Blood trails

Crossbow Hunting

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grouse
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Blood trails

Post by grouse »

I shot a deer earlier this week and I saw it fall not far from where I shot it. We all want quick kills and minimal suffering for whatever we hunt. Despite that (and maybe I'm a little perverse) I missed blood trailing and finding the deer. I've killed pretty many deer with various weapons, and I have happily watched many of them drop, but the ones that I have had to trail have been more satisfying. When a deer runs off after a shot, doubt and uncertainty come over me, no matter how sure I am of making a good hit. Trailing and spotting that down deer up ahead is very gratifying and a bit thrilling to me.

Am I weird or do some of you feel the same?
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Re: Blood trails

Post by janesy »

grouse wrote:
Thu Sep 17, 2020 10:23 am
I shot a deer earlier this week and I saw it fall not far from where I shot it. We all want quick kills and minimal suffering for whatever we hunt. Despite that (and maybe I'm a little perverse) I missed blood trailing and finding the deer. I've killed pretty many deer with various weapons, and I have happily watched many of them drop, but the ones that I have had to trail have been more satisfying. When a deer runs off after a shot, doubt and uncertainty come over me, no matter how sure I am of making a good hit. Trailing and spotting that down deer up ahead is very gratifying and a bit thrilling to me.

Am I weird or do some of you feel the same?
I would agree with the above statement. Certainly adds an element of thrill to it. Without sounding like a junkie, it keeps the trill or rush going longer. When I see something drop I tend to sit back relax and calm down so much faster. But I do prefer to see them drop
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AJ01
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Re: Blood trails

Post by AJ01 »

I think it's part of our DNA, the ability to "track and find" our food gives us a feeling of accomplishment or satisfaction, of knowing we can "make it"! Primitive man had to follow game sometimes days in order to "collect or retrieve" his bounty. :eusa-dance:

We are accustomed to "pulling the trigger" and watching the animal drop in it's tracks. :think:

Bow hunters not so much. But also too, I think this may be why we "bow hunt", in order to test our skills, to "pit ourselves against our prey". Just the thoughts of a Redneck from the Piney Woods of East Texas!!! :lol:

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Re: Blood trails

Post by xcaliber »

I like to actually see them expire, but I do want a good blood trail just to make sure I can find my game should it make it into the thick stuff.
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Re: Blood trails

Post by Carnivorous »

I instinctively aim for the heart. I have found a well placed arrow through the pumping station results in outrageous blood trails. :)
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Re: Blood trails

Post by grouse »

AJ01 wrote:
Thu Sep 17, 2020 10:47 am
I think it's part of our DNA, the ability to "track and find" our food gives us a feeling of accomplishment or satisfaction, of knowing we can "make it"! Primitive man had to follow game sometimes days in order to "collect or retrieve" his bounty. :eusa-dance:

We are accustomed to "pulling the trigger" and watching the animal drop in it's tracks. :think:

Bow hunters not so much. But also too, I think this may be why we "bow hunt", in order to test our skills, to "pit ourselves against our prey". Just the thoughts of a Redneck from the Piney Woods of East Texas!!! :lol:

AJ
I think you're right AJ. Humans existed as hunter/gatherers for far longer than we have as civilized buyers of our food. We had someone who is a complete city person visit our farm this July, when the blackberries were ripe. Despite the risk of chiggers, poison ivy and briars, they were determined to pick enough to make a pie (and they succeeded). They could easily afford to buy berries for a pie, but there is something about picking your own that makes that pie even better (also, the wild berries have a lot more intense flavor). Those of us who hunt and fish understand it intuitively.
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Re: Blood trails

Post by Hester0305 »

Carnivorous wrote:
Thu Sep 17, 2020 12:59 pm
I instinctively aim for the heart. I have found a well placed arrow through the pumping station results in outrageous blood trails. :)
I do the same thing and it has proven to be very effective when hunting with a vertical bow and a crossbow.
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Re: Blood trails

Post by Ankh »

If you're color blind like me, you prefer watching them fall. Even decent blood trails require me to hand and knee it if the blood is not wet.
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Re: Blood trails

Post by grouse »

Hester0305 wrote:
Thu Sep 17, 2020 1:43 pm
Carnivorous wrote:
Thu Sep 17, 2020 12:59 pm
I instinctively aim for the heart. I have found a well placed arrow through the pumping station results in outrageous blood trails. :)
I do the same thing and it has proven to be very effective when hunting with a vertical bow and a crossbow.
Nothing wrong with shooting for the heart but it, just like the lungs, is an invisible target. The difference is that the lungs are much larger. Double lung shot deer usually go down pretty fast, just like heart (and aorta) shot deer do. The odds seem to be better going for the lungs.
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Re: Blood trails

