Bloodtracking Myths

[outdoorstom]

Good article in Outdoor Life.

http://www.outdoorlife.com/busted-10-myths-about-blood-trailing-deer#page-11

[Pygmy]

Good article.....In over 50 years of blood tracking deer, I have seen several of these myths busted dozens of times...

Two of the most durable, AND most false, are " a badly hit deer doesn't go uphill"   and a badly hit deer goes toward water...

If you have followed many bloodtrails, you will know that both of them are pure BS...

When I was a youngster, I used to enjoy following bloodtrails...Now the only bloodtrails I like are WIDE and SHORT...I have followed too many of them that did not have a dead deer at the end...

[nodeerhere]

I have to tell you! I hear all of do's and dont's. If u hit it good u will find the deer within a 100yrds. Had sum big deer go close to that with double lung shots! If u don't hit them good or u have to question the shot! Back out! Wait! Nothing worse them pushing a wounded animal! It will go places u wouldn't believe! I wish I would have known that when I was younger! 

Edited December 7, 2016 by nodeerhere

[The_Field_Ager]

My Buck headed to water this year. Went half a mile to get to it. Was watching a Bow hunting show recently. Two deer shot far back both went and died in a river. Not saying the 'myth's are true, but it makes sense that animals losing blood will want to drink.

[Zem18]

My bow buck headed to water last year as well (lots of it) but the shot was back and low as he turned as I released. 

 

[phade]

I have to tell you! I hear all Linda's of do's and dont's. If u hit it good u will find the deer within a 100yrds. Had sum big deer go close to that with double lung shots! If u don't hit them good or u have to question the shot! Back out! Wait! Nothing worse them pushing a wounded animal! It will go places u wouldn't believe! I wish I would have known that when I was younger! 

And this perpetuates the problem.

Example - a deer jammed in the shoulder. You want to pick up that trail asap and keep the blood pumping. Once that deer spends time bedded it clots and eventually the clot won't blow out.

Other muscle hits are the same way.

The moral is that you need to make the right decision. Always backing out will eventually lead to a non recovered deer. What you should do is make the right choice for the scenario.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Jeremy K]

Who posted the picture last year of the buck they shot floating in the pond? Just about to hit submit and Zem steps in.

[nodeerhere]

14 minutes ago, phade said:

And this perpetuates the problem.

Example - a deer jammed in the shoulder. You want to pick up that trail asap and keep the blood pumping. Once that deer spends time bedded it clots and eventually the clot won't blow out.

Other muscle hits are the same way.

The moral is that you need to make the right decision. Always backing out will eventually lead to a non recovered deer. What you should do is make the right choice for the scenario.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I'm not arguing at at! Cause not into fighting with any of u! I will disagree with this. If u hit the deer in the shoulder and it didn't go thru! Well u can push that deer for a month. If u did make it thru well then ur into the vitals. And if u back out and let it lay! U will find it! Again it's just my .02. Please do what works for u guys. Wounded non recovered deer suck! 

[Culvercreek hunt club]

12 hours ago, Pygmy said:

Good article.....In over 50 years of blood tracking deer, I have seen several of these myths busted dozens of times...

Two of the most durable, AND most false, are " a badly hit deer doesn't go uphill"   and a badly hit deer goes toward water...

If you have followed many bloodtrails, you will know that both of them are pure BS...

When I was a youngster, I used to enjoy following bloodtrails...Now the only bloodtrails I like are WIDE and SHORT...I have followed too many of them that did not have a dead deer at the end...

A doe we got at camp this year was hit too far back. we had snow luckily and she started up hill, never laid down once until the end when I  caught up with her after about a 2.5 mile loop (according to my GPS.) The last 100 yards was up a hill so steep I had to shoulder my rifle and use the trees as hand holds to get up it. she was right on top. took me quite a while becasue she got in with other fresh deer tracks by a creek bottom and then went about 100 yards IN the creek bottom. tough finding where she came out. 

