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How long is long enogh? #7373448 12/11/18 05:18 PM
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To look for a deer you shot at but don't know you hit... or missed?

To look for a deer you shot at and found blood?


It's hell eatin em live
Re: How long is long enogh? [Re: redchevy] #7373456 12/11/18 05:26 PM
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At least a couple hours on the first scenario.

As long as it takes to include calling in a blood trailing dog on the second. If the dog can't pick up the scent and find him, you've done all you can.

Re: How long is long enogh? [Re: redchevy] #7373461 12/11/18 05:32 PM
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If unsure, I see how many of the pieces line up... Hear it hit? Did deer react? Blood, bone, hair? Tracks?

If I think the deer is hit, I will go pretty extreme. Trail as far as the blood goes, then circles and sweeps for a good distance - depends on cover and terrain. However long that takes...

Re: How long is long enogh? [Re: redchevy] #7373467 12/11/18 05:37 PM
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Each hit is different. If you hit it with a rifle, most likely pretty quickly, as long as you know it was a good shot . Guts...4 hours, search near water if you can.

Re: How long is long enogh? [Re: redchevy] #7373471 12/11/18 05:43 PM
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I'm of no help sir. aim



Re: How long is long enogh? [Re: redchevy] #7373474 12/11/18 05:45 PM
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Lol this was spurred by another post, I didn't want to be a "Richard" so I didn't post on the other one.


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Re: How long is long enogh? [Re: redchevy] #7373514 12/11/18 06:21 PM
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Originally Posted by redchevy
Lol this was spurred by another post, I didn't want to be a "Richard" so I didn't post on the other one.


If I only looked 2 minutes, I wouldn't have 5 mounts on the wall... I wasn't there so I just won't say anything.

It is very subjective. I can say I have been lucky more than not and haven't lost a deer except my first one 15 years ago. One it ran 100 yards before there was blood and it was only because it was an open field did I know. It went 3pp yards and I had to shoot it again due to poor 220 yard shot. Buck this year looked like a miss. 40 yards down a trail found a speck or blood and perfect trail after that for 210 yards and was dead with lung shot. There is no set time. I have seen several deer lost when we had great blood trail.

Re: How long is long enogh? [Re: redchevy] #7373521 12/11/18 06:26 PM
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i would say 2 minutes would constitute as waste of game which is illegal

Re: How long is long enogh? [Re: Txduckman] #7373525 12/11/18 06:30 PM
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Originally Posted by Txduckman
Originally Posted by redchevy
Lol this was spurred by another post, I didn't want to be a "Richard" so I didn't post on the other one.


If I only looked 2 minutes, I wouldn't have 5 mounts on the wall... I wasn't there so I just won't say anything.

It is very subjective. I can say I have been lucky more than not and haven't lost a deer except my first one 15 years ago. One it ran 100 yards before there was blood and it was only because it was an open field did I know. It went 3pp yards and I had to shoot it again due to poor 220 yard shot. Buck this year looked like a miss. 40 yards down a trail found a speck or blood and perfect trail after that for 210 yards and was dead with lung shot. There is no set time. I have seen several deer lost when we had great blood trail.



What caliber gun you using and what bullets are you shooting?
Reason I ask is I have never had to track a deer that far, even on a poorly shot deer. Seems a little long for a lung shot deer, and I know these animals are tough, but dang...oh course I use a .50 BMG and even a miss will suck the life out of them (if I get close enough)

Re: How long is long enogh? [Re: redchevy] #7373528 12/11/18 06:32 PM
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Originally Posted by redchevy
Lol this was spurred by another post, I didn't want to be a "Richard" so I didn't post on the other one.


Yeah I was thinking the same as I read that. Part of being a good example is showing what needed to be done too.

Re: How long is long enogh? [Re: redchevy] #7373565 12/11/18 07:03 PM
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If you're asking for yourself, then you probably know when you've done your best.