Post by Robinsons Rebel »

I like to see them drop myself. I do alot of hunting by myself and hate the feeling I get when I walk up to where I shot the deer and can't find any blood at first. Feels like pure panic for those ten seconds then pure joy when you find blood.
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Re: Blood trails

Post by Doe Master »

There used to be a time when a person was admired for good blood tracking abilities . Now with the advent of bigger heads and better equipment . The blood trails are shorter . But if you play the game long enough you will get one of those trails where it is a drop here and there .
That is where I have some pity for my southern brothers/sisters .
Later in the season we have this substance on the ground that even colour blind persons can track . :)
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janesy
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Re: Blood trails

Post by janesy »

Doe Master wrote:
Fri Sep 18, 2020 5:39 am
There used to be a time when a person was admired for good blood tracking abilities . Now with the advent of bigger heads and better equipment . The blood trails are shorter . But if you play the game long enough you will get one of those trails where it is a drop here and there .
That is where I have some pity for my southern brothers/sisters .
Later in the season we have this substance on the ground that even colour blind persons can track . :)
It certainly a skill that helps to know. My Bear in the spring was a droplet trail. Had to look at every twig leave and sapling as most of the blood was from its fur rubbing knee high. It was my first bear tracking and I was looking for blood on the ground as I've been used to whitetail blood trails. Once I clued in to that and went back to POI it was a clear trail right to it, it just wasn't on the floor.

Also on your first Bear track if you don't see it go down...you're a little more "cautious" and maybe not looking down as much as you should be :lol: :lol:
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Re: Blood trails

Post by amythntr »

grouse wrote:
Thu Sep 17, 2020 10:23 am
I shot a deer earlier this week and I saw it fall not far from where I shot it. We all want quick kills and minimal suffering for whatever we hunt. Despite that (and maybe I'm a little perverse) I missed blood trailing and finding the deer. I've killed pretty many deer with various weapons, and I have happily watched many of them drop, but the ones that I have had to trail have been more satisfying. When a deer runs off after a shot, doubt and uncertainty come over me, no matter how sure I am of making a good hit. Trailing and spotting that down deer up ahead is very gratifying and a bit thrilling to me.

Am I weird or do some of you feel the same?
.....nope, I feel the same way!
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Re: Blood trails

Post by Farmer »

I truly like to see my game drop on the spot or after a short run .....But i to also like to track and have become quite good at it .. My last big tracking experience was for a VERY LARGE bear ....My buddy made a bad shot , lots of blood to start then it became very sparse ...Stop for the night begin again early the next morning tracked for another couple hours and lost sign ....Sometimes it was only a broken branch or a print i the moss then a bit of blood and repeat .....And they laugh at me because I use TP to mark the sign by hanging it in branches.
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Re: Blood trails

Post by Hillcountry »

When I see the videos of those bow hunters that get a shot that immobilizes the animal instantly, like somewhere along the spine, I hope to be able to be that “lucky” some day. That said, I have been fortunate enough to retrieve all my deer within 50 yards and less. One little doe that I shot many years ago led me and my hunting buddies from camp on a merry chase from a blowdown that she blew out of after finding her lying in wait. Funny how it happened...one buddy and I had met while in one of our areas and we were quietly chatting hen I spotted this doe about 50 yards away, down a hill. She stood there like a deer target, broadside so I said go ahead, take a shot (vertical bows back then). My buddy took his shot and the arrow fell quite short but the little doe didn’t budge...my turn. I aimed and let an arrow fly ( with a Bear Razorhead) that found the mark with a good “thwack”and the doe swirled and bounded off. We waited a bit, not knowing how “good” a hit it was and went down to where she was hit. No blood. We searched a bit then decided to go back to camp and get some guys to help. Well, we found her in that blowdown and she blasted out of there and disappeared again, no blood. By sheer determination and a grid search, we finally spotted her expired in a small brook. I was a teenager and now I’m 70 so even though I have not killed dozens of deer over those years, just a dozen maybe, the others have been clean kills that left great blood trails. Thinking back, I would say that taking that shot was not a very ethical decision, especially as the equipment was almost primitive (recurve bows and wooden arrows) but as a kid, it’s a choice I made nevertheless.
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