buckee Posted March 23, 2006 Report Share Posted March 23, 2006 This is a tried and proved method for finding your deer when all else has failed. I think it's pretty near impossible to track a deer with no blood in wet or dry conditions, especially when there are lots of other deer in the area. It's just too easy to get confused. I also don't put much credence in deer always heading to water around here, because there is swamp and water everywhere here. When I don't find any blood trail, I just forget about looking for blood completely and start looking for the deer itself. I first check the direction I think the deer may have gone and do a grid pattern search in that direction for usually a good 150 yrds or so. If I find nothing there, I'll assume that the deer might have veered right or left after entering the woods and check there, the same way. Being familiar with bedding areas is an asset too because those are the places you want to grid search too. My deer took a different trail entering the bush than I had figured. I couldn't see where it had entered once it crossed the steam and ran through a small field, because I was on the other side of the stream and it is quite over-grown. Here's a chart of where I thought the deer went and actual travel route. Here's my grid search looking for a body, not blood. You get to cover more ground a lot quicker Once I've decided I'm not going to find blood, I just go for the all-out grid search. It works 99% of the time Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest PAT_PATTERSON Posted March 23, 2006 Report Share Posted March 23, 2006 Re: TRACKING/FINDING your deer You know, when I have trouble I usually find my deer the last place I look Sorry there Buckee, I couldn't resist. But this is a very good topic for discussion Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buckee Posted March 23, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 23, 2006 Re: TRACKING/FINDING your deer Well Pat, if you look at that map, you'll see that I did find the deer in the last place I looked...LOL. You are so right. It seems like I always find them hard to find critters just when I am about to give up searching. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest PAT_PATTERSON Posted March 23, 2006 Report Share Posted March 23, 2006 Re: TRACKING/FINDING your deer Yep, I know what you mean. I hate it when they just lay real still and let you walk by them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buckee Posted March 23, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 23, 2006 Re: TRACKING/FINDING your deer That bush area covers about a 300ydX250yd area that I searched. It's not the first time I've had to do that in there..LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tominator Posted March 23, 2006 Report Share Posted March 23, 2006 Re: TRACKING/FINDING your deer No wonder you just grab them by the antler and cut their throats now. Don't have to track them as far, eh Sherm? J/K--That's real interesting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spikekiller Posted March 23, 2006 Report Share Posted March 23, 2006 Re: TRACKING/FINDING your deer Thanks for the info Buckee...us color-blind ppl need all the help we can get. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mirage Posted March 24, 2006 Report Share Posted March 24, 2006 Re: TRACKING/FINDING your deer wow buckee i will give that a try next time i shoot one and have a hard time in the locating process, i used to do cicles that i expanded out but never worked all that good. So your saying zig zag back and forth in a grid pattern?cover all areas you can right.this is the kind of stuff i like to know thanks buckee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnf Posted March 24, 2006 Report Share Posted March 24, 2006 Re: TRACKING/FINDING your deer I think maybe a second approach may be more benificial here Buckee. It may just be coincidental here but perhaps searching the path of least resistance first and then doing the grid pattern might be more prudent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buckee Posted March 24, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 24, 2006 Re: TRACKING/FINDING your deer [ QUOTE ] I think maybe a second approach may be more benificial here Buckee. It may just be coincidental here but perhaps searching the path of least resistance first and then doing the grid pattern might be more prudent. [/ QUOTE ] Not necessarily. In this case it may have been beneficial, but in most cases fatally wounded deer will head for thick cover, and don't want to be stuck in the open. That's basically how I approached it at first but once I found nothing, it was grid pattern time. I do always check the most obvious route first, and then go from there. With no blood trail, once you walked 50 yards or so, you feel like an idiot if you just keep walking with no reason for really heading in that direction. I have found grid searches to have really paid off in the long run. It took me a total of 2 hours to cover that bush doing grid patterns, as opposed to carefully trying to look for blood in every nook and cranny, which would have taken forever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mirage Posted March 24, 2006 Report Share Posted March 24, 2006 Re: TRACKING/FINDING your deer did you find any blood at all buckee? I have shot deer and the blood has seem to stop, do you recomend starting a grid from that point? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buckee Posted March 24, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 24, 2006 Re: TRACKING/FINDING your deer [ QUOTE ] did you find any blood at all buckee? [/ QUOTE ] No, in this case I hit the deer hi in the shoulder, and any bleeding was all internal. I didn't find a drop, and I never found my arrow either, so the exact route of how the deer got to where I found it, is still a bit of a mystery. [ QUOTE ] I have shot deer and the blood has seem to stop, do you recomend starting a grid from that point? [/ QUOTE ] Oh yeah, for sure. Once you've checked out the most likely routes he may have gone, and haven't found any more sign, then go back to where you last saw sign and pan out from there. Sometimes (and I've seen this often) you will lose the blood sign, not because there isn't any, but because the deer has back-tracked and then jumped trail in a different direct entirely, or he may have changed direction abruptly, right where you lost the blood sign. It's still a good idea to keep your eyes open for blood on every deer trail you encounter while doing your grid search, just in case you get lucky and come across some more. I've found a few that way too. You get a little ways into your grid search and pick up some more sign, and off you go in another direction. Sometimes you'll find the deer at the end of it, sometimes it will just lead you to another dead-end and the grid search begins again. If I know for sure, that I hit an animal, I don't give up very easily. A few years back, my buddy hit a deer and wounded it. It was late in the evening, so we went back the next morning. My buddy is disabled so he can't get around like the rest of us can. I went in and found a blood trail right away. I followed it in a bit of a zig-zag pattern and found the deer laying down, still alive. Our eyes met and he was up and off again. I followed him for quite a ways, and it looked like He was still just too frisky to catch up to. I was following him by sight, because he kept stopping and going again. I decided to back off and let it rest for another day. Then on day 3, with my buddy waiting at the field edge, I went in to where I last saw it, and started a little grid search for it...sure enough there he was. I wasn't there 20 minutes before I finally found him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhunt Posted March 24, 2006 Report Share Posted March 24, 2006 Re: TRACKING/FINDING your deer Great tips here Steve. Will have to remember this for the upcoming year for sure, especially with what happened here last year with my daughters deer. [ QUOTE ] I also don't put much credence in deer always heading to water around here, because there is swamp and water everywhere here. [/ QUOTE ] About the same here. Have had them run parallel to the water and had them cross the water, but have never had one that I know of to die in the water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mirage Posted March 24, 2006 Report Share Posted March 24, 2006 Re: TRACKING/FINDING your deer man your a good hunting buddie buckee, you foubnd your buddies deer 3 days later thats awsome. i kinda suprised you didnt run that deer down and get him with your knife....lol no imm kidding you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrud Posted March 24, 2006 Report Share Posted March 24, 2006 Re: TRACKING/FINDING your deer Great tips Steve. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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