Have you ever picked up a blood trail that wasn't yours?

Discuss deer hunting tactics, Deer behavior. Post your Hunting Stories, Pictures, and Questions/Answers.
  • Advertisement

HB Store


User avatar
Uncle Lou
Moderator
Posts: 10308
Joined: Sat Feb 20, 2010 12:32 pm
Location: Holly, MI
Contact:
Status: Offline

Have you ever picked up a blood trail that wasn't yours?

Unread postby Uncle Lou » Mon Oct 18, 2021 5:19 am

You ever stumble across a blood trail and pick it up? Curiousity got the best of me, and a game cam pic of a good buck, and a wide track on the trail, caused me to spend a good part of Saturday looking for this deer that someone else hit.

I usually work Saturday mornings, but it didn't look like anything the wife couldn't handle so I snuck out. I admit that I got out a bit late. While walking to an area I wanted to check on, I walked into a blood trail. It immediately distracted me. It was fresh as it had started raining Thursday evening and wrapped up Saturday morning.

I was helping my neighbor Mike track blood thursday night when it started raining. It was very near this area. So when I saw this, of course I thought of that deer. I even texted Mike who spent a good part of Friday looking for his deer with no luck. Well I hunted for about an hour and then picked up the track. After going in a direction for a while, I even thought that I could be going the wrong direction, I found the arrow. After finding the arrow, I turned back and went the other way. Then tracked it to a downfall near the marsh/lake and headed in to finish shipping.

When I came in Randy was outside and told him what I was doing. He also seemed interested to go back out. So I finished some packages, went to post office and back, called Randy, and we jumped in the canoe. I wanted to study carefully where I last marked blood to see if it dipped into the marsh or went out to the point. Of course Randy just wanted to plow through this area to the point. I didn't want to bugger it any more than need be. Mike showed me a game cam pic of a pretty good buck coming out of the point. Also in trailing I was seeing a pretty big track.

I kept waiting to bump into someone else trailing this, but never did. I wonder if they never got blood at hit, and it didn't start bleeding until the arrow came out. So they could have never found the trail that I just stumbled upon.

Well, Randy and I saw a few spots of blood where it appeared to enter the water, but he insisted on buggering up the point anyway. I had a plan for this area and some history with a bedded buck on that point and wanted to leave it be, but trying to tell Randy anything is futile. He always says this isn't going to hurt anything. Well the only good part is we "stacked" it real good.

So once we buggered the point, we got in the canoe and checked a trail that crosses a creek in the marsh. Got out and walked some cattails, trying not to go over my boots, but that didn't work out. Once we picked up a couple spots of blood in the marsh trail, thought we would drive to the other road on the east side of this public piece and come in from the other direction. Randy and I split up once on the other side. He found 3 drops of blood, and we quit.

Here are some pics
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image

This pic shows the area we were in a lot better. We came from the left side of pic, or west, then checked a crossing trail with the canoe for blood. Then drove over to the east side and came in from somewhat dry ground.
Image


Silence Your Gear with Stealth Strips®
http://www.stealthoutdoors.com
User avatar
Uncle Lou
Moderator
Posts: 10308
Joined: Sat Feb 20, 2010 12:32 pm
Location: Holly, MI
Contact:
Status: Offline

Re: Have you ever picked up a blood trail that wasn't yours?

Unread postby Uncle Lou » Mon Oct 18, 2021 5:28 am

oh, did I show you all my new shirt?
Image
Silence Your Gear with Stealth Strips®
http://www.stealthoutdoors.com
KRONIIK
500 Club
Posts: 2576
Joined: Tue May 17, 2016 11:09 am
Status: Online

Re: Have you ever picked up a blood trail that wasn't yours?

Unread postby KRONIIK » Mon Oct 18, 2021 5:37 am

Several times over many years of hunting.
If I'm not sure of the situation, I'll mark the spot I first encountered blood and then backtrack the trail back to the hunter (if possible), before pushing the deer.

(Next time leave Randy in the dark about the situation until you've recovered the deer. However well-intentioned they may be, gung-ho guys like that are very seldom an asset when trailing, and more often just a virtual guarantee of failure).
Drich
Posts: 246
Joined: Sat Jan 16, 2021 3:39 am
Status: Offline

Re: Have you ever picked up a blood trail that wasn't yours?

Unread postby Drich » Mon Oct 18, 2021 5:52 am

Somewhere a guy is waiting a day on his bad shot to track a deer with a dog on an undisturbed track. :lol:

I've picked up a few blood trails over the years. All have led to gut piles.
Maverick1
Posts: 499
Joined: Fri Nov 20, 2015 2:34 pm
Status: Offline

Re: Have you ever picked up a blood trail that wasn't yours?

Unread postby Maverick1 » Mon Oct 18, 2021 6:32 am

Not too many.