[moog5050]

The buck I shot this year through the heart headed straight uphill.  He also tumbled back down from the top, but I agree that there is no hard and fast rule and you must make an educated decision on whether to push or back out.  It does seem that gut shot deer like water.

[BigVal]

Agreed the buck I shot this year had an option to go up or down, he went straight up the hill, but only made it forty yards 

Edited December 7, 2016 by BigVal

[grampy]

Just about anyone can follow good blood. The tough part is figuring out what type of wound you have and what to do next. When the blood runs out or decreases substantially.

Good article from Outdoor Life. And nice to see my mentor John Jeanneney, mentioned. Along with the book "Dead On" that I've highly recommended in a couple threads on this site.

 

[Core]

#2 is good. I had a bad hit on a deer last year (high-leg, so no vitals and no gut) and I believe waiting was the worst thing I could have done. When I went back to the trail hours later I found lots of blood trail leading to puddles of blood where the thing had laid down. After these puddles, the trail would almost totally dry up, but then it would start again. The deer laying down had allowed it to clot up. I'll never know if I could have encouraged it to expire had I stayed on it immediately, but I never caught up to it.

[Core]

13 hours ago, phade said:

And this perpetuates the problem.

Example - a deer jammed in the shoulder. You want to pick up that trail asap and keep the blood pumping. Once that deer spends time bedded it clots and eventually the clot won't blow out.

Other muscle hits are the same way.

The moral is that you need to make the right decision. Always backing out will eventually lead to a non recovered deer. What you should do is make the right choice for the scenario.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I posted my response to this thread before seeing yours. Wish you had seen my query last year wondering what to do after I hit it (I would have known to push right off the bat)  I went home and that's when I found somebody online saying the same: bad hit into muscle/shoulder, you need to push it. Don't wait! I saw firsthand exactly what a lack of pushing after the shot could do.

[ncountry]

I sort of  agree with pushing a deer hit only in the muscle/bone.. . One of our group shot a nice buck years ago.. it was heavily quartering away. the shot was too far forward and managed to break a leg bone and leave a nasty wound across the shoulder and neck..

With snow on the ground 5 of us hounded that deer from 9 am: until finally finishing him off at last light... he traveled at least 5-6 miles crossing a 100yrd+ wide, swift tail race below a powerhouse twice... He was finally shot by a watcher we had setup in different spots throughout  the day, trying to cut him off... We only saw the deer one other time until then.

It did work out, but I am sure we could not have tracked him to his death without a finishing shot.. For the 1st few miles of the day there was lots of blood.. but it dwindled to very little. without snow we never could have continued tracking. to the best of my knowledge this is the only deer without a bullet or arrow through the body cavity that we have successfully got. If shot through the body cavity the deer is dead. following up properly should result in meat in the freezer

Has anybody else been more sucessfull in tracking meat hit deer?

[growalot]

Yep.... think I've mentioned this a bunch of times over the years...not all deer do the same things in all areas or situations...yep years...Any ways I shot a doe that literally somersaulted half way down the hill after the hit...I was thinking Ohhh Shite!...for I was in a climber in a walking cast and Mr B was home with a crushed foot..literally crushed, Excavator fell on it,,...anyways about that time I see her running back up the hill to drop dead right on the 4 wheeler trail... they go up hill here all the time...but they also run down hill straight to the swamps..Deer are not made by "cookie cutters" as it were.

Edited December 7, 2016 by growalot

[NFA-ADK]

  I have seen gut shot deer go for water and wounded deer go up high.  Will they do it every time?  No

Will a wounded animal seek safety, yes and often for bucks this can be a high vantage point.  I think some of these myths have some merit to them but simply put any wounded animal will try and get away from the threat, depending on the wound and where they are can determine what they might do. 

[landtracdeerhunter]

We applied rule number 9 this past Monday afternoon; 12/5 on a mature doe.  

[upstate]

18 minutes ago, ncountry said:

I sort of  agree with pushing a deer hit only in the muscle/bone.. . One of our group shot a nice buck years ago.. it was heavily quartering away. the shot was too far forward and managed to break a leg bone and leave a nasty wound across the shoulder and neck..

