. Unless a bone is broken there is often no, or very little pain, as witnessed by folks who have accidentally gotten hit by or stabbed by a sharp broadhead.
I do know that I have personally seen, as have many, maybe most of the others her... deer that I have just put an arrow clean thru...just kick, hop a few steps(or none at all), look around, and then go back to eating. Next thing ya know, they topple over.
Deer are pretty antsy critters. Everything scares them cause almost everything eats them. If something makes a noise, or smacks them on the side,... they run...... fast. That is what they do. Whether it hurt or not.
Yes, things sometimes go bad, but more times than not, it goes exactly as planned and there is venison for the cooking.
ChuckC
QuoteOriginally posted by ChuckC:
No problem MO (Joseph), learning is what we do. This is sometimes a touchy subject because people that are not well versed in the topic often think that bows and arrows, especially the traditional kind can't possibly kill a deer quickly and that they cause all sorts of pain and suffering.
In reality, have you ever cut yourself, especially a bad cut ? Doesn't hurt does it. There are reasons for this that others can go into if they really want to. Unless a bone is broken there is often no, or very little pain, as witnessed by folks who have accidentally gotten hit by or stabbed by a sharp broadhead.
I do know that I have personally seen, as have many, maybe most of the others her... deer that I have just put an arrow clean thru...just kick, hop a few steps(or none at all), look around, and then go back to eating. Next thing ya know, they topple over.
Deer are pretty antsy critters. Everything scares them cause almost everything eats them. If something makes a noise, or smacks them on the side,... they run...... fast. That is what they do. Whether it hurt or not.
Yes, things sometimes go bad, but more times than not, it goes exactly as planned and there is venison for the cooking.
ChuckC
yup. I double lungged this girl from 35 yards on Saturday. She kicked, ran about five yards, and stopped, looked around like "What the hell was that?" and fell over.
(http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h92/leslie_6767/P1010108.jpg)
Josh
A mile and a half-with my dog. The guy made a cut across the edge of the liver.
After reading through this thread I kinda feel I have been trapped. Asked about the longest and then I read doubt if a trad bow can do the job.
Most blood trails have been 50 yds or less and the longest I talked about above was a 1/4 away shot on the wildebeast that got liver and one lung. It was with a compound.
Sometimes !@#$ happens and the hit is not as good as you'd plan. Then a good tracker is what is needed and the ability to stay with it and not giving up.
Mike
I tracked a doe on a one lung hit for 2 miles in the snow. Other then that, never more then 35-100 yards.
90 percent of the deer I have shot no matter the weapon have gone down in sight. I did shoot a 6pt in NY one time with a compound in front of the back legs(damn unseen twigs) jumped him 150 yds from the shot the next morning and he had clotted up evry time he laid down he would clot so I did the one thing I hate to do I pushed him and ran him into the ground 24 hrs later I finished him off with another arrow, I felt terrible btu got him. I also shot a deer in VT with a 270 weatherby mag. some how hit it in the guts with a gun I can touch bullets with at 150yds. I shot him again 31 hours later and 6 miles away as the crow flys and sometimes with no blood and no snow. Things happen with what ever we use as a weapon you have to try your best and never give up on a mortally wounded animal, most people I know and some of the best shots and trackers have lost atleast 1, if yu haven't you are lucky, haven't been at it long or do not shoot very many animals. I am 30 and have taken 61 deer with my bows and and 17 others with a gun or muzzle loader but I have lost only 2 mortally wounded deer it made me sick. Take only good shot, good decisions usally have good outcomes. Chris
My longest ever was a muzzleloader roundball shot. tracked over 4 miles, found the deer looking up at a thicket he thought I would go through (he kept doubleing back)I went anround and got to within 100 yards of him looking up to where he thought I would be and BOOM!! ... someone else shot him! I ran up and soon discovered why the tracking was so long. I had shot him in the foot only!! Double set triggers were set real light!
Nearly every deer I shoot goes down quick and in site, broadheads, balls or bullets.
Bob.
Wingnut, did not mean to trap you if thats what it feels like. I just wanted to see how far people had to track game.