If your asking about someone else, then all kinds of things enter in like personalities and dynamics. I'm sure some will call me irresponsible, but a guest/cousin of a fellow lease mate arrowed a deer last week, in the morning, and didn't find blood. When he got to the cabin, I asked if he didn't want us to go back out there and look again. (I'm no expert tracker, but I'm better than some.) He relplied it'd be like "looking for a needle in a haystack". His host, my lease mate, was silent. I'm not going to push beyond this point. I'm worn out from trying to make up for other hunters' ineptitude on the place.


...and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. Gen. 1:28
Re: How long is long enogh? [Re: redchevy] #7373566 12/11/18 07:03 PM
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I have lost 3 deer in almost 30 years of hunting. First was a cull spike that had really long tines, shot him in the snow, watched him roll down off the creek embankment. Just knew I hit that deer. Didn't find a single drop of blood and looked for several hours. Second deer would have been the biggest deer I had taken to that point. Really good blood trail until I found a spot about the size of a paper plate then absolutely nothing. I looked for days, practically a week, and never did come up with anything. Third deer I dropped in his tracks, watched him lay in the right-a-way for a good 15 minutes. As my son and I climbed down out of the stand the deer got up and took off. Looked for two days but the mesquites were so thick I couldn't walk upright. Not to mention the coyotes on this lease were extremely thick. It was nothing to see a three or four every time you sat in the stand. Had a group of 11 come by in a line one morning. I figure he was a lost cause at that point.

The first spike I found the next year laying up under a mesquite tree a good half of mile from where I shot him. There was no mistaken it was the same deer. The second and third deer never turned up hide nor hair but I feel like I put in adequate effort to recover the animal.

Long answer is way more than 2 minutes.

Re: How long is long enogh? [Re: Texas buckeye] #7373571 12/11/18 07:08 PM
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Originally Posted by Texas buckeye
Originally Posted by Txduckman
Originally Posted by redchevy
Lol this was spurred by another post, I didn't want to be a "Richard" so I didn't post on the other one.


If I only looked 2 minutes, I wouldn't have 5 mounts on the wall... I wasn't there so I just won't say anything.

It is very subjective. I can say I have been lucky more than not and haven't lost a deer except my first one 15 years ago. One it ran 100 yards before there was blood and it was only because it was an open field did I know. It went 3pp yards and I had to shoot it again due to poor 220 yard shot. Buck this year looked like a miss. 40 yards down a trail found a speck or blood and perfect trail after that for 210 yards and was dead with lung shot. There is no set time. I have seen several deer lost when we had great blood trail.



What caliber gun you using and what bullets are you shooting?
Reason I ask is I have never had to track a deer that far, even on a poorly shot deer. Seems a little long for a lung shot deer, and I know these animals are tough, but dang...oh course I use a .50 BMG and even a miss will suck the life out of them (if I get close enough)


Buck this year that went over 200 yards was taken with 243 Winchester Deer Season 95 grain. You can see shot a little far back but he was quartering away at 110 yards. Only one lung was hit. Heart fully intact. Luckily left a perfect blood trail to the drink. Well I did walk by him twice. I normally use 30.06 but most still go 40 to 50 yards. Doe typically drop though but I had one run almost 100 yards last year with lung/heart shot. Dropped one last week.

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Re: How long is long enogh? [Re: redchevy] #7373585 12/11/18 07:19 PM
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Originally Posted by redchevy
Lol this was spurred by another post, I didn't want to be a "Richard" so I didn't post on the other one.


A hell of a lot longer than two minutes, irregardless of a crying kid. Setting a great example looking two minutes juggle

Hell I've spent over an hour chasing a damn crippled duck hunting a spot I didn't want to take the dog. I will go to extremes to find a deer; we owe it to the animal.

Re: How long is long enogh? [Re: redchevy] #7373586 12/11/18 07:19 PM
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Won't comment on the other post, I wasn't there and it wasn't my daughter.

I've lost 3 deer, found 2 of them well after the fact. Two with a bow and one with a rifle.

