# I knew ya'll would understand...



## giraffe_baby (Oct 15, 2005)

Well this am was a great day for deer to run... DH bow hunts.. So while I was in shower, he seen one out back and ran out and got a shot on him... we waited 10 mins or so...
** now some back ground of area** we live on TOP of a hill 174 feet above lake (360 above ocean level) VERY hilly, lots of ravens/run offs and lots of thickets (and even a cave).....

So we go out with our tracking dog, and immediately find the blood trail.:nanner:
Go following it (we have 3 acres) .. ended up behind the neighbors and it went into a TIGHT (thorny) thicket... DH gave up, took dog back.. I said I would keep tracking ( im 4'11 and could get low lol).. grabbed the 22 "in case" and went off tracking.. that deer was dropping blood BAD, it was NO PROBLEM in all the downed leaves to find the blood.. Found several "down" spots where you can tell he laid down (it was a spike)...found some stumble spots... then I came to another thicket... JUST then hubby decided to call my cell to see how i was doing... lol well guess what JUMPED up and snort and took off... YEP the buck!! well i found where he had "laid" to die cuz there sat the broke off arrow.... :hair SOOOOOOOOOO off i go "SLOWLY" tracking again after 5 mins, didnt want him to keep running.. DOWN into a TIGHT raven, and up the HUGE bluff...to an opening.. blood stilllll dripping

Well lost him for a lil bit here cuz he did a DOUBLE BACK!! Only way I know that was started looking at the way the droplets went ( THANK YOU CSI!!) but ended up on his trail again!:bow: Followed him up over bluff, down the other side ( and scared myself in the process cuz a TREE FULL OF buzzards took off and made me almost pee myself!!)..> Then he crossed the road .. .Called DH said, come get me  well then he got there to me and i said wait i wanna check bluff on other side...went in... found blood and a 4 wheeler trail (wide open no thorns!!) followed for another 1/4 mile... 
btw its been 2 hrs at this point, and YES STILL dropping blood and it was still wet when touched... I had to give up  I was heading to a HUGE thicket, and by then Ive been torn at.. hair caught and held by thorns ( hair is down to my butt!!) and legs ripped open... SOOO *** SIGH*** First deer of season, shot, tracked and not found ... makes ya wanna cry... ( we hate shooting and not harvesting or injuring and not stopping their pain) 

Needless to say IM TIRED!! Thanks for reading this far and knowing our pain!!! lol ( I told DH what other wife in this area woulda went on and tracked this deer for him... lol )


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## coup (Feb 28, 2007)

one should never quit as long as he has blood,,,,,,if he does he should quit hunting..............probably should have waited an hour to start the track.

should only use a dog (on chain) after you have lost the blood. just the opinion of a life long hunter,a not very smart one at that.....peace


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## tinknal (May 21, 2004)

I agree with coup. Other than a short scout don't start tracking for an hour. If you had left him to bleed to death you would have found him in the first place he laid down.


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## Oldcountryboy (Feb 23, 2008)

Ditto! Classic mistake of most young inexperienced hunter is to keep tracking it and pushing it futher and futher and further. 

1st. track it yourself before using the dog. The dog might have pushed it futher. 2nd., after jumping it again the 1st time, you should have waited about 3 hours and then track it again. 

I made the mistake probably at least 2 times before I finally learned my lesson when I gut shot a buck one day. I shot him in the gut with a arrow and he ran a little ways up hill, stopped, turned to look behind him and starred in my direction for the longest time. Finally he laid down but he kept looking back toward the direction he came from. I sat there and watched him for almost 3 hours to see what he was gonna do. Finally he tried to get up and he couldn't get up. It was then that I climbed out of my tree and slowly walked up to him and stuck another arrow in him. Before I got close enough to stick another arrow in him, he tried to get up a couple more times but he was too stiff to move. 

I learned a very valuable lesson that day....never push a deer too fast when wounded. Be patient and you'll find him. 

