So you shot a deer or other big game critter. Now what ?
I hope lots of experienced folks participate in this one and those not so experienced listen or ask questions. A good hit can go south quick if certain things go wrong or are handled poorly.
Care to share a few tidbits of what should be done; immediately, in a bit, next day ? Heck, even stretching it to after you find it.
CHuckC
The first thing I do, assuming I don't see the animal go down, is take a compass bearing of where I last saw or heard the animal. I've found this can really speed the tracking process up.
Tie a ribbon on a branch denoting where the animal was when hit. (remove ribbon later).
Depending on the hit I may follow right away or wait a while. With hogs I follow right away.
Wether I'm following right away or not, I try to locate my arrow and the start of the trail to examine the blood. That helps me to decide whether to follow or wait a bit.
I've gotten to the point with whitetails to where I like to err on the safe side. Having said that, after most hits I do nothing. If I'm in a treestand I will wait a half hour and then back out the opposite direction the deer ran giving him a wide berth. If I saw the deer hit the ground I will go after it immediately but if I did not see or hear it go down I try to wait 4 hours before tracking. Where I hunt the temps are usually cold enough that the meat is not going to go bad. Waiting 4 hours assures recovery on hits you thought were perfect, but maybe were not so perfect. Having said that, I don't like to leave a deer overnight anymore. The reason is we have way more coyotes now than we had when I first started hunting. If you leave a deer overnight it seems there is about an 80 percent chance the yotes will get to him first. If I hit a deer in the paunch on an evening stand, I will wait till morning to track it but I will often sit in the area and listen for coyotes. If I hear a bunch of coyotes sounding off congregated in one area then I'm going after the deer.
Chuck I wrote a real good guide for what to do after the shot send me your address and I'll send you one.
I also stay put for at least 30 minutes after the shot. Pay very close attention to every detail after the release. About 6 years ago I shot a doe that was really keyed up. She reacted to the shot and spun. The shot still got one lung and liver but she didn't leave a spot of blood. About 2-3 minutes after the shot I heard some rustling that kept going for several minutes. After backing out carefully and returning 4 hours later I finally found her by going to where I heard the rustling. Keep track of every detail, it may be the difference between you eating the critter or a coyote.
Chris
first thing I do is to stay quiet and listen for it to go down or some other indication of direction, then take a compass reading to last place seen and try to remember a landmark such as a stump or tree or something, if shot from a tree stand then I will shoot a arrow to where the deer was standing at the time it was shot, then stand that arrow up so you can see it later.. things change a lot when ya climb down, if ya find the arrow try to determine the hit, no matter what you saw, but depending on conditions and how soon to dark I always try to give it a minimum of 30 minutes on a good shot way more on a marginal one. then follow up the trail staying as quiet as possible...
I did 3 podcasts on this very subject. Here are the links. Keep in mind they were some of my first podcasts and I was not the greatest speaker...lol but definitely great detail and advise on the subject.
http://tbwpodcast.com/episode-9-animal-recovery-tactics-part-1/
http://tbwpodcast.com/episode-10-animal-recovery-tactics-part-2/
http://tbwpodcast.com/episode-30-using-a-gps-for-blood-trails-and-grid-searches/
For whitetails Jon hit it on the head, as far as I'm concerned. One of my old time mentors had a saying - "If he goes more than 300 yards, he'll go 300 miles." This is a good rule of thumb for whitetails that aren't pressured after the shot. We've tracked lots of deer, for ourselves for 30 years, and for other people with our blood dog over the last 4-5. If you hit a whitetail fatally and back out chances are 90% + that you'll find him dead in a bed within 300 yards the next day. Jump him and all bets are off. Now he knows who to blame and he will go till he drops. The #1 mistake that hunters make (our experience from dog calls) is to go too quickly and jump the deer. Usually they don't even know they jumped him, but we find a bloody bed with the dog. Even with the dog the jumped deer dramatically decreases the chance of recovery. Mostly the guys that call us are "modern" type bowhunters, and it seems they have trouble seeing where the arrow hits. Always "center-punched him" - but that's generally not the case when the dog finds the deer....well I don't know about that equipment, never used it, but if you aren't seeing where your arrows hit with traditional gear you need to fix that. Make sure you know where you hit him, make sure you know where he went by sight/sound. And unless you see him drop give him at least 4 hours. 8 is better. You screw up and jump a gutshot deer and you've got a real problem on your hands.
R
Excellent subject! :thumbsup:
Well, I got so darn excited after the shot one time I almost jumped out of a tree stand. I don't recommend doing this. Now I only hunt the ground.
First thing is sit down and get your breath, and let the adrenaline wind down a bit.
So, if I don't see it go down, I wait a while before tracking. Pay close attention to the last place you saw the deer. I will check the site of the hit for blood, hair etc. This can give you an idea of what is to come.
Stay put and still for 10 minutes and use your ears. Mark the last spot you saw the animal and then go to that spot. Try to find evidence of a hit....hair, blood, arrow, etc. Wait at least 30 minutes to an hour to begin tracking. You may want to call someone to assist you in this.
Unless you hit a deer and break a heavy bone (not a rib), the deer will typically react by kicking or jumping. Deer are eaten by everything so of course, they run. If you wait, the deer will run to the first available cover and stop to look back at what just hit it. If you don't move, or jump up and down screaming "I smoked him", the deer will watch for a bit and bed down nearby, where, hopefully, you will find it. A harder hit deer may just run till it drops.
As stated above, I like to watch and listen. If you see it fall, or hear it fall, you can go get it quicker, but if you don't, give it a bit of time, then sneak out and give it some more time.
Before you get down, use that time to mentally mark where you shot the deer and where you last saw it. Compass bearings are great tools to get you back on track.
ChuckC
i like following (reading) the bloodtrail, so I really like to slowdown and enjoy that part of the hunt, so I really let myself calm down after the shot taking mental notes, and replaying the whole thing through in my mind.
I hunt alone, so its rare that I have any help getting a deer out of the woods, my first thought is how and wich way out, tag and gut.
if a cart is nessasary I hide the deer under leaves and limbs and go for a cart.
if its cool enough il hang it for a few days, otherwise its quartered and placed in a cooler of ice.
If your afoot, stalking, still hunting, 'gittin lucky', whatever, make sure you also mark the spot from where you made the shot.
Things sure can look different if you, when you, take off in pursuit or maybe just looking back for shot alignment or maybe you need to start over in tracking mode.
Watch and listen till there is nothing to take note of anymore then I eat a sandwich and mark the spot I shot from with the GPS when I'm elk hunting. Only slightly different tree stand hunting!
Watch, listen, sit at least 30 to an hour, at the bottom of your,stand, check for blood, arrow, smell the arrow, if a gut,shot you will know. Pursue, deer hit hard and bleeding will want water, mark your trail, with toilet paper, it's easy to see easy to return to last blood, watch the trails, don't, don't get in a hurry.
I'll watch and listen. Making a note of the last spot I saw the animal. I wait 30+ minutes before starting the search. If I know it is a marginal hit then I'll quietly back out and wait 2 or 3 hours or even over night. I've made tracking markers out of surveyors tape and hair clips. I use 3 of them to mark the blood trail as I go. When I've mark the 3rd blood sign I walk back and pick up the first clip. This keeps me on track but also helps to slow me down.
once I find the animal I say 'grace' and sign my tag.
then take PICTURES.
then either field dress or go gutless.
then get my game cart.
then begin to wonder why I shot this one so far from the truck. (I hunt in lion and bear country so about now I am also wonder WHO IS WATCHING)
First thing to do after noting how the animal reacts is to stay very quiet and listen as well as watch it until it is out of sight...visualizing the shot in your mind or thinking about where fletching or the nock was sticking out if you did not get a complete pass through is also important...we have a great new method to mark the trail or decide where the animal was when hit as well, so pull out your phone and take some pictures...now it is decision making time...a poor hit dictates a much longer wait before even going to the arrow strike site unless you know for a certainty that the animal is far away...if you know the animal is hit well you could go up and mark the site and then still back out of there for at least a half hour...while you are waiting muster any resources you can including calling a savvy friend to help you with the tracking job...tracking with the right person can make the job more than twice as easy...then either way let the fun begin...one thing I want to emphasize here is that I never hunt in the rain or even if there is a risk of rain...some may use the fact they are on an expensive hunt to justify that and I say that is the worse kind of unethical bowhunting since you are letting expense dictate your ethical base
DDave
I have many ? about how things are different in the Maryland marsh than in my mountain hunting . #1- I am told do not gut if I have marsh to drag through .#2 - I am worried about the meat going bad if I have to leave over night to find . With the warmer weather of Maryland and earlier season . #3 - I am concerned about blood tracking in the marsh and the Sika getting into muddy marsh that I just can not get to . I have put a lot of time and work into preseason scouting and placing stands .( I have loved the time in the marsh ).If I am lucky enough to get a shot opportunity , I am uncertain what I will do .
May life's simplest things bring you the greatest pleasures!!
RIng,
Wear hip boots so you can get into the deeper stuff even though you may be on dry ground. The deer will head for the nastiest stuff around, usually in water.
We gut and drag out. The muddy water will wash out with a hose and won't affect the meat.
In warm weather I wouldn't want to leave overnight.
Tracking in the marsh can be very disorienting so either use a GPS/compass or have a friend or two standing where they can find you and guide you to familiar territory. It can be especially disorienting at night where you can go 50 yards and become totally turned around and it all looks alike. Three of us tracked one at night last rifle season and we almost got lost and didn't go more that 30-40 yards. The deer was going in a circle. I was totally disoriented, we all three disagreed as to what direction the stand was but one guy was correct and we followed him.
Ring, as above there is really no meat affected that can't be washed if you gut the deer, except maybe the tenderloins. . so remove them as you gut. But. . if you are crossing deeper pools, a deer will float if left intact, at least enough to make it easier to drag thru the water.
Don't split the pelvis or the rib cage, just do a quick and dirty gut job, trying not to get the gut contents on the deer. Do a good job of hosing it off when you get home. This also allows the meat to cool a bit with all that cold water (hose).
