Blood trailing tips

[Robinhood1]

Slow and steady wins this race marking tape and tp both great tools I would stick it out by myself as long as I could unless I couldn't get anything and kept coming back to the last spot of blood when the blood trail ends walking circles getting bigger and bigger usually works also knowing where you hunt and the terrain is a huge factor I have hinted the same place for a while and all the deer I have shot tend to go and end up in the same general area might just be coincidence but maybe not

[krisw]

What color is the blood? Could that be an indicator to where the animal was hit, and long the track might be? Could it also indicate a fatal or non fatal hit?

To an extent, yes. Bubbles mean lungs, really dark blood is liver, you can tell if you gut shot it also. Beyond that, I'm not really sure.

[elkbowhunter]

Slow and steady wins this race marking tape and tp both great tools I would stick it out by myself as long as I could unless I couldn't get anything and kept coming back to the last spot of blood when the blood trail ends walking circles getting bigger and bigger usually works also knowing where you hunt and the terrain is a huge factor I have hinted the same place for a while and all the deer I have shot tend to go and end up in the same general area might just be coincidence but maybe not

great post robinhood....on the wide circle part....Thats why Ive found using my GPS marking a waypoint on the shot location then you work GPS in small circles if blood trail peters out on ya. Using a GPS you can save lots of time in getting ground covered. It always amazes me how hidden an animal can get when injured.They crawl in to the thickest stuff they can find. You can almost walk right over them sometimes. Slow and steady.

[SaltwaterSlick]

-find the arra and inspect very carefully for what kind of blood, hair, etc. is on arra
-blood with bubbles in it is about the best sign a bowhunter can find...
-which side of the trail is the blood on... bleeding out both sides?
-small dots of blood up high on brush can indicate blood coming out nose/mouth...another good sign for the tracker...
-I also actually like to track at night. It seems to make me focus on where my light is and blood is easier for me to see under artificial light, especially if it's still wet...
-and I use the TP method too. At night it's pretty easy to shine your light back the way you came from to get a good direction on which way to look next as you go forward.
-when the trail of a deer that is bleeding pretty good/steady suddenly stops, chances are the deer made a turn or even back track. They don't really just quit bleeding. Go back to last blood and begin a methodical search for signs (rolled rocks, disturbed brush, dirt, broken branches, etc.) of a change in direction.

I personally like to track alone at first and only solicit help if blood becomes sparse. Actually, right now, I'm working on making myself another tracking dog... my old lab is about at the end of her trail, so I've started me a dedicated tracker...hopefully I'll get to give her some experience here real soon...

[Ron]

All good tips here, you might want to print a list of tracking dogs available around your area to come in and find your animal, before you get too many folks walking all around.
Just a thought.

[breederbuck33]

Give him time! Then when you do think it is time to go look, assuming your with a group of people, only bring in 3-4 of the best eyes. Go in slow and quiet! Take your dear sweet time! Have someone stand on last blood while two people look for blood and one person hangs with the blood searchers but looks ahead for the deer. If you do not find him this way go back into camp, give him more time, then go out with the whole group and try to pick up the blood trail and fan out and make passes in the direction he was last headed... Just how we like to do it lol everyone goes about it different but the most important thing i'd imagine would be to initially give him time and mark the last spot you saw him after letting the arrow fly!

[holepuncher]

Take only the youngest set of eyes on the lease,(they see blood really well) a lot of people tend to mess up sign.

[1369]

All really good tips, especially a Coleman lantern on Coleman fuel really makes the blood pop.

Only thing I'll add is to take stock of your surroundings and think, "If I was hurt and trying to get away and make it difficult for somone to find me, which way would I go?"

[TallTexan]

..

[TUCO]

Don’t look for blood only on the ground; look for it on tall grass and bushes at thigh and waist level.

This is particularly helpful on an animal that is not hit well, or is not losing very much blood. What little is coming out and is on the side of the animal will wipe off on the grass and brush as the animal runs by, even though he is not bleeding enough to leave blood on the ground.

And as T16 already stated; for tracking at night, use a Coleman kerosene lantern (not propane), instead of a flashlight. Blood shows up much better under lantern light than when using a flashlight. It almost seems to glow. Just put a piece of heavy duty tin foil across the back half of the lantern’s globe to reflect the light back down at the ground.

With the lantern you don’t have to worry about running out of light. You have approximately 12 hours of light in one tank. I have seen fella’s flashlights run out of light way too many times when they really needed them.

Take a lantern, you won’t regret it.


Good topic BHT……We need more threads like this one.

[MountainMan]

When tracking at night, I actually bring a back pack full of glow sticks. When blood is found, I snap one and hang it on the tree/rock/etc. After about 10, all you have to do is look back and you have a lighted trail. Helps find last blood as well. Won't wash away or get torn up like tp or tape.

If I have to track during the day, I'll use orange tape.

Other than that, just like others have said, go slow and be methodical.