If you go back tomorrow you will probably find him not too far from where you left off.


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## giraffe_baby (Oct 15, 2005)

Yes we are smacking ourself in the forehead... We have NEVER lost a deer before.. so this is a first ( and LAST) time we go this route!


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## Paquebot (May 10, 2002)

Console yourself with the fact that the deer may survive. Twice I've found broadheads in deer which were shot with a rifle. Both probably should have been fatal but were not. Same happens many more times with rifles.

Martin


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## OkieDavid (Jan 15, 2007)

I second Paquebot's comment. My experience is that a mortally wounded deer will not go uphill for long. My first "stop" would be when you encountered the first bedding site. At that point, I back out for 3-5 hours. My second was if when the deer turned uphill and stayed on an uphill course. 

As long as that track was I suspect the deer will hole up somewhere for several days and be fine. I also commend you for your dedication and skills. We've all lost a deer before but you earn my respect for staying on the track as long as you did.


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## DavidUnderwood (Jul 5, 2007)

one should never quit as long as he has blood,,,,,,if he does he should quit hunting..............
.
All I can say is thats as smart assed a reply as I've ever seen here.


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## Pops2 (Jan 27, 2003)

OkieDavid said:


> I second Paquebot's comment. My experience is that a mortally wounded deer will not go uphill for long. My first "stop" would be when you encountered the first bedding site. At that point, I back out for 3-5 hours. My second was if when the deer turned uphill and stayed on an uphill course.
> 
> As long as that track was I suspect the deer will hole up somewhere for several days and be fine. I also commend you for your dedication and skills. We've all lost a deer before but you earn my respect for staying on the track as long as you did.


i can't say that anyone i personally know that runs deerdogs has ever lost one that was hit even if the hit was recoverable. the only two i ever remember losing were way back when i first got into still hunting w/ a rifle. i've never lost one taken w/ the greyhound.


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## Pops2 (Jan 27, 2003)

coup said:


> one should never quit as long as he has blood,,,,,,if he does he should quit hunting..............probably should have waited an hour to start the track.
> 
> should only use a dog (on chain) after you have lost the blood. just the opinion of a life long hunter,a not very smart one at that.....peace


you start the dog on the visible blood trail to make sure he is on the right deer & to check how he is working that day.


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## OkieDavid (Jan 15, 2007)

Pops - Can't argue with you as dogs are illegal here and I've never used one or had the need to. I suspect where legal, dogs could serve a use on poorly hit animals.


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## big rockpile (Feb 24, 2003)

Ok you said the Deer Snorted,me and some Guys on another Forum talked about this and none have ever heard a Fatally hit Deer Snort.

This being said if I hit one in the morning I wait until after Dinner to track it,if I hit one in the evening wait until morning.Ofcourse this depends on weather.

Some I see go down from where I am.

The only one only one I had to use a Dog on I hit in the Ham,seen her go down,but she ran soon as I got to her.I waited until morning,went by her several times.Went got a Dog which took me right to her laying in a Little Depression.

big rockpile


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## Oldcountryboy (Feb 23, 2008)

Back in my younger days I too would occasionally use a dog to track a hit deer. This was back when I use to have a pack of beagles. I had one beagle that would track deer. She was like that before I found her but she came in handy a couple of times. Each time we used her the deer was definitely hit good and was dead when the beagle found her. But each time it would be several hours after being hit before the person(s) would come to me and ask for help finding thier deer. 

But I no longer have any beagles, so I don't use a tracking dog anymore. Plus it's illegal to use one now days to track a wounded deer.


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## Pops2 (Jan 27, 2003)

OkieDavid said:


> Pops - Can't argue with you as dogs are illegal here and I've never used one or had the need to. I suspect where legal, dogs could serve a use on poorly hit animals.


using the greyhound is similar to hog dogging, dog catches it & you knock it down & knife it. this is my favorite way to hunt.
deer dogging the way it's done in most southern states is to put foxhounds or beagles on a track (or free cast & let them find their own). then you get in front of the race looking at an opening. try to shoot the deer as it crosses. since they are already running the scent track adding blood just makes them run harder. being hit makes the deer get exhausted so that the hounds can actually catch it & hold or kill it. so yeah i've seen deer w/ holes through their leg but no broken bone that theortically would have healed but the dogs caught them. some folks are starting to use silent/tight mouth curs because it lets them know better where the deer is.


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## Pops2 (Jan 27, 2003)

Oldcountryboy said:


> Back in my younger days I too would occasionally use a dog to track a hit deer. This was back when I use to have a pack of beagles. I had one beagle that would track deer. She was like that before I found her but she came in handy a couple of times. Each time we used her the deer was definitely hit good and was dead when the beagle found her. But each time it would be several hours after being hit before the person(s) would come to me and ask for help finding thier deer.
> 
> But I no longer have any beagles, so I don't use a tracking dog anymore. Plus *it's illegal to use one now days to track a wounded deer*.


that's a shame as the better more experienced dogs have REALLY high success rates. in fact in some places like germany it is illegal to NOT call in a tracking dog.


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## giraffe_baby (Oct 15, 2005)

Thanks for all the feed back and also thus was my FIRST time tracking(or having to) a deer further than 1/4 mile....reason for dog is cuz we had that ice storm few yrs ago and they hide so well in the dead n down........yes ive thought he could be alive..ive also whacked my head for still tracking when he snort/ran...also had dreams our dead dog brought it to me lol!! I personally have never "pulled trigger" but hoping this year to do it (if nothing else to prove i can!!!)& ive gutted,processed and all by my self....so thats the next step (&learned not to be so zealous when tracking!!!)


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## Paquebot (May 10, 2002)

Don't knock yourself out for not knowing exactly what to do and all the various possible things that can happen. Only lost one that I figured to have had a mortal wound but the skies opened up shortly after and 4 or 5 others joined in the search and only got wetter for their efforts. On the other hand, tracked one over a mile one time with only a drop or two of blood maybe every 20 feet. Friend would stay at the last drop until the next would be found. In the end, I was so intent on searching the ground that I almost stepped on the deer!

Martin


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## giraffe_baby (Oct 15, 2005)

LOL martin, Ive done that before helping hubby track one.. He couldnt spot blood and I could... he then said " STOP"!! lol i turned and said what?? he said look 10 feet in front of you, and it was still alive!! LOL... SO NOW I go 3 steps, survey area, and then move further  So Im slowly learning!!

Thank you so much for all the helpers/pointers... I guess its a LIVE N LEARN moment that happens to us all!  Im now thinking of getting my hunting license myself and hunt... a neighbor is going to lend me his youth gun... ( OH yeah i cant even shoot a regular 22 rifle cuz its too long, Im 4'11 and have SHORT arms!!)


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## Nimrod (Jun 8, 2010)

I don't mean to be snarky but when I have shot something I look until I find it or until I have no hope of finding it. This is my moral decision. 

I dissagre with those who said wait overnight to begin tracking. A neighbor shot a deer with an arrow this fall. They trailed it until they lost the blood trail and it was totally dark. Came back the next morning and found the deer but the wolves had eaten the back end.


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## Pugnacious (May 17, 2012)

DavidUnderwood said:


> one should never quit as long as he has blood,,,,,,if he does he should quit hunting..............
> .
> All I can say is thats as smart assed a reply as I've ever seen here.


I agree. If you stop looking while you still have blood, you shouldn't be hunting. It's a waste. It's immoral. It's unethical. Whether or not you think it will live, you have an obligation to end the animals suffering as soon as possible. 2 hours? So? That's nothing! If you are going to pretend to be man enough to stick an arrow in an animal, you should be man enough to look for it until you find it. Hunting isn't for the meek. Your elevation isn't impressive. I've climbed mountains where I've gained 2000' in of elevation in a mile and a half just to get a better look at a bull. Not to mention the MILES across country to get to bear and lion trees. My 8 year old son walked 10 miles with me across some of the worse terrain this country has to offer to see a bear in a tree and let it go. Posts like this make me sick and embarassed to be called a hunter.........