Think about all of this ahead of time so you bring the needed tools, bags etc to take care of the deer in the field.
ChuckC
I sit down and calm myself and give the arrow time to do its work. Then I read the sign at the hit site (blood, hair, arrow) to determine my next move.
Soon as you hit an elk best use your cow call a bit. It can keep them close for another arrow if needed and or save you a bunch of tracking. I hear alot of guys leave an animal over night. I really hate doing that on elk so do absolutly everything you can to get a good shot and then get to that animal as soon as you can without kicking it out of its death bed and at least get it taken apart and hung. Then you can come get it the next morning if its still there. Piss around it, leave your dirty underware, hang some of those break and shake lights. I have never seen an elk left overnight in one piece not have significant meat loss. I know sometimes it cant be avoided....but think hard on it.
I mark the place the deer was hit with some toilet paper and then every blood sign do the same. If the blood trail ends it saves time and wonderment to see the path of the deer. Toilet paper is biodigradable so no worries about leaving it.
I am always amazed when I shoot a deer and watch it run away like a bat out of ... and see the last point before it gets out of site. Later I walk to that last site and the deer is dead 10 yds from where I saw it running. Weird
Previous posts have pretty much covered my tracking methods, but I'll add how I handle the meat in our hot southern climate. It's generally not cold enough here to leave meat hanging for more than a few hours, and a walk-in cooler isn't in my budget, so I have an old cast iron tub beside my skinning rack. Once quartered, the meat goes in the tub with water, a little vinegar, and 2 bags of ice. I keep a sheet of 3/4 inch treated plywood on top to keep varmints out.(I thought about attaching it with hinges and a latch, but so far that hasn't been necessary.) The next day I drain the water and refill, adding a bag of ice. On day three I butcher and package for the freezer. This method takes out all the undesirable flavor.
I give thanks to all mighty God he granted me the opportunity to take one of his animals. :pray:
I think everybody has about covered it. There are only a couple things I do different. First off all my arrows have at least a small band of reflective tape on them and my squirrel arrow has a large band. If I decide to back out(especially in the evening) I mark last blood with that arrow. When I return that arrow is visible from a looong way.
Also, I like to cook about as much as I like to hunt and if there is any way possible I don't let any of the meat touch water. I remove backstraps and sometimes loins immediately. If the weather is right I hang hide off in a bag to dry age. If it is warm out I dry age in the fridge. Aging individual quarters is probably best so there is no muscle contraction during the process. 24-48 hrs. is usually sufficient and yields more tender, flavorful meat that is less likely to freezer burn.
Keep a spray bottle with peroxide in your car. Get it and squirt , blood bubbles. Use a tracking stick. Take a straight stick find a good set of tracks from your deer. When yo run out of sign, go back and measure with the stick to help locate where the next track might be.
Also trail off to the side so you do not mess up an important spoor that might be needed later.
Daddy long legs are attracted to blood some say. Just a tip I cannot confirm.
Remember, this deer may be lying down, watching your feet come along and the low hanging brush masks him from you. Kneel down and peer around a bit
You may not see a whole deer, so look for parts- black nose or eye , pink ear white hocks or rump
Your feet go thump thump. Deer sound like 3 legs or a constant noise. Drag a stick behind you so you sound like an animal or animals walking
When you spot a downed animal, do not walk directly at it, but rather walk at a 45 degree angle and glance with side vision. Looking at any game animal gives them the Two eye predator response
I will look into my notes to review as I have not taught a class this year yet. 2more
SLOW DOWN. Speed may not be your friend as you may miss something
looking is not seeing, listening is not hearing
I wait a minimum of 30 minutes before i move at all. With elk i spend that time cow calling.... Then I mark the exact spot the arrow left my bow with surveyors tape. i stick a branch in the ground where i was sanding. Then i go to the spot i hit the animal and look for blood & flag that.... Then i set for another 30 minutes to an hour minimum before slowly taking up the trail. I stalk hunt the blood trail keeping an arrow nocked where it is safe to do so.... I do NOT ever go get help tacking an animal. I've seen more animals lost by getting too many people trashing out the natural landscape.... There is a lot more to tracking than following a blood trail.....
Te only time i'll go for help is after it's got dark, and i've lost the trail completely. If you leave an animal with the guts in it over night in september in Oregon, it's going to get scarfed by bears , coyotes, or mountain lions before the sun comes up. even if you are lucky 7 it doesn't, the bone sour ruins the meat...
In really warm weather the best thing to do is get that meat cooled down as quickly as possible. If i've got a creek near buy, i'll quarter it and drag it into the creek as quickly as possible. If there is no water available, and i can't get it out that night, i'll bone it out and hang the meat in trees & hope the bears don't get it anyway...
I'd rather stay up all night packing meat out than loose it.
I don't get to do it as much as I want! what I will add though is in my area early season is HOT like 80s hot. I got to get em quick! Really got to see the hit and act accordingly. If you got em throguh the goodies, they are dead in seconds - in my area so thick you hear em fall.
Just really hoping to get a chance to do this soon. -