Just curious of your opinions.
I read a thread elsewhere where a pro guide says he always pushes the animal. His rationale was an animal that beds has time to regain its strength, clot and close otherwise lethal wounds.
Now, he's not talking about sprinting after game, but just a steady following. He said in his experience game not allowed to rest will often simply collapse from a hemorrhage that's not allowed to close (enabling a coup de grace if not already dead).
I have read both sides of that coin and tried both sides of that coin.
Guess what? I got mixed results.....
I think you need to evaluate each situation and give it your best logical guess. Soemtimes they will take off like a rocket when pushed and other times they will trudge along and succumb.
I'm sure it is related to how hard they are hit, but how do you know for sure?
I let them bed. If it is a lethal hit, it is a lethal hit and they will expire soon. If it is a gut shot or liver shot I will give them hours if not over night. I have seen deer run a mile with a lethal hit when pressed. Generally they will lay down shortly after hit as soon as they feel safe enough to.
Many years ago, I got a poor hit on a mule deer, and in my exuberance, I pushed him too soon. I finally recovered him after about 2 miles!! The only reason I got him was because of the open terrain, where I could watch him; if it would have been in wooded country, I would never have got him. I won't do that again.
If you hunt very small parcels of broken up private land pushing a deer is a no-no if you ever want to get your grippers on it. The hit means the most to me.
Last 2 posts nail what I've always thought.
When I lived in open country of MT... you could push and follow..draw to draw and work em perhaps.
Back East here, like PD said...you might get 10 acres or less to access...push em where? People forget to give details of terrain and how much access they're dealing with...
If it's gut shot and you know it, let it lay. Twelve hours later you will find a dead deer within 100 - 200 yards of where it was shot. That's been my experience and so far I've been lucky enough to recover all bad hit deer I've had - including one this past week.
Now if it's a muscle shot, say in the hams, I guess I could see where pushinging it may cause it to continue to bleed. But I think I would still let it lay and come back later.
Let it lay. Unless something else is pushing it, they will bed up and you will find your deer there in the morning.
Coyotes? well its either chance feeding them overnight or guarentee feeding them when you cannot find your dead deer.
This is why it is so important to KNOW where your arrow hit. Base your decision on this.
I only had that happen once where i made a bad shot and the deer trooted off about forty yards an bedded down where i could see him the whole time.finally i decided to climb down try to sneak up and put another shot on him . he jumped up before i could an took off. me an my two brother-in-laws found him about another 500 yards away bedded down in a swamp. that time i got him with a second arrow.there was a good blood trail from where i shot him to where he bedded down th efirst time there was almost no blood from where i jumped him to where he was the second time. so in that case a push might have worked out better. but its always gonna be situation dependant. problem is your not gonna know until you try it
In my experience, there is almost never a situation in which I would push a deer. If it is snowing hard I may push it to keep a fresh trail going...
For some reason I have a tendency which i am not proud of to shoot deer in the gut. I dont do it on purpose It just seems to happen to me a lot. When this happens or I am unsure about a hit, I almost always give the deer around 4-5 hours, This is normally enough time for them to either expire, or for them to bed down. I have shot several deer that were still alive when i found them but unable to move from the damage of the gut shot. This is when we have to perform a hunter's duty which i do not like but its part of hunting. I just feel more comfortable giving the animal plenty of time, I have pushed deer and it almost always results in a lost blood trail, Especially when it was a gut shot..
Don't push unless weather is factor. Once bumped and moving faster than they need to the blood trail is almost always lost. Experience talking.....
QuoteOriginally posted by Tree Rat:
I have read both sides of that coin and tried both sides of that coin.
Guess what? I got mixed results.....
Same here. I've had some animals actually just lay down and allow you to end things and I've had others run clear out of the country (or so it seems.) In all honesty though, I think that you're better off in most cases to back off and let them be for a while. Adrenaline does amazing things.
I think Doc Nock and Roger,Put a justification to actually push a deer... But those are two of the few circumstances I'd even consider it...
But here in this heavy vegetation of the south... You just back out or if you have access to a real good tracking dog and lots of room to push... Just let em lay...
Like Buckeye states... Even a gut shot deer will usually bed down and expire or atrophy enough for an easy follow up!!! Usually in under 100 yds!!!
A friend who runs a tracking dog loves an undisturbed 3-4 hr trail... He gets to finish huis hunt and then... He calls it easy money!!!
I call it common sense... under our circumstances...
For me, I a say let them lay.
I never push a deer. If it is a fatal hit they don't go far. If it is left to lay long enough and has gotten up and left its bed before you get there the odds are that the hit wasn't fatal to begin with. Pushing it wouldn't have mattered.
with me, it depends on the hit....Last week the deer I shot didnt react to the hit and simply walked away... only about 10yards.... so I had eyes on her...
But normally if I shoot one that runs... I sit and listen then wait about 30m.....