I was out running one afternoon along a rural county road and came across fresh tracks and blood that were on the shoulder of the road. It had just snowed that morning so I knew the tracks and blood were fresh.

I followed the blood trail about 80-100 yards into a cemetery, where I found a dead 8 pointer. Was hit by a car. Called the sheriff, who tagged it for me. The meat had been pulverized and the entire animal was pretty much worthless. Lesson learned.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
No sponsors. No camera crew. No team. Just me and my bow. And that’s the way I prefer it.
User avatar
Boogieman1
500 Club
Posts: 6587
Joined: Sun Jun 04, 2017 11:18 pm
Status: Offline

Re: Have you ever picked up a blood trail that wasn't yours?

Unread postby Boogieman1 » Mon Oct 18, 2021 6:54 am

I’ve never found another hunters blood trail. But once I was trailing my own deers blood for quite some distance. When I found him there was another dead buck not 10 yards from mine. Couldn’t have been dead more than a day. Luckily mine was bigger or there might have been some shady stuff going on :lol:
Life is hard; It’s even harder if you are stupid.
-John Wayne-
User avatar
brancher147
500 Club
Posts: 1414
Joined: Wed Aug 16, 2017 3:46 am
Location: West Virginia
Status: Offline

Re: Have you ever picked up a blood trail that wasn't yours?

Unread postby brancher147 » Mon Oct 18, 2021 8:21 am

Ran across one on public in Ohio once. Saw the hunter eventually…I think it was a big buck he shot in the chest with a slug. Never found it
Some do. Some don't. I just might...
User avatar
PK_
500 Club
Posts: 6894
Joined: Tue Nov 20, 2012 5:10 am
Location: Just Off
Status: Offline

Re: Have you ever picked up a blood trail that wasn't yours?

Unread postby PK_ » Mon Oct 18, 2021 11:00 am

lol it’s happened a couple times.

One funny one tho was I was bloodtrailing a buck I shot and it went to a gut pile and I thought I must have missed my buck and had just been on someone else’s blood trail and was throwing an absolute hissy fit for a minute there, until I realized the blood trail continued :lol:
No Shortcuts. No Excuses. No Regrets.
Everybody's selling dreams. I'm too cheap to buy one.
Rich M wrote:Typically, hunting FL has been like getting a root canal
Maverick1
Posts: 499
Joined: Fri Nov 20, 2015 2:34 pm
Status: Offline

Re: Have you ever picked up a blood trail that wasn't yours?

Unread postby Maverick1 » Mon Oct 18, 2021 11:29 am

Uncle Lou wrote:You ever stumble across a blood trail and pick it up? Curiousity got the best of me, and a game cam pic of a good buck, and a wide track on the trail, caused me to spend a good part of Saturday looking for this deer that someone else hit.

I usually work Saturday mornings, but it didn't look like anything the wife couldn't handle so I snuck out. I admit that I got out a bit late. While walking to an area I wanted to check on, I walked into a blood trail. It immediately distracted me. It was fresh as it had started raining Thursday evening and wrapped up Saturday morning.

I was helping my neighbor Mike track blood thursday night when it started raining. It was very near this area. So when I saw this, of course I thought of that deer. I even texted Mike who spent a good part of Friday looking for his deer with no luck. Well I hunted for about an hour and then picked up the track. After going in a direction for a while, I even thought that I could be going the wrong direction, I found the arrow. After finding the arrow, I turned back and went the other way. Then tracked it to a downfall near the marsh/lake and headed in to finish shipping.

When I came in Randy was outside and told him what I was doing. He also seemed interested to go back out. So I finished some packages, went to post office and back, called Randy, and we jumped in the canoe. I wanted to study carefully where I last marked blood to see if it dipped into the marsh or went out to the point. Of course Randy just wanted to plow through this area to the point. I didn't want to bugger it any more than need be. Mike showed me a game cam pic of a pretty good buck coming out of the point. Also in trailing I was seeing a pretty big track.

I kept waiting to bump into someone else trailing this, but never did. I wonder if they never got blood at hit, and it didn't start bleeding until the arrow came out. So they could have never found the trail that I just stumbled upon.

Well, Randy and I saw a few spots of blood where it appeared to enter the water, but he insisted on buggering up the point anyway. I had a plan for this area and some history with a bedded buck on that point and wanted to leave it be, but trying to tell Randy anything is futile. He always says this isn't going to hurt anything. Well the only good part is we "stacked" it real good.

So once we buggered the point, we got in the canoe and checked a trail that crosses a creek in the marsh. Got out and walked some cattails, trying not to go over my boots, but that didn't work out. Once we picked up a couple spots of blood in the marsh trail, thought we would drive to the other road on the east side of this public piece and come in from the other direction. Randy and I split up once on the other side. He found 3 drops of blood, and we quit.

