Tracking and Blood Trailing
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ken from MT asks:i have a hard time following blood trails through leaves and grass. i'm partly colorblind (of course it has to be red/green colorblindness)and i have to look really hard to see the blood that other people can pick out right away. the last two deer i've shot have been with a bow and the deer went down out of sight. the first i followed to where i had seen it go and it was dead in a stream right in front of me. the other i went to the landowners house to get help in tracking because i only found one drop of blood (i saw the hit and it was really good). just entering their yard i saw their dogs around something at the edge of their yard and there was my deer. i've been look so far, but afraid that if i have to do some serious tracking i'll be in trouble. any hints or tips?Winke Responds:Ken, There have been peroxide sprays on the market that foamed up when they encounter blood. I think the Starlight Blood Hound (or something similar) was one of them. Not sure if it is still on the market. You might be able to formulate something like that yourself by doing some research on the web. That is one option. Primos made a light that accentuated red, but not sure that would help you either in your case. Having a buddy you can call to help is likely your best overall solution. Good luck.
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Ben from MO asks:Bill, I shot about 130' buck the last weekend of Sept. this past bow season, but we couldn't find him. He was quartering away pretty hard at 18 yards, should have been a fairly easy shot. I got a complete pass through and found my arrow right where I shot him. I waited an hour before trailing him, also got my brother and dad to join in. We followed good blood for one hundred yards, then spotty blood for another hundred yards, then very spotty blood for another hundred yards, then couldn't find another drop. This 300 yd. tracking job lasted over 3 hours. The next morning my brother, my uncle, and I returned to the last blood found and walked grid patterns for 2 more hours, also checking the closest pond, nothing! The deer never bedded down in the whole 300 yds. we had blood. I think I hit him too far foward in the shoulder and exiting out the brisket, missing the vidals. What do you think? I hope he survived, we never found him dead, but we never got a trail cam photo or a shed.Winke Responds:Ben, I would like to have seen that arrow. One of our guys here had a similar situation last season. The buck was quartering hard and he shot him too far forward. The arrow had almost no blood on it. The buck bled good for about 400 yards and then bedded. We jumped him and then no blood. That was in November. We found his sheds in March and didn't find him dead so he came through with a flesh wound. But again, the arrow had very little blood on it. If your arrow was coated with blood, that means it was a body cavity hit. If not, it likely was the same as the one we experienced here. Your shot almost had to have been too far forward.
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Allen from MN asks:Bill, this past season I shot a doe and the hit looked pretty good. I waited a few hours, and went out to start tracking. Right away the trail was pretty sparce, but after about 30 yards it was looking like blood had been poured out of a bucket. Then we reached a bed full of blood, but after that, the blood trail petered out, and we never found her. What do you think happened?Winke Responds:Allen, It is hard to say for sure without seeing the blood. My guess is that it was a high hit, possibly. Those hits generally don't cause quick kill and often don't kill at all, but they do produce a good blood trail. I have also seen good blood trails from brisket hits - similar to what you describe. Two opposite ends of the spectrum (a bit too high and a bit too low). It is also possible, depending on the angle, that you hit just one lung. That is not usually immediately fatal. Without seeing the blood it would be hard to say.
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Matt from AL asks:I'm going to keep this short as it is a painful subject. Just returned from an unsuccessful tracking job and I have several questions I would like to ask you. First and the hardest. Apparently I did not hit where I thought, A little back and high. In the excitement I did see the did see my arrow in the deer as it ran. We did not attempt to track at all last night. Went back this morning. Did not find blood for 40 yards from hit and lost it completely after maybe 300 yards. It was never heavy, no spay just drops. Any thoughts about where in the body a deer would be hit and bleed so little? Do you know if deer eat hedge apples and have you ever heard of or seen a hit deer regurgitating it's stomach contents? This was a very big buck and I did bot handle the situation well but I thought my hit was better then that. And of course I love the sight and the shows. ThanksWinke Responds:Matt, I would say a backstrap hit. High, just under the spine. If it was lower, you would have likely found him (gut shot) within 300 yards. Deer do eat hedge apples, but it is kind of a last resort food source. I have not seen them regurgitate, but that doesn't mean it doesn't happen. If you want to see what happens sometimes on these high hits, check out the Monday show. Sorry to hear about the buck getting away. I know the feeling only too well.
