Did your animal stop a short distance from the point of impact and ‘twitch’ its tail repeatedly from side to side? (This is frequently an encouraging sign of a lethal shot.) Did your animal limp or slowly walk-off with a ‘humped-up’ back (indicative of a gut/paunch/intestinal shot?) Was there a ‘Broncho-Kick’ when your arrow hit your deer? (This can be an encouraging sign of a possible heart/pericardial sac shot). Note what the animal’s behavior/posture is immediately during and then immediately after the shot? Did your animal depart with tail up/down? A deer hit in the so-called “No-Man’s Land” (between the lungs and spine) will likely tuck its tail and run but otherwise act uninjured. The topography looks different from ground level when compared to my elevated view from my climbing treestand/lock-on, ladder stand etc. This helps me tremendously when I return to ground level. When shooting from an elevated stand/position (and before I climb down), I always take a compass reading marking the exact last point I saw my departing game. On more than one occasion this technique of noticing/locating these ‘critters’ has helped me re-locate a sparse blood trail for an eventual successful recovery. Please be aware that Ants, Spiders, and Grand-Daddy Longlegs demonstrate an affinity for blood (because of the carbohydrate and protein content of blood) and the presence of these ‘critters’ can help you locate sparse blood during your tracking/recover endeavorwhen using the so-called on hand-knee’ crawling position (when blood is getting sparse or is temporarily lost). Locate your arrow and ‘First Blood’ (if possible) and then consider your Management Options! What are the Management Options if gut/paunch/intestinal content is noted on the arrow or on the ground? We will address a gut/paunch/intestinal wound options later in our discussion. You should always establish a landmark/landmarks (bushes, trees, stumps logs, etc.) at the point you last saw your departing animal!Again, let me emphasize, how important it is to make mental notes of landscape markers as the animal departs (i.e., stumps, trees, bushes, logs etc.) You can use these landscape markers later during your blood trailing efforts to better locate blood, tracks, hair, bone chips, gut contents, lung tissue etc.) stalking or in a ground blind etc.?) This information determines the size of your ‘vital area’ kill zone and helps established the angle of entrance and exit wounds. Were you shooting from an elevated position (tree stand, ladder stand, lock-on stand etc.,)and how high were you from the ground, or were you at ground level (i.e. What was the position/angle of your shot on your animal? (Broadside, quartering away, quartering toward you etc.) Quartering toward you frequently gives only a ‘one-lung’ shot.
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