16.5
Trailing Wounded Game
It is a hunter’s ethical
responsibility to stop the hunt
and search for any wounded animal.
- You should wait for at
least a half-hour to an hour
before trailing
a deer, unless the downed deer
is in sight.
- Make a practice of
carefully observing every movement
of a game animal
after you shoot it. Investigate
the ground and trail after shooting
before assuming you missed.
- Once
at the site of the shot, look
for signs:
- Blood on the ground
or vegetation
- Broken twigs or
branches, or scattered leaves
- A "dew" line
if early in the morning
- Tracks
- Hair, meat, or bone
fragments
- Downhill trails,
especially toward water
- If
you lose a trail, search
in a circular or grid pattern
and try to pick up the trail again.
- Use fluorescent
orange flagging to mark the
blood trail in
case darkness or weather forces you
to quit the search and
return the next day. Marking
the blood trail
also shows where to look
for more signs if you lose the trail. Be
sure to remove the orange
flagging after use.
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It’s difficult to hit a
vital area on an animal that is
running or moving straight away
from you. Rather
than risk crippling the animal
or ruining meat, wait for a better
shot.
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