Claude Pollington the Whitetail Wizard
Trailing Wounded Deer
I’ve helped many people blood-trail wounded deer, but one look at the spoor of this whitetail doe told the story. It would be a difficult trailing job. She had been hit through the paunch, and finding gut-shot deer is never easy. There was very little blood to follow. I knew if we pressed the deer it wouldn’t lay down, but would continue to run all night, resulting in a lost animal. The arrow was covered with digested food, tallow and specks of blood. It was a bad hit, and the hunter was baffled. “Where did the arrow hit?” I asked. “How did the deer react when hit?” “I thought it went in behind the front shoulder,” he said. “The doe humped up when the arrow hit her, but it should have been a good lung hit.” It wasn’t. A gut-hit deer often humps up when hit and can travel long distances before succumbing. A hunter’s only hope is to walk away, have a late dinner, and return several hours later to begin a tough tracking job. We hoped to find the animal before the coyotes did. We hoped the animal would lay down and stiffen up instead of moving away from pursuing hunters. Waiting several hours would improve our chance of recovery but also increase the risk of losing the it to coyotes. We recovered that animal, but it required an hour that evening. The doe covered a half-mile of thick swamp before bedding down, and we lost the trail several times before finding the animal under a fallen log.
A gruesome story? Absolutely, but any hunter worthy of the name must do everything possible to recover the animal. Hunting ethics demand nothing less than a concentrated effort. Blood-trailing wounded deer is the responsibility of the hunter who shot the animal, but some skill is required. A good lung or heart shot usually anchors the deer within 100 yards; a gut-shot animal may run miles. Unfortunately, what looked to be a good arrow hit to the hunter, and what actually took place, were two entirely different things. It’s important to observe the exact point of arrow impact, and know how the animal reacted when hit. Clues, like color of deer hair found on the ground where the animal was shot can indicate where the arrow hit; white hair usually indicates a belly hit. Train yourself to key in on the exact location of the arrow wound, and learn if the arrow exited the animal, leaving an entrance and exit wound. A bloody arrow, a steady blood trail, frothy blood that indicates a lung hit; can help the hunter make wise trailing decisions.
The Game Tracker, a string tracking device, is a great tool for bow hunters. The string attaches to an arrow behind the broadhead, and once the head slices into the deer, the line pays out from a canister attached to the bow. It is easy to follow the line (use orange Game Tracker line) to the fallen animal. A double string means the arrow passed through the deer; a single line means the arrow is still in the animal. A sharp broadhead kills by severing arteries, capillaries and veins, and by slicing through and disrupting the function of vital organs, thereby creating massive hemorrhaging. All deer, unless hit in the spine, will run and offer some type of blood trail although it may take 50 yards before the flow exits the animal.
Trailing wounded deer can be a time consuming task. It often means a slow approach from one drop of blood to the next, and the task cannot be hurried. Too many people charge wildly through the trail and obliterate all sign left on the ground or nearby vegetation. Move slowly, one step at a time. Mark each drop of blood with a piece of tissue paper to establish a line of travel or leave one person at the last blood. Move cautiously forward until more blood is found, but don’t lose track of the last blood. Never allow well-meaning bystanders to move ahead; serious blood trailing is a one- or two-man job. Look for blood on grass, leaves, twigs or weeds. Blood on autumn leaves will look rusty, and a squirt of hydrogen peroxide will cause blood to bubble. A russet-colored leaf will not foam up. Look for any sign that might indicate a deer’s passage. A scuffed leaf, matted marsh grass, hoof prints, broken tree limbs near the ground or any blood, tallow or bodily fluid. Wounded deer often run in a straight line until they reach heavy cover. Then the animal often follows established deer trails until it begins to weaken, and then it may head downhill or begin to travel in a circle. A badly wounded deer with a heart or lung hit may not bleed until the last 10 to 20 yards before dying on the run. Be alert to sudden direction changes, and if necessary, spend time on hands and knees when searching for sign. A Coleman lantern works better for blood trailing than a flashlight. Blood is more visible under lantern light. Blood trailing isn’t fun, but it is a necessity. It also is the ethical and proper thing to do.
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