waiting after the shot.......

[Mike Bolin]

How long do you wait after you have made a "good" hit? My thinking has changed on this. Used to be that after I made a good, killing shot, I would wait 30 minutes and then start trailing.

A good friend, who is an excellent shot, hunter and woodsman shared an experience he had on a doe this season. My friend made a shot on a mature whitetail doe that he felt was just a bit high. A killing shot for sure, but possible only one lung. The doe bedded down close by and he could actually see bubbly lung blood coming from the broadhead hole in the deer's chest. He felt that it would not be long and held his position in his treestand.

After almost 2 hours, the doe got up and walked a short distance and bedded back down. This time, her back was to him, so he used this opportunity to slip out of his stand and leave the woods. He considered trying a stalk and putting another arrow in her, but the dry leaves changed his mind.
He returned a few hours later and found her dead. Upon field dressing the doe, he found that his broadhead had hit both lungs.

This got me to thinking about the times I have tracked either my own deer or one of my hunting buddies deer and found signs of a good hit only to have an otherwise good blood trail turn into a sparse one. Or finding a the deer after it had traveled way further than expected. Did we get on the trail too soon? I can think of a few lost deer over the past 30 years that the hunter was sure of a good hit, but no deer was found. Maybe we started trailing to soon, even though the generally accepted wait time was followed.

Not wanting to start arguments here, just food for thought. I know that if I don't see the deer hit the ground, I am waiting for at least an hour....even on a "good hit".

Hunt hard, hunt safe! Mike

With the thick brush I hunt in, I nearly never see a deer go down. On a hit that I know is solid, I wait 30 minutes, and then track with caution. If I think the hit is marginal, I will wait a couple hrs, and if I think the hit is bad I will wait 4-6hrs. There are a lot of yotes here and if you leave one overnight you will most likely not get the meat.

I use a string tracker and it is a great tool. If an animal is still alive and moves , the string will move too. I have never had that happen with a deer yet, but I have with a turkey. The string began to move as the bird was getting antsy on my approach. I backed out and waited longer. Then tracked the bird down successfully later.

Bisch

[Stumpkiller]

Depends on the hit and the initial evidence and blood at the site of impact.  I've had deer fall where I could see and I still gave them 20 minutes just to be sure.  A hit far back (dark blood, stomach contents) I wait an hour or more.

Once I had a deer that I hit in the liver that only went 35 yards (thick milliflori bush) but I waited a full hour before starting after it; only to find it didn't go far at all.

you can shoot a deer in the same exact spot every time, and have different results every time, 30 min. is just a general rule, sometimes its more than enough time, sometimes its not. its up to the shooter to pay attention to the deers reactions at the shot. just my opinion.

[ChuckC]

My rule,  If I don't see it fall or hear it fall, I sit quietly for 30 or more minutes and then sneak out, for the very reason you described.  Give it time, more than you thought would be needed, and you will likely find that deer.  Push it too soon, and your chances just diminished.
ChuckC

[Stone Knife]

If I know 100% that the shot was good I wait 30 min. If I know the shot was bad I will not even get down for at least 2 hours before I even go look at the spot where the deer was standing. Doing this I have had great success recovering deer that were marginally hit.

[Cyclic-Rivers]

Unless I see them dead from my location I always give hours (1-8) depending on shot placement and temperature.

[Bonebuster]

Wow...I can`t imagine a deer living two hours with both lungs hit. I didn`t think that was possible.

That said, I don`t usually have to wait. It is rare that I don`t see or hear a deer go down.

[slowbowjoe]

http://deersearchflc.com/RecoveryTips.pdf

Some valuable info here, too.

[Biathlonman]

Shot one two years ago that looked perfect. He went 10 yards after the shot and fell over. He tried to get up and move for right at 1 hour. I then decided that I would wait an hour unless weather or some other unusual situation forces my hand.