With snow on the ground 5 of us hounded that deer from 9 am: until finally finishing him off at last light... he traveled at least 5-6 miles crossing a 100yrd+ wide, swift tail race below a powerhouse twice... He was finally shot by a watcher we had setup in different spots throughout  the day, trying to cut him off... We only saw the deer one other time until then.

It did work out, but I am sure we could not have tracked him to his death without a finishing shot.. For the 1st few miles of the day there was lots of blood.. but it dwindled to very little. without snow we never could have continued tracking. to the best of my knowledge this is the only deer without a bullet or arrow through the body cavity that we have successfully got. If shot through the body cavity the deer is dead. following up properly should result in meat in the freezer

Has anybody else been more sucessfull in tracking meat hit deer?

I hit a mature 8 point a little high in the shoulder from 40 yards with my bow. I knocked it ass over tea kettle and he took off with the arrow. I KNEW it was a shoulder shot since it didn't penetrate much and it sounded like I hit a piece of plywood. 

It took me a while to gather my friends out of their stands but within an hour we were on it. We had great blood and it laid down within 100 yards, but got up, still bleeding and left the comfort of the woods for some field running, tracking was tough so we kept guessing and would find the trail on the edges of the woods. 

Blood actually got heavier and you could see where he fell a couple times. After 2.5 hours of tracking we finally saw him and he was bleeding pretty good and only a piece of the arrow sticking out. 

We set up a small ambush and pushed him to a friend who arrowed him real good. 

 

We found that my arrow had initially lodged in his shoulder blade, then he must have fell on it because it became dislodged and sliced him wide open (hence the uncontrolled bleeding). I offered the deer to my buddy who refused saying that "is what hunting is all about" 

 

 

[growalot]

Quote

Has anybody else been more sucessfull in tracking meat hit deer?

Yes  the gun shot hit low and upper leg...tracked it to 3 huge beds ,hot tub sized soaked blood on snow...then to a stream and a group of hunters that intersected us....saying they saw nothing from where they came...We waited until they left and FIL and I followed stream where they floated him down and dragged him out...probably while their buddy's  where "being helpful"... There had been no other shots so that leg wound killed him...BTW on the trail we recovered 3 different long pieces of leg bone...

So the point...... yes they can be recovered...he went 500 yrds to that stream....

Edited December 7, 2016 by growalot

[chrisw]

Every hit/deer/situation is different, only experience will truly help you sort out a blood trail. Take every blood trail and learn from them. There are so many myths and I truly believe some people lose deer they could've found due to these myths...

Sent from my XT1080 using Tapatalk

[upstate]

16 hours ago, chrisw said:

Every hit/deer/situation is different, only experience will truly help you sort out a blood trail. Take every blood trail and learn from them. There are so many myths and I truly believe some people lose deer they could've found due to these myths...

Sent from my XT1080 using Tapatalk
 

The hardest tracking for me is when they hit the overgrown fields and it's night. You have to be extremely careful with knocking over the weeds and grass the deer may brush up against. I have tracked countless deer and lost some and found some I shouldn't have. 

 

[The_Real_TCIII]

Good article.....In over 50 years of blood tracking deer, I have seen several of these myths busted dozens of times...
Two of the most durable, AND most false, are " a badly hit deer doesn't go uphill"   and a badly hit deer goes toward water...
If you have followed many bloodtrails, you will know that both of them are pure BS...
When I was a youngster, I used to enjoy following bloodtrails...Now the only bloodtrails I like are WIDE and SHORT...I have followed too many of them that did not have a dead deer at the end...

Amen to that. I've seen them do everything that conventional wisdom say they won't do

[The_Real_TCIII]

My bow buck headed to water last year as well (lots of it) but the shot was back and low as he turned as I released. 
 

I remember the pic and story but just noticed the arrow in the pond!

[Buckmaster7600]

My buck this year went over a mountain and died in a pond.

The only guarantee is a fatal hit will kill them, where they die is up to them and time.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk