Trailing a deer

[Havin' Fun]

I shot a nice doe last night, trailed it til it was dark, and due to the steep and dangerous incline, I decided to give up the search til today. Great blood trail last night with the snow, but now it's melting...and so are my hopes of finding the deer. I trailed for about 200 yards and had a good blood trail....but how can I track this deer today now that the snow is melting and the rain is probably washing the blood away?!

Any hints? I can get back to where I left the search last night.

[jlm]

If you had a good blood trail, you will probably be ok. The rain may wash a lot of it away but you will still notice a pinkish or even a yellow tint to the snow/leaves/etc. If you lose the blood trail make sure to follow the nearest deer trail for a ways, doe's usually follow trails when wounded. If all else fails, you can find the highest vantage point and glass around and try locate the critter. If that fails, go to the last spot of the blood trail and begin to walk in circles around that point. You might want to tie something bright up in the tree for reference. Keep making the circles larger and larger until you find the deer or can't see your reference anymore. If all that fails, get a big crew out and serch the woods! Good luck!

[Buck12]

Hammer
The best advice I can give is to go where you last saw blood last night. From there make circles around the area start small and widen your radius. From what you said, having good blood and 200 yards I would assume she has to be close to where you stopped. She may also be at the bottom of the ravine. Be sure and check any deadfalls closely as she may be piled up near one. Good Luck, I hope this helps.

[redhooks]

You may want to keep an out for circling ravens as well- sometimes nature can find things quicker than we can, Good luck and Hope you find it.
redhooks

[Coach Dog]

Mark the trail w/ tape or strings or something. Do this every 10 yds or so and see if you find a trend of what direction the deer is headed. I know it sounds like a no-brainer, but it can really help you once the blood trail runs out. If you're like me, it's easy to get turned around in areas of the woods. Marking the trail diligently will make it easier. Also, remember to take the tape or strings off when you're done. Good luck.

[Havin' Fun]

Chells,

That's a great idea!!
If I can't locate it, I will get a dog. For what blood I found...it shouldn't be difficult. I'm just paranoid I'm not going to find it. This is in some of the nastiest, thickest, steepest terrain I've ever been in. I have cuts all over my face from last night. Look like I was in a war. Kind of looks good with the beard now!!!

[can it be luck?]

I've done this on a few occasions when there was no snow or I lost sign. I used my GPS. I pan the map page down to it's lowest size and walk a few hundered yards in a straight line. Move over 10 yards and walk back, etc. This way you know you didn't miss any areas while zig zagging through the woods. If you dont have sign, or lost the trail, at least you'll cover every bit of ground in the "grid plot" you're searching. Good luck!

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http://groups.msn.com/canitbeluck

[CSTPETER]

Sounds like you did the right thing by backing off last night. I feel for ya.. many sleepless nights but most of them ended on a positive note. One question, Why in the heck are you sitting behind a computer burning daylight when you could be on the blood trail?

[Guest]

I'd say if you can't locate the Deer by conventional means, e.g. W/O the help of a dog's nose, then you haven't really exhausted your obligation (under the law) to take possession of your downed-game.

I'm not saying it's okay to break any written laws, but why not take full advantage of the incredible scenting and tracking ability of a good Dog?

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Chells

[Mark Christianson]

Put an orange vest on that dog if you use one.
Just about the time you go running your dog after a downed deer, some other hunter will see it runnin through the woods.
Not good to have someone think there is a dog running wild.
I think I have heard it is legal to shoot dogs that are running loose, and chasing game. Might just be an old wives tale.
I would surely use the nose of a dog in this case for sure. I think I would leave the weapon at home though, just in case the old game warden is around.

[tex22]

One other thind to keep in mind, is the more eyes the better. So if you have any buddies that are not busy maybe they could give you a hand. Two guys might walk over something and the third guy might see the drop of blood. That is what our group of 8 guys do, and we rarely lose a deer. Just my thoughts.

[mistermom]

I wanna hear how this turns out. So keep us posted please. I hope you find the deer; but its no sin to not find it. Happens a lot. If you did all you could what else can you do?

mm

[Guest]

If you know someone with a good Dog it'll find your Deer in no time provided it's dead or bedded-down in the area, of course.

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Chells

[HuntFishCamp]

Chells, that brings up an interesting point. In many states tracking wounded game with dogs is legal, and in fact some people make a business out of it. Hunters wound an animal and struggle to locate it and call up the "Game Trackers" and they respond to the site with trained dogs. Now is this considered legal in MN?, from what I read and understand it seems like a very gray area, but the way I read it, it's not legal.

[This message has been edited by HuntFishCamp (edited 11-04-2003).]

[jlm]

I am not sure if it legal or not but in my opinion is should be. Anything we can do to retrieve a downed animal should be done. Including using dogs! Just my opinion!

[Steve Foss]

I'm with the other guys. That doe's likely piled up dead not far from where you stopped for nightfall. I also think interrupting the search was the right thing to do.

I'm surprised she got that far, with such a blood trail.

You'll find her in the daylight. Let us know how it goes. You talked about melting snow and steep terrain. Can't be northern Minn., since there's no melting snow up here. Where you talking about?

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"Worry less, fish more."
Steve Foss
[email protected]

[Fisher Dave]

The deer is likely not far from where you last saw the blood. Follow the trail the best you can .. even if the blood stops.

The dog idea sounds like a good one if its a last hope .. I wouldn't use one until then to avoid spreading the scent around your deer hunting area.

Good Luck, let us know how it turns out.

[Flash]

Hammer em,
Did you find it?
Flash
"Set the Hook"

[Mark Christianson]

We need an update Hammerem.......

Hopefully he is busy butchering.

[Havin' Fun]

I have failed miserably.

All the snow and blood disappeared with the rain overnight. Can't believe the search group couldn't find it. The only thing I could think of is that it ended up the 200 or so acre swamp. I truly feel sick to my stomach!!!
Thanks for all the tips...hopefully the rest of you will have better luck. I don't understand deer....I've never had a deer run more than 100 yards!

[Hugo]

Hammer em'

I feel your pain!! I lost one this year early. Complete pass thru but must not of hit any vitals. Since then I have gotten 2, both didn't go more than 20 yards. Keep your head up and stay with it.

[jlm]

Well maybe she will make it. I have seen weird things, maybe she is clotted up and clowing on some nice green grass as we speak. Keep your eyes out for crows and and the like, if she is out there they will find her! Hmmm, I wonder if a guy could train a magpie as a tracking bird?

[SCCO9803]

If that happens again, be prepared, a trick my father taught me to tracking deer is to carry a small spray bottle with hydrogen peroxide in it. Lightly mist the ground where you belive the deer may have went, if there is blood there it will foam up slightly, this takes some practice but can be very effective with stomach shots or dark colored ground, where blood may be hard to see. Give it a try, just remember just because you can't see the blood with your naked eye doesn't mean it's not their.
Good Luck

[leechlake]

Hammer, Sorry you didn't find your deer. If I was hit in the toe with an arrow I'd go down right there. Deer are tough and they know their back yard. By the way, I think it's great that you feel bad. Too many guys wouldn't take the effort you made, you're to be commended. It's pretty hard to finally throw in the towel, I'm sure. Keep your head up and good luck.

[uffdapete]

Been there done that - 3 times. First time turned good - found it after 10 hrs. of tracking. Second - didn't find and felt like you - miserable. Third one was good news and bad. We found it the next morning laying 50 yds from where we quit after looking 5 hours in the dark. Even though the overnight low was in the teens and we had a light dusting of snow, about half of the meat was spoiled from the body heat.