No blood trail?

[IDspud]

I’ve only shot a couple of big game animals with archery. Last week I shot my first mule deer buck. Double lung shot. He ran 30-50 yards and hit the ground.

After finding him I back tracked to look for blood. There wasn’t a single drop from where I shot him to his body. He didn’t even have any blood around the arrow holes.

How common is it to get no blood whatsoever with a good vital shot? Had I not watched him go down I probably would have figured I missed somehow and stopped looking. I don’t ever want to quit looking for an animal and waste it before I should, but I thought for sure any vital shot would give at least a little blood.

 

[Fendrick]

Every shot is different, but unless they are blowing blood out their nose while running, you don’t see blood until chest cavity fills up to the entrance/exit hole with archery.

 

[kpk]

....and if the entrance/exit is high - they may fall over before they start leaving a blood trail.

 

[Smokey12]

Had the same thing happen on a buck I shot with Swhacker. I went and found my arrow and found blood on the arrow. Found zero blood on the ground. Started tracking the deer found him 50 yards away with the entrance hole bubbling blood. I thought it may have been the two blade broadhead which sealed the hole. Now I shoot fixed slick tricks because of it.

 

[S.Clancy]

I heart shot an antelope doe (pass thru) where I also cut the esophagus. The grass or whatever she was eating plugged both holes, no blood trail. Archery is weird sometimes.

 

[Southforkguy]

More often than you realize. Too many dead-lost critters because of poor tracking conditions, heat/spoilage, and every other reason we don't need to get into. In my youth the guys always waited til it was cold for hunting deer. The reason? It wasn't cuz the antlers on the gram... meat was the #1 most important reason for hunting and taking game. Ethics. Think about that next time your gonna send a 90 yard bomb on a OTC DIY elk in early September

 

[Laramie]

I have shot well over 100 big game animals with a bow. There were times I swore they didn't leave a blood trail... I was wrong. Most of the time I was off slightly or looking in the wrong place for the blood. Even on a high lung hit, the blood is coming out immediately. The blood May be several feet either side of the trail because it will be blowing out with force as the animal breathes. Look on trees or foliage several feet either side of the trail. There may not be much in some instances but the blood is there to find.

 

[rclouse79]

I have killed 5 antelope and 2 deer with fixed broadheads. Similar to you I have often seen them fall and have looked for blood, finding nothing or very little. All I can think is need to hit lower than I have.

 

[Laramie]

I have killed 5 antelope and 2 deer with fixed broadheads. Similar to you I have often seen them fall and have looked for blood, finding nothing or very little. All I can think is need to hit lower than I have.

Or look differently. The blood is there.

 

[rclouse79]

Or look differently. The blood is there.

Very wise grasshopper. Do you recommend cross eyed or squinting.

 

[Laramie]

Very wise grasshopper. Do you recommend cross eyed or squinting.

I don't mean to be rude. I have been a part of a lot of archery recoveries. Somewhere around 250 between guiding and hunting myself. There is always some blood if an animal is hit fatally. There are enough inexperienced people on this forum... Messages here really do make a difference to some. Otherwise I wouldn't bother taking a stance at all.

Some blood trails can be really hard to follow for sure... But they are there.

 

[rclouse79]

I was only teasing, no offense taken. I am sure you are right. That being said, I have watched videos of blood trails Ray Charles could have followed. I have yet to have one of those.

 

[Wrench]

Beyond finding blood and what type, learn to key in on what direction the splatter is going, on which side/s and how high. It is rare for there to be zero.

Many blame the broadhead for the blood trail, imo....i blame anatomy and ground cover.

 

[Laramie]

Beyond finding blood and what type, learn to key in on what direction the splatter is going, on which side/s and how high. It is rare for there to be zero.

Many blame the broadhead for the blood trail, imo....i blame anatomy and ground cover.

Great point. Ground cover can really change perception for sure. Some blood trails are easy to follow in snow but the same trail through the wrong kind of vegetation might be really hard to see.

 

[IDspud]

I don't mean to be rude. I have been a part of a lot of archery recoveries. Somewhere around 250 between guiding and hunting myself. There is always some blood if an animal is hit fatally. There are enough inexperienced people on this forum... Messages here really do make a difference to some. Otherwise I wouldn't bother taking a stance at all.

Some blood trails can be really hard to follow for sure... But they are there.

I have been a part of nowhere near that many. But I have tracked friends animals at times they gave up. My buddy shot a deer that same day. I found a drop smaller than the size of a a deer tick and told him to come look for it in front of me. After several minutes he gave up and asked me to point at it. He said there's no way I could have seen that and joked that I must be carrying around a vial of blood and putting it on things hahaha.

I was determined to find something from this guy just to prove to myself that they have to bleed with a fatal hit. Nothing

 

[cgasner1]

More often than you realize. Too many dead-lost critters because of poor tracking conditions, heat/spoilage, and every other reason we don't need to get into. In my youth the guys always waited til it was cold for hunting deer. The reason? It wasn't cuz the antlers on the gram... meat was the #1 most important reason for hunting and taking game. Ethics. Think about that next time your gonna send a 90 yard bomb on a OTC DIY elk in early September

What does this have to do with anything in this thread


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[KBrangers]

Thanks for the info fellas

 

[Erict]

I can see how it might happen but it never did in all my bow kills.

While often the most obvious, blood is just one of the things I am looking for when I have to start tracking a wounded animal.

 

[pk_]

I don't mean to be rude. I have been a part of a lot of archery recoveries. Somewhere around 250 between guiding and hunting myself. There is always some blood if an animal is hit fatally. There are enough inexperienced people on this forum... Messages here really do make a difference to some. Otherwise I wouldn't bother taking a stance at all.

Some blood trails can be really hard to follow for sure... But they are there.

Man. I don’t want to be rude either, but, ‘always’ is a bad word for these subjects.

Animals shot straight guts
Animals shot at a steep angle with plugged exit and high entrance.
Animals shot steep angle, hard quarter away with no exit.
Animals artificially stopped where holes in the hide don’t line up with holes in the cavity.

I agree there is usually some blood especially at poi, where an animal breaks or dislodges an arrow that didn’t pass through, where the animal stops after it’s initial sprint, sometimes going up or downhill, or in any beds(unless he is able to lick the wound). But to say there is always a (meaningful) blood trail, is just not what I have seen. I am not going to throw out a number of blood trail estimate but I have lived my whole life in a place with no bag limit on hogs and 2 deer a day limit and most would think I am lying anyways if I gave a ballpark. I have only been able to go out hunting 2 days so far this year and yet been on 6 tracks for buddies. Most years I hunt hogs/deer from early Aug through late Feb/early March right up to turkey season…

I agree with you tho 100% about many people just not being good at trailing game. I have helped so many people find animals where, as you stated, they simply couldn’t even find poi and what ends up being a decent blood trail. But there are also times when blood trailing isn’t possible like flooded areas, sandy soil, rain, fire ants eating the blood, other animals traveling with the wounded animal trampling the blood etc… you really shouldn’t rely on blood, use your eyes and ears after the shot, a well shot animal that’s all you should need most times… a poor shot animal you really need to know how to find them without blood. Blood is nice to have but you can’t count on it IMO.

 

[Laramie]

Man. I don’t want to be rude either, but, ‘always’ is a bad word for these subjects.

Animals shot straight guts
Animals shot at a steep angle with plugged exit and high entrance.
Animals shot steep angle, hard quarter away with no exit.
Animals artificially stopped where holes in the hide don’t line up with holes in the cavity.

I agree there is usually some blood especially at poi, where an animal breaks or dislodges an arrow that didn’t pass through, where the animal stops after it’s initial sprint, sometimes going up or downhill, or in any beds(unless he is able to lick the wound). But to say there is always a (meaningful) blood trail, is just not what I have seen. I am not going to throw out a number of blood trail estimate but I have lived my whole life in a place with no bag limit on hogs and 2 deer a day limit and most would think I am lying anyways if I gave a ballpark. I have only been able to go out hunting 2 days so far this year and yet been on 6 tracks for buddies. Most years I hunt hogs/deer from early Aug through late Feb/early March right up to turkey season…

I agree with you tho 100% about many people just not being good at trailing game. I have helped so many people find animals where, as you stated, they simply couldn’t even find poi and what ends up being a decent blood trail. But there are also times when blood trailing isn’t possible like flooded areas, sandy soil, rain, fire ants eating the blood, other animals traveling with the wounded animal trampling the blood etc… you really shouldn’t rely on blood, use your eyes and ears after the shot, a well shot animal that’s all you should need most times… a poor shot animal you really need to know how to find them without blood. Blood is nice to have but you can’t count on it IMO.

Always. If fatally wounded by arrow, bullet, or other projectile, there is blood to follow. Not all will be capable, but it is there.