Bloodtrails?

[nc recurveman]

Evening folks,

I got to wondering today, I see alot of people report 30-60 yd bloodtrails but I rarely see trails that short. I've shot'em with a 300 win mag, slugguns, and bows,I shot one (small doe) this year with the 300 right on the money she went 100yds. Her vitals looked like you dropped them in a blender for a half day set on smoothie.Which brings me to my qeustion, does elevation effect bloodtrail? Were I'm at we are about 3 inches above sea level (If you spill a drink we gotta flood) does that aid in there final run. Higher elevation has less oxygen stick'em in the lungs them would have less stored, would that shorten the death run? Opine please.

[ChuckC]

I am no expert, but I am guessing the elevation does not matter near as much as "other things" .

Other things might be as simple as how scared the critter is.  A gun going off, a bullet slamming into an animal, an arrow breaking a rib to get into the chest cavity...all of these things might set an animal into fast flight mode, and a deer can cover 100 yards in..well he's there already.

If it isn't so scared, it may not run as fast (far).  Arrows kill by making them bleed and a double lung will often also collapse the lungs so it cannot breathe.  They die quickly, if things go well, but in those fifteen or so seconds, they can go 10 yards, or they can go several hundred yards.

Many of us have seen a deer that was double lung, pass thru hit.....mortally wounded, that kicks, looks around, goes back to feeding and falls over.
That deer was not scared and the arrow did not "whack it" or break a bone to cause it to panic.

That's my take on it.
ChuckC
ChuckC

[bowdude]

Can't give you a good explanation, but I don't think its the altitude.  Humans are basically unchanged to 4000 feet.  (pilot studies) You gotta get above 5000 before most healthy people notice a difference.  An animal in good shape should be uneffected as they are used to it.  
  I have had at least a dozen deer drop inside 50 yards. At least that many again in the next 50.  Thats taking lungs and major arteries. I prefer top of heart over heart area.  
Those animals I KNOW I only took 1 lung, went the distance though.  Right lung is about 40% larger than the left according to one seminar put on by a biologist (wraps around the front of the heart).  I took a buck in the left lung (almost straight down shot)after he was obviosly worn out rutting all night.  Though I saw him lay down, it took him at least 10 minutes to expire.  Had he not been worn out, or if I had pushed him, he would have traveled considerably.

[DarkeGreen]

With a bow the best way to shorten trails is to use big 3 or 4 blade heads and angle them forward thru both lungs just above or behind the heart.

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[longbowman]

This is an interesting post becuase there's so many variables involved like has already been mentioned.  My first four bowkills all went down in sight.  I thought all the stories I was hearing about these long blood trails must be due to poor hits.  Since then I've killed more than 50 whitetails, elk, mulies and black bear.  The bull elk, 2 mulies and bear all wnet down in sight but I've had double lunged whitetails go as far as 200 yds.  My last buck was shot broad side, from the ground, with the arrow blowing right through.  He jumped and stood there for about 30 seconds and I could see the blood running.  He then put his head down and shuffled away up a hill and around a swamp and went straight down without rolling over.  Total distance, 200+ yds.  I guess deer are like people and some are just tuffer than others.

[J-dog]

As far as bows go I think the heads w/chisel points, muzzy, thunderheads that have to "punch" their way through an animal as opposed to a cut on contact that "slices" its way through might also have an effect.

Shoot a big snuffer.

Jason

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[Eric Krewson]

My blood trails are always 100yds+. These Bama deer are wired and don't give up the ghost easily, no matter where you put your arrow(spine shots are an exception of course).

[Dan Worden]

My experiences have led me to believe (archery only here) that the impact has a lot to do with it. This is based on calm deer. Wired deer are just that, wired, and anything can send the m hauling.

Missing bone structure causes less felt impact.

Hitting a rib or two causes more felt impact.

Lodge your arrow in heavy bone much more felt impact.

using that scale the deer I have shot that have run the hardest/farthest were the ones that the arrow stopped in a bone.

[SlowBowinMO]

I agree with the above, I've also noticed if the arrow stays in, they can see it and seem to "spook" even more, running harder and farther as a result.

[DarkeGreen]

A deer's brain can function 19 seconds with the heart totally distroyed and not providing oxygen to it. In theory this would allow a deer to run about 300 yards from the point of your arrows impact. Some studies show when the heart is punctured, adrenaline is released causing the death run often witnessed on heart shot deer. These studies show missing the heart and double lunging deer to be the most desired shot for short blood trails. To further compound the issue, in four legged animals walking and running are controlled more by the spine than brain (80%) where humans 100% is controlled in the brain. I have tons of information on this subject and it has been studied for years. There are a whole group of hunters (and universities) researching this to try and determine the proper shot placement and angle for quick humain kills with archery equipment. It also was discovered that there is one artery in a deer can be cut that will cause a deer to faint and drop on the spot due to lack of blood pressure in the brain.