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Chris from OK asks:Hi Bill! I see alot of questions about deer being wounded an lost or recovered after a cosiderable distance by just "getting one lung".It was my understanding that once the chest cavity was breached the diaphram could not make the unpunctured lung function due to air leakage into the chest cavity thus making both lungs,damaged or not,nonfunctioning.Your thoughts? Thanks, ChrisWinke Responds:Chris, I had a long discussion about this with bowhunter and trained veternarian Randy Ulmer. He said that most times what you describe will happen. The hole will not seal and the working lung will slowly lose its ability to inflate because the diaphragm can no longer draw a vaccuum. However, he told me that in some cases, the hole can seal. There are layers of muscle and sheathing in this part of the deer's body that can overlap and close that hole. It is not likely to occur, but it can occur. In most cases, the single lung hit deer dies within 36 hours, often within 12 hours. It is not a good hit and should be avoided at all costs. It is much worse than a liver or even a gut hit, as those deer are generally recoverable. Single lung hit deer often go unrecovered because the deer takes so long to die and the deer covers ground without leaving much blood when the blood clots and exit hole finally clogs.
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curtis from OH asks:I wanted to send my sympathy about the great 8! I could just feel the disapointment. I know a guy that hit one almost in the same spot last year,and a few weeks later it was back out looking for doe's. The best of luck, hope you get another crack at him!Winke Responds:Curtis, Thanks. I hope he makes it. I don't think I hurt him too badly as long as he doesn't get an infection. I will keep after him and will try to find him back again with trail cameras.
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Tim from ME asks:Wow Bill, I think I speak for all of your viewers when I say I feel your pain on the "Great 8". What a magnificent buck. What's your gut feel on his chances at survival? We've all had marginal hits in our day, but rarely have an opportunity to verify whether or not these animals actually survive. Thanks for sharing whatever knowledge you have to offer on the topic and keep on producing the best hunting show out there.Winke Responds:Tim, Thanks. It was definitely heart-breaking - a nightmare in deer hunting terms. I have had my heart broken more often in a tree stand than anywhere else! I have asked some guys that I consider experts in this area and they said it is very likely the buck will survive unless he should get an infection. I am going to hunt his area hard over the next week or ten days to try to get to him before something like that could happen. The hit appeared to be right under the spine, through the loin. Very little blood. I will keep everyone up to date on the hunt for this great deer. I may start running a camera in his area again to see if he is still around.
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ian from WI asks:What more can i do? I am kinda pouring my heart out in this one i have now lost two deer so far including a p&y ten point today. I am set up good i hunt the wind i have the deer come in and i make great both dble lung at 20yards shot but cant recover the deer. I waited 35 min got down followed the blood and kicked him up. He ran i marked him and back out went back followed blood for 400yards and it stopped did grid patern in the woods no blood nothing lost deer im at a loss i keep going over it in my mind and i cant figure out why this keeps happenign to me did i miss somthing or am i just havn my worst season ever. I bust my but in school to get out and hunt and all it does is cause me headaches and heartaches.Winke Responds:Ian, That does suck. I would say you are having a bad year. But there is one thing you might want to consider. If you are getting just one lung instead of two, the deer will die but it takes a long time. It is a poor shot so think through your shot selection to see if you might be catching one lung instead of two. Otherwise, the only other thing I can think of is to make sure the broadheads you are using are sharp.
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wayne from NY asks:Bill, I arrowed a large buck. for the first 50 yards there was alot of blood then it was real spotty. It got dark and I decided to wait until the next day to recover. It rained over night.I found the buck though alive and watched it eat acorns for a half hour. He was limping on his left front leg. i got out of the area so I didnt spook him. I havent seen him since. In your opinion do you think he is alive? also do you think that your advice on hunting the first two weeks of november holds true in new york. Thanks and i have enjoyed your show for the past two seasonsWinke Responds:Wayne, I am not sure on that one. I have seen that go both ways. Odds suggest that he will recover, but I have also seen them get infection and that eventually kills them. But think about how much abuse they take fighting and how stove up they get from that and don't die, but in balance, I once hit a buck above the spine (a giant) and I saw him alive the next day breeding a doe and then again five days later. He looked great both times, no signs of the hit. The neighbors found him dead three weeks later. Not sure if he died from infection resulting from my shot or something else, but my gut says he died from infection. He grossed 225!! The odds favor the buck recovering, but you never know for sure. If the arrow enters the body cavity at all, it usually kills them. Flesh wounds most often recover. I definitely think the first two weeks of November is ticket in New York too. Good luck.