First was a typical hill-country 8 point with a bow. Shot was about 15 yards and the arrow went right through his chest - double lung. The buck spun around and took off like the devil was after him. Saw him make a 90 degree turn in the middle of an open pasture then into the trees. I didn't have a blood trail for the first 50 yards, then I cut across the 'corner' and picked up the blood trail again right before he entered the trees. Blood trail ended 20 yards into the trees. I did circles and grids for 3 hours and never found him. Sunday after Thanksgiving I found him under a cedar tree. I must have walked past him half a dozen times.
Second was a doe hit with a bow shot that was nearly a duplicate of the first one. Arrow stayed in her though. Blood trail for the first 100 yards then nada. Found her in mid-December on a straight-line from where I'd last seen her. Arrow still in the rib cage.
Last one was one of the largest deer I'd ever seen . Hit with a 25-06 120 grain about 300 yards. Knocked him on his back in some brush and watched him kick for about 30 seconds then relax and just lay there. Gave him about 5 minutes then climbed down the hill, looking at him the whole way. I crossed a small depression and when I came out of it he wasn't in the bushes anymore. Saw him standing quartering to me about 30 yards past the brush and raised the rifle to shoot again. He took off before I could get a shot off. Limping badly. Followed his blood trail to a creek and never picked up a sign from there on. Spent 3 hours until dark looking for him and again most of the next day and never found him. Came back a couple of weeks later to get some stuff out of camp and looked for buzzards or anything in the brush I thought he went in to and saw nothing. No idea where he went.


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Re: How long is long enogh? [Re: redchevy] #7373619 12/11/18 07:58 PM
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The buzzards never lose one, that’s for sure.

That being said, here’s a way to look at. If buzzards later point to a deer that died a relative short distance from where you took a shot at it, you spent little or no time looking for it.

IMHO, a minimum of one hour with no sign of blood. If there is blood, as long as it takes.


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Re: How long is long enogh? [Re: redchevy] #7373680 12/11/18 08:35 PM
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Honestly haven't lost a deer to date, though I'd imagine it would be hard for me to walk back to camp if there was even the slightest bit of evidence of a hit. After 4 hours of searching one night, we found one that my uncle shot in the leg, so unless I just knew it was a miss, I'd keep looking. Furthest one ever went for me personally was about 200 yards and how he still had blood left after the first 50 I'll never understand because the blood trail was immense. I gut shot him with 180 grains from a 30-06. 15 minutes after the shot I got down and went looking for him and was about 50 yards away when he jumped up and ran another 100 yards to his final resting place. I saw him hit the dirt a second time and I steadied up and delivered another round to his neck. He was the last deer I shot with my 30-06, as now I almost exclusively hunt with my 6mm Rem. I dont know if I was just cocky with the 30-06 or what, but my shots with the 6mm are almost always surgical. That 95 gr SST packs a heck of a lot of punch for a small caliber. I'd say 75% of shots are DRT

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Re: How long is long enogh? [Re: redchevy] #7373721 12/11/18 08:54 PM
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Brings up the question, why do deer have white on their bellies?

My guess is to show the buzzards they are dead. Think about it, an alive but sleeping deer is on its belly. A dead on is on its side showing the white. Would be interesting to see how many dead deer laying down like they are sleeping have buzzards circling and how long it took to find the dead animal.

Re: How long is long enogh? [Re: redchevy] #7373850 12/11/18 10:52 PM
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Yeah I saw the looked for two minutes thread and thought he needs a visit from a game warden. I'm from the look for days camp if you pull the trigger.

Re: How long is long enogh? [Re: Cochise] #7373861 12/11/18 11:00 PM
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Originally Posted by Cochise


A hell of a lot longer than two minutes, irregardless of a crying kid. Setting a great example looking two minutes juggle


Yeah, I was a bit unhappy reading that. I tracked a buck for another hunter one night for four hours, the last 100 yards on my hands and knees with a flashlight in my mouth until the blood ran out. Brisket shot, most likely-we never found the deer, looked for three hours again the next day using circles from the last spot.


