1 00:00:07,880 --> 00:00:10,680 Speaker 1: As a guide and hunter, I've spent thousands of days 2 00:00:10,680 --> 00:00:13,760 Speaker 1: in the field. This show is about translating my hard 3 00:00:13,800 --> 00:00:17,560 Speaker 1: won experiences into tips and tactics they'll get you closer 4 00:00:17,600 --> 00:00:21,360 Speaker 1: to your ultimate goal success in the field. I'm Remy Warren. 5 00:00:21,720 --> 00:00:31,560 Speaker 1: This is cutting the distance. There are a lot of 6 00:00:31,640 --> 00:00:35,640 Speaker 1: hunting skills that are necessary for a successful hunt that 7 00:00:35,760 --> 00:00:40,040 Speaker 1: happened after the trigger is pulled where the arrow is released. 8 00:00:40,760 --> 00:00:43,519 Speaker 1: So just picture this real quick. You're on the mountain. 9 00:00:43,680 --> 00:00:45,960 Speaker 1: You've stalked in with your bow on a great mule 10 00:00:46,000 --> 00:00:49,000 Speaker 1: dear buck, drew back, picked a spot and let the 11 00:00:49,080 --> 00:00:53,320 Speaker 1: arrow fly. Your arrow connected? What do you do? How 12 00:00:53,360 --> 00:00:57,360 Speaker 1: do you proceed? Last week we talked about shot placement. 13 00:00:57,920 --> 00:01:00,720 Speaker 1: This week, I want to cover everything after the shot, 14 00:01:00,880 --> 00:01:03,720 Speaker 1: including how to interpret that hit and how to track 15 00:01:03,760 --> 00:01:06,039 Speaker 1: and approach it down to animal, as well as some 16 00:01:06,160 --> 00:01:09,679 Speaker 1: standard weight times for different shots. But first I want 17 00:01:09,680 --> 00:01:12,960 Speaker 1: to share what I consider the craziest track job I've 18 00:01:13,000 --> 00:01:16,640 Speaker 1: ever done. It happened on a late season archery hunt 19 00:01:16,840 --> 00:01:25,520 Speaker 1: for mule deer in Montana. This particular hunt in Montana 20 00:01:25,840 --> 00:01:29,520 Speaker 1: was late season, during the rut, cold, in a very 21 00:01:29,600 --> 00:01:32,800 Speaker 1: low density unit. So what did I decide to do 22 00:01:33,280 --> 00:01:36,039 Speaker 1: during the general rifle season, I decided to go out 23 00:01:36,160 --> 00:01:38,800 Speaker 1: and hunt with my bow. Now, that might not make 24 00:01:38,840 --> 00:01:41,679 Speaker 1: sense to most people, and it sometimes doesn't even make 25 00:01:41,720 --> 00:01:45,040 Speaker 1: sense to me, but I love the added challenge of it, 26 00:01:45,240 --> 00:01:48,160 Speaker 1: and I love chasing mule deer with my bow. So 27 00:01:48,240 --> 00:01:51,160 Speaker 1: I figured, look, I know this area really well. I 28 00:01:51,200 --> 00:01:53,920 Speaker 1: decided to take a week off from guiding and just 29 00:01:54,040 --> 00:01:57,120 Speaker 1: focus on hunting deer. And I thought, I've got a 30 00:01:57,160 --> 00:02:00,600 Speaker 1: few things working for me. It's the rut. There's probably 31 00:02:00,880 --> 00:02:03,000 Speaker 1: not very many people out there chasing him right now. 32 00:02:03,720 --> 00:02:07,440 Speaker 1: And I thought, well, if I'm gonna be out hunting anyways, 33 00:02:07,480 --> 00:02:10,440 Speaker 1: it'd be cool to try to get a deer with 34 00:02:10,480 --> 00:02:14,000 Speaker 1: my bow. Now. If that doesn't sound challenging enough, I 35 00:02:14,080 --> 00:02:16,560 Speaker 1: also don't know why I did it. Decided to film 36 00:02:16,600 --> 00:02:19,799 Speaker 1: the whole thing solo. So a lot of things working 37 00:02:19,800 --> 00:02:22,320 Speaker 1: against me, but a few things working for me, the 38 00:02:22,400 --> 00:02:25,000 Speaker 1: rut factor and the knowledge of the area. I really 39 00:02:25,000 --> 00:02:28,480 Speaker 1: felt like I could be successful. So I started out hunting. 40 00:02:28,760 --> 00:02:31,120 Speaker 1: Started out looking in some places that I hadn't got 41 00:02:31,200 --> 00:02:33,000 Speaker 1: a chance to hunt for a long time, but knew 42 00:02:33,040 --> 00:02:35,760 Speaker 1: that I'd found bucks there in the past and was 43 00:02:35,840 --> 00:02:39,920 Speaker 1: turning up very, very very few deer. The temperatures dropped 44 00:02:40,720 --> 00:02:43,000 Speaker 1: a couple of the days it was below zero, and 45 00:02:43,040 --> 00:02:45,640 Speaker 1: then it started to warm up around twenty degrees fahrenheit. 46 00:02:46,200 --> 00:02:48,880 Speaker 1: After about three days of not seeing well seeing one 47 00:02:48,919 --> 00:02:52,440 Speaker 1: dear not seeing much um, I continued to just check 48 00:02:52,480 --> 00:02:56,079 Speaker 1: different spots and go to different places. I ended up 49 00:02:56,120 --> 00:02:59,359 Speaker 1: finding a pocket of does and a good buck in 50 00:02:59,440 --> 00:03:01,960 Speaker 1: one can and that I knew had a little bit 51 00:03:02,040 --> 00:03:04,799 Speaker 1: higher deer densities for the unit compared to some of 52 00:03:04,840 --> 00:03:08,880 Speaker 1: the other places that I was checking out. So I decided, well, 53 00:03:09,000 --> 00:03:12,600 Speaker 1: I'm gonna keep hunting this spot until I find the 54 00:03:12,600 --> 00:03:16,880 Speaker 1: buck that I want because there's does here, it's low density, 55 00:03:16,919 --> 00:03:19,840 Speaker 1: so I'm expecting that those does will start to attract 56 00:03:20,120 --> 00:03:22,320 Speaker 1: bucks as the rep kicks off, and I'll keep going 57 00:03:22,320 --> 00:03:24,840 Speaker 1: back to that spot in checking. Trouble with it is 58 00:03:24,880 --> 00:03:28,960 Speaker 1: it's