Does your knowledge about retrieving hit deer restrict the number of animals you shoot yearly? If so, your knowledge needs to be improved!
But deer tracking professionals trace dozens of tracks every fall. So, they get new information each time they do it. And most of them are eager to share their knowledge! That is the best of all.
1. Study Deer Anatomy
Studying deer anatomy is necessary because many hunters need to correct their beliefs about where deer vitals are.
You can find dozens of accurate graphs on Google about deer anatomy. They show where an arrow or bullet can get a mortal hit. There is no spot within the ribcage that an arrow can slip through without hitting something vital. ‘No man’s land’ or the “dead zone” is something hunters tell themselves not to admit they shot too high.
2.Use Angles to Track Deer
We know shot angle matters. However, hunters may benefit from paying more attention to vertical angles, which they often overlook.
Hunters should focus as much on where an arrow or bullet will exit as they do on where it will enter. For example, if you shoot from an elevated tree stand or ground blind and the deer is close, a high hit will likely angle down and into the vitals. But that same hit from a ground blind might be too high and non-fatal. The difference is the angle.
3.Do Not Think Your Crossbow Is a Rifle
Too many hunters who have never bow-hunted think they are holding a rifle in their hands. Certainly, they are not. That crossbow shoots a light, short bolt that loses energy quickly. The ranges and shot choices crossbow shooters make should be almost the same as those of a vertical bow hunter.
Some crossbow bolts are going through the deer so fast they are wiped clean of signs. Sometimes, hunters are convinced they have missed and then walk a bit and suddenly find blood everywhere.
4.When in Doubt, Back Out
All deer tracking specialists say hunters who wait longer before following the blood trail commit a mistake. The best call one can receive is from a hunter who says, 'I know I made a bad shot, so I backed out and have not taken up the trail yet.” That is ideal because one will get more information about where the hunter thinks the shot was and how the deer acted afterward.
5.Remain Calm and Analytical
Deer trackers advise controlling your emotions as much as possible during and after a shot. What part of the deer did the arrow hit? How did the buck respond to the shot? Where did he go, and how fast did he get there? The better we answer these questions, the more likely we will develop a sound plan for relocating the deer.
6.Know Your Local Deer Tracking Experts
Knowing the local deer trackers before the season begins is a wise idea. The worst time to find out who your local tracker is, is right after you shoot a deer. Most hunters are happy to take calls ahead of the season and to know their hunting grounds.
7.Blood Is Not Everything When Tracking Deer
Frequently, hunters overestimate how much a deer is bleeding. What hunters think is a lot of blood is not always true. But most deer perish from organ failure rather than blood loss.
8.Do Not Give Up!
These deer tracking experts have recovered many animals when all hope seemed lost. This evidence proves you should keep going, especially if you think you made a nice hit. If you stick with it, you might bring home a prize you thought was lost.
For more information, contact Doug Rushing Realty in McComb, Tylertown, and Brookhaven at 601-381-8042.