Shot a 5 point at 7:30 one morning, good blood at first but lost it after a couple hundred yards. Picked up one drop about 500 yards away and jumped the deer a little later at 10:30. I played cat and mouse with this deer for hours, tried three shots through the brush at different times and couldn't get an arrow in him. Every time I jumped him he would start bleeding again so I kept after him. At 2:30pm and down to my last arrow, one that had already been shot at him several times, I saw him bedded with a clear, softball sized hole through the brush I could shoot through.
I said a little prayer asking for help to end this deer's suffering and put an arrow directly through that opening in the brush.
Distance covered was only about a mile but it was along day.
I had aimed at the heart with my first shot, when he ducked his elbow came up and covered his heart. I hit his elbow and this directed the arrow back into the liver and paunch.
Back in 1981 I shot a doe right a first light. I watched the aroow go through what I thought was a perfect heart shot. The deer turned an "shuffled" away stright up a big mountain (Pennsylvania). I left and came back 2 hrs. later and jumped the deer. I followed it at a steady walk for 2 1/2 more hrs. down that mountain and back up 4 times when I heard it go down. I have a picture of me holding the heart with the old Bear Razorhead "X" through the bottom tip of it. Total distance had to be more than 2 miles.
My farthest- over 1 1/2 miles, quartering shot missed by couples incehs (wheels) clipped the inside of the front leg. Saw the shot well, knew that I hit the inside of the leg and chose to push the buck to make it work and keep bleeding. We jumped him several times, tried to work a poster in front of him a couple times, only to have him go past outside bow range. After 6 hours, he smoked across a 1/2 mile section and got bedded down- where he clotted up. We jumped him from the last bed and lost all blood. He lived- and was taken by the neighbor 6 weeks later with a rifle. The front leg was healing- but not very well- and he looked worn out. We tried the best possible option I feel, and lost that match. My shortest (outside of a spine shot)
2 steps. Hit a doe at 7 yards- she took 2 steps to the side, looking around as the drain cork had been pulled- about 20 seconds later- just tipped over.
About 6 years ago I hit a buck back into the liver. We tracked about 900(8 hours) yards up and down hills following a drop here and a drop there. lost the trail in some pines. Did a grid search and found nothing. A month later found the remains about 30 yards from where we stopped the search. Head was gone but the bones were there. Not sure if it was my deer or not but I think it was.
we once tracked a blue wildebeest 14kms over a few days till recovered.
also had ostridge and eland go a long way,
but the blue wildebeest seem to be tuff as nails when badly hit in my experience
My Kudu we tracked for 9 hours. Like Eric said, the distance travelled wasn't huge, but the day was VERY long. Had to put another 2 arrows in him once we found him. First arrow seemed perfect, but somehow wasn't lethal.
I know what you mean about wildebeest Andy! With an arrow thru him diagonally he still came after us! Blood trail was short though, he was sitting waiting for us.
Longest whitetail trail was accross a river, about 400 yds. She was lying dead on the other bank.
Hit 'em in the lungs and you won't track them far. But still, you need to learn how to track a deer.
My longest track job was a bad shot with a shotgun. 600-700 yards with drops of blood most of the way. I trailed him to his bed and jumped him. He was never recovered.
All my good bow shots were within 100 yards for both compound and trad.
It is my learned opinion that short shots on calm deer result in the shortest track jobs regardless of the tool used.
I have 2 friends that tracked an elk so far they spent the night in the woods...PR
John, the problem is that the deer always do not cooperate, everyone strives to make a quick clean kill but if ya hunt long enough we all know that is not always the case! Shawn
My wife was with me for mine. 4 years ago I crawled on hands and knees for over 500 yds following pin drops of blood. I hit a doe too far back and had to leave her over night. After 4 hrs of painfull tracking, I found my doe dead in a swamp, bloated and covered with flies. It had got warm the night before. Not being the wastefull type, I gutted the doe and nearly passed out from the smell. I had dry heaves and my wife was standing 100yds away and could smell it. She was laughing at me AND trying not to gag. Still optimistic, I drug it to the car and put it in the trunk. We drove for 1/4 mile and we couldn't take it, out went the doe. I hate wasting meat. :banghead:
not proud of this but i tracked a blacktail buck that i shot with a 7mag (when i was young and dumb)around 5 miles before i found him within 500 feet of my truck. :bigsmyl: no wonder i switched to archery :D :D :banghead: