Lessons learned this deer season
 

dont forget the basics when it comes to tracking.

We have access to all kinds of tracking aids. Ive used horses, dogs, airplanes and 4wheelers. What really matters is finding and following the blood drop by drop.

I arrowed a doe, "thought" I saw where she fell...but she was not there. I searched the general area for over an hour that night before backing out. Went on a spotting mission the next morning from the air and found nothing. Went back and started from the impact of the arrow and found blood and easily followed the trail to my doe not 100yrds from where she was shot.

I ignored a rookie principal. Start from the beginning and LOOK FOR BLOOD. After 19yrs of deer hunting, I shouldn't have ignored the basics.

Very good information there. Lots of time you try and take some steps off by going to the last place you saw the animal and then end up starting over from the beginning.

Bob

Yep, cutting corners gets you no where.

I did almost the same. But, I'd marked first blood. When I couldn't find more, I called a friend. He found more blood, then we found a good solid blood trail and recovered my deer about 50 yards from impact.

My problem was I kept letting the running deer I saw influence my direction instead of staying and searching a tight grid around last blood. Guess I let myself get rusty.

My daughter Hunter, shot a spike this year. She trailed it by herself for a about 100 yards crossing down and then up a dry river bed, and until it came to a road on top. She could not find anymore blood. We got there with our dog and the dog took off back down the ledge. I figured she was back trailing since we started where Hunter last found blood. Me, I was figuring the deer kept going straight across the road down the same trail it been on. I couldn't find anything, and everyone else stayed searching the area where the last blood was. In the mean time, our dog kept going up and down the ledge. My nephew found a small drop of blood to the side of where the last blood was and now we had a different route. Hunter looked back down the ledge where our dog ran again, and spotted her deer laying in the brush. The deer made it to the top to stumble and fall back down to the bottom. I sure wish I could get our dog to bark when she finds something instead of running back to me and hoping I know what she wants. Would make things a lot easier sometimes.

Bob