Not my experience at all. I have often found them balled up in the thickest spot they could lay down and hide (die).

Great topic BTW!

The blood drops will ususally "point" to the the direction the deer is traveling. If the trail of blood is sparse, carefully examine the few drops that you do find. The drop of blood will have a water drop shape in which it is wide and round on one side and taper down to sort of a narrow point on the other end. The narrow point shows where the deer is traveling.
Helped a buddy track a deer once where this info was useful. We thought the deer was going in a certain direction. After looking at the last drop of blood spotted on the trail, we realized, by the point of the blood drop, that the deer had turned back in the other direction. We started looking in that direction, found more blood, and found the deer. May not have ever happpened if we had not payed attention to the little details.

My comment is one cannot generalize. I have found them in the open,in creeks,in thickets that "would make a rabbit cry",jammed into blowdowns, and everywhere else.In fact,when all else fails I go to water as many have mentioned and check every blowdown as I have found some who seemed to use their last burst of adrenaline to ram themselves into the thickest stuff possible. Again,the blood trail is the key.

Call me old fashion is you will, but I got to say that unless your tracking your not hunting. Just my opinion, but waiting up a tree above bait is just not sportsmanlike.

...and cavemen would prefer you use rocks...a rifle or bow just wouldn't be hunting to them..

I can trail the mess out of one and for whatever reason my eyes pick it up easy..even if it's just a small little speck on some pine straw. My problem of locating deer comes when I shoot them a long ways off out in the middle of grown up clearcuts and they fall right where they're standing b/c they fall in mess where the only way you'll find them is if you happen to trip on them.

All really good points. IMO best thing to do

When you shoot know where the deer was when you shot
Know where the deer ran into the woods
WAIT at least 30 minutes (unless you drop them in there tracks)
Go to location where it was hit look for blood
Go to location where it ran into woods look for blood
Then follow the trail
If its dark I find that the old Colman lanterns spot blood really well makes it brighter to see

I agree do not have allot of people especially if they do not know what they are doing walking around looking because they can wipe out your blood trail.

I really like the toilet paper or any markings every sign of blood bc you can somewhat predict what general location the deer might be headed if the blood sigh’s stop.

OR!

Just shoot them in the neck and you don’t have to worry about it. Neck shots if you miss o well get back to the range and practice
if you hit em then they drop right there solves all the problems

I tracked a deer through some very thick stuff this year. He eventually popped back out and ended up in a relatively open area, but he ran through some brush I never would've expected a wounded deer to venture into

Your comment makes me wonder if old carbide lights might work even better at seeing blood drops in the dark.

I'm not sure you can still buy carbide, much less a carbide lamp.

The blood going to the heart is deoxygenated (the right heart Ventricle/atria). The blood leaving the heart to the body is very oxygenated (the left heart Ventricle/atria).

So technically, the heart has both. . . .

Best blood tracking "light" IMO is a lantern, something about them makes the blood stand out.

Indians were some of the best trackers but they chased down buffalo with a horse and shot them at point blank range...just sayin...alot goes into feeders food plots and stands... what would you call sportsman like hunting?

Are you referring to the original kerosene types, or newer gas/Coleman models?

I am color blind and cannot see blood so here's my method.

1- Walk around a little and see if the deer is in plain view

2- Call my buddy and say "come find my deer"

3- Stand back while he blood trails the deer

4- Help him drag it to the truck

I really wish I could see blood because not being able to makes me hold off sometimes when I'm hunting by myself. That's also one reason I tend to take neck shots if I can.

My tracking tips..

-go slow
-dont step before you look
-mark last sign
-pay attention to where the tail is going, if you have been trailing it for 90 yards and it is following the same trail, chances are if you loose blood for a bit it is going to stay on that trail.
-whatch where it goes when it runs off
-shoot a bullet that will exit it helps
-i think the led lights pick up blood alot better than conventional flashlights
-a second set of eyes usualy helps out... and makes the pack out better

matt

This has been my experience also...

Good stuff there, Coleman lantern also picks up blood well, White light as opposed to yellow light of many falshlights.

I like white papertowels or toilet paper for marking blood sign, it is bio degradable incase you do not pick it up.

If you bumb the deer back out.

Lastly, a dogs nose is much better at following a blood trail than my eyes or about anyone elses. Use a dog to find your deer if one is avaialble

That's the way.. You would be surprised but you wife's poodle will even track a blood trail.. Makes me want to take my beagle with me.. She is a petting dog, but I have seen her get that nose down in the yard and never lift it.. So pretty sure she has a good sniffer on her..

I know yall all like to wait, but if it's getting dark.. I give em about as long as it takes for me to smoke a cigarette and to get my gear ready to go looking.. I have yet to jump one up.. Thank you lord.. I normally find em piled up under some ceder trees headed toward the fence.. Have had em jump the fence before.. Normally you can tell where cause they stop and bleed real good before they hop over and leave a pile of goo where they hit the other side.. They don't make much farther if they do all that..

This is my best advice.. Don't give up..

I've tracked my share of wounded animals and there have ben a lot of factors that came into play. Tree climbing and bait have yet to be an issue.

Coleman lanterns are great. Thye are bright, hang low to the ground when carried, and the light shines downward. You get a lot more light coverage then with a flashlight.

Makes sense in some areas. Most of the place I hunt it would be next to impossible unless you also carried and pair of tweezers and did not mind feeling like a pin cushion when you got back to camp. Not to mention the rocks and snakes can still active in warm years. I have no problem with sankes when I am looking down on them.

I'm sure I'll think of more but I buy glow sticks and hang them in trees to mark last sign, when night tracking.

And don't get too many people involved.

Oh and a spray bottle of peroxide helps too sometimes... if you spray it on blood it will foam up and turn orange. Where we hunt there are lits of little weeds with dark red leaves on the ground and sometimes rocks with dark red in them.