Here are some pics
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image

This pic shows the area we were in a lot better. We came from the left side of pic, or west, then checked a crossing trail with the canoe for blood. Then drove over to the east side and came in from somewhat dry ground.
Image


Well, fortunately, none of the blood trails I’ve picked up have been MINE! :D
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
No sponsors. No camera crew. No team. Just me and my bow. And that’s the way I prefer it.
User avatar
Andr3wxmma
Posts: 290
Joined: Wed Aug 04, 2021 1:39 am
Facebook: Andrew Mattison
Status: Offline

Re: Have you ever picked up a blood trail that wasn't yours?

Unread postby Andr3wxmma » Mon Oct 18, 2021 12:18 pm

I've always avoided it because I would be worried about jumping a marginal hit buck someone else backed out on.
User avatar
Abishai
Posts: 317
Joined: Tue May 31, 2016 8:53 pm
Location: Fort Riley, KS via AR River Valley
Status: Offline

Re: Have you ever picked up a blood trail that wasn't yours?

Unread postby Abishai » Mon Oct 18, 2021 1:03 pm

Walking out on a trail one night I found a bloodtrail from earlier in the day that wasn't mine that I hadn't seen because I walked in from another direction. I didn't backtrack it but it led to near where I parked about half a mile out. I just figured someone shot a deer in the area earlier that morning. I might've moved areas had I had that bit of intel earlier.

There's a Youtube video out there where a guy shoots a big buck in Kansas after shooting a coyote off stand, crosses their trails and gets all outta whack. He ends up finding his buck floating in a logjam on the other side of a river. :o
“If you consider an unsuccessful hunt to be a waste of time, then the true meaning of the chase eludes you all together.”– Fred Bear
User avatar
Dewey
Moderator
Posts: 36723
Joined: Thu Mar 11, 2010 7:57 pm
Location: Wisconsin
Status: Online

Re: Have you ever picked up a blood trail that wasn't yours?

Unread postby Dewey » Mon Oct 18, 2021 3:22 pm

Found plenty of blood trails but most led to a gut pile.

I’ve left a few of my own blood trails from myself. Wonder how many followed them? :lol:
Red
Posts: 42
Joined: Mon Oct 04, 2021 10:34 am
Status: Offline

Re: Have you ever picked up a blood trail that wasn't yours?

Unread postby Red » Mon Oct 18, 2021 4:20 pm

1 time my brother shot a buck on a draw hunt the first morning. That evening I shot a buck and it ran off so I went and started trailing it only to realize after 30 mins I was following his as it led to a gut pile. I went back and eventually found where mine was standing.

Another time had a buddy that hunted the same farm as me told me he shot a monster opening morning and couldn't find it. That next morning I hunted the stand and noticed the leaves kicked up in a different direction than he said it ran off to. Well I ended up shooting a nice buck that morning and before I went to go find mine I went and followed the disturbed leaves straight to his buck a 110 inch eight pointer. I then went and found mine. I called him and said I shot a monster come help me. I took him to his buck and said look at this buck he's a real dandy ain't he. Would you have shot him. he of course answered no. Then I said well u did that's your buck from yesterday. His eyes got real big..speechless. I then told him now let's go get mine. Nothing wrong with 110 inch deer but he's always been that guy who sees and let's 130 and 140 class bucks walk supposedly. It was pretty funny
User avatar
Wlog
500 Club
Posts: 3641
Joined: Mon Dec 31, 2012 1:28 am
Location: Eastern Shore MD
Status: Offline

Re: Have you ever picked up a blood trail that wasn't yours?

Unread postby Wlog » Mon Oct 18, 2021 10:23 pm

Not really the same thing but kinda similar. A few years ago I shot a doe that ran out towards this big soybean field. I had a friend helping me track. We were following blood, came out of the woods, up a small rise in the field and saw a dead deer about 100 yards away across the field. So we abandoned the blood trail and started walking to the deer. We get over there and I look at the deer. I’m thinking man this deer looks like it’s been dead a while. I had only shot like an hour previous to this.
We stood there and looked at that deer for like 15 minutes before we realized it couldn’t be the same deer. From the condition of the deer, I’m 99% sure it got hit out on the road and died out in that field.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.
User avatar
szwampdonkey
500 Club
Posts: 1755
Joined: Tue May 21, 2019 3:44 am
Status: Offline

Re: Have you ever picked up a blood trail that wasn't yours?

Unread postby szwampdonkey » Tue Oct 19, 2021 4:40 am

Only once. Backtracked a blood trail on a tiny scraggly buck i shot opening day of gun deer because his lower leg was dangling around from what was clearly a bad shot.

Led to two hunters. I asked if they shot at a small buck because if they did i killed it and they were welcome to it. They responded that they DID shoot at it but didn’t bother tracking it as it was too small so they didn’t want to “waste a tag on it”. SO WHY ARE YOU SHOOTING AT IT AND INJURING IT”??

T


  • Advertisement

Return to “Deer Hunting”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: T. N. Buck and 60 guests