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Pao Choua from MN asks:Hey there Bill, Remember last year when Chad couldn't' find his buck he shot on Episode 10? Well, that happened to my dad as well. He couldn't find his buck. The shot wasn't the same as Chads though. It was 2 nights ago when my dad shot it. It was at least 10-15 yards away. The buck came in chasing a doe and the shot hit the buck high on its 2 front shoulder sort of to the spine a little because the buck was just right there and my dad tried to make him stop and he never stopped. Was the shot able to killed the deer? and How far will the buck go? Well anyways my dad went looking for the deer 25 mins. later and there it was laying like it was dead, so my dad backed up and then buck had ran. The next day, my dad and his buddy went looking for the buck and couldn't find the deer at all. So the main questions are was the shot able to killed the buck? and How far the deer will go even though the arrow is stuck in the deer? Are there any chances that my dad will find him again? - PaoWinke Responds:Pao, Most times if the arrow enters the body cavity it will kill the deer. That means anything but a muscle hit is generally fatal. So based on what you describe it is hard for me to know if the arrow got into the body cavity. You and your dad will have to think that one through and decide that. Only rarely will a deer survive from an arrow to the body cavity. Use that fact as your gauge and you will be able to answer the question better yourself.
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Luke from MN asks:Hello Bill. My name is Luke and I'm 16 years old. I hunt on my grandfather's 600 acre farm in southeastern MN. On October 11th I was hunting along the edge of a CRP field and at about 7:00 am two bucks (a big bodied 8 pointer and a small 6) appeared to my right about 50 yards away. They made their way to about 20 yards away from my stand. The big bodied 8 was quartering towards me when I took my shot. The arrow struck him in the shoulder blade and the arrow went in about 3 inches. I waited around 6 hours before I went looking for him. At first I couldn't find much blood but then I began to find much more. I followed the blood trail for about 400 yards or so and then the blood became scarce and eventually there was no more blood. I'm assuming the deer did not die but I was hoping you could give me your opinion on if you think the deer is still living and if so are there any chances i will see him again this season? Thank you for your time and I love the show.Winke Responds:Luke, Like you, I would say he is probably alive. In the shoulder three inches isn't enough to get a lung, I don't think. He may certainly see him again. Maybe not from the same tree, but I am sure he didn't leave his normal range because of the hit. You may encounter him elsewhere on the farm. Good luck.
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Brian from WI asks:Bill, love the site. I shot two deer last year at fairly steep quartering angles, both were complete pass through and both appeared to have cut the diaphragm. Although both were fairly short and easy tracking jobs, the blood trail was less than I expected. Could that be due to the diaphragm being compromised which means less pressure on the lungs pushing the blood to the holes? Does the diaphragm have anything to do with that? Keep up the great work!!Winke Responds:Brian, I bet those lungs will bleed severely either way, but you make a good point. If the diaphragm isn't moving, the lungs aren't pumping and that could definitely reduce the amout of that blood that actually leaves the cavity. Good question. I think that one was over my head.
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greg from AB asks:On the 15th of September i took a 15m quatering away shot at a doe from a ground posision (no blind, but well consealed). At the shot she turned slightly further away, and i thought i missed, she bolted, then stoped at 30m after i tured my can call to stop her. i could'nt get another shot. An hour passed and i desided to find my arrow before it got dark and head home. When i found the arrow it was broken exactly in half, and only one of the blades on my expandable broadhed was deployed. The arrow tip had hair and fat on it, and the shaft had streaks of blood all the way to the break. I was shocked; i thought my arrow sailed under her! I tracked her and found small spots of bright red and pink blood all the way to where i last saw her near a willow thicket, then nothing. i searched well in to the night, but found nothing. I brought my friend out the next day to look around but again we found nothing. With what i've told you, do you think its possible she's still alive? Did i graze her?Winke Responds:Greg, My guess is that she is still alive. You probably hit her in the brisket or grazed the back of her leg and the arrow either broke on the glancing hit or she broke if off when she ran. Briket hits do leave some nice looking blood but they always lead to a disappointing end.