not really great glassing country because it's fairly heavily timbered, 59 00:03:29,440 --> 00:03:31,600 Speaker 1: but is good for still hunting where I could just 60 00:03:31,639 --> 00:03:34,320 Speaker 1: kind of sneak along through old logging roads they have 61 00:03:34,440 --> 00:03:37,880 Speaker 1: no driving access, and then work ridges and other things 62 00:03:37,960 --> 00:03:40,360 Speaker 1: into betting areas and areas where I figured there might 63 00:03:40,400 --> 00:03:43,120 Speaker 1: be better concentrations of does, maybe drawing some of these 64 00:03:43,160 --> 00:03:47,080 Speaker 1: bucks out of the bigger mountains for the rut. Well, 65 00:03:47,120 --> 00:03:51,120 Speaker 1: it paid off. It worked. I found a giant buck, 66 00:03:51,880 --> 00:03:53,840 Speaker 1: a buck that I would have been happy shooting with 67 00:03:53,880 --> 00:03:56,000 Speaker 1: a rifle buck that I've been happy shooting in a 68 00:03:56,080 --> 00:03:59,240 Speaker 1: trophy area or one of the top units in the state. 69 00:03:59,560 --> 00:04:01,720 Speaker 1: And I just so happened to stumble on this buck 70 00:04:02,040 --> 00:04:04,840 Speaker 1: with my bow in my hand. And when I spotted him, 71 00:04:04,880 --> 00:04:07,360 Speaker 1: I was first looking at this group of does, and 72 00:04:07,400 --> 00:04:10,160 Speaker 1: he came out of the timber and he was pretty 73 00:04:10,160 --> 00:04:14,120 Speaker 1: close within range. He ended up pushing a dough away. 74 00:04:14,320 --> 00:04:18,279 Speaker 1: I got in, made my stock, snuck up there, drew back. 75 00:04:18,560 --> 00:04:20,680 Speaker 1: Everything looked great. You kind of turned and looked at 76 00:04:20,720 --> 00:04:22,600 Speaker 1: me as I drew back, but I knew his attention 77 00:04:22,720 --> 00:04:25,799 Speaker 1: was more on the does and that little bit of movement. 78 00:04:25,800 --> 00:04:28,000 Speaker 1: There was actually quite a few doughs around me. So 79 00:04:28,640 --> 00:04:30,839 Speaker 1: you know, whether he pegged me and thought, oh that's 80 00:04:30,839 --> 00:04:33,560 Speaker 1: a danger or not, it was too late. At this point. 81 00:04:33,560 --> 00:04:35,960 Speaker 1: The arrow was on his way. The shot looked good. 82 00:04:36,000 --> 00:04:38,039 Speaker 1: The buck was kind of up on a ridge and 83 00:04:38,080 --> 00:04:40,720 Speaker 1: he ran off and over and down. He did like 84 00:04:40,760 --> 00:04:43,200 Speaker 1: a buck, you know, like bucked his back legs up 85 00:04:43,279 --> 00:04:46,560 Speaker 1: and ran ran away. And I thought to myself, sweet, 86 00:04:46,720 --> 00:04:50,280 Speaker 1: that was a perfect shot. Everything looked perfect about it, 87 00:04:50,360 --> 00:04:53,000 Speaker 1: the way the buck acted where I thought I saw 88 00:04:53,040 --> 00:04:57,200 Speaker 1: the arrow hit his body position, everything looked really good. 89 00:04:57,640 --> 00:05:01,039 Speaker 1: So in that scenario, you know, normally with a bow shot, 90 00:05:01,080 --> 00:05:03,719 Speaker 1: if let's say the best shot kind of talks about 91 00:05:03,720 --> 00:05:06,599 Speaker 1: it before, but like a double lung shot. But maybe 92 00:05:06,720 --> 00:05:10,760 Speaker 1: that deer would expire within fifteen minutes at the most. 93 00:05:11,720 --> 00:05:14,280 Speaker 1: So it was in the evening time. I didn't want 94 00:05:14,279 --> 00:05:16,680 Speaker 1: it to get too late. I figured, oh, that deer 95 00:05:16,720 --> 00:05:19,479 Speaker 1: has got to be piled up, so I gave it 96 00:05:19,720 --> 00:05:22,720 Speaker 1: standard maybe fifteen minutes or so. I started walking up 97 00:05:23,080 --> 00:05:26,040 Speaker 1: found the blood. Looked around from my araw, but thought, well, 98 00:05:26,040 --> 00:05:28,159 Speaker 1: maybe it's sailed through. Um I might not find it 99 00:05:28,240 --> 00:05:31,200 Speaker 1: right here, but I had a great blood trail analyze. 100 00:05:31,240 --> 00:05:34,279 Speaker 1: The blood had like bubbles in it, so I knew, okay, 101 00:05:34,440 --> 00:05:36,839 Speaker 1: it was a lung shot. Perfect. This deer should just 102 00:05:36,839 --> 00:05:40,640 Speaker 1: be piled up. Followed a trail. There was some snow 103 00:05:41,240 --> 00:05:43,719 Speaker 1: and then some dry, but this trail was super easy 104 00:05:43,760 --> 00:05:47,840 Speaker 1: to follow. Followed it to the first spot and there 105 00:05:47,880 --> 00:05:50,920 Speaker 1: was a bed. I thought, while I'm following the trail, 106 00:05:50,960 --> 00:05:53,919 Speaker 1: the winds at my back I thought, well, maybe he 107 00:05:54,000 --> 00:05:57,159 Speaker 1: just fell over here, and then got up ran a 108 00:05:57,160 --> 00:06:00,160 Speaker 1: little ways, and then I found a piece of the air, 109 00:06:00,320 --> 00:06:02,159 Speaker 1: like the back half of the air broken off, so 110 00:06:02,200 --> 00:06:04,360 Speaker 1: I knew the air was still in him. Must have 111 00:06:04,640 --> 00:06:08,719 Speaker 1: hit the opposite shoulder on the other side, broken off. Whatever. 