I give it a half an hour and if the trail shows sign that i'm pushing it I will back off.The key is to double lung'em or heart hitt'em then they shouldn't go to far. :goldtooth: I like the double lung personally always within 50yrds dead on the ground.In my experience that is. :archer2:
I should have thought about this....last week I did a combination of get on the trail quickly and wait. It was almost 80 degrees, and I was unsure of the hit. I got on the blood after 15 minutes. I was very worried about spoilage.
Once I found good blood, I VERY SLOWLY stalked the trail. This added another 20 minutes. I was lucky enough to see the deer on the ground ahead of me, and I sat down. It wasn't dead. I stayed put until movement ceased, plus 10 minutes.
Looking back I suppose that was a combination of jumping the trail quickly and having some patience. Every situation is different. It's up to us to use our woodsmanship and common sense to make the best call.
Depends where you are hunting. If you are hunting where there are lots of coyotes (like south texas) you better find it sooner than later. In south Texas if you wait to find it the next day, yep you'll find it but only the carcass with the head.
QuoteOriginally posted by Buckeye Trad Hunter:
QuoteOriginally posted by Tree Rat:
I have read both sides of that coin and tried both sides of that coin.
Guess what? I got mixed results.....
Same here. I've had some animals actually just lay down and allow you to end things and I've had others run clear out of the country (or so it seems.) In all honesty though, I think that you're better off in most cases to back off and let them be for a while. Adrenaline does amazing things. [/b]
+3
I've managed to run down a few wounded deer, some hit harder than others. A couple were ones I put bad hits on, others were just blood spots I happened across. I've learned that in my youthful exuberance days, I probably could've run down a perfectly healthy deer and got a shot on it with a gun. All those deer covered miles of ground, though all but one made big circles. One of those deer had laid long enough with a gunshot to the gut/back ham that it had started to fester. A couple others had entirely superficial wounds that would have healed. Those ones would not have been found dead after laying overnight.
That being said, I'll always leave a questionable hit to lay these days. Mostly because I am not as young or fit as I once was to dog a deer like that. But also because I don't hunt the large properties/Nat'l forest I used to, and the fact that a couple of those deer I chased for miles would have laid down and died if I had let them. Even if they don't die, they will likely bed close and be reluctant to get up right away, offering a possible shot if you're careful about stalking the trail the next day.
I don't push. I want as few twist and turns and large gaps in the blood trail as I can get. I don't wait an hour after a shot though. If I think the shot is great, after the deer disappears (more than 50% of the time they go down in sight), I begin memorizing important landmarks: where deer was at the shot, where it ran after the shot, last spot I saw or heard the deer. Then I slowly begin to pack up and lower my gear. Within 20 minutes I'm at the spot (quietly as possible) of the shot. I look for sign. Then I start moving along the path the deer ran, evaluating the hit as I go. If the trail is sparse or gutty, I back off for at least an hour.
If a gut or chest shot, let em bed down. They will typically run fast then stop to look back to see what it was and to see if it is following. If they are satisfied that you are not following, they will likely bed down right there.
If a ham or leg hit and you KNOW it, follow it slowly and right now. Muscle shots bleed and you should have enough blood trail to follow, but it will clot up and close if you let it rest.
Very different strategy
ChuckC
Interesting question with a lot of variable. Many have been mentioned.
I have always been taught never ever push a wounded animal. I have seen many that were lost because the were jumped from there bed and many that were found in there bed when left.
I have also seen the flip side. I pushed an elk that I hit one time and it turned out that pushing him made him bleed faster and more. It was fresh snow and thankfully that made for easy tracking.
My thought is this. There are a lot of things that can go wrong if you push an animal. My thought will most always be to let lay. There may be a case when I push an animal but I will decide that then and there.
Based on what I have seen through the years, I think it's better to let them lay down than push them.
If you it a big mature whitetail worse thing you can do is bump him, most of the time he will then walk until he drops. Back out immediately away from where he went. Alot of times when getting down and looking for the first blood that is enough to spook him if hes close. Give him some time then look for the blood. If no blood trail look in depressions and by water, it is cooler there
Here in PA, you definitely let 'em bed! NEVER push 'em!
A lot of things can happen if you push a wounded deer. Most all of them are bad.
Pretty much sage advice you are getting from the folks!
Especially the advice concerning situations when hunting small parcels or private land! Push a deer in those situations......and best case scenario is a dead deer laying next to someone's rose bushes (that you MIGHT be able to recover).....worst case scenario, you never find the deer and the lucky homeowner who does find it in their backyard calls the game warden to have it removed.
QuoteOriginally posted by tim roberts:
Don't push unless weather is factor. Once bumped and moving faster than they need to the blood trail is almost always lost. Experience talking.....
This has been my experience as well. It's easier to trail when they're walking and bedding. Running is another story.