Helpful night time tracking tip

[gerald strine]

I have been carrying chemical light sticks that you bend to activate in my pack for about 6 years now for those shots that happen at last light.
I always wait an hour after a bow shot to look for the deer and by then it is pitch black out I carry about 5 or 6 of them now When it is time to start up the search I put one where I was sitting when I shot as a reference point it is amazing how fast you can get turned around when searching for blood in the dark The glowing stick is a great help in not getting lost or turned around .
The remaining sticks are for marking the blood trail and after the deer is found put one at the carcass so you can go straight to it after getting the game cart or help.
Here is a tip I had some full size chem lights I got at home depot that i carried about 5 years before using and they worked fine then I replaced them with some smaller ones last year sold for Holloween and tried to use them a few weeks ago and the green ones would not work but the blue ones did.
Buy the full size chemical lights I get them in the tool department at home depot not the cheep Halloween ones.

[VixChix]

That's a great tip! Ya never know when someone might need to find you, or when you need to mark the location of a downed deer.

My brother's first deer was down close to dark. He marked it with his blaze orange toque in a nearby tree and went for the ATV. By the time he returned it was dark and he had trouble locating his deer. A glow stuck would have saved him a lot of wandering around in the dark in a cold Alberta night.

I always carry one of the big glow sticks in my pack. I'm thinking I should store it in some sort of a cardboard tube for protection since my pack can get banged around a bit - maybe the cardboard insert from a paper towel roll.

[wabi]

I've found the 1½ or 2" ones sold for night fishing are usually reliable, but beware of the eBay specials for lots of 50 or 100 of them - what I bought didn't work!
Never thought of carrying them in my pack, but now I may add a few.

[agingcrossbower]

Thanks so much for the tip. Will truly help me out. Always something new.

[agingcrossbower]

So how long does one of the full size glow?

Also I read somewhere that you can get a light that you put on your treestand so when you are looking for it you just press a remote and it blinks ten times. Its called a Gorilla eye in Cabella's. To bad its 35.00.

[georgiaboy]

I've been using the glow sticks for years...i use yellow or orange to mark my stand and green for the blood trail.

[roly]

Great tip, goin to have to try them

[Bullzeye]

I use them also, I get them at the Dollar store, the ones I use are 3in long and the thickness of your little finger, and that have a hook on top so you can hook them on a branch and also a hole so you can use a twist tie or something to attach them to branches. They last for hours and hours.

[gerald strine]

So how long does one of the full size glow?

Also I read somewhere that you can get a light that you put on your treestand so when you are looking for it you just press a remote and it blinks ten times. Its called a Gorilla eye in Cabella's. To bad its 35.00.

The full size ones last all night.

[hikerman]

I started that this year also. Last time I was in my tree stand, was lazy and droped my pack instead of lowering, Well needed new glow sticks after that.

Forgot about my flash lighalso, but it made it.

[bugs]

Thats a great idea

[wabi]

Ordered a pack of 50 1½" glow sticks yesterday. Should be set for trailing and night fishing for a while now.

[sumner4991]

Dang good tip! I got lost one evening while tracking. . .funny how the woods you have been hunting in your entire life takes on a different look after dark.

Another thing you can use are those reflective tacks . . .mark the trees as you track and gather them up on your way out.

[Hester0305]

Great tip I could have used one this year when I found my deer during black powder and went back to get my drag at my pack and had a hard time finding my deer again.

[DanO]

That is a great idea. Gives you a direction of travel and a good chance of finding your deer upon your return.
Dan O.