Just thinking out loud to kill some time during the "off season"....lets assume we're talking about deer.....
So you've just released a great arrow and you watched your arrow bury right where you wanted it to....you've made a great shot and you have a dead deer running!
Do you like to have them go down in sight, or prefer when they run out of sight?
Me, I've always liked the excitement and anticipation of following a bloodtrail. There's just something about the "unknown factor" with the critter running out of sight that adds an awful lot to the whole experience for me.
I know it's dead with the shot I made. But how far will he/she go? Is he as big as I thought he was? Etc.....
Certainly nothing at all wrong with them going down in sight, I've had plenty. Just something about having to "find them".....
I like them to go down in sight, but I also like the trailing blood job too.
My answer would have to be BOTH.
Trailing is fun, but if warm weather, the chance it could run off the property, run into another hunter, not be found at night and risk the coyotes getting to it before day light or something like that I like down in site. Also if I have another tag in my pocket I will only shoot a second if the first was down in site. I have also had a few of those slam dunk shots turn into really crappy blood trails in heavy cover. This has been more of a problem with tree stand shots with high entrance and low exit that clogs up. I found them, but it was a real challenge.
I like it when they go out of sight and I hear them " crash". Real sweet sound.RC
Interesting, as I sit here and think about this I have been so excited about both situations. I love the hunt and blood trailing is very rewarding. However, everytime make that shot and I see that animal start to woble and go down in sight I get so ecxited.
I guess I am torn on this one as long as my shot is good.
Thanks for bringing back some great memories.
I like to watch them go down in sight, always brings a smile to my face, but when they run off and especially when you cannot hear them, even though you felt it was a good shot, there is always some anxiousness wondering if that shot was as good as you thought, but do enjoy blood trailing 'em as well, always neat to follow a great and short blood trail, just hate those long ones!
When I first thought about them going down in site I only thought about the typical full out run and pile up with not much after that. However, there have been those times I have seen an animal bed down or slow down and walk. At those times the death experience is a whole different thing. It becomes a whole different experience when you watch death more slowly take hold and win out over the struggle to survive. I have seen this from the stand and from the ground when trailing up animals on some occasions. It is harder to watch, but in some way I find myself more bonded with the animal having shared it's last of life's struggles in a more personal way than watching them pile up after a death run or finding them stone cold at the end of a blood trail. Last year my #3 was a lung, and liver hit on a quartering away shot when I turned sharp on the trail just as I shot ,and I got back a little farther than I would have liked. I watched that buck stop running, walk, circle around and bed down about 60 yd. out. I watched him in my binoculars in a little gap in the cover where I could see his tail and part of this head as he weakened. After a while I saw another deer back in the heavy cover. I couldn't tell what it was. There was a big commotion in the area. I thought another larger buck I had seen in there a few days earlier was after him and they were fighting. I am still not sure if that happened or it was all just him. At one point he ran backwards through the brush to about 20 yd. from me. He ran around in a couple circles backwards and went down for the last time. I sat and watched him a long time after it was all over. I was happy, sad, and a few other things all at once as I sat there.
I like it when they go out of site and the blood trail ends near my truck...lol
Seriously...I enjoy the trailing so I would say out of sight. Whether easy or hard it just adds to the overall thrill of hunting for me.
I like them both ways. I am color blind, but this adds a whole new factor to the trailing. I CAN'T DO IT!!! Which is where it gets good, actually. I go get my 6 year old boy and he trails it for me. He really likes knowing that he just helped me find a deer and I think he like to know he can do somethings that I can't.lol I get a kick out of it also. He gets so excited when he finds my deer that it is almost like he killed it himself. Very very cool.
My answer is both, too!! I like to see them fall, but I really like to get my son involved in the whole process! :thumbsup: :campfire:
Dead in sight. There is a lot of heavy brush and it always seems to be raining during hunting seasons in western Washington State. The animal dropping dead in sight is both exciting and a total relief. Add in the tough packing job in heavy brush and the relief is palpable. Elk always seem to run downhill and then bury in the worst brush holes they can find before dying.
I love following a blood trail. My Dad used to always come back from the woods after making a shot to let me help trail the deer and when I follow one its like I'm a kid again. It's like a great book that you just can't wait to get to the end, but you're making yourself slow down to savor it. That said, I've had them go down in sight and it's also very satisfying to stay in the tree, fill up my pipe and relax for awhile replaying the event from the scouting to the shot. It's all good.
