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Failure to recover bow killed deer is bowhunting's "Achilles Heel." Statistically too many bowhunters fail to find the animals they kill which in turn becomes dangerous ammunition in the arsenal of anti-hunting groups. When you take up the trail of a wounded deer, do so with an open mind, because there are misconceptions that can change the effectiveness of any trailing situation.
One example is the amount of blood we observe. Some hunters have gotten the idea that very little blood indicates a superficial wound, but this often is not true. While an arrow through the vital lungs and/or heart area will usually leave an easy-to-follow blood trail, it is not a standby rule. Shot angle and penetration pay a role in the blood trail.
Years ago I shot a doe that was standing only a few yards from the base of my tree. The arrow entered the deer on top of the shoulder, but failed to exit underneath. Although the arrow severed one lung and the heart, no blood ever reached the ground. After searching more than an hour to find a blood trail that did not exist, we recovered the doe 50 yards from the place where it was shot. Shots through the paunch will cause similar blood trailing problems, but they do not indicate a superficial wound.
Another misconception involves the areas where the hunter looks for blood. Anytime we begin trailing, it is human nature to look to the ground for sign. Many times, however, blood is left higher up on the brush. This is particularly true after a deer runs a short distance from where it was hit. The hide becomes saturated, and begins wiping off blood on high grass or any other brush a deer passes by.
Hemorrhage caused from sharp broadheads determines the effectiveness of the shot. An extreme loss of blood can lead to death, whether it occurs quickly or not, and it does not matter if the bleeding is internal or external. When trailing arrowed deer, I prefer to have one other hunter assist when it is possible. Two sets of eyes are helpful when blood trails begin to subside. In fact, after the blood diminishes, it helps to have as many fellow hunters as possible to assist. Beginning bowhunters should also seek assistance of experienced trackers. They can make a significant difference in finding the animal, as well as teaching you a great deal in the process.
Successful recovery of a deer begins the instant a shot is made. Once your quarry is arrowed, focus on everything from how it reacts and runs away, to its direction and the last sounds heard. Record all of this information onto a note pad, including a compass reading results on where you last saw the deer. If you are unable to see a dead deer, sit tight for at least a half hour before looking around on the ground.
Finding the arrow is the first order of business. When looking for it, make every effort not to step on any drops of blood. Examine the arrow for blood or other signs of where it might have traveled through the animal. Check the ground for hair or blood that can aid you in determining where the animal was hit. If you hit the deer in the liver, there will be brown hair and thick, dark blood left behind. If it was hit in the lungs or heart, there will be brown hair and a lighter colored blood there. If you hit it in the stomach, there will be white hair, watery blood and green-colored stomach contents.
When recovering tracking alone, or in unfamiliar territory, use bright orange survey tape or toilet paper to mark the course. When you do not know the area, you can easily become confused. In some situations, I have accidentally backtracked because of this. Taking time to mark blood is important, as when in close growing woods or a thicket, the survey tape or toilet paper remains easily visible when hung about head-high. I prefer to hang it about every 30 to 40 feet, or wherever the deer changes direction or beds down.
Blood trails seldom begin where the deer is shot. The blood will usually not reach the ground until the deer has run 10 to 20 yards. This has misled many bowhunters, because they spent too much time looking for a trail which did not yet exist. There are exceptions, however. Arrow hits that produce an exit on the bottom of the deer, long scrape wounds, and muscle and artery shots cause blood to quickly reach the ground. Complete penetration is usually verified by the spent arrow, or blood on both sides of the trail. A high entrance hole can prevent this. Then the only blood that reaches the ground will be from the exit hole as the body cavity fills up with blood.
The blood can also tell you whether the deer is running, walking, or standing. All three show entirely different track patterns and each can be important towards your recovery of the animal when the vitals have been spared. A running deer usually leaves less blood, and the splatter fingers will be above each drop reveals the direction of travel. A walking deer leaves splatter fingers that surround each drop. Standing deer also leave blood drops surrounded by splatter fingers; the big difference is in how much blood reaches the ground. When you trail a running or walking deer, the drops will usually be spaced. If you suddenly find several droplets together, you can bet the deer stopped there.
Terrain and ground cover have a lot to do with how readily blood is spotted. Leaves provide an excellent base for the blood, but leaves are not always available. Often, high weeds or thick underbrush are there to catch blood. Even worse is having only soil that has a tendency to soak in blood quickly when it hits dirt. Recovering a deer when there is little or no blood is tough, but not impossible. A whitetail hoof will depress leaves enough for the trail to be seen. Many times I have been forced to trail deer by their tracks alone. Caution has to be used. You must move along the sides of the deer's trail so your tracks will not interfere with the deer's sign. A deer in thick brush usually does not leave tracks as noticeably as it does in leaves, but some sign will be there. If the vegetation is high, the deer will usually bend the debris a noticeable amount.