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Re: How long is long enogh? [Re: redchevy] #7373886 12/11/18 11:33 PM
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First you should know where the cross hairs was when the gun went off...that being said did ya make a good shot....a good shot is when your cross hairs was in a critical location. If ya can't answer where exactly where the cross hairs was , then this could be a bad shot or a good shot ...who knows. If the shot was good then start off looking for blood droplets. Certainly if a good shot there may not be any blood. Look for a trail he was headed ...if no trail ...just go in circles expanding each one until you have gone as far as possible. Then get a good dog trailer. After this then only luck can come into play. I never give up...I made a good shot and I looked for over two hours ....found deer under a shrub...hunter on my lease looked for his deer and found it more than 400 yards away . He was hit in the vitals. Don't give up ever.
good luck

Re: How long is long enogh? [Re: redchevy] #7373888 12/11/18 11:34 PM
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If the crosshairs were on the deer when the rifle fired, I know I hit the deer. Then there’s the deer’s reaction at being hit. If it stands and looks around, you missed. Bowed up and bucking, possible gut shot. Staggers, then goes forward, my aim was good. Then if I find blood (and I expect to) that’ll often tell you where the deer was hit. Bright blood with froth is a lung hit, meaning dead deer. Dark blood may well not be fatal, even with bone bits. Watery blood with corn and grass means gut shot. Good luck finding that one. Those wounds tend to seal off and the blood trail petering out. Same with the high leg shots. They’ll clot and the trail peters out.

I’ve tracked a lot of deer over the decades. If they are hit fatally, they’ll often stop and lean on a tree as strength fades. Give them time to fade and lay down to rest (and become unconscious).

If the leaves are wet like this time of the year, a severely wounded deer will drag hooves, turning over leaves and leaving a readable trail. If you see that, I’d stop and give them more time to lay down. Crowd them and they’ll find the strength to run, and you’ll never find them.

Those are what I’ve learned over the years. I used to say I could track a lizard on dry rocks, but I was bragging and lying. I did however have a worthless cousin that couldn’t track a bleeding elephant through a snow drift.


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Re: How long is long enogh? [Re: redchevy] #7373945 12/12/18 12:31 AM
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Making a decision as to whether or not the shot was a good one can be very subjective. I’ve shot deer that showed no sign of being hit and ran like it, only to be found a few yards away. And when you’re taking the word of a guy who was shooting at the biggest buck he’s ever seen, there’s a good chance all bets are off concerning the truthfulness of their comments. In all their excitement, they’re not really sure what just happened.

I like to ask for specifics when questioning the shooter. Exactly where was the deer standing when you took the shot? Where on the deer was your aim point? Were you seeing the deer through the scope when you saw him react to the shot? What body movements did he make at the time of the shot? Which way did the deer run and what trees and/or bushes did he run past before he disappeared? How long did you wait until you got out of the stand to look for him? I also like to ask the person if the deer ran with it’s tail up or down, but NOT because it’s a reliable way to determine if the shot was a good one. It’s not. I ask it to see if the person was paying attention to details when the deer made its exit.


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Re: How long is long enogh? [Re: redchevy] #7373956 12/12/18 12:39 AM
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I don’t think enough time and effort was given to find the animal even considering the circumstances.

He could of returned to look for it but chose not to IMO.


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Re: How long is long enogh? [Re: Pitchfork Predator] #7374275 12/12/18 05:58 AM
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Originally Posted by Pitchfork Predator
I don’t think enough time and effort was given to find the animal even considering the circumstances.

He could of returned to look for it but chose not to IMO.


Obviously not if he saw a pig eating a leg from the blind! Deer was probably few yards away.

I have made a few bad shots but recovered all deer. When one I shot at 220 yards ran like nothing happened I saw where it went into brush at 100 yards. Found no blood at shot sight and walked to where it hit brush and nothing. Looked down and saw blood. Went to other side of brush and found blood. Then found blood every few feet and heard it. Buck went 300 yards with no front legs. You have to use all effort to find them. Now with no sign and thick brush, dogs is probably only way to find them. Most give up.

We found one next day one time 150 yards away and guy thought he missed. Crazy luck put us near the fence and saw it. I think 97% of time a miss is really a hit.

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