Elk... down in sight for me. I've usually covered enough ground to make me happy up to that point.
definitely down in sight
In the solid palmettoes I hunt I am not comfortable until I see what kind of blood trail I have even on a perfect shot(perfect entry but no second hole to drain).They make a lot of noise when running off in the cover and sometimes hear them go down but without blood it is a problem so watching one go down is a treat.Besides in the swamp I hunt just getting them out is a chore.Kip
Down in sight, but like if Guru said I knew it was a perfect shot and they tip just out of sight that's fine too.
Guru i love it when the deer runs out of sight but i hear him pile up a short time later. Even if i see the deer fall in sight i always follow the blood trail, i love it.
QuoteOriginally posted by joevan125:
Even if i see the deer fall in sight i always follow the blood trail, i love it.
Me too!
Good stuff fellas :archer:
My Dad always helped me follow the blood trails when I was little even though he knew where the animal was already to help me learn. Ever since I always follow the blood trail even if I know where they are.
Good stuff Joe Van.
One of my favorite things to do especially when im hunting with someone who has never killed a deer with a bow.
I will go and bring them back to my hunting spot where i already know where the deer is laying and let them follow the blood trail.
I never get tired of seeing the look in there eyes when they follow the trail to the deer, i have done this 4-5 times and believe me it is priceless.
There is always excitement in the anticipation of the unknown. With that said there is never disappointment in a recovered animal, even when I see it go down.
This past year i shot my first trad deer a 8 pointer and i let one of my buds help me with the trailing, he has never shot a deer with any kind of bow and has only been hunting for 4 years.
When we walked up on that fat 8 pointer i thought he was going to have a heart attack. He gave me a hug only a hunter could appreciate and then took at least 50 pictures of me and my first trad deer.
Thats one day in the woods that i will never forget as long as i live, really special.
From 2006.... I knew I'd drilled this buck, heard him crash and could see the Snuffer had painted the ground.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v77/Guru39/10-29Buck007.jpg)
I called my wife so she could get Cade ready. Also called my usual blood trailin'/deer draggin' partner, my Dad.
When I got down and went up the hill to my truck I purposely didn't look to my left down the hill. I knew the buck was down there somewhere....but I didn't want to know....he'd be Cade's to find!
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v77/Guru39/th_10-29Buck044.jpg) (http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v77/Guru39/?action=view¤t=10-29Buck044.flv)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v77/Guru39/th_10-29Buck047.jpg) (http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v77/Guru39/?action=view¤t=10-29Buck047.flv)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v77/Guru39/th_10-29Buck054.jpg) (http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v77/Guru39/?action=view¤t=10-29Buck054.flv)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v77/Guru39/th_10-29Buck055.jpg) (http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v77/Guru39/?action=view¤t=10-29Buck055.flv)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v77/Guru39/10-29Buck020.jpg)
Still my most memorable blood trail to date!
Great stuff curt. Great Stuff.
i love a good blood trail. BUT, i have center punched several huge (300# live weight) mn deer. figured theyd be down in 100yds. gave em 45mn. had them bed several times and go, go, and go more. had one deer doubled lunged. the deer ran up a cliff worthy of sheep country. my bro said no lung hit deer would attempt that cliff. well, we found him 250yds...beyond the cliff on the other side. i like em down in sight.
Cool stuff Joe. Run off and hear the crash is my favorite.
As much as love this sport of ours, blood trails make me really nervous. Perhaps it relates to being on a bloodtrail of a dead deer walking, when I thought the shot was perfect, only to bump the one-lunged monster. I did find him a 1/4 mile and 8 hours later but it did something to me. Kinda like getting snakebit did. I hate snakes because of one little cottonmouth. Also, I had been unlucky enough to have looked for several "no finds" including a couple of mine. As much as unraveling the mystery is just plain fun,the fun goes away without the pot at the end of the rainbow.
I'd vote for going down in site every time. Bloodtrails can be beautiful things but to me nothing is more stunning than seeing a white belly from stand.
in sight for me i am lazy and color blind with brown and red lol
I prefer them to fall within my sight. I don't know why, but even when I believe that I've made a perfect shot I still get palpitations when the trail dries up for more than a few yards.
Down in site, i have lost 2 deer to coyotes that I had hit marginally and had to wait to track, it is nice to see them go down and not have to worry.
I like tot track a good blood trail and love to hear the crash when they go down out of sight. But with that being said it is a relief when you can see one go down.
I really love a perfect shot with a scary sharp head that passes through and they just kinda flinch and go on feeding and get the wobble going on and just fallover. That is my favorite! don't happen very often but it's great when it does.
