Blood Trails

[Pygmy]

Back when I was young, dumb, and full of piss and vinegar ( I am no longer young, nor full of P/V) I used to enjoy following blood trails...

Then, over the years, I followed a number that did not result in a recovered deer, due to weather, clotting, or whatever reason. A few were deer that I had hit, and many times I was helping friends and hunting partners track thier deer.

Nowadays, I only like to follow ONE kind of blood trail..

Wide, short, and with a dead deer at the end !

[ants]

Amen brother. I got a deer over the weekend and after tracking it for about oh ten feet or so I started thinking to myself "I hope this doesn't take long" It ended up being a short track. Happy..Happy

[Culvercreek hunt club]

I like them even better when I see them fall within site

[Doewhacker]

My Dad loves to track deer, he came right over Sunday when I shot that doe and couldn't wait to get on it. I figured it out and let him do his thing to make him happy. He has tracked lots and lots of deer in his time, some ours some others that called for a hand. I for one don't mind tracking as long as I'm not alone, that makes things considerably harder.

[steve863]

The blood trail I like is the one I make while dragging the deer out of the woods. A couple of times I even added some of my own blood to the trail. LOL

[Culvercreek hunt club]

I for one don't mind tracking as long as I'm not alone, that makes things considerably harder.

Worse than alone is being with someone that won't listen or is too gun ho. Get ahead and flip that one leaf over and it can add hours...lol.

[Paulie]

Great point Culver...that is the biggest pain in the ass!!

[growalot]

Your not kidding Amen!!...

I know many of you wouldn't admit it...but it's damn scary out in those woods 2a.m. cutting a dead deer by your self...when you look up and glance around there are a bunch of florescent green eyes looking back!!...I don't care if I looked or sounded like a nut job yelling hey and waving my arms....not cool with no weapon to protect ya but a gutting knife.....lol

[crappyice]

I reall enjoy the process of following a blood trail and the whole gutting process. It may be as a result of the few deer I have helped with but for now I am as hopeful for my partner just to get down and track as I am waiting for one myself.

[Guns&ReligionCop]

I enjoyed tracking my doe from my stand until I watched her tip over 50 yards and about 4 seconds later

[wooly]

Most dead deer I find post season(usually 20-30), the blood trail has been washed away for weeks if not months..... it does give ya a little advantage simply knowing the kind of terrain and places mortaly wounded deer like to hunker down and die in when a blood trail runs out.

I'm not a very good "tracker" but I'm pretty good at finding lost things hiding on the forest floor!

[G-Man]

I love tracking blood trails, and back trailing in snow to see what deer were doing before it got shot. @ 2 points! 1. never walk on the blood trail or the deer trail blood was on!!! 2. if tracking with a partner one stays on trial with head looking down and the other off 5 yards or so with head up scaning the woods looking for wounded/ dead deer. These 2 i have found to be most important. If blood is lost mark last blood and again not walking on trails go up each intersection of deer trail and look for blood 25 yards at a time for each trail it may have gone including backtracking looking for intersection. There is a lot more to it but those are very important!!

[erussell]

Most dead deer I find post season(usually 20-30), the blood trail has been washed away for weeks if not months..... it does give ya a little advantage simply knowing the kind of terrain and places mortaly wounded deer like to hunker down and die in when a blood trail runs out.

I'm not a very good "tracker" but I'm pretty good at finding lost things hiding on the forest floor!

Darn right, If I ever shoot a good buck late in the season and on his death run he nocks half his rack off and I cant find it, Im callin Wolly. He could find a 3 in spike in a ten acre briar patch.

[TreeGuy]

Im a big fan of a challenge, not that i like the thought of losing a deer( at all) but i have been known on occasion to be on my face in the dirt looking for blood. Only lost one that my father hit but had tracked it for 3 days and 6 hrs with deersearch. Drop after drop for mile after mile, literally. But we all have to admit, if they run out of sight after the shot it is the best feeling in the world to see that blood trail. !

