May NEWSLETTER 2010 |
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have topic you would wish to be discussed in a future newsletter, let us know and we will
consider it.
If you do not want future newsletters, please email or write us advising so and you will be
removed from the list.
Write to: Disappear Hunting Products Inc., PO Box 414, Wadsworth, OH 44282
Email: discoverscent@disappearhp.com
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HUNTERS
This month, I would like to discuss a subject that all of us would hope we never have to deal with, tracking a
wounded deer. Preventive measures are always the first priority, so before we ever take shot at a deer, we
owe it to ourselves and the game we hunt, to be as skillful with our weapon of choice as it is possible to be.
Making sure the weapon is tuned or sighted in and then practice, practice, practice is essential, not really an
option. The next measure we can employ is to only take shots that have a far better than average chance of
a clean kill. If we hope we can make a clean shot or know we can make the shot, that thought alone should
tell us whether or not to shoot.
No matter how careful and skillful we are, there are times when will end up with a wounded deer. If there
is a new hunter in your group, especially one of a young age, excitement commonly known as “buck fever”
can produce a wounded animal. Now the work begins, as we owe it to ourselves to exhaust all means to
recover the deer. Over the years, I have spent as much, if not more time honing my tracking skills as I have
my hunting savvy. It is far easier on my mind to go home empty handed with no shot fired, then to go home
knowing I left a wounded deer somewhere, that I could not recover. Over the years I have tracked down a
considerable number of deer, the majority that were wounded by other hunters. I have learned through these
experiences, if you are to be successful, you must understand as much as you possibly can, how a deer
thinks and reacts. I have spent thousands of hours tracking healthy deer during non hunting times, so that I
can learn as much as I possibly can, about their reactions, travel patterns, tendencies and most importantly,
how to read sign without a blood trail. We all would like to have a steady trail of blood guiding us to our
quarry, but most of the deer that I have tracked down, that has not been the case. There is always the initial
blood sign, hair and disturbed soil and ground cover, from where the animal was located when shot, before
bolting into headlong flight. Eventually the deer will slow down, the bleeding may be sparse or stop all
together, now the real difficulty begins.
There several items that are extremely important to always have with you. I carry a roll of fluorescent
orange tape, trail markers called “bright eyes” as they glow beautifully in the dark, ( it seems a lot of
tracking ends up being performed at night ) and good lighting. Years ago, I would use a white gas lantern
during night time tracking, now I use one of those battery lights that strap on your head. The brilliant white
light they emit, allows drops of blood and other sign to be seen much easier. There is one final item you must
possess while tracking, and this is by far the most important, that is patience.
During the shot, try and observe where your arrow or bullet enters the deer. If that was not possible for
some reason, carefully mark the spot mentally, as to where the animal was standing before you leave the
position you took the shot from. It is a good idea to mark the spot you were located at, so it can be a
reference point, if you are unsuccessful in initially locating the spot the deer was at, when wounded. Mark
the spot the deer was at when hit, then carefully, without disturbing any sign, begin marking the path the
deer took, in order to establish a direction. That way if there is little or no blood, you can use those markers
as a line of sight to find tracks, hair or other disturbances. Not all mortally wounded deer leave a blood trail.
I will give you an example, last fall a friend and I were bow hunting about 300 yards apart. Right at dusk, he
arrowed a buck right beneath his stand. The shot entered the top of the deer and did not exit, leaving no
blood trail. Other than seeing which direction the deer went, my friend found no initial sign. Just by pure
luck, the buck ran in my direction and as it came up the ridge, toward my stand, I heard it cough several
times. It went behind several trees about 40 yards to my right, then stopped. I waited, hearing nothing and
by now it was completely dark. I did not move until 20 minutes or so passed and I saw the light of my friend
heading in my direction. I then got down out of my stand and carefully eased my way toward the place I last
saw the buck. As I stepped around the trees, the buck was laying there dead, having taken an arrow through
the lungs. I turned around and walked back to meet my distraught friend, who informed me he had shot a
deer, but had no idea, other than direction, where it had gone. I quietly said, “Follow me” and led him to his
buck. He was elated and in this case a huge stroke of luck, made the tracking job simple. As we back
tracked the path the deer had traveled, there was not one drop of blood anywhere, except where it was
laying. The deer had covered almost 300 yards before expiring, which would have presented a miserable
tracking situation. As I stated earlier, fortunately, the deer ran right to my location, eliminating what would
have been a long frustrating night of trying to track down a deer that was dead with very little sign. Lesson,
just because there is no blood, do not assume the deer will live. Next month, I will discuss tracking in greater
detail.