Stiks
I like to watch them go down in sight. I always like following the blood trail even if they fall in site. There is so much to learn from each trail. I do enjoy blood trailing as far as the experiance of woodmanship skills, the unkowning and the since of joy of a hard earned trail. I will be the frist there for any trailing job and will not give up until all options are played out. I would never trade any of the hard learned lessons for anything but.... between 2 losses to bear one to coyotes and all my own mistakes I like to watch'em fall right in front of me.
i like em to go down in site blood tails are ok but i hate the chance of looseing them. i like them down hard and fast like my arrow that just took em down . :bigsmyl: :campfire: :archer2:
Down in sight.
Down in sight or run and crash.
I always prefer to have the animals life end out of sight.
Down in sight all day long.I like short tracking jobs on anything.I've followed too many long trails(Because of others' bad shots...and a couple of my own)with or with a deer at the end.Down in sight is a relief.
I would prefer they go down in sight. Trailing is fun but I have had the dead deer running take me on a few wild trails I did not anticipate.
If it's running away from the truck..down in sight. If it's running to wards the truck, I like blood trails.
My eye sight is getting to where its hard for me to see blood like I use to. So down in sight would be what I would prefer.
I hunt strictly on the ground. No tree stands for me and therefore I would rather have them go down in sight or close to it.
I watched the last buck I shot fall over 30 yeards away. From the point of impact to where he stopped I found a grand total of two drops of blood.
With a tree stand shot you usually have a low exit wound which leaves a better blood trail. With a deer shot from the ground most of the blood stays inside the body cavity leaving a scanty blood trail.
I have gotten in the habit of making a very loud grunt when the arrow hits the deer, or when I m-m-miss, and the deer will usually stop within 20 yards thinking another deer is the cause of the noise. Makes for an easier recovery and sometimes a second chance for another shot.
Dennis
I'm a down in sight guy I guess. To me there is nothing like seeing that deer hit sooooooo well that it makes in 20-50 yards and expires! Gives me that satisfaction that all the hard work and preparation paid off w/ a short efficient kill.
Love to see them go down in sight! :archer2:
Its too warm in this part of the country to want to spend much time on a blood trail. I like the excitement of trailing but I always prefer to hear the crash or the death bawl while in the stand. 100 yard blood trail is about all I want when blood trailing in Texas and Oklahoma. :archer2:
Don't matter, even if they are down is sight, I still follow the blood trail...need all the experience I can get sometimes.
Down in-sight but only if I'm on a small lease. If you have to follow a deer across other property lines then it can get sticky now days. Use to be it wasn't that big a deal. You would just tell the other lease hunters or land owner you are following a wounded deer. Now with all the laws you have to get everyones permission before you can even cross the fence. The place I hunt now(when I hunt) is family land and just under 100 acres. Problem is the deer luv staying around the fences(about 20 to 30 yds max). I have tried to get them away from the fences(using feeders,mock scrapes and rubs) but no luck. If I shoot one and it runs 50yds it may be over the fence. So I would rather have them pile up quickly to avoid any hassles.
I want MINE down in sight. BUT, I want to track YOURS all over hell and half of Georgia and be there when we find it! :archer2:
Down as fast as possible,expecially for our wild boar,they are tough don't bleed at all,they can run for hundreds yards with a broken heart and enter inside so thiks thorns that you can't enter with out a Caterpillar.
Heh Guru,
I like the somersalt move myself.... I have had several take off at the hit, then after about 30 yds do a headlong somersalt.... DEAD DEER RUNNIN ! It is very thick where we hunt most times and I get nervous when they run out of sight. Like others have said, the only good thing about them running out of sight is to hear them crash.
Mason and I also like to stay up in the stand if we kill early. When they are down in sight it is a comfort and keeps you focused on the rest of the hunt. Awesome hunt when you, " Double Bubble ", and have to drag two to the truck.
nocams :jumper:
Down in sight.
I would be happy if they dropped dead in their tracks right where I shot them. :D
I can't handle the anticipation.
I'll take down in sight nearly everytime...but I also enjoy the trailing process....as long as it is a good hit and I am certain I will find it.
Never really thought about it in that way. For me: down in sight every time!!!
