Push an animal or let it bed?

[Mr.Magoo]

Just curious of your opinions.

I read a thread elsewhere where a pro guide says he always pushes the animal.  His rationale was an animal that beds has time to regain its strength, clot and close otherwise lethal wounds.

Now, he's not talking about sprinting after game, but just a steady following.  He said in his experience game not allowed to rest will often simply collapse from a hemorrhage that's not allowed to close (enabling a coup de grace if not already dead).

[Tree Rat]

I have read both sides of that coin and tried both sides of that coin.

Guess what? I got mixed results.....

I think you need to evaluate each situation and give it your best logical guess. Soemtimes they will take off like a rocket when pushed and other times they will trudge along and succumb.
 
I'm sure it is related to how hard they are hit, but how do you know for sure?

[Pat B]

I let them bed. If it is a lethal hit, it is a lethal hit and they will expire soon. If it is a gut shot or liver shot I will give them hours if not over night. I have seen deer run a mile with a lethal hit when pressed. Generally they will lay down shortly after hit as soon as they feel safe enough to.

[centaur]

Many years ago, I got a poor hit on a mule deer, and in my exuberance, I pushed him too soon. I finally recovered him after about 2 miles!! The only reason I got him was because of the open terrain, where I could watch him; if it would have been in wooded country, I would never have got him. I won't do that again.

[PEARL DRUMS]

If you hunt very small parcels of broken up private land pushing a deer is a no-no if you ever want to get your grippers on it. The hit means the most to me.

[Doc Nock]

Last 2 posts nail what I've always thought.

When I lived in open country of MT... you could push and follow..draw to draw and work em perhaps.

Back East here, like PD said...you might get 10 acres or less to access...push em where? People forget to give details of terrain and how much access they're dealing with...

[jsweka]

If it's gut shot and you know it, let it lay. Twelve hours later you will find a dead deer within 100 - 200 yards of where it was shot.  That's been my experience and so far I've been lucky enough to recover all bad hit deer I've had - including one this past week.

Now if it's a muscle shot, say in the hams, I guess I could see where pushinging it may cause it to continue to bleed.  But I think I would still let it lay and come back later.

[Cyclic-Rivers]

Let it lay. Unless something else is pushing it, they will bed up and you will find your deer there in the morning.

Coyotes? well its either chance feeding them overnight or guarentee feeding them when you cannot find your dead deer.

[Bonebuster]

This is why it is so important to KNOW where your arrow hit. Base your decision on this.

[Groundpounder]

I only had that happen once where i made a bad shot and the deer trooted off about forty yards an bedded down where i could see him the whole time.finally i decided to climb down try to sneak up and put another shot on him . he jumped up before i could an took off. me an  my two brother-in-laws found him about another 500 yards away bedded down in a swamp. that time i got him with a second arrow.there was a good blood trail from where i shot him to where he bedded down th efirst time there was almost no blood from where i jumped him to where he was the second time. so in that case a push might have worked out better. but its always gonna be situation dependant. problem is your not gonna know until you try it

[**DONOTDELETE**]

In my experience, there is almost never a situation in which I would push a deer. If it is snowing hard I may push it to keep a fresh trail going...

[buckeyebowhunter]

For some reason I have a tendency which i am not proud of to shoot deer in the gut. I dont do it on purpose It just seems to happen to me a lot. When this happens or I am unsure about a hit, I almost always give the deer around 4-5 hours, This is normally enough time for them to either expire, or for them to bed down. I have shot several deer that were still alive when i found them but unable to move from the damage of the gut shot. This is when we have to perform a hunter's duty which i do not like but its part of hunting. I just feel more comfortable giving the animal plenty of time, I have pushed deer and it almost always results in a lost blood trail, Especially when it was a gut shot..

[tim roberts]

Don't push unless weather is factor.  Once bumped and moving faster than they need to the blood trail is almost always lost. Experience talking.....

[Buckeye Trad Hunter]

Originally posted by Tree Rat:
I have read both sides of that coin and tried both sides of that coin.

Guess what? I got mixed results.....

Same here.  I've had some animals actually just lay down and allow you to end things and I've had others run clear out of the country (or so it seems.)  In all honesty though, I think that you're better off in most cases to back off and let them be for a while.  Adrenaline does amazing things.

[Slasher]

I think Doc Nock and Roger,Put a justification to actually push a deer... But those are two of the few circumstances I'd even consider it...

But here in this heavy vegetation of the south... You just back out or if you have access to a real good tracking dog and lots of room to push... Just let em lay...

Like Buckeye states... Even a gut shot deer will usually bed down and expire or atrophy enough for an easy follow up!!! Usually in under 100 yds!!!

A friend who runs a tracking dog loves an undisturbed 3-4 hr trail... He gets to finish huis hunt and then... He calls it easy money!!!

I call it common sense... under our circumstances...

[Gen273]

For me, I a say let them lay.

[Whip]

I never push a deer.  If it is a fatal hit they don't go far.  If it is left to lay long enough and has gotten up and left its bed before you get there the odds are that the hit wasn't fatal to begin with.  Pushing it wouldn't have mattered.

[dave19113]

with me, it depends on the hit....Last week the deer I shot didnt react to the hit and simply walked away... only about 10yards.... so I had eyes on her...


But normally if I shoot one that runs... I sit and listen then wait about 30m.....

[lpcjon2]

I give it a half an hour and if the trail shows sign that i'm pushing it I will back off.The key is to double lung'em or heart hitt'em then they shouldn't go to far.     I like the double lung personally always within 50yrds dead on the ground.In my experience that is.  

[**DONOTDELETE**]

I should have thought about this....last week I did a combination of get on the trail quickly and wait. It was almost 80 degrees, and I was unsure of the hit. I got on the blood after 15 minutes. I was very worried about spoilage.

Once I found good blood, I VERY SLOWLY stalked the trail. This added another 20 minutes. I was lucky enough to see the deer on the ground ahead of me, and I sat down. It wasn't dead. I stayed put until movement ceased, plus 10 minutes.

Looking back I suppose that was a combination of jumping the trail quickly and having some patience. Every situation is different. It's up to us to use our woodsmanship and common sense to make the best call.