Tracks alone can also tell you if the deer is walking or running. The common pattern of the walking deer is tracks that switch from one side to the other. Two tracks only appear side by side when the deer is running. Then you will find the tracks in sets of four, spaced about 2 1/2 to 3 feet apart. A running deer pushes off by bringing the back feet ahead of the front, in a bounding motion. When blood drops are scant I recommend using one of the blood verification sprays now marketed. These sprays help to identify blood when you are in doubt.
Sooner or later you will encounter a deer recovery dilemma that defies all of the fore noted strategies. When this occurs, I recommend what I call a grid search, which I teach at the Bob Foulkrod/Golden Eagle Bowhunting School held during the summer at my lodge on Neverending Mountain in northern Pennsylvania. Recovering every arrowed animal is so important to me; this is the graduation exam every student joins in to solve. After breakfast on the last day of my bowhunting school, I disappear to lay a blood trail the class joins forces to follow.
The highly realistic blood trail weaves through thickets, woods and open field, ebbing and following like so many real blood trails do. It ends at the edge of the woods where there is a marsh with chest high weeds and grass. This is where the grid search begins. Prior to their test, I explain a grid search which is virtually a fool proof method for recovering all arrowed deer. It is a systematic, goof-proof search approach that finds dead deer if they are there to be found.
Grid search begin at the site of the last identifiable signs of blood. Employing at least 5 to 7 people, and preferably 7 to 10 or more sets of eyes, using a compass the "grid master" lines up his helpers in a straight line. Space between each tracker is determined by the density of the ground cover. The best rule of thumb is that you must always be able to see the boots of the trackers on each side of you. Once everyone is lined up, the group moves forward in a straight line with all eyes on the ground directly in front of their forward movement. The line moves 100 yards or to some natural barrier such as a fence, creek or road. At the end of the first walk, the line reforms in the direction of the progress of the blood trail to return adjacent to the route they just traveled. This is repeated several times until an area is thoroughly search or the lost deer is recovered. The longer the line of trackers, the faster large areas can be grid searched. I have used this technique many times from Texas and Montana, to Alabama and Maryland. Every time the lost deer was ultimately recovered. Grid searches though manpower intensive, and should be used as a last resort, will recover well over 99 percent of all dead deer.
When faced with a tough recovery challenge, practice is patience, followed by determination. Any wounded deer should be trailed slowly. When you make it a habit to use patience, you will commit yourself to more effective methods when and if the blood trail stops. And finally, don't give up until you find your deer or KNOW the wound is superficial. It is always the blood trail that gets you started, but many times it is your determination that recovers the deer.
JUDGING HITS
Lungs or Heart Shots:
Wait a half-hour to an hour before going after the game. The blood trail will be virtually nonexistent initially, but it should appear after 20 or 30 yards and become stronger and more apparent the closer to the animal you get. The higher up the animal was hit, the farther it will travel before collapsing. (Deer usually collapse around 100 yards, but they have been known to travel over 500 yards.)
Liver Shots:
Wait an hour before attempting to trail. The animal will probably run a short distance, usually no more than a quarter mile, before lying down for good. There will be a blood trail, but it won't be that strong due to the high amount of internal bleeding.
Stomach and Paunch Shots:
Wait anywhere from four to ten hours before trailing. If it feels pressure from being tailed, the buck will go farther away before lying down, so lay back for most of the day, or even overnight. The blood trail will be very scarce and mixed with stomach or intestinal matter.
Back Shots:
Wait half an hour before following the animal. Unless a main artery was severed there will be very little blood. (Your arrow probably will be covered with tallow, though.) And unless you hit the spine or dorsal aorta, odds are you won't recover this deer -- it will rest a few days and be good as new.
Hindquarter Shots:
Depending on who you talk to, the best time to trail this type of wound varies from immediately to four hours afterward. The advantage of going immediately is that if you didn't hit the femoral artery (If you did, the deer will drop in less than a hundred yards, so don't worry.) keeping steady, moderate pressure on the buck will keep it walking instead of lying down or running. If it does either of the latter and you come upon it, it will run away and leave a fine mist for a blood trail that is almost impossible to follow.
Neck Shots:
If you hit the deer here below the spine, odds are your arrow will have severed some major veins or arteries, most probably the jugular. If so, the blood trail will be exceptionally strong and the deer will usually drop in less than 100 yards. If you hit it above the spine, though, the wound is merely superficial, not fatal, but it will leave a misleading amount of blood behind.
| Bob is the founder and chief instructor of the highly regarded Bob Foulkrod/Golden Eagle Bowhunting School in his hometown of Troy, Pennsylvania. Starting his 25th year as a hunting consultant, he is considered by many to be the world's premier hunter. In 2003, Foulkrod started his Obsession Quest Grand Slam of all the North American Animals, African Big Five, along with the Slam of Turkeys with Browning firearms. Foulkrod's mission is to share his knowledge so others can become better sportsmen. A man of many seasons, Foulkrod is a consummate professional who eats, lives and breathes the sport of hunting! Thanks to Bob's boundless enthusiasm and energy, the word is spreading. |  |
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