112 00:06:09,279 --> 00:06:11,840 Speaker 1: But I decided, well, before it gets too dark, I'm 113 00:06:11,880 --> 00:06:13,840 Speaker 1: just gonna keep following this budget. He should just be 114 00:06:13,839 --> 00:06:16,839 Speaker 1: within twenty yards if you're followed a little ways, and 115 00:06:16,839 --> 00:06:19,440 Speaker 1: it started kind of going uphill. At that point, I thought, 116 00:06:19,480 --> 00:06:23,200 Speaker 1: that's really strange. But oh man, you know it's not 117 00:06:23,320 --> 00:06:26,200 Speaker 1: necessarily uphill, just more level. So I thought, well, he's 118 00:06:26,200 --> 00:06:29,039 Speaker 1: got to be right in this canyon. Followed it for 119 00:06:29,120 --> 00:06:32,240 Speaker 1: maybe thirty to fifty more yards, and there was another 120 00:06:32,279 --> 00:06:36,880 Speaker 1: bed in this snow. Okay, this is weird. I mean, 121 00:06:37,360 --> 00:06:39,560 Speaker 1: it wasn't making any sense to me, so I decided 122 00:06:39,920 --> 00:06:42,000 Speaker 1: maybe I just pushed this buck out of his second bed. 123 00:06:42,480 --> 00:06:44,680 Speaker 1: This isn't good. So I decided to wait a little 124 00:06:44,680 --> 00:06:47,680 Speaker 1: bit longer, and then right before dark, followed it from 125 00:06:47,680 --> 00:06:51,000 Speaker 1: that second bed, and figure should be expired by now 126 00:06:51,279 --> 00:06:54,880 Speaker 1: for sure. Followed that second bed and the tracks started 127 00:06:54,880 --> 00:06:58,320 Speaker 1: going uphill, but it was still bleeding at that point 128 00:06:58,360 --> 00:07:00,680 Speaker 1: I said, Okay, this is stupid. I need to pull 129 00:07:00,720 --> 00:07:04,160 Speaker 1: out of here and come back in the morning. So, 130 00:07:04,279 --> 00:07:07,800 Speaker 1: after not sleeping very well that night, watching the video, 131 00:07:08,640 --> 00:07:12,520 Speaker 1: just trying to analyze that everything still looked good, I decided, 132 00:07:12,640 --> 00:07:15,880 Speaker 1: all right, I mean, there's no reason I shouldn't find 133 00:07:15,880 --> 00:07:19,280 Speaker 1: this deer. I go back the next day and pick 134 00:07:19,360 --> 00:07:22,200 Speaker 1: up tracking where I left off. Luckily, it did snow 135 00:07:22,280 --> 00:07:24,360 Speaker 1: a little bit, but it was just a light snow, 136 00:07:24,920 --> 00:07:27,640 Speaker 1: and I could still see the blood and the tracks. 137 00:07:28,280 --> 00:07:31,040 Speaker 1: It was like not even a just a light dusting, 138 00:07:31,840 --> 00:07:36,360 Speaker 1: so everything was fine. The strange thing was is I 139 00:07:36,400 --> 00:07:38,680 Speaker 1: could see where the deer bedded, and then he ran 140 00:07:38,800 --> 00:07:41,880 Speaker 1: up and bedded again, and I followed those tracks, and 141 00:07:41,880 --> 00:07:44,240 Speaker 1: he ran and bedded again, and there was blood this 142 00:07:44,400 --> 00:07:47,600 Speaker 1: entire way until he got to the top, and in 143 00:07:47,720 --> 00:07:49,679 Speaker 1: the beds there would be blood, but I'd be following 144 00:07:49,680 --> 00:07:52,320 Speaker 1: the tracks in the snow, then there'd be dry spots, 145 00:07:52,480 --> 00:07:55,480 Speaker 1: and then I'd catch tracks again in the snow. Then 146 00:07:55,800 --> 00:07:59,800 Speaker 1: the tracks led to a another group of deer, and 147 00:08:00,000 --> 00:08:02,640 Speaker 1: there was just tracks everywhere. So everywhere that I found 148 00:08:02,640 --> 00:08:05,600 Speaker 1: a bed, I found blood. But at this point now 149 00:08:06,080 --> 00:08:08,960 Speaker 1: I lost the blood on the tracks, so now I'm 150 00:08:09,000 --> 00:08:11,080 Speaker 1: assuming in my head, I'm like, okay, well, maybe the 151 00:08:11,120 --> 00:08:13,679 Speaker 1: buck I've I've seen it happen before where the bucks 152 00:08:13,720 --> 00:08:16,040 Speaker 1: so rutted up. It didn't really know it was hit. 153 00:08:16,160 --> 00:08:20,239 Speaker 1: They're fighting their their testosterone levels are just super high. 154 00:08:20,520 --> 00:08:22,760 Speaker 1: Maybe he got on a hot dough track and then 155 00:08:22,800 --> 00:08:26,520 Speaker 1: just kind of started following this dough and I don't 156 00:08:26,520 --> 00:08:28,680 Speaker 1: know why he didn't bleed out. Maybe the hit wasn't 157 00:08:28,720 --> 00:08:31,520 Speaker 1: where I thought. I definitely was sure that I hit 158 00:08:31,560 --> 00:08:33,480 Speaker 1: it in the lungs, So I don't know what's going 159 00:08:33,520 --> 00:08:38,440 Speaker 1: on at this point. There's tracks going everywhere. I'm most 160 00:08:38,440 --> 00:08:41,920 Speaker 1: of the way up the mountain now, and I'm like, okay, now, 161 00:08:42,320 --> 00:08:44,480 Speaker 1: I don't know which tracks to follow. So I pick 162 00:08:44,559 --> 00:08:47,200 Speaker 1: one set of tracks, follow those tracks out for a 163 00:08:47,240 --> 00:08:51,080 Speaker 1: mile or whatever, come back, find another set of tracks. 164 00:08:51,080 --> 00:08:53,480 Speaker 1: Follow those tracks, and there's like thirty deer tracks here. 165 00:08:54,440 --> 00:08:56,240 Speaker 1: I tried to base him off of the size of 166 00:08:56,240 --> 00:08:59,520 Speaker 1: the tracks and his gate, but there was other buck 167 00:08:59,600 --> 00:09:02,079 Speaker 1: tracks in there. There was just a mess of deer tracks. 168 00:09:02,120 --> 00:09:05,000 Speaker 1: There's some snow, there was some no snow. It just 169 00:09:05,080 --> 00:09:09,440 Speaker 1: got really difficult to track what I thought would be 170 00:09:09,800 --> 00:09:14,360 Speaker 1: walking up on this buck ended up now it's midday. 171 00:09:15,400 --> 00:09:18,080 Speaker 1: I'm like thinking, I'm never going to find this dear 172 00:09:18,760 --> 00:09:22,720 Speaker 1: and racking in my brand. What could have happened? I'm 173 00:09:22,720 --> 00:09:25,520 Speaker 1: like thinking about, Okay, I just can't give up. Just 174 00:09:25,559 --> 00:09:29,080 Speaker 1: follow every set of tracks i'd actually recorded on my phone. 