Tracking Wounded Deer at Night

[Abitibi Ray]

It's just my opinion , but if you need a special light or multiple lights to track a blood trail , you are more likely to be pushing your deer or game farther . If its hit properly you'll be able to see blood with any light . If not , I wait till first light and go back in . Give him plenty of time to cease up . If he's still going in the morning , he's not likely to be found ..

A Ray

[johny]

Sorry to sound like a d!k.
But, how about not pushing the legal shooting light limits.
The vast majority of deer I have shot were mid morning to noon. Evening is time be home/camp having a nice warm dinner and telling stories.

Done two night trackings: one successful, one not. Both shot in forested cover. Never again will I permit anyone to hunt my land at end of day. Losing even one animal is something I can not tolerate.

I suppose an evening hunt on a field might be different. If there is 50+ yards to run before getting into forest, a well placed shot should lead to a dropped animal before it makes it to "difficult retrieve territory".

[JBen]

Hunt with a guy who took out a does neck. Doe made it about 100-200 yards before any real blood. Once she stopped the blood sprayed and was everywhere. Point being, strange things can happen.

If you allow 30-60min after the shot. Your suggesting people come in more than hour before last legal (allowing time to walk).
I hunt the last week of archery, morning sits are typically 8:30am-11:30am, lunch…back in the stand for 2:00pm

last legal is close 4:45.

Don’t see myself getting out at 3:30pm ( allowing an hour to bed down and stiffen up).

Do understand your point and mostly agree with it, I rarely stay in my stand until last legal I come down at usually at 4:30. But for deer I no issues night tracking. We hunt 47 that week, and the dogs (both kinds) are numerous. As long as we are sure we aren’t bumping, we go because there is a very good chance it won’t be found in the morning. Has not happened, so I don’t know…but knowing the guys I hunt with, if we find where beds…then gets up (Maybe we’ve bumped it)…we’d likely give it another 30 minutes….then keep going…Wouldn’t want the dogs to find it first. But if I pull the trigger anywhere between say 3:30 and 4:30, its going to be pitch black by the time we start on the trail.

As always the devil is in the details. (each situation, decisions might be different).

Bear different topic. If its not found within 30 yards, wait for light.

[ET1]

There have been some real good comments made here.
One comment dealt with land owners setting a guide line/s for certain hunting activities.
A farm I once hunted the land owner made 3-requests that my partner and I followed to the letter.
1) No ATV usage.
2) No garbage left behind.
3) No visible gut pile as his wife often did walks around the property for exercise.
For us it was a given privilege to hunt the property and we protected that privilege.

Another comment made was associated to accuracy and proficiency. There is no denying the value of the 2-mentioned but often disregarded by many hunters. A well placed shot makes short work for any tracking requirements. Okay not always a guarantee but percentage of lost deer goes way down to low single digit percentage.

My percentage for deer taken in the morning to deer taken in the evening is 50-50. Usually bigger bucks were taken in the evening when some started to go to their nocturnal mode.
With the controlled hunt I use a high percentage time for a possible kill. My location is considered a travel and escape route area. When other hunters work the surrounding area and neighboring farms my percentage automatically doubles for success. So when other hunters get off from their day job they still have some daylight left to hunt then that is the prime time for me to be at my location.

When evening hunting you also IMO have to be prepared for additional effort to recover a hit deer should it not immediately go down. That may require night time activity for an extended period. For me a light or medium lunch followed with a few hours rest or snooze to be rejuvenated also helps to extend my day. Hey it’s an age thing.
With the addition of good artificial lighting and location markers you are ready for that task if needed.


Ed

[trimmer21]

My percentage for deer taken in the morning to deer taken in the evening is 50-50. Usually bigger bucks were taken in the evening when some started to go to their nocturnal mode.
With the controlled hunt I use a high percentage time for a possible kill. My location is considered a travel and escape route area. When other hunters work the surrounding area and neighboring farms my percentage automatically doubles for success. So when other hunters get off from their day job they still have some daylight left to hunt then that is the prime time for me to be at my location.



Ed

This is the system I've used,now,for years with an excellent rate of success. I'll go into my favorite spot around 3:30PM and sit very quietly until all the evening hunters show up after work and stomp through the woods. Official sunset is around 5:30PM ,so,I have until 6:00PM to case up and work my way back to the truck. Having said that,if I can't get a rock-solid clear shot at that time,I always pass them up. I'd rather wait until tomorrow to hunt again than need to track alone at night.

[blasted_saber]

A good shot doesnt always ensure an easy track. The last deer I shot was a fawn. I shot it with a .308WIN and a bonded bullet at a quartering towards angle, distance around 50m. A .308WIN and a bonded bullet is definitely not undergunned for deer, let alone a small deer.

The bullet FAILED to exit. There was not a speck of blood nor a cut hair. The area was literally trampled with hundreds of deer tracks as it was a well used trail. It was late in the day. By the time I allowed the deer to expire it was dark. That was not an easy track, it required several guys (experienced trackers included) combing the area, until we found it curled up under some low hanging conifer branches.

Another deer I shot ran well over 100m, with no heart intact. Figure that one out. Adrenaline I suppose. On the other hand there was a blood trail I blind man (or in my case, colour blind) could follow, so it wasnt exactly difficult to find.

Crap happens when hunting. It can never be perfect 100% of the time. Ive shot other deer which I hit nothing traditionally vital (missed the shoulder, heart , lungs) that fell over stone dead. Ive made one spine shot, which is anything but perfect, and the deer fell over but was still very alive. No tracking required, but not really a "kill shot".

[Greenhorn]

I must be old school. I always like to ask the shooter what happened, theirs clues in how a deer reacts to the shot.you must visit the site and do some CSI work.what type of hair,fine or course and Color. Next is the blood,red,foamy or black. Their are specific wait times for different hits. If you can smell gut wait 8 hours. Vein hits produce lots of blood than dry up.
With a heavy yote population you may have to still hunt while following the blood trail. When the trail stops make about a thirty yard circle. Toilet paper for markers. Turns hard bring out my tracking dogs,always prepared.

[Waftrudnir]

I must be old school. I always like to ask the shooter what happened, theirs clues in how a deer reacts to the shot.you must visit the site and do some CSI work.what type of hair,fine or course and Color. Next is the blood,red,foamy or black. Their are specific wait times for different hits. If you can smell gut wait 8 hours. Vein hits produce lots of blood than dry up.
With a heavy yote population you may have to still hunt while following the blood trail. When the trail stops make about a thirty yard circle. Toilet paper for markers. Turns hard bring out my tracking dogs,always prepared.

exactely. observe carefully the reaction of the deer at the shoot (no flinching LOL). although not all deer behave the same with the same hit. even more important, make sure you will find the EXACT spot where you shot it. WAIT a few minutes before you go to the site (no matter how well you hit). the signs will tell you what to expect. if it looks difficult get a dog and NOT a bunch of people who will just make matters worse.

[fishy steve]

i only hunt till last light when snow is on the ground, so easy blood tracking... have only really had to track one deer any distance, gave him a half hour after the shot, he only went about 40 yards and laid down, but he hadnt expired yet... he jumped up when i was 5 yards from him, scared the bejesus out of me and ran for a ways... i gave him another hour and followed and found him dead this time... i had double lunged him with the bow at 20 yards... like you say though the bush is totally different in the dark, i ended up dragging him by hand back the way i came following the tracks back, went back the next day to retrieve the knife i forgot at the gut pile, and realized he died litterally 10 yards off the side of my atv trail... DOH gut pile was already gone to wolves, and a fresh snow had fallen overnight, so glad i didnt leave that one till morning...

[35wailin]

This applies to any gun.

Hit a deer in the thigh with a 12g slug and its not falling over dead any time soon.

Or the back of the knee on the rear leg like my partner did last season. Tracked that deer for 600m+ before we caught up and made a kill shot.