Blood Trailing

All game recovery begins with a lethally hit animal. Proper shot placement is a must! I strongly suggest passing on all marginal shots, waiting for the right opportunity. In "getting Started," I mentioned the golden rule: KNOW YOUR EQUIPMENT, KNOW YOUR SHOOTING CAPABILITIES AND KNOW YOUR LIMITATIONS! Under no circumstances should you take the shot, unless extremely confident in your shot placement on the animal! In other words, A good, solid, double-lung hit, preferably with a complete pass through of the arrow. Don't listen to the argument of those telling you "no, the arrow needs to remain in the animals cavity where the broadhead can continue to slice things up." Use your own common sense for a moment and think about it. With no exit hole in the animal, where will the blood go? I'll tell you! It's going to fill up inside the animals cavity, leaving very little or no trace of blood on the ground for you to follow!

Once the animal has been hit, I strongly recommend waiting (no less than 30 minutes) before beginning to trail your animal! There are two exceptions to this rule: one, if you physically see the animal go down, and you are absolutely certain he has expired. The second exception would be if you've had a poor hit on the animal, such as a gut shot. In a situation such as this, you're looking at anywhere from six to eight hours, maybe longer. Keep in mind, you never want to push the animal, chasing after him, as pushing him will only make your job of trailing more difficult! Once I have waited the proper amount of time, which let me just say, "isn't always easy," I then begin my search for the animal. First start by positioning yourself in the exact spot you were in, when you made the shot. Then head over to check out the area where the animal was standing when you shot. Hopefully you were able to see the general direction he took off in, although sometimes this isn't always possible. After checking out the spot where the animal was hit and recovering your arrow, if the shot was a pass through, begin your search by following the blood trail as well as the animals tracks if possible. Be careful not to walk or crawl across any sign, as you may need to re-trace the animals steps again. I would strongly recommend the use of a brightly colored roll of surveyors ribbon, easily obtainable at any hardware, or home improvement store, for marking the blood trail. I can't tell you how many times I've taken my animal at dusk, making blood trailing extremely difficult. First of all, in this situation, I recommend using a good quality flashlight and second, I recommend carrying a handful of "light-sticks" with you. You know, the ones that you snap and they instantly start glowing a fluorescent neon green color. These "light-sticks" work great for marking the trail and finding your way out in total darkness. I think it's important that I point out however, no animal is worth getting yourself hurt over. I have had to leave my animal out in the field over night and continue my recovery at first light, on more than one occasion. Safety should always be your first priority! With even the best of hits, sometimes you'll be faced with a real challenge of following nothing more than a few spots or drops of blood. The important thing in blood trailing is being thorough! Be patient and be persistent!