175 00:09:29,120 --> 00:09:31,600 Speaker 1: How many I was. There's a lot of miles logged 176 00:09:31,640 --> 00:09:34,360 Speaker 1: going back and forth, just walking around finding different sets 177 00:09:34,360 --> 00:09:37,120 Speaker 1: of tracks, trying to find blood. I actually found a 178 00:09:37,160 --> 00:09:39,720 Speaker 1: set of tracks and there was some blood in around 179 00:09:39,720 --> 00:09:42,000 Speaker 1: the tracks, and that got me on a detour for 180 00:09:42,000 --> 00:09:45,000 Speaker 1: a while until I could find a good print where 181 00:09:45,000 --> 00:09:47,280 Speaker 1: I could see that it wasn't obstructed and it turned 182 00:09:47,280 --> 00:09:50,520 Speaker 1: out to be a dough So that deear just happened 183 00:09:50,520 --> 00:09:53,200 Speaker 1: to have whatever scraped itself on a stick or who 184 00:09:53,200 --> 00:09:55,920 Speaker 1: knows what another deer, just a couple of drops of blood. 185 00:09:56,240 --> 00:09:58,440 Speaker 1: That kind of took me on a d tour. I 186 00:09:58,480 --> 00:10:00,760 Speaker 1: get back to the bait, back to where I last 187 00:10:01,040 --> 00:10:03,760 Speaker 1: tracked the buck for sure, and then followed another set 188 00:10:03,800 --> 00:10:08,840 Speaker 1: in a different direction. Sure enough, long story short, I 189 00:10:09,040 --> 00:10:13,240 Speaker 1: end up finding the buck. Now you're probably like, well, 190 00:10:13,280 --> 00:10:17,600 Speaker 1: what happened? So after analyzing what had happened, the shot 191 00:10:17,679 --> 00:10:21,679 Speaker 1: looked good. Now, after I analyzed what went on. This 192 00:10:21,760 --> 00:10:24,240 Speaker 1: is the crazy part because I've never seen this happen 193 00:10:25,120 --> 00:10:28,520 Speaker 1: and this is not standard. Now why am I telling 194 00:10:28,520 --> 00:10:34,240 Speaker 1: this story about this deer on a recovery podcast, Because 195 00:10:34,440 --> 00:10:36,920 Speaker 1: I think a lot of recovery you have to play 196 00:10:36,920 --> 00:10:39,360 Speaker 1: it a certain way. And I did a few things 197 00:10:39,360 --> 00:10:42,480 Speaker 1: wrong in the initial setup, and then there's just bad luck. 198 00:10:43,000 --> 00:10:46,079 Speaker 1: So here's the bad luck. What had happened as I shot, 199 00:10:46,160 --> 00:10:49,679 Speaker 1: the deer kind of started to quarter away. Now, if 200 00:10:49,720 --> 00:10:51,599 Speaker 1: I would have shot a little bit further back, it 201 00:10:51,600 --> 00:10:53,600 Speaker 1: would have been a problem. I probably would have gone 202 00:10:53,600 --> 00:10:57,120 Speaker 1: through both lungs. What ended up happening was the arrow 203 00:10:57,240 --> 00:11:01,680 Speaker 1: hit one lung and then somehow pinned into the front 204 00:11:01,720 --> 00:11:06,000 Speaker 1: shoulder on the opposite side at the first bed. Either 205 00:11:06,120 --> 00:11:09,400 Speaker 1: the deer pulled it out or something. The arrow had 206 00:11:09,440 --> 00:11:12,240 Speaker 1: come out just part of the arrow, And when I 207 00:11:12,280 --> 00:11:14,920 Speaker 1: found the dear dead, he had part of his lung 208 00:11:15,200 --> 00:11:19,600 Speaker 1: actually outside of the cavity, which plugged the hole. So 209 00:11:19,640 --> 00:11:22,400 Speaker 1: by plugging the entrance hole, it didn't allow the lungs 210 00:11:22,440 --> 00:11:26,480 Speaker 1: to collapse and then closed off the wound. That's why 211 00:11:26,520 --> 00:11:29,800 Speaker 1: I stopped getting blood, but would get blood in the bed. 212 00:11:29,920 --> 00:11:33,319 Speaker 1: So up until the first point, it was a blood trail. 213 00:11:33,440 --> 00:11:36,240 Speaker 1: Like every other blood trail, I followed where the deer 214 00:11:36,280 --> 00:11:41,560 Speaker 1: should be gone expired immediately, this dear. Somehow it's lung 215 00:11:42,000 --> 00:11:44,920 Speaker 1: pulled out and closed the wound off, not allowing the 216 00:11:45,000 --> 00:11:47,840 Speaker 1: lungs to collapse and not allowing it to bleed out, 217 00:11:48,679 --> 00:11:51,160 Speaker 1: in which case then it probably got on other deer tracks, 218 00:11:51,240 --> 00:11:54,440 Speaker 1: continued to rut, and then made its way miles away 219 00:11:54,480 --> 00:11:57,440 Speaker 1: from where it started until things got messed up again. 220 00:11:58,640 --> 00:12:02,040 Speaker 1: So I ended up actually finding the deer, but only 221 00:12:02,120 --> 00:12:04,800 Speaker 1: because I just didn't give up, because I knew what 222 00:12:04,920 --> 00:12:07,200 Speaker 1: I saw with the shot, and I knew from the 223 00:12:07,240 --> 00:12:10,520 Speaker 1: initial tracking and having tracked enough, Dear, that that deer 224 00:12:10,760 --> 00:12:13,320 Speaker 1: was going to be dead. Now, if there wasn't snow, 225 00:12:13,480 --> 00:12:15,400 Speaker 1: I doubt that I ever would have found that deer. 226 00:12:15,440 --> 00:12:17,680 Speaker 1: It would have been going through my head what happened? 