Recovering Deer hit too far back

[Bowwild]

By the way Tim. That was the most compelling advice about dealing with gut-shot deer I've ever read.

Following this advice will save so many heartaches for those who follow it. It is VERY DIFFICULT to wait that long but the alternative is far worse.

[KevO]

I've learned to wait a minimum of 6 hours.  I also think the broadhead one uses might make a difference.  Two bladed heads are great & I've killed numerous deer with them.  However IMO you can't beat a Snuffer, Woodsman, etc. etc.  They create larger entrance & exit holes and the extra blade cuts more tissue.

[VictoryHunter]

Thanks for posting this, you nailed it!

[Whip]

Excellent advice here!  I also agree with the 8 hour wait though.  Gut shot deer will die, but unfortunately it may very well take some time.  

I went in on one after 6 hours once and jumped him from his first bed.  It was late afternoon by that time, so I backed out and left overnight.  The next morning we found no blood at all from the bed, but knew he had been heading out across a wide open grass/marshy area.  We ended up getting lucky by making an educated guess and found him in the first bit of cover across the marsh a good 300 yards away.

Always err on the side of extreme caution when you aren't positive of your hit.  Back out and give it as much time as you can.  A gut shot deer can go a long way if pushed too early.  If the deer ended up dying right away he will still be laying there when you get to it.

[johnnyk71]

this is great advice, and the comments about your eye deceiving you are right on. i will share this: yesterday, i was practicing from my ladder stand on my 3-D Rinehart deer. on one shot, at about 18 yards and slightly quartering away, i was sure that i saw the arrow fly low, and ricochet off the "belly" of the target and into the ground below.

it wasn't until i got down and walked all the way to the target, that i realized the arrow had actually hit an inch below the heart, in the foam of the leg (a perfect heart shot if the deer even flinched, which they always do). the point is, even on a stationary target, the movement of the arrow and the picture in our mind can cause us to see something other than what occurred.

[Mint]

Great advice, one thing I would add, especially if you are hunting public land is to keep an eye out for other hunters.

Where i hunt on long Island it is crowded so i always stick around if we hit one to far back in the morning to make sure another hunter doesn't go into the woods where they deer is laying gutshot. Last thing you want is for someone else to jump up your deer. If at night i always wait to make sure everyone is out of the woods and i'll come back early morning to track.

We always wait at least 8 hours even if it is going to rain. Since there isn't much sign anyway i would rather walk grids for 200 yards than push the deer into a neighborhood where it will be lost since it is running and not leaving any blood sign.

[Bob Baur]

Excellent advice! Thanks for taking the time to relate it.

[Boomerang]

If you do find your arrow, it is pretty easy to confirm if you hit it in the guts. There will be the smell and stomach/gut contents on the arrow and probably not much blood.

[trubltrubl]

all great advise but a gut shot deer can last longer than 8 hours....there are so many parameters...and they can bed close or far...I had one bed about 300 yards away and did not expire for 19 hours post shot...and it was a complete pass through with a great blood trail and the arrow smelled of paunch ( why the blood I am not sure as quite often paunch shot deer plug up)....I have helped others find deer next day and one of mine and some are still alive...Also have had them expiring at 6 hours...but  I would wait longer than 4 hours for sure on a paunch shot.
As said coyotes are a consideration and weather pattern.
tracking is an art and I learn each time I trail any deer....sometimes they do the unexpainable!!!!!!

[Mint]

I have also found stomach hit deer die faster than ones hit farther back in the intestines. Those i always wait until the next day. We have been able to do this on Long island since we didn't have coyotes, the first one was confirmed this year.

[Bonebuster]

My stomping grounds here in Michigan will leave you with only a bag of bones if you wait eight hours on a wounded deer.

In the mid nineties, I had a Basset that I took out on a lost trail because I had no other options...it led to years of searching for wounded deer.

It was always easy to know if the arrow hit "right behind the shoulder"...because the deer was always close. It was also easy to tell if the hunter went down the trail after a poor hit, because the first bed or two was vacant.

Back then tracking dogs weren`t even legal. So whenever on a trail with lanterns and flashlights I always expected trouble that I hoped I could talk my way out of. Luckily it never happened.

[dnovo]

Interesting topic. Most advice mirrors my own experiences. I will never try to trail a deer that is gut shot for at least 8 hours. Done this way we have always found them. Trailing too soon usually ends with a lost deer. Once you jump one from its bed the deer usually don't leave any sign and they can go a long way. They are very hard to find then
I shot a doe 2 weeks ago that I hit back. She was close and my bow limb hit the water bottle in my cargo pocket. First time for that. Anyway I saw the bit clearly and knew it was bad. It was 1/2 hour before dark. I left her and came back in the morning and found her shortly. Unfortunately the coyotes found her first,  25 years hunting this property and first one lost to coyotes

[akaboomer]

I agree with all that has been said and would like to add be diligent, be patient and stay alert.   I helped track one last year that had been shot the previous evening. She didn't bed for at least 600 yards. When we found her she was covered in frost so we assumed she was dead. She jumped and ran about 80 yards allowing a stalk and follow up shot. The will to live and tenacious spirit they have can be astounding.  Of the numerous paunch hit critters I have been a part of tracking all have been found in the last 12 years. Following these "rules" increases the recovery rate exponentially.

Chris

[Bullfrog 1]

Tim, GOOD stuff here. I have to say in my early years and on other blood trails the #1 mistake is usually too early following up. I still know guys with A lot of years and experience that will still follow for 50 some yards under any hit. I feel this is a BIG mistake.   BILL

[Tim]

And I'll add to Chris's comment.

"Following these "rules" increases the recovery rate exponentially."

AND....be willing to adapt to every different scenario, the deer play by their own rules of survival!  

[Dick Langer]

All points agreed with, if when tracking you cannot find a trail or do not have a tracking dog go to known water source a gut shot animal will run a fever and will quit often go to water.

[Ryan Rothhaar]

Good discussion.

One thing we have learned "behind the dog" is that all the "rules" about what wounded deer will do - for example "travel downhill" "not jump fences" "go to water" etc etc don't apply very often.  The rule we've found to hold true is that a wounded deer will go where he feels safe - if that is over a mountain or under the neighbor's back porch that is where he'll be.  We've seen some really odd stuff tracking deer with the dog.


On the topic of a dog - if you have access to a person with a good blood tracking dog please do the following:
1. Call RIGHT AWAY when you have a doubtful shot. It makes things SO much easier on the dog to work an uncontaminated scent line (in other words without you and 5 buddies crawling around on it for 4 hours before you call).  

2. DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT bring another dog on ahead of time "just in case".  We've had pet dog owners take the family lab in ahead of us a couple times (that you find out later   ) - this isn't a good thing.

3. Listen to your dog owner - they usually have lots of experience on tracks and know thier dog - if they want you to wait - then wait.

As stated before time is not a big deal to a good working dog.  Our Oskar was tested on the VsWP 40 hour German tracking test - that is 250 mL of deer blood laid out on a 1000 meter track aged for 40-48 hours.  He completed the line with no faults in 37 minutes.  My wife was handling him and saw no visible blood on the entire line.

R

[jacobsladder]

great great advice.... i say 4 hours minimum and possibly more if the weather is cool enough and the coyotes arent howling.

[TJK68]

Good post Tim.
Tom

[akaboomer]

Sorry double post. Silly phone.

Chris