Keith Dotterer
This month, I would like to discuss a subject that all of us would hope we never have to deal with, tracking a
wounded deer. Preventive measures are always the first priority, so before we ever take shot at a deer, we
owe it to ourselves and the game we hunt, to be as skillful with our weapon of choice as it is possible to be.
Making sure the weapon is tuned or sighted in and then practice, practice, practice is essential, not really an
option. The next measure we can employ is to only take shots that have a far better than average chance of
a clean kill. If we hope we can make a clean shot or know we can make the shot, that thought alone should
tell us whether or not to shoot.
No matter how careful and skillful we are, there are times when will end up with a wounded deer. If there
is a new hunter in your group, especially one of a young age, excitement commonly known as “buck fever”
can produce a wounded animal. Now the work begins, as we owe it to ourselves to exhaust all means to
recover the deer. Over the years, I have spent as much, if not more time honing my tracking skills as I have
my hunting savvy. It is far easier on my mind to go home empty handed with no shot fired, then to go home
knowing I left a wounded deer somewhere, that I could not recover. Over the years I have tracked down a
considerable number of deer, the majority that were wounded by other hunters. I have learned through these
experiences, if you are to be successful, you must understand as much as you possibly can, how a deer
thinks and reacts. I have spent thousands of hours tracking healthy deer during non hunting times, so that I
can learn as much as I possibly can, about their reactions, travel patterns, tendencies and most importantly,
how to read sign without a blood trail. We all would like to have a steady trail of blood guiding us to our
quarry, but most of the deer that I have tracked down, that has not been the case. There is always the initial
blood sign, hair and disturbed soil and ground cover, from where the animal was located when shot, before
bolting into headlong flight. Eventually the deer will slow down, the bleeding may be sparse or stop all
together, now the real difficulty begins.
There several items that are extremely important to always have with you. I carry a roll of fluorescent
orange tape, trail markers called “bright eyes” as they glow beautifully in the dark, ( it seems a lot of
tracking ends up being performed at night ) and good lighting. Years ago, I would use a white gas lantern
during night time tracking, now I use one of those battery lights that strap on your head. The brilliant white
light they emit, allows drops of blood and other sign to be seen much easier. There is one final item you must
possess while tracking, and this is by far the most important, that is patience.
During the shot, try and observe where your arrow or bullet enters the deer. If that was not possible for
some reason, carefully mark the spot mentally, as to where the animal was standing before you leave the
position you took the shot from. It is a good idea to mark the spot you were located at, so it can be a
reference point, if you are unsuccessful in initially locating the spot the deer was at, when wounded. Mark
the spot the deer was at when hit, then carefully, without disturbing any sign, begin marking the path the
deer took, in order to establish a direction. That way if there is little or no blood, you can use those markers
as a line of sight to find tracks, hair or other disturbances. Not all mortally wounded deer leave a blood trail.
I will give you an example, last fall a friend and I were bow hunting about 300 yards apart. Right at dusk, he
arrowed a buck right beneath his stand. The shot entered the top of the deer and did not exit, leaving no
blood trail. Other than seeing which direction the deer went, my friend found no initial sign. Just by pure
luck, the buck ran in my direction and as it came up the ridge, toward my stand, I heard it cough several
times. It went behind several trees about 40 yards to my right, then stopped. I waited, hearing nothing and
by now it was completely dark. I did not move until 20 minutes or so passed and I saw the light of my friend
heading in my direction. I then got down out of my stand and carefully eased my way toward the place I last
saw the buck. As I stepped around the trees, the buck was laying there dead, having taken an arrow through
the lungs. I turned around and walked back to meet my distraught friend, who informed me he had shot a
deer, but had no idea, other than direction, where it had gone. I quietly said, “Follow me” and led him to his
buck. He was elated and in this case a huge stroke of luck, made the tracking job simple. As we back
tracked the path the deer had traveled, there was not one drop of blood anywhere, except where it was
laying. The deer had covered almost 300 yards before expiring, which would have presented a miserable
tracking situation. As I stated earlier, fortunately, the deer ran right to my location, eliminating what would
have been a long frustrating night of trying to track down a deer that was dead with very little sign. Lesson,
just because there is no blood, do not assume the deer will live. Next month, I will discuss tracking in greater
detail.
Keith Dotterer
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