227 00:12:18,080 --> 00:12:20,960 Speaker 1: Why did I lose that dear? This doesn't make any 228 00:12:20,960 --> 00:12:24,800 Speaker 1: sense now, is luck and persistence would have it? I 229 00:12:24,960 --> 00:12:27,280 Speaker 1: ended up continuing to search because I knew what I 230 00:12:27,320 --> 00:12:38,000 Speaker 1: saw and ended up recovering that dear. How you proceed 231 00:12:38,040 --> 00:12:42,080 Speaker 1: after that arrow or bullet is released and impacts the 232 00:12:42,120 --> 00:12:47,319 Speaker 1: animal can greatly affect your successive recovery. Now I want 233 00:12:47,360 --> 00:12:51,400 Speaker 1: to cover a few things that I think are just imperative, 234 00:12:51,720 --> 00:12:54,720 Speaker 1: including the first moves you make after making that shot, 235 00:12:55,240 --> 00:12:56,920 Speaker 1: and then we'll go into a little bit of how 236 00:12:56,960 --> 00:12:59,560 Speaker 1: to interpret the hit, what some of the signs on 237 00:12:59,600 --> 00:13:01,760 Speaker 1: the ground, then as far as what different things to 238 00:13:01,800 --> 00:13:04,560 Speaker 1: look for in the blood trail as well as on 239 00:13:04,640 --> 00:13:07,800 Speaker 1: your arrow, and then just some tips on how to 240 00:13:07,880 --> 00:13:11,240 Speaker 1: track and a few different scenarios. And then after that 241 00:13:11,280 --> 00:13:13,960 Speaker 1: maybe we'll we'll kind of talk about some weight times 242 00:13:14,120 --> 00:13:17,200 Speaker 1: and how to best proceed to make sure that you 243 00:13:17,280 --> 00:13:20,840 Speaker 1: recover that animal. The first thing I do after I 244 00:13:20,880 --> 00:13:23,480 Speaker 1: make that shot, and this is a very important and 245 00:13:23,600 --> 00:13:28,240 Speaker 1: often overlooked step, is I mark where I shot from. 246 00:13:28,280 --> 00:13:31,720 Speaker 1: I also take a mental note of where the animal 247 00:13:31,800 --> 00:13:36,040 Speaker 1: was standing. I'll tell myself something about specific of where 248 00:13:36,040 --> 00:13:37,800 Speaker 1: it was, or I'll pull out my camera and take 249 00:13:37,840 --> 00:13:39,520 Speaker 1: a picture. If you've got your phone in your pocket, 250 00:13:39,559 --> 00:13:42,400 Speaker 1: take a picture of where the animal is standing, because 251 00:13:42,440 --> 00:13:47,760 Speaker 1: you're gonna probably reference that spot multiple times. I also 252 00:13:48,200 --> 00:13:52,000 Speaker 1: remember the yardage at which the animal was, so I'll 253 00:13:52,000 --> 00:13:54,480 Speaker 1: mark where I'm standing, whether it's pull something on my 254 00:13:54,559 --> 00:13:56,800 Speaker 1: pocket and tie it off, take a spare arrow and 255 00:13:56,840 --> 00:13:58,920 Speaker 1: stick it in the ground. I'm gonna mark where I'm 256 00:13:58,960 --> 00:14:01,960 Speaker 1: standing now out when I'm bow hunting, even if I 257 00:14:02,040 --> 00:14:05,320 Speaker 1: know I made a perfect shot, thirty minutes is my 258 00:14:05,480 --> 00:14:08,760 Speaker 1: normal weight time, so I just give it time to 259 00:14:08,800 --> 00:14:13,520 Speaker 1: calm down, stay quiet, don't proceed right away, just mark 260 00:14:13,520 --> 00:14:16,680 Speaker 1: where I'm at and wait. There's a lot of reasons 261 00:14:16,679 --> 00:14:19,520 Speaker 1: for that, but I think that thirty minutes with a 262 00:14:19,560 --> 00:14:23,760 Speaker 1: perfect shot is a good just Yeah, might expire ten 263 00:14:23,840 --> 00:14:26,320 Speaker 1: or fifteen minutes, whatever, but give yourself a little bit 264 00:14:26,320 --> 00:14:29,080 Speaker 1: extra time. Even some guys go forty five minutes, but 265 00:14:29,120 --> 00:14:32,040 Speaker 1: it just depends on a lot of factors. But I 266 00:14:32,040 --> 00:14:36,080 Speaker 1: always generally go thirty minutes at the minimum. Then I'll 267 00:14:36,120 --> 00:14:39,880 Speaker 1: mark where I'm at, and I'll range where the animal 268 00:14:40,040 --> 00:14:42,840 Speaker 1: was and then make some mental notes of where that animals. 269 00:14:43,040 --> 00:14:45,960 Speaker 1: Do that while you're waiting, even before I go look 270 00:14:46,000 --> 00:14:49,120 Speaker 1: for my arrow or whatever. The reason for that is 271 00:14:49,120 --> 00:14:50,920 Speaker 1: because once you get to the spot where you're gonna 272 00:14:50,960 --> 00:14:54,320 Speaker 1: be looking for your arrow, for blood, for tracks, you 273 00:14:54,360 --> 00:14:57,320 Speaker 1: can range back and figure out where you were and 274 00:14:57,400 --> 00:15:00,160 Speaker 1: kind of triangulate your position to get exactly where that 275 00:15:00,200 --> 00:15:03,920 Speaker 1: animal is standing. The next step is now going to 276 00:15:04,000 --> 00:15:07,680 Speaker 1: be look for sign. Now you should have a good 277 00:15:07,680 --> 00:15:12,480 Speaker 1: indication of where you hit whatever you're shooting at. But 278 00:15:12,600 --> 00:15:16,960 Speaker 1: with as fast as bows are now, or maybe your 279 00:15:17,040 --> 00:15:19,000 Speaker 1: rifle hunting and you're by yourself or you don't have 280 00:15:19,040 --> 00:15:23,280 Speaker 1: someone watching, it can be fairly hard to tell. Maybe 281 00:15:23,280 --> 00:15:25,560 Speaker 1: where you hit you might not have seen your arrow 282 00:15:25,600 --> 00:15:27,600 Speaker 1: in flight, it might have been too fast, maybe the 283 00:15:27,720 --> 00:15:30,400 Speaker 1: lighting was weird. A lot of places you can use 284 00:15:30,480 --> 00:15:33,160 Speaker 1: light up knocks now on your arrows, which are great, 285 00:15:33,240 --> 00:15:35,800 Speaker 1: but some states still don't allow it. And if you've 286 00:15:35,840 --> 00:15:37,920 Speaker 1: got a fast bow, yeah, you probably aren't gonna see 287 00:15:37,920 --> 00:15:41,040 Speaker 1: where your arrow hits. So what you're gonna base most 288 00:15:41,240 --> 00:15:43,840 Speaker 1: of the intail on and when you're gonna make your 289 00:15:43,840 --> 00:15:46,200 Speaker 1: move is going to be all based on how that 290 00:15:46,280 --> 00:15:51,280 Speaker 1: animal reacted at the shot. So a perfect shot would 291 00:15:51,280 --> 00:15:54,440 Speaker 1: be say lungs or heart. I find that most time 292 00:15:54,440 --> 00:15:57,440 Speaker 1: when they're shot like that, it's just a neck out 293 00:15:57,720 --> 00:16:01,480 Speaker 1: straight run, full speed away. A lot of people say, 294 00:16:01,480 --> 00:16:03,320 Speaker 1: like if it if he gets heart shot, they buck. 295 00:16:03,640 --> 00:16:05,840 Speaker 1: That is true. I've seen him do that though on 296 00:16:05,920 --> 00:16:07,720 Speaker 1: other shots as well, Like if they get hit in 297 00:16:07,720 --> 00:16:10,000 Speaker 1: the leg, that sometimes happens, but for the most part 298 00:16:10,560 --> 00:16:14,080 Speaker 1: heart shot, they'll buck or kick and then run full speed. 299 00:16:14,360 --> 00:16:16,360 Speaker 1: If you shoot a little bit further back. Something like 300 00:16:16,480 --> 00:16:19,080 Speaker 1: hunching up from the back might indicate that you hit 301 00:16:19,160 --> 00:16:22,280 Speaker 1: too far back, maybe in the intestines, maybe in the liver, 302 00:16:22,840 --> 00:16:28,200 Speaker 1: or then anything that involves favoring aside, like um favoring 303 00:16:28,200 --> 00:16:30,520 Speaker 1: a leg or some kind of weird reaction that way 304 00:16:30,600 --> 00:16:32,880 Speaker 1: might mean hitting it in the leg, breaking a shoulder. 305 00:16:33,720 --> 00:16:37,520 Speaker 1: Those kind of body signals will be your first indication 306 00:16:37,600 --> 00:16:40,520 Speaker 1: of where did you hit that animal. So if you know, 307 00:16:41,240 --> 00:16:44,080 Speaker 1: shoot it looked like I hit it back, now you're 308 00:16:44,080 --> 00:16:47,640 Speaker 1: gonna want to wait longer. So let's first talk about 309 00:16:47,680 --> 00:16:51,040 Speaker 1: the weight times in tracking and knowing where you hit. 310 00:16:52,080 --> 00:16:55,680 Speaker 1: If I shoot something perfect like I said thirty minutes, now, 311 00:16:55,920 --> 00:16:57,880 Speaker 1: if you if your rifle hunting and you watch it drop, 312 00:16:57,960 --> 00:16:59,400 Speaker 1: or your bow hunting you watch it run over and 313 00:16:59,400 --> 00:17:02,480 Speaker 1: fall over day, that's completely different. This is just if 314 00:17:02,480 --> 00:17:04,679 Speaker 1: you shoot it runs off and you don't really know, 315 00:17:04,960 --> 00:17:07,280 Speaker 1: especially with the bow. With a rifle, it might be 316 00:17:07,280 --> 00:17:09,840 Speaker 1: different because you might, depending on the terrain, you might 317 00:17:09,840 --> 00:17:12,320 Speaker 1: be able to get a follow up shot, especially if 318 00:17:12,320 --> 00:17:14,640 Speaker 1: it just ran over. Rise it's open country, get over 319 00:17:14,640 --> 00:17:17,280 Speaker 1: there fast and look for it and make sure it's 320 00:17:17,280 --> 00:17:19,800 Speaker 1: not running out or or give yourself a good idea 321 00:17:19,800 --> 00:17:22,640 Speaker 1: where it's going. But we're just gonna narrow this down 322 00:17:22,680 --> 00:17:25,280 Speaker 1: to bow hunting. Right now, if you think that you 323 00:17:25,280 --> 00:17:28,440 Speaker 1: have made a perfect shot, thirty minutes is my standard 324 00:17:28,440 --> 00:17:30,520 Speaker 1: weight time for shots that I know, okay, I should 325 00:17:30,560 --> 00:17:33,640 Speaker 1: just walk over there and be piled up within twenty yards. Now, 326 00:17:33,720 --> 00:17:35,919 Speaker 1: if you're talking you think you maybe hit it in 327 00:17:35,960 --> 00:17:38,399 Speaker 1: the liver or made not as good as a shot, 328 00:17:39,160 --> 00:17:42,160 Speaker 1: I would give it two to three hours on liver shots, 329 00:17:42,640 --> 00:17:45,960 Speaker 1: and then anything further back from the liver that's six 330 00:17:46,000 --> 00:17:48,880 Speaker 1: to twelve hours in my opinion. And then you've got 331 00:17:48,880 --> 00:17:51,959 Speaker 1: shots that are look good in our muscle shots, and 332 00:17:52,040 --> 00:17:55,199 Speaker 1: that might if you know you hit it in a muscle, 333 00:17:55,560 --> 00:17:58,040 Speaker 1: the recovery on that may not be fatal, but it 334 00:17:58,119 --> 00:18:00,920 Speaker 1: might be where you could restock and re find that animal. 335 00:18:01,320 --> 00:18:04,920 Speaker 1: So sometimes on that in those particular instances, I would 336 00:18:05,160 --> 00:18:08,280 Speaker 1: error on the side of tracking sooner rather than later, 337 00:18:09,040 --> 00:18:10,320 Speaker 1: or at least getting to a point where I can 338 00:18:10,359 --> 00:18:12,560 Speaker 1: start looking for it and then give it some time 339 00:18:12,600 --> 00:18:15,040 Speaker 1: to bed down, but not get too far ahead. Start. 