Deer Recovery - Direction of Travel

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James
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Deer Recovery - Direction of Travel

Unread postby James » Wed Nov 17, 2021 4:15 pm

I was watching the latest video with Dan and Rick and the point around getting an accurate direction of travel deserved another thread of discussion. It is a really important aspect to recovering archery hit bucks and I would wager that many deer are not recovered because the initial blood trail is never properly found.

I know that I personally always try to find a land marking tree, rock or point and immediately imprint it in my brain. "He went to the right of that white poplar tree" I'll say to myself after the shot. With the adrenaline and excitement that comes with a shot, the direction of travel can easily be lost.

I killed a doe this early October and I mistook her direction of travel by 15-20 yards. I struggled to find her blood and found myself rushing to find her without blood. It takes some will power to go slow and keep circling back until you pick up blood. In my case on this track I had filmed it so I was able to play back the footage and line up trees to get an accurate route of travel. I finally got on blood. It ended up being a tough trail. One lung and liver. She was recovered the next morning on the trail about a 1/3 mile away.


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Re: Deer Recovery - Direction of Travel

Unread postby James » Wed Nov 17, 2021 5:31 pm

Tips or stories about marking the proper direction of travel after the shot?
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Re: Deer Recovery - Direction of Travel

Unread postby mauser06 » Wed Nov 17, 2021 5:51 pm

I have had my struggles...a lot of times it's just due to it looking completely different once you get out of the tree.


Something I started doing is marking where I shot from before I move. I'm not always bow hunting from a tree. Knowing where you shot FROM can help piece things back together if you do run into hurdles.


If my arrow blows through and I can see it from the tree, I feel better....where the deer was hit is another point I wanna know and mark.

And the other is poitlnt I last saw it. That's the toughest...i try to pick something obvious but it's not always that easy. Another good trick, hit it with the range finder. It's 88yds from the tree. I marked the tree. I can head that direction and find 88yds. Leave the stand up or run a piece of flagging tape around the tree at the height you were.



Big thing is don't trample the area in the dark. If it's truly an unknown at last light, I'm pretty big on going home for the night. Too easy to stomp around looking and wreck the evidence you need to find. Daylight left or an arrow at the point of impact, I will sneak over and take a look. I don't like leaving deer that are dead so if I can assess it and determine it was a good chest shot, I know I can recover it without risk of jumping it.


After shooting more deer, it's becoming somewhat easier. I don't completely melt down anymore. On that note, I can also call my shots for the most part now. I can see my arrow impacts. I shoot a lot of arrows and can track my arrow flight 98% of the time even without a lighted nock. I hunt with lighted nocks JUST so aid in seeing the hit.


Another critical thing to watch is the deers reaction.



I've learned from helping others. I never pass up the chance to help track a deer just to learn. Many hunters don't have any info what so ever.


Couple gun seasons ago dad shot a buck at last light. I went to help him. He couldn't show me where he was. Where the deer was. Nothing. He knew the buck was on a bench but there were 2 benches and he couldn't tell in the dark which one he was on. He already stomped around looking and carried his gear to the truck and met me on the road.

We searched for well over an hour. I was heading for the truck. I noticed kicked up leaves where I knew neither of us were walking. Found a drop of blood and a couple pieces of nasty smelling slimy chunky pieces. Well...were going home. That's intestines. He couldn't believe it but did. We came back the next day and had nothing to go on. It snowed that night. I knew he likely headed downhill. That night I looked at the topo and came up with 2 areas to grid search. Dad found that buck after like 2-3hrs of us searching. It was within 50yds of where we parked parked night before. My hunch is he chased it clear to the truck. It broke off the access trail and hunkered down and luckily let us walk by it 2 more times that night. The hill is steep..easiest travel is dad's access so makes sense that it ran that down the hill away from him after he shot.

Thats where I came up with many of the ideas I now employ...marking where the shot was from etc. Dad realized how important it is and how much time we wasted that night he instantly ties a ribbon when he shoots. He is red color blind so blood tracking is VERY difficult for him. He can see a blood bath but drops of blood not so much. I had to come up with ways for him to help me help him. I'm usually not anywhere around when he shoots so when I get there I have to piece it all together.
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Re: Deer Recovery - Direction of Travel

Unread postby dan » Wed Nov 17, 2021 11:10 pm

Great post James... As a kid I remember shooting deer and being in such awe of the moment you could not remember exactly where they were making tracking a very difficult task. For most of my life its been a very important thing when I shoot a deer to instead of just getting excited to try and mark where it passes by land marks. So when we were looking For Ricks doe I asked him which side of a giant oak tree the deer passed by... He said to the right... So thats the only direction we looked and spend quite a long time searching... I was almost ready to give up when Rick went over 30 yards left of that tree and started searching and said "we did not look over here"... I thought, well, why would we? It didnt go over there... Then he yelled out I have blood... And it was an easy track after that...
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Re: Deer Recovery - Direction of Travel

