Describe your average blood trail

[HighNTree]

What does your average blood trail look like?  Do you see a spec of blood every few yards or a steady stream.  When a deer is arrowed and it runs away full tilt, I wonder how much blood actually makes it to the ground even with a perfect heart/lung hit. What do you see on your average shot?

[Whip]

No such thing as average in my experience.  They all vary so much depending on so many different factors.  

I've had some great hits with minimal blood.  And others that might gave just been muscle hits start out looking great and then peter out to nothing.

Arrows that stay in sometimes help blood flow freely even on a poor hit.  Great hits that penetrate through to the opposite shoulder sometimes hit bone before they get a chance to make an exit hole.  Often times fat can clog up a hole that should be leaking like a broken faucet.

Best rule of thumb us keep following every blood trail no matter how good or poor it may be.  When you lose blood, get down on your hands and knees and look for more.  When that runs out, set up a grid search pattern and look in every conceivable spot.  I've found a number of deer with absolutely no blood to lead me to their final bed.

We all love a nice easy blood trail, but not all killing shots produce one.

[Canyon]

What Whip said!!!!!

[Manitoba Stickflinger]

My average one would include waiting till the next day and following a sparse trail with bits of gut here and there for about 200-300 yards.  As the beds get closer together I know I'm close.  The process generally takes about a 1/2 hour.

[rastaman]

I've had heart shot deer run a hundred yards that left a blood trail that looked like it was poured out of a bucket.  I've also had heart shot deer that left a drop here and there until you got closer to where they died before it started pouring blood. I've had fatally shot hogs that didn't make it 40 yards and left very little blood.
I'm with Joe on this one...there is no average.

[fishone]

I agree with Whip. They are all different. Not all hits are lethal! On high hits there normally is not alot of blood early until the deer starts filling up with blood. On gut shots, there is hardly any blood and the deer should be left alone for 10 to 12 hours if at all possible.                                      

"We all love a nice easy blood trail, but not all killing shots produce one."  Well stated Whip!!!!

I have been on 3 blood trails this year. All ended in finding the deer. None of the blood trails were what I consider very good. On two of them we used a deer trailing dog which are worth their weight in gold.

[Cory Mattson]

What Whip says is true but if you trail with me 80% will be 50 yards on average full of steady blood sign all the way to the deer. The other 20% all different manner of sign and due diligence and good woodsmanship is required. We are 100% recovery since at least as far back as 2000 ? talking multiples of big game animals annually - all stickbows

[joe ashton]

My most typical are a steady drip, drip, splash, drip, drip, splash, drip for < 100 yards,  but I've had trails that where long and Ray Charles could have followed. Short trails  with out a drop on the ground.  And everything in between.

[Bowwild]

Most of my lung/heart shot deer over the past 40+ years have gone down in sight...less than 70 yards. All four of my recurve deer over the past three years have gone less than 40 yards and I saw 3 of the 4 fall.

I have to admit some time I don't even look for blood I just go get the deer. When I do check usually I begin getting good blood within 20 yards, depending upon how rapidly the deer departs. Once the blood starts it is usually very obvious every few steps or so.

There have been a couple times, many years ago when a longer blood trail, 100-150 yards actually stopped and then I found the deer dead 20 yards or so away, almost like bled out?

By the way, I've had MUCH better blood trails with bow-shot deer than a few rifle shot beasts.

[HighNTree]

Interesting responses...seems like we all have had similar experiences  Somewhere along the way, I got the notion that if I used shaving sharp broadheads and made good hits, that the blood trails would be ample and easy to see.  I guess this may not be the case in the real world?

[Terry Green]

Most of my animals go down in sight.....or within ear shot...meaning I hear them crash.

Other than that...being I hunt this cover a lot....and shoot 3 and 4 blades...I get a really good trail and an exit wound causing blood leaking from both sides that normally leads to the animal within 75 yards.....liver hits within 125 yards....most of the time.

Don't have time to go into detail on two animals I liver shot out of the same stand...but one went 125 to the cedar thicket it bedded in....and the other went 400 yard to the thicket he bedded in...blood all the way on both.

[Charlie Lamb]

When a deer is arrowed and it runs away full tilt, I wonder how much blood actually makes it to the ground even with a perfect heart/lung hit.

 

Full tilt, perfect heart lung hit with complete penetration.

What Joe said is more normal on average.

Cory... remember when PBS' by line was "Big broadheads and heavy bows"?

[D. Key]

Mine typically is "Non-Existent".

[rwbowman]

Oh how I long to hunt in the snow. My trail on my first trad deer was dry to 20 yards, then all over the place. Shot was at ground level with a 3 blade Woodsman original. Clean pass through on the right lung, liver and front left of stomach. I wonder if there might have been more blood sooner from an elevated position, such as a tree stand...

[gregg dudley]

Originally posted by Charlie Lamb:
 

When a deer is arrowed and it runs away full tilt, I wonder how much blood actually makes it to the ground even with a perfect heart/lung hit.

 

Full tilt, perfect heart lung hit with complete penetration.

What Joe said is more normal on average.


Cory... remember when PBS' by line was "Big broadheads and heavy bows"? [/b]

Excellent picture.  The snow makes it easy to illustate and see what a good bloodtrail can be.  I have seen more and I have seen a lot less.
  A lot depends on what type of surface you are tracking across.  Even when the blood is there it can be hard to find on some surfaces.  I have to hunt in snow some day!

[T Lail]

I agree with Whip.....no two are ever really alike.....best blood that I ever had was a angle through liver and into and out of right lung......easy to follow.......

[sweeney3]

Well, they are all different, but the past two years the average has looked like I threw a hatchet through them.  The one I shot Sunday night I could have followed at a light trot.  The buck back on opening week wasn't as profuse, but was far from sparse.  Two last year were short and splashy.  One year before that was long, spotty, disappearing, and finally recovered via inductive reasoning.  Another that year was short and sweet.  On average though, pretty clear.

[Cory Mattson]

YES Charlie - I sometimes feel lost these days. Thanks for reminding me.  
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[HighNTree]

Hmmm...I guess a lot of blood can hit that ground when a deer is running full tilt!  Great picture Charlie.  Guys have you personally noticed any real difference in blood trails from switching back and forth with different types of broadheads (2-Blades; 3-Blads; 4-Blades; Concave; Convex,and so on)?

[Friend]

Each splatter is mentally recorded as if carefully collected in following a trail to the pot of gold.

Some spill more gold while others spill less.
Cannot phathom leaving these nuggets, even as small as dust not collected w/i my mind.