340 00:18:16,040 --> 00:18:20,320 Speaker 1: So we've marked where we shot from and we know that, okay, 341 00:18:20,359 --> 00:18:22,440 Speaker 1: it looked like a good hit. So now We're gonna 342 00:18:22,480 --> 00:18:26,560 Speaker 1: go to where the animal was and inspect the ground, 343 00:18:26,880 --> 00:18:30,120 Speaker 1: inspect the arrow. Hopefully we can find it, and then 344 00:18:30,240 --> 00:18:33,000 Speaker 1: proceed from there as well, so to confirm what we 345 00:18:33,160 --> 00:18:35,800 Speaker 1: think we already know based on how the animal reacted 346 00:18:35,840 --> 00:18:39,240 Speaker 1: from the shot. If you can find your arrow, that's 347 00:18:39,280 --> 00:18:42,600 Speaker 1: a great sign of where you made your hit. Now, 348 00:18:42,680 --> 00:18:44,520 Speaker 1: a few things to think about when you pick up 349 00:18:44,560 --> 00:18:46,480 Speaker 1: your arrow. Here's what you're looking for. Well, if it's 350 00:18:46,520 --> 00:18:51,000 Speaker 1: gritty and bloody, that's probably It depends on the position 351 00:18:51,040 --> 00:18:53,840 Speaker 1: of the animal and how good that shot. If it 352 00:18:53,920 --> 00:18:57,120 Speaker 1: was quartering away hard, it's gritty and then some real 353 00:18:57,240 --> 00:19:01,399 Speaker 1: dark blood, well you probably maybe hit of the intestine, 354 00:19:01,440 --> 00:19:03,680 Speaker 1: but you probably got the liver and the lungs as well, 355 00:19:03,720 --> 00:19:06,240 Speaker 1: depending on how hard it was quartering away. If it 356 00:19:06,359 --> 00:19:10,040 Speaker 1: just has bile and green material, not a lot of blood, 357 00:19:10,080 --> 00:19:12,199 Speaker 1: then you hit it way further back, maybe in the 358 00:19:12,200 --> 00:19:16,480 Speaker 1: colon or whatever. Now, if it's just good solid blood 359 00:19:16,560 --> 00:19:20,000 Speaker 1: like red blood, could be heart, it could be lungs. 360 00:19:20,359 --> 00:19:22,080 Speaker 1: And then if you get a little bit more lighter 361 00:19:22,080 --> 00:19:25,719 Speaker 1: colored blood, that's probably lungs. More like pinkish colored blood. 362 00:19:25,760 --> 00:19:29,479 Speaker 1: I always tend to see on lung shots. So if 363 00:19:29,520 --> 00:19:31,199 Speaker 1: you can't find your arrow. Now we're just gonna have 364 00:19:31,200 --> 00:19:33,520 Speaker 1: to look at the ground and what bloods they're What 365 00:19:33,680 --> 00:19:37,520 Speaker 1: color is the blood? Real dark blood often indicates liver. 366 00:19:37,880 --> 00:19:41,440 Speaker 1: It's almost more like a it's a really dark purple, 367 00:19:41,680 --> 00:19:46,520 Speaker 1: almost like purple black color. A lighter color indicates lungs, 368 00:19:46,800 --> 00:19:49,600 Speaker 1: especially if there's bubbles in it, because that oxygen in 369 00:19:49,640 --> 00:19:51,840 Speaker 1: the lungs makes it a little bit lighter colored. It's 370 00:19:51,880 --> 00:19:54,879 Speaker 1: more of a pink color. And then heart blood is 371 00:19:54,960 --> 00:19:58,600 Speaker 1: more just pure red. But also you've got to realize too, 372 00:19:58,720 --> 00:20:01,560 Speaker 1: muscle shots can be that pure red as well. So 373 00:20:01,600 --> 00:20:04,400 Speaker 1: I think a lot of people mistake a muscle hit 374 00:20:04,560 --> 00:20:08,560 Speaker 1: for heart or something else. But for the most part, 375 00:20:08,960 --> 00:20:13,200 Speaker 1: lungs or lighter color, liver is that darker color. Once 376 00:20:13,240 --> 00:20:17,119 Speaker 1: you've identified okay, where was this animal hit and verified 377 00:20:17,440 --> 00:20:21,639 Speaker 1: whether your assumption is right through indications in the sign 378 00:20:21,680 --> 00:20:23,480 Speaker 1: on the arrow and the sign on the ground through 379 00:20:23,520 --> 00:20:26,159 Speaker 1: the blood, now time to decide. Okay, Now do I 380 00:20:26,200 --> 00:20:30,320 Speaker 1: start tracking now or do I wait even longer? If 381 00:20:30,320 --> 00:20:32,639 Speaker 1: you know it's a good shot, you're like, Okay, everything 382 00:20:32,680 --> 00:20:35,720 Speaker 1: looked good. The signs are there. I've got light colored blood, 383 00:20:35,800 --> 00:20:38,919 Speaker 1: some a little bit of a bubbly blood. There's a 384 00:20:38,960 --> 00:20:42,200 Speaker 1: pretty decent blood trail. Let's follow it up right now. Now. 385 00:20:42,200 --> 00:20:44,800 Speaker 1: If you think I got maybe hit the liver or 386 00:20:44,800 --> 00:20:46,720 Speaker 1: even further back, now you've got to go back to 387 00:20:46,720 --> 00:20:49,560 Speaker 1: those standard weight times and just be patient, because what 388 00:20:49,640 --> 00:20:50,840 Speaker 1: you don't want to do is you don't want the 389 00:20:50,880 --> 00:20:53,080 Speaker 1: animal to get pushed out of its bed, because what 390 00:20:53,160 --> 00:20:55,520 Speaker 1: that's gonna do is gonna keep pushing the deer or 391 00:20:55,520 --> 00:20:59,159 Speaker 1: whatever further and further away and leave you smaller and 392 00:20:59,200 --> 00:21:02,680 Speaker 1: smaller blood rails to follow, and you're gonna be less 393 00:21:02,760 --> 00:21:05,240 Speaker 1: likely to recover that animal. Now, if it just goes 394 00:21:05,280 --> 00:21:07,800 Speaker 1: to one spot, runs within a hundred or so yards, 395 00:21:07,800 --> 00:21:10,600 Speaker 1: and beds down, and then expires, you have a really 396 00:21:10,680 --> 00:21:14,399 Speaker 1: good chance of finding that animal. Now, let's get into 397 00:21:14,480 --> 00:21:17,320 Speaker 1: how to track. If you know it's a fatal hit, 398 00:21:17,840 --> 00:21:20,960 Speaker 1: then you're just gonna follow the blood trail. The blood 399 00:21:21,000 --> 00:21:23,560 Speaker 1: trail will lead to that animal. So many people get 400 00:21:23,640 --> 00:21:27,040 Speaker 1: ahead of themselves, they start looking too fast and too frantic, 401 00:21:27,119 --> 00:21:31,440 