Once  you’ve located the first blood or arrow and have determined that the hit was good enough to immediately follow the trail, it’s time to get down to the business of tracking.

In my opinion, this is one time when less is more. Too many chefs spoil the stew and the same goes for too many people helping with a tracking job. If I ask for any help at all, I only want one other person helping me – two at the most. Anymore, and folks are just getting in the way and invariably, someone gets too anxious and gets out in front. When that happens they can make one wrong step and wipe out a crucial drop of blood and just blow the whole deal. It is a good idea to have one person with you though to keep a look out ahead while you have your eyes on the ground looking for blood. They can carry your bow for you too in case a follow-up shot is needed.

Hopefully you’ll have a great blood trail and can follow it from a standing position at walking speed, but more times than not – you’re going to need to get down and dirty. If you lose the trail, get down on your knees and get your face close to the ground. You’ll be amazed at how much better you can see the blood droplets when you get down there with them.  

Sometimes blood will not be so obvious even when you can see it. Blood on different types of vegetation or soils will sometimes not be so noticeable. I usually carry a spray bottle with common Hydrogen Peroxide in it and spray these suspect spots. If it’s blood, it will foam up and verify that you are still on the trail.

Mark the trail as you go. Good old white toilet paper works as well as anything for this. It’s very visible in both daylight and dark and is usually in your back pack anyway. 

Marking the trail can help you get an idea of the general direction of travel of your animal and is very helpful if you lose the trail and have to back track and start over. Don’t forget to pick it up and carry it out of the woods when you’re finished.

Another valuable tool when tracking is your binoculars. You’ll save yourself a lot of steps if you use your binoculars to check out that suspicious shape up ahead. Often times a rock or log will look an awful lot like a downed animal and if you have to walk to each one you’ll waste valuable time and possibly destroy tracking sign in the process.

Keep an open mind when trying to determine which way the animal went. Many times I’ve heard other hunters say “a deer will always go to water when wounded” or “a deer will always run downhill if wounded” – one thing for sure, nothing is “always” when it comes to tracking wounded game! I’ve seen them go straight up a bluff or in the opposite direction of the nearest water. They are going “away” from where they were shot and usually in a hurry.

Next week we’ll discuss tracking at night and some good and not so good tools used in tracking your game.

And this is your Bowhunting North America Tip of the Week!

John Shelley

Pro Staff

Bowhunting North America, LLC