Unread postby Rich M » Thu Nov 18, 2021 12:41 am

I've always marked the point of the hit and then the last spot I seen the deer. There is a trail in between if not finding blood. Most deer i have shot had blood from the point of impact. A real good video representative of what blood comes out when shot is in the Ft McCoy breakdown hunts - dude at the water hole backstraps a doe - blood was gushing out of her as she walked away. That happens with most shots if the guts don't plug the hole.

Not knowing where the deer had been was always the problem with the young hunters on a hunting lease - they shot a deer and didn't know where it was when they shot. We'd do about a 100 yard circle in the general area they said the deer was and often found blood opposite from where they thought the deer was. Chalk it up as excitement. Most of the shots were good but some deer still were lost until the buzzards showed up.

There is whole thing with the tracking dogs these days - folks don't realize that you need to put the dog on the track/trail. When someone is telling me they called a dog and it couldn't find the deer and don't mention blood along the deer trail, it automatically seems that they were doing like the kids mentioned above - believing that the deer went that way, when it actually went another way. The best thing to do is to put the dog on blood and let it go from there.

Lotsa of people try to do what they see on videos and read online - does anyone have any videos that focus on what to do when you shoot/hit a deer? Would probably help a lot of new hunters if they were told how to mark the spot, to sit tight, to find the arrow (if archery hunting), look for blood, go slow, one drop to the next, mark the trail so you can see where it goes, etc. I don't watch too many outdoor videos so don't know if they show that stuff - just haven't seen much of it, if any.
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Re: Deer Recovery - Direction of Travel

Unread postby sloughdog » Thu Nov 18, 2021 1:00 am

I think it was in Dans latest or recent podcast about using dogs to track deer and how important it was NOT to step all over the blood trail and disperse that blood trail scent causing confusion for the dog. Critically important piece of info right there.
Honestly never gave it much thought in regards to tracking a wounded animal.
I’ve been on search and rescues of humans for my job and blood trailing doesn’t really come into play because you are keying on a persons specific scent, the person wants to be found (hopefully), there are articles of clothing/belongings to use to reinforce the dog, air scenting rather than ground scenting, etc…

When in doubt, back out…and get help.

I’ve had bucks (and a bear)literally dig/crawl under logs for their finally resting place and walked right passed them because I was moving too fast.
Use toilet paper to mark the blood trail as you go and it makes a nice reference point plus it’s biodegradable.
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Re: Deer Recovery - Direction of Travel

Unread postby KRONIIK » Thu Nov 18, 2021 1:39 am

James wrote:Tips or stories about marking the proper direction of travel after the shot?

Here's one for when you're hunting grasslands or vast expanses of marsh grass, etc. with no distinctive trees to mark where you last saw the deer:

Place a marker ribbon (and a reflective tack or glow stick if you anticapate nocturnal trailing), as high as you can reach on the tree you shot from, with it facing toward the deer's last-seen location.

Then use your trusty Lensatic-type compass to take a bearing reading from that stand toward the place you last saw him, as accurately as you can manage.

Remember that bearing reading; it will be something between 0 and 360 degrees, 0/360 being due North, due East being 90, due South 180, due West 270, etc.
Lets say he was last seen 122 degrees out, (East/Southeast of your treestand.)
Add 180 degrees to your first reading if it's less than 180; or Subtract 180 if your initial reading was greater than 180, so the result is less than the 360. (of 122 in my example, I must add 180 for a result of302 degrees in my example; .)
This is my "Back Azimuth" value that will help me later.
Now when I get out close to where I think the deer was, I'll take a reading fom there back to my tree stand/marker, and move crosswise until I get to my desired Back Azimuth reading (of 302 in my example) back to my stand.
Once I have that, I know that I'm now somewhere on that imaginary line between stand and deer or beyond, and you only have to work on that azimuth line either closer or further from the tree to hopefully find blood, and his last sighted location.

Continue trailing, recover trophy, then return to stand and recover it and the marking litter and go home tired and happy.

I know it sounds complicated but it really isn't once you understand a few basic land navigation principles and can use a compass correctly.
You military types should have it down pat already, and anybody can learn it in a few minutes with a little concentration and attention.