I love it when they go down in sight. However, I shot an 8 pointer one year. Double lunged him with a four blade Phantom Normally they are down very quickly but this guy would have nothing to do with that. It was getting along towards dark when I got down from the tree stand and I was susprised not to find my arrow on the other side of him. I trailed him about 50 yards where he jumped a fence and he headed for a hell hole in the swamp....at least that was what I was afraid of if I pushed on so I let him go til the next morning. I found the bloody arrow on the ohter side of the fence but a four hour search found little to no blood. I decided to simply walk the easiest to walk trail figuring if I was hurt like I thought he wasI thought he was that is what I would do. I went about a hundred yards and could fine no blood. I was tired and discouraged...no blood after he dropped the arrow. I reached down to get my cell phone in my cargo pants pocket and as I looked down to open the button I saw i was nearly standing on 3 drops of blood. At least I knew I was on the right trail. I kept on it until the grass got about waist high. I could find blood high on the grass and to make a longer story short I found him about 50 yards from there in edges of the mucky hell hole. The shot was perfect...double lung, hit the offside shoulder. Most of the time deer don't make it the first 75 yards but this guy mangaged about 400. It was a long and tiring job by myself but was one of those accomplishments that I will always cherish. I still wish he had gone down in sight and he was not the biggest buck I have killed. I had him mounted, anyway, his head in the same position that it was when I released the arrow....looking my way. He is a constant reminder to never give up, use your instincts and knowlege...and, perhaps, bring along a friend.
Here he is where I found him. Arrow entrance was perfect and the autopsy told me he shouldn't have traveled that far. But...
(http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a322/Arrowworks/eightpointbuck05.jpg)
Here's another buck I shot from the same stand a month earlier. Perfect heart shot at 22 paces. He went 40 yards, never knew what hit him and he just fell out of sight in the ferns after he stopped to check out what might have just happened. Both experiences were elating. I guess, in summary, all's well that ends well.
(http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a322/Arrowworks/Buckinwoods.jpg)
I like them to go down in sight. Even with a seemingly perfect shot and a death run, I'm always nervous that something will go wrong. I'll never forget a small doe that ran hard for 90 yards and then the blood just stopped. I found her in less than 5 minutes 30 yards away from the last blood I could find, after a couple of half-circles but it bothered me greatly. AFter 45 years and probably 70 bowkills in 5 states I'm trying hard to think of a "bad hit" that turned out good and I can't. However, I can think of a couple of seemingly good hits that turned out bad -- I made a very poor tracking decision based upon visual evidence on one of these good shots, bad recoveries. I learned a lesson, the deer you just shot doesn't know how "good" you've been -- don't take shortcuts when recovering.
Down in site for sure, but even then I follow the trail as if recovery depended on it. Not a single trail has failed to show me something useful.
Down in sight.
The satisfaction of a shot that puts them down in sight far outweighs the anticipation of the follow up.
But , by all means, PLEASE call me to help track YOUR deer because after all, blood trailing is a SKILL and excersizing those "muscles" feels good too!
Cool thread! :thumbsup:
QuoteOriginally posted by RC:
I like it when they go out of sight and I hear them " crash". Real sweet sound.RC
He stole my awnser. Where I hunt it is almost impossible to have a instance where they go down in site unless of course you drop them :knothead: , but the terrain is so drastic most ridge tops are only 20 yards across and then it goes DOWN, lol.
I love the blood trail and always follow it, but if it drops in sight, I'm happy with that. Much better an easy recovery than not one at all. :archer:
I want everything to fall down where I can see it.Trailing is fine but seeing them fall takes out all the guess work and gets them in the cooler faster.It is hot here and faster recovery is always best.Usually I have them cut up and in a cooler within 30 minuites or less after I drop the string.Having to trail one is nothing I want to do.jmo
Nothing better than a cool October mourning or evening trailing back straps. :archer2:
I guess I'm with the majority. Given a choice, I'll take down in sight every time, but when that does happen I know I am missing out on a part of the hunt. I do thoroughly enjoy the trailing process as well, and take great pride in working out a blood trail.
Finding the animal at the end of a tough trail is almost as exciting as the shot itself. I think the relief and overwhelming feelings of accomplishment are even more intense that way.
I like it when they go down in sight on private property, that way I don't second quess my self. When I hunt public land I wouldn't mind so much if I had to trail it, there is plenty of land so I don't have to worry about it dying on someone's front yard, plus good practice.
I've only taken three deer with the bow. One dropped in sight, one I heard crash and one I had to trail for a looong way. After the last one, as rewarding as it was to have worked out the trail i vote for drop in sight or hear it crash after running out of sight.
Just out of sight but I lke to hear em crash. Sometimes they have a strong will to live and I don't enjoy watching them struggle to stay alive. I usually have a spiritual and emotional moment then the overwhelming urge to grill those tenderloins takes over. :bigsmyl:
I like both it doesn't matter, trailing a deer teaches you alot along the way and helps on future trails,Plus when they run a lil bit out of site i can calm down a bit. I have had a number of deer i shot that went down in site that i was so excited i had to relieve myself from my treestand and could hardly climb down cuz my legs were Jello.LOL!! It's alright you can all laugh!
QuoteOriginally posted by HATCHCHASER:
Just out of sight but I lke to hear em crash. Sometimes they have a strong will to live and I don't enjoy watching them struggle to stay alive. I usually have a spiritual and emotional moment then the overwhelming urge to grill those tenderloins takes over. :bigsmyl:
I have to say this is how I feel. I like them to just run a little bit out of site and lay down in peace. I don't like to watch anything struggle to live either.
However, I do love to see a massive splatter all over the place blood trail.
Good stuff fellas :thumbsup:
Remember, we're not talking about poor hits, and long bloodtrails. Because anyone, would without a doubt, would take "in sight" over that anytime.
I see I am in the minority here, I guess I just relish the "unknown factor" of when critter runs out of sight.
:clapper:
In the scrub where i usually hunt , a "drop in sight " scenario is rare to say the least. I like to "hear" them go down instead.
I totally understand what Curt is saying though ... the mystery 'after the shot' is perhaps the great unknown in hunting and as such should be relished for the integral process that it involves . So many variables , even to the best of shots is what makes this an adventure every time i step into the bush...
Well said Ben :notworthy:
Curt: I'm not sure you are in a minority. It takes one set of skills to shoot and kill an animal and a whole different set of skills to follow up. It's almost always seems like a relief when you see them go down, bur the sense of accomplishment by unraveling a complex trail is pretty special. Shooting a deer the first day out is nice, too, if you have more than one tag to fill. But if you don't and you take that one deer on day one or two means you are missing the whole rest of the hunting season. As long as the trailing is successful and the deer drops where I can find him real close to my truck, I could vote for the trailing thing as the way to go.
I hope what I am trying to say makes sense. We hunt with trad equipment for the challenge...so I guess the real question has to do with how challenged do we want to be?...both before and after the shot.
I enjoy a good blood trail, its part of the experience. Kind of like Christmas morning as a kid. Now, after a difficult trail or two it sure is nice to see them fall.
The total preparation as well as following and figuring out a blood trail is most rewarding to me. Many find it a chore to follow a blood trail and want get it over as soon as possible. I thoroughly enjoy taking my time and am in no rush as this is the climax of the hunt for me.
When you know you have made that good shot.It's up to the deer how far they go.A little or long traking is all about the hunt..I've had them go down in sight. In heavy cover sometime's you can't see what happen's..It's about the hunt and the challage..Never give up...
It is a relief,for me,when they drop in sight...you know you got them and there is no wondering or other concerns.I find bloodtrailing to have it's own rewards,however,and a lot can be learned from it.Good practice for any hunter to take part in and it's a great feeling when you can look up and say "There he/she is"!
I don't mind a good blood trail. It can be real rewarding to find the animal if the trail is a hard one. I hate it when you don't find them, even if it is someone else's animal. I do prefer to see them drop in site though. Especially with elk. They are enough work without tracking them for a ways too. Gary
I don't like having to trail mine very far but i love helping my buddies track and drag. It does me as much good to see my buddies get em as it does if I get em myself. :campfire:
I also enjoy the knowledge I get from others.
One of the most exciting factors in running an arrow through a deer is the moments of uncertainty after arrows impact. I find that there is little that I enjoy more than blood trailing but even so, when deer hunting, I think I enjoy seeing the wobble and fall of the deer even more.
Many times I've shot deer only to see them run out and stop, looking back to see what disturbed them, only to wobble and fall right before my eyes. That's a hard feeling to beat. I guess I'll go for "fall in sight" when deer hunting. I like to blood trail everything else. :thumbsup:
I was watching the outdoors channel and country music star Blake Shelton shot a pig with a wheelie bow and it let out a long squeal, stiffened up and fell over. And I just laugh everytime I see that. Also saw Fred Eikler shoot a turkey and it did a somersault and died in its own shadow. If I could, every animal I kill would go down like that, at least that would be my goal. I expect I will seldom actually see an animal go down like that except in my mind just before the shot.
Down in sight for me. The only deer that I've lost are some that didn't go down in sight. I'll track them from my tree to where ever they fell anyway, just for the practice.
As soon as the shot hits, I repeat, "GO DOWN, GO DOWN". But, if they do get out of sight, I want a loud crash.
Its great when they fall within sight, but as someone previously posted, what is even better is when they go out of site and then you here them crash!
My most fond memories are following a blood trail ! There is nothing like it in my opinion.
I't is a big relief when they go down in sight but I also love to follow a bloodtrail. Nine times out of ten you won't see them go down where I hunt simply because visibility is limited to 40 or 50 yards usally, sometimes less. My black lab loves to find them also.