[dwallace]

I also love when you see air bubbles in the blood trail! I do hate those green eyes around you at night though. I definitely prefer early morning based on that!

[phade]

I certainly enjoy blood trailing as long as it's not a poor hit...ha.

I always get a bit anxious or nervous if:

I don't see it go done

I don't hear the crash

I don't see and/or find the arrow within a short distance of the shot

If that happens...the time between that realization and the first blood droplets giving me info...I get nervous.

I heard my buck go down this year with a massive crash, but even then, I was still nervous until I found blood. Only found the arrow walking back to the truck to drop off gear after finding the buck...arrow backed out and was tucked in briars.

[Terry]

I carry orange flagging with me, helps tremendously.

You guys that see green eyes around you, how often does this happen? I have tracked several at night and never experienced that.

[phade]

I carry orange flagging with me, helps tremendously.

You guys that see green eyes around you, how often does this happen? I have tracked several at night and never experienced that.

Only had two issues that I can remember. One I physically saw them and had to shoo them away. The other were two packs communicating to one another from different but closing positions. Ugh.

Not so much a real danger (although that's arguable), but just makes the hair on your neck stand up and work a little faster.

[growalot]

Actually several times...I never track with another person...and I don't go crashing through the woods...I go very slow and choose my steps...I gut where I find them and it doesn't take long after opening them up and the steam from their bodies to waft across the woods letting animals know of a downed deer....whether it's yotes...fox ..raccoon or yes other deer that come in...the eyes are a bit un nerving

[bushnell]

I will be honest that I am not very good at tracking. If the deer doesnt go down in sight I usually call my dad "the tracker" to come help me out. I am the one that lags behind and has the orange trail marking tape flagging last blood whether we are looking for my deer or someone elses. I have a keen eye for movement ahead while my dad has his head down looking for blood.

Never saw the green eyes staring at me in the woods. Thats why I always have some form of firearm with me. Just never know.

[steve863]

I honestly don't see how anyone could "love" or "enjoy" blood trails. I realize that bowhunters may need to take up blood trails more often than gun hunters, but in general having a long blood trail on your hands is most likely due to a less than perfect shot no matter what weapon you are using. I know it happens to everyone once in a while, but I just can't say that I will "love" or "enjoy" the experience. Just not the right way to look at it in my opinion. To me following a long blood trail becomes necessary because of a screw up on our or someones elses part. Not much to love or enjoy about that, at least the way I look at this.

[G-Man]

I thinkk the love or enjoyment comes from trying to unravel what happened , where is it going, what kind of shot placement was it? I have found a blood trails going across my property that are from another hunter but no hunter is ever seen... i've recovered the deer once a nice buck 9pt and back tracked the blood to the shooter who swore he must of missed. he was very surprised i gave him the deer i spent the whole day tracking. Another hunter refused the doe he had shot i found dead . i informed the landowner where he was hunting and he no longer has permission to hunt there. While yes they may have been a bad shot, many were good shots but just never followed. To many hunters especially during gun if they don't see the deer drop they figure they missed , or they are looking in the wrong place for the inital hit especially since they came out with rifles in the southern zone. If you follow enough trails on your hunting grounds you will learn where wounded deer head to die.especially helpful when there is little or no blood...

[Culvercreek hunt club]

I would have to put that enjoyment right up there with the month long wait after a broken condom...lol. Sorry but I think that illustration is spot on.lol Edited October 17, 2012 by Culvercreek hunt club

[phade]

Archery relies on blood loss via cut, not trauma like guns.

Blood trails are the norm for archery...how heavy depends...and sometimes it's not on the shooter. Plugged holes, etc. can really make one worried.

[A Sportsman]

I am colorblind and have a helluva time seeing red on the forest floor. Especially, if there is a lot of leaves on the ground that have a degree of red coloring on them. Like most, on a good shot, I somewhat enjoy the track and take it up myself, very very slowly. But on a marginal shot, I call in help immediately. When I am with a non-colorblind person following blood, i am always amazed at how much better they see it. Its very frustrating and kinda embarrassing.