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## RedDirt Cowgirl (Sep 21, 2010)

I'm with Nimrod and Purnacious. Getting off a shot at an animal isn't the same as getting a kill shot. Are you so starving in the woods that the mere chance sighting warrants a wounding shot? What kind of meat do you get from an animal taken this way? We don't do even coyotes like that. Bad business all around.


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## Pops2 (Jan 27, 2003)

Pugnacious said:


> I agree. If you stop looking while you still have blood, you shouldn't be hunting. It's a waste. It's immoral. It's unethical. Whether or not you think it will live, you have an obligation to end the animals suffering as soon as possible. 2 hours? So? That's nothing! If you are going to pretend to be man enough to stick an arrow in an animal, you should be man enough to look for it until you find it. Hunting isn't for the meek. Your elevation isn't impressive. I've climbed mountains where I've gained 2000' in of elevation in a mile and a half just to get a better look at a bull. Not to mention the MILES across country to get to bear and lion trees. My 8 year old son walked 10 miles with me across some of the worse terrain this country has to offer to see a bear in a tree and let it go. Posts like this make me sick and embarassed to be called a hunter.........


in the uintah basin you'd be right. back east there are places where you'll spend an hour on your hands & knees under a double or triple canopy w/near midnight darkness feeling for blood more than looking. the smokies may not have the elevation of the rockies, but they have thickets & hollers w/ cover as nasty as the carolina bays i just described. having hunted both, i'd rather pack out a bull elk on the wasatch back than a yearling whitetail in the alleghenies.


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## ||Downhome|| (Jan 12, 2009)

Like said before a hit with a arrow is not a death sentence. 

I got a buck that had a been hit before.

nice divit where it took out the meat.

them shoulders can defleck a arrow very well.

or put it through a non vital area and well you get blood not enough to kill the critter.

When I punch a hole its vitals. some times they drop right there.
Often I hear the crash if not.

If you got additional tags be ready on the approach, a buddy may be inspecting the fallen. at least if your approach is silent.


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## Paquebot (May 10, 2002)

Back in the mid-'70s, son and I were hunting squirrels while also working the area to move deer to an uncle who was bow hunting. Met up with him and he was tracking blood. The 3 of us combined our eyes to try stay on the blood. Had our Black & Tan hound with us just for exercise but he would not even look at a deer. We trailed all around a huge hill and finally a few clotted drops led full circle to where it started from. Then I found what my uncle had missed and that was the arrow. There was some blood on the broadhead but not the shaft. Since the arrow was meant for just ahead of the front leg, we figure that it may have been just a few inches low and sliced the brisket. 

Martin


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## Pugnacious (May 17, 2012)

Pops2 said:


> in the uintah basin you'd be right. back east there are places where you'll spend an hour on your hands & knees under a double or triple canopy w/near midnight darkness feeling for blood more than looking. the smokies may not have the elevation of the rockies, but they have thickets & hollers w/ cover as nasty as the carolina bays i just described. having hunted both, i'd rather pack out a bull elk on the wasatch back than a yearling whitetail in the alleghenies.


Don't patronize me. I've lived in Georgia, south texas, Idaho and the coast of washington. I am fully aware of what brush is. Surely you're not implying that 2 hours of following a blood trail is enough effort. That's pathetic. I've actually had good success tracking in brush. The blood, for me, seems to show up better on green than red pine needles.


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## Pops2 (Jan 27, 2003)

Pugnacious said:


> Don't patronize me. I've lived in Georgia, south texas, Idaho and the coast of washington. I am fully aware of what brush is. Surely you're not implying that 2 hours of following a blood trail is enough effort. That's pathetic. I've actually had good success tracking in brush. The blood, for me, seems to show up better on green than red pine needles.


what i'm saying is that every situation is different and making a judgement call on a computer forum is a lot different from making a judgement call in the woods.


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## Paquebot (May 10, 2002)

Pops2 said:


> what i'm saying is that every situation is different and making a judgement call on a computer forum is a lot different from making a judgement call in the woods.


How true that is! Lots of things haven't been considered since only the OP was there. Broken arrow was found. Nobody knows how much of the arrow was found. If half, then the rest is buried deep and potentially mortal. If just back of the point, could be only buried in flesh or against a bone. Not many deer would be able to run full tilt two hours after the first but can run almost forever with the second. First time I found a broadhead in a deer it was lodged between 2 vertebra in the spine. That deer should have gone down instantly with no use of its hind quarters. Second was what should have been a perfect lung shot. Hit a rib square on and stopped just barely into the lung. Both lived at least another year despite what should have been mortal damage.

Martin


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## Pops2 (Jan 27, 2003)

Paquebot said:


> How true that is! Lots of things haven't been considered since only the OP was there. Broken arrow was found. Nobody knows how much of the arrow was found. If half, then the rest is buried deep and potentially mortal. If just back of the point, could be only buried in flesh or against a bone. Not many deer would be able to run full tilt two hours after the first but can run almost forever with the second. First time I found a broadhead in a deer it was lodged between 2 vertebra in the spine. That deer should have gone down instantly with no use of its hind quarters. Second was what should have been a perfect lung shot. Hit a rib square on and stopped just barely into the lung. Both lived at least another year despite what should have been mortal damage.
> 
> Martin


nothing so crazy but i have found "mortally" hit deer (well really the dog) in hunting areas on base that had been closed for training fo over 2 weeks, still live & kicking.


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## OkieDavid (Jan 15, 2007)

Might help to remind ourselves that at the end of the day we are ON THE SAME SIDE.....There are plenty of folks out there trying to slap hunters around. No need to do their work for them.


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## RedDirt Cowgirl (Sep 21, 2010)

OK, OakieDavid, my ears are burning... I have the same bad 'tude towards folks who work out instead of work. Not my beeswax.


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## Pugnacious (May 17, 2012)

OkieDavid, posts like this are ammo for the otherside. Lesson learned. Hopefully next time they'll wait at least 30 minutes before tracking and it'll be dead in the first spot.


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## giraffe_baby (Oct 15, 2005)

Just an update and a "STAND on my own ground" comment.... 

Yes we have learned.. NO WE are not happy that the deer was lost. ( The arrow was broke IN HALF found the fletching up to past the "name) Commenting that your embarrassed is harsh.. We are not "NEW" to hunting but are compassionate to the plight of an animal.. and 99 % of the time they are dropped either instantly or within 30 ft ( as has happened since original post). As far as tracking.. 2 hrs for me is a LONG time due to the fact that IVE NEVER done it before... as ive stated I told my husband I wanted to start helping out more and DID what I could. IM not in shape so he was worried about my health.. ( ROOKIE Mistakes)
We live off the meat from the WHOLE deer, so for us its not a "HEAD HUNTER" deal like we run into all the time ( get 4 calls on OPENING day for rifle EVERY YEAR!!!) 

As a matter of a fact this time on opening day, my husband had to take out a baby deer... SOME IDIOTS out just shooting around with a 22 and basically severed its back leg!! IT WAS JUST hanging there. He does not like to take out babies either, but ended its suffering ( could see bone broke, and all that was left was fur/skin hanging there with its hoof!)

And yes lessons learned, lessons IMPRESSED in the memory cells as well.. 
AT least we get our licenses and do all the proper tagging and calling in.. and not poaching and not head hunting and leaving the carcass there to get ate by coyotes JUST cuz the rack was huge!


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