I'm sure you can do it on Onyx or with a GPS without even needing a compass, (but I'm Old School and choose to do it the right way! ;) )
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Re: Deer Recovery - Direction of Travel

Unread postby Huntress13 » Thu Nov 18, 2021 2:15 am

KRONIIK wrote:
James wrote:Tips or stories about marking the proper direction of travel after the shot?

Here's one for when you're hunting grasslands or vast expanses of marsh grass, etc. with no distinctive trees to mark where you last saw the deer:

Place a marker ribbon (and a reflective tack or glow stick if you anticapate nocturnal trailing), as high as you can reach on the tree you shot from, with it facing toward the deer's last-seen location.

Then use your trusty Lensatic-type compass to take a bearing reading from that stand toward the place you last saw him, as accurately as you can manage.

Remember that bearing reading; it will be something between 0 and 360 degrees, 0/360 being due North, due East being 90, due South 180, due West 270, etc.
Lets say he was last seen 122 degrees out, (East/Southeast of your treestand.)
Add 180 degrees to your first reading if it's less than 180; or Subtract 180 if your initial reading was greater than 180, so the result is less than the 360. (of 122 in my example, I must add 180 for a result of302 degrees in my example; .)
This is my "Back Azimuth" value that will help me later.
Now when I get out close to where I think the deer was, I'll take a reading fom there back to my tree stand/marker, and move crosswise until I get to my desired Back Azimuth reading (of 302 in my example) back to my stand.
Once I have that, I know that I'm now somewhere on that imaginary line between stand and deer or beyond, and you only have to work on that azimuth line either closer or further from the tree to hopefully find blood, and his last sighted location.

Continue trailing, recover trophy, then return to stand and recover it and the marking litter and go home tired and happy.

I know it sounds complicated but it really isn't once you understand a few basic land navigation principles and can use a compass correctly.
You military types should have it down pat already, and anybody can learn it in a few minutes with a little concentration and attention.

I'm sure you can do it on Onyx or with a GPS without even needing a compass, (but I'm Old School and choose to do it the right way! ;) )


This made my head hurt. :lol:
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Re: Deer Recovery - Direction of Travel

Unread postby Jackson Marsh » Thu Nov 18, 2021 2:20 am

Take a picture from your stand after the shot of where the deer was standing when shot and where the deer headed after being shot.
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Re: Deer Recovery - Direction of Travel

Unread postby KRONIIK » Thu Nov 18, 2021 2:38 am

Huntress13 wrote:
KRONIIK wrote:
James wrote:Tips or stories about marking the proper direction of travel after the shot?

Here's one for when you're hunting grasslands or vast expanses of marsh grass, etc. with no distinctive trees to mark where you last saw the deer:

Place a marker ribbon (and a reflective tack or glow stick if you anticapate nocturnal trailing), as high as you can reach on the tree you shot from, with it facing toward the deer's last-seen location.

Then use your trusty Lensatic-type compass to take a bearing reading from that stand toward the place you last saw him, as accurately as you can manage.

Remember that bearing reading; it will be something between 0 and 360 degrees, 0/360 being due North, due East being 90, due South 180, due West 270, etc.
Lets say he was last seen 122 degrees out, (East/Southeast of your treestand.)
Add 180 degrees to your first reading if it's less than 180; or Subtract 180 if your initial reading was greater than 180, so the result is less than the 360. (of 122 in my example, I must add 180 for a result of302 degrees in my example; .)
This is my "Back Azimuth" value that will help me later.
Now when I get out close to where I think the deer was, I'll take a reading fom there back to my tree stand/marker, and move crosswise until I get to my desired Back Azimuth reading (of 302 in my example) back to my stand.
Once I have that, I know that I'm now somewhere on that imaginary line between stand and deer or beyond, and you only have to work on that azimuth line either closer or further from the tree to hopefully find blood, and his last sighted location.

Continue trailing, recover trophy, then return to stand and recover it and the marking litter and go home tired and happy.

I know it sounds complicated but it really isn't once you understand a few basic land navigation principles and can use a compass correctly.
You military types should have it down pat already, and anybody can learn it in a few minutes with a little concentration and attention.

I'm sure you can do it on Onyx or with a GPS without even needing a compass, (but I'm Old School and choose to do it the right way! ;) )


This made my head hurt. :lol:


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Re: Deer Recovery - Direction of Travel

Unread postby greenhorndave » Thu Nov 18, 2021 3:16 am

Kroniik , that was a crazy amount of detail, but it totally makes sense. Well, not until I actually do it, but the idea behind it is great. Takes a lot of the noise out of the process.

The doe I shot earlier this year was a case of knowing where the arrow was and the travel in relation to that. Picked out some landmarks and figured that I had it nailed. Then I shot the buck and things quickly got murky. I spined him, shot another arrow but he still didn’t expire. So then I had to go get the arrow that I shot the doe with since I only had three arrows. There went my key landmark for the doe. I should have dropped some TP at that spot but I was too wound up and in a rush to finish off the buck to think of it at the time.

Then darkness really started setting in. My landmarks in the distance faded to black. The general direction was ok and we eventually came upon the blood, but locating it wasn’t as precise as it should have been. The compass method, or at least mapping it out on OnX with a pin and then using the line-drawing feature to draw the travel path would have worked much better.

So I am using that post-game analysis, so to speak, as a way of getting better in the future,

Thanks for sharing your detailed compass idea. :handgestures-thumbup:
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Re: Deer Recovery - Direction of Travel

Unread postby Arrowbender » Thu Nov 18, 2021 4:53 am

I am color blind (red/green deficiency) and have come up w several tactics that I use that I feel make me at least as good as any at recovering deer.

Not bragging. Just stating that patience and method from the start is key.

I too have been using the same/similar compass method previously stated. I am very focused to mark the last sighting of the deer; using the indicator on my compass. I also note the last Direction I hear it as well.

Each track is handled according to the many variables: blood, arrow, reaction, etc.

Some tips I have:

I always leave my stand up until the deer is found.

If the point of impact is not obvious I will go from stand to suspected point of impact several times using my hat or an object to mark it to confirm from tree.

I use TP to mark scarce blood. Then I will use line of site to mark straight direction of assumed direction of desired travel. I find this quite helpful to stay on the blood trail or game trail system they usually end up on.

I really have good luck searching the defined game trails along the compass direction noted from stand. Because I know the deer was along that reading, I can almost always determine which trail it was on with either blood or disturbed ground. If not I will go down each a ways to eliminate them.

Once on blood and it appears to Peter out; It is not uncommon to end up on hands and knees to look for pinhead sized drops if needed to find change in direction, trail or speed.

I always mark last blood to ensure a starting point when needed.

Probably the most important aspect is to stay in charge if you have help!!!

More times than not, helpers muck things up if left unchecked. It’s easiest to only ask a trustworthy, known good tracker(s) for help! Once the trail is lost or obliterated, it gets ugly fast.

I also have used gps in conjunction with the initial compass readings.

I love Coleman lanterns for night tracking as they make the blood glow or shine for this color blind tracker.
Some of the newer head lamps are almost as good. Unfortunately lanterns are a pita to keep in the rig.

I used a dog one time and I’m sure I will again even though it was unsuccessful. I am a little torn on the whole needing to leave the trail alone if your going to call one.
Some trails aren’t dire until you’ve looked a while.

I get it…… It’s just not clear on when to give up and 911!

Good luck everyone ! !
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Re: Deer Recovery - Direction of Travel

Unread postby James » Thu Nov 18, 2021 5:44 am

Arrowbender wrote:Probably the most important aspect is to stay in charge if you have help!!!

More times than not, helpers muck things up if left unchecked. It’s easiest to only ask a trustworthy, known good tracker(s) for help! Once the trail is lost or obliterated, it gets ugly fast.


Great point here. Calling in your friends because you want to celebrate is best done for the garage over a few cold ones. Last thing you want is a bunch of rookie trackers. 2 guys are ideal and hopefully you can make that second person someone who has been on a lot of tracks.

One aspect I haven't seen touched on yet is looking for their tracks. Most often there is a good hoof dig in a the shot of impact. I can usually see a running track in fall leaves pretty good. Especially in the timber in hill country.
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Re: Deer Recovery - Direction of Travel

Unread postby Usi05 » Thu Nov 18, 2021 11:59 am

I heard a podcast from Bill Vale talking about wind rules and he insists deer will eventually turn and run into wind. I didn’t get to vet that out this year but would definitely be a very useful tracking tool if true.

I always try to gather as much info in moment as I can even though that’s very tough in heat of moment.

I had buck I shot this years trail pinned. Single bevel didn’t leave good blood right off the impact but because I had taken an hour to settle and then keep replaying in my head it made tracking much more efficient.

I did not do that as a kid. Time after time I wouldn’t find blood and my dad would have to talk me off ledge over phone. Id calm down and go back and find blood then find deer but my emotions initially always made me screw up trail.
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Re: Deer Recovery - Direction of Travel

Unread postby tim » Thu Nov 18, 2021 7:45 pm

Jackson Marsh wrote:Take a picture from your stand after the shot of where the deer was standing when shot and where the deer headed after being shot.

Excellent advice !


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