Speaker 1: and they destroy the sign and the blood trail itself 402 00:21:31,520 --> 00:21:35,199 Speaker 1: and the tracks and everything while just kind of looking 403 00:21:35,240 --> 00:21:38,320 Speaker 1: around randomly. So I always like to find the blood 404 00:21:38,400 --> 00:21:40,160 Speaker 1: and then go from there because I know it's it's 405 00:21:40,160 --> 00:21:42,480 Speaker 1: a good trail, it should lead me to the animal, 406 00:21:42,800 --> 00:21:45,920 Speaker 1: and they can, even on good shots, be very difficult 407 00:21:46,000 --> 00:21:47,800 Speaker 1: to find sometimes. So what I do is I find 408 00:21:47,840 --> 00:21:50,840 Speaker 1: the tracks, find where the animal was, and then depending 409 00:21:50,840 --> 00:21:53,760 Speaker 1: on which side it was the hit was on, or 410 00:21:53,800 --> 00:21:55,359 Speaker 1: if you think, if you know you've gotta pass through, 411 00:21:55,400 --> 00:21:57,679 Speaker 1: maybe we'll see it on both sides, I start looking 412 00:21:57,800 --> 00:22:00,760 Speaker 1: very carefully on all the brush around on those tracks. 413 00:22:01,000 --> 00:22:02,840 Speaker 1: Then what I'll do is will stay on the tracks 414 00:22:02,880 --> 00:22:05,840 Speaker 1: and then confirm that I'm on its tracks by finding blood. 415 00:22:06,480 --> 00:22:09,120 Speaker 1: As I go and find blood, I markt whether it's 416 00:22:09,200 --> 00:22:11,920 Speaker 1: with like a dropping a pin on on X or 417 00:22:12,720 --> 00:22:14,679 Speaker 1: I used to use toilet paper a lot, or some 418 00:22:14,760 --> 00:22:17,640 Speaker 1: flagging that will come back and get I'll mark where 419 00:22:17,680 --> 00:22:20,880 Speaker 1: the blood is because there's a lot of times where 420 00:22:20,920 --> 00:22:23,399 Speaker 1: you will get off the trail, you'll start following something 421 00:22:23,440 --> 00:22:26,880 Speaker 1: else that might not be that dear, and you don't realize, okay, 422 00:22:27,080 --> 00:22:29,080 Speaker 1: I gotta go back to the last blood I saw 423 00:22:29,320 --> 00:22:34,600 Speaker 1: and then follow that. That is how you trail an animal. Now, 424 00:22:35,160 --> 00:22:38,680 Speaker 1: the practice of it, especially on great shots, that's why 425 00:22:38,720 --> 00:22:40,720 Speaker 1: you make a great shot, because you don't have to 426 00:22:40,760 --> 00:22:43,119 Speaker 1: blood trail something that's difficult. Most of the time, it's 427 00:22:43,160 --> 00:22:45,879 Speaker 1: like a highway leading to it. It's very clear, and 428 00:22:46,560 --> 00:22:49,320 Speaker 1: the animals right there within twenty or thirty yards of 429 00:22:49,320 --> 00:22:52,879 Speaker 1: where you've shot. But it's those ones where maybe something 430 00:22:52,920 --> 00:22:56,959 Speaker 1: weird happens, maybe you made a shot that the animal 431 00:22:57,040 --> 00:23:01,119 Speaker 1: reacted funny, you you hit in the wrong, whatever stuff happens, 432 00:23:01,920 --> 00:23:04,919 Speaker 1: but you should still be able to find whatever you 433 00:23:05,040 --> 00:23:09,680 Speaker 1: hit because there should be some form of trail tracks 434 00:23:10,160 --> 00:23:13,960 Speaker 1: blood to that animal. The key is really being patient 435 00:23:14,760 --> 00:23:18,200 Speaker 1: and really staying on and marking and then going back 436 00:23:18,200 --> 00:23:20,120 Speaker 1: and trying to find the trail. Now, once you lose 437 00:23:20,119 --> 00:23:22,240 Speaker 1: the trail, what I do is I grid out from 438 00:23:22,280 --> 00:23:26,320 Speaker 1: there looking for anything, any kind of sign, track, whatever. 439 00:23:27,000 --> 00:23:29,840 Speaker 1: What I will also do is pay close attention to 440 00:23:30,160 --> 00:23:33,159 Speaker 1: the tracks of that animal when it's running. How do 441 00:23:33,240 --> 00:23:36,240 Speaker 1: those tracks look, what's the size of them. There's times 442 00:23:36,280 --> 00:23:39,360 Speaker 1: where I've even taken a stick and measured between the tracks. 443 00:23:39,720 --> 00:23:42,800 Speaker 1: So if it gets into multiple tracks running different directions, 444 00:23:43,200 --> 00:23:45,679 Speaker 1: you can sometimes tell the difference between two deer if 445 00:23:45,680 --> 00:23:48,200 Speaker 1: it's not a good print based on its stride, where 446 00:23:48,200 --> 00:23:50,600 Speaker 1: it might have got into a dough that's a shorter body, 447 00:23:50,880 --> 00:23:53,840 Speaker 1: shorter stride, and this one's a little bit longer stride 448 00:23:53,960 --> 00:23:57,640 Speaker 1: than the other one, or match those strides up. Now, 449 00:23:57,640 --> 00:24:01,320 Speaker 1: there are tracking jobs where you have made a shot 450 00:24:01,400 --> 00:24:05,240 Speaker 1: that hit a muscle, hit something non vital, or something 451 00:24:05,240 --> 00:24:08,200 Speaker 1: that you know might take a while. How I proceed 452 00:24:08,240 --> 00:24:11,720 Speaker 1: always depends on a few things. So I've got my 453 00:24:11,800 --> 00:24:15,120 Speaker 1: standard weight times, but there are exceptions for that. So 454 00:24:15,560 --> 00:24:18,240 Speaker 1: if I shoot something in the evening and I know, well, 455 00:24:18,760 --> 00:24:20,879 Speaker 1: it looked like a good shot, but now there's not 456 00:24:20,960 --> 00:24:24,000 Speaker 1: a lot of predators around here, there's no chance of 457 00:24:24,080 --> 00:24:26,680 Speaker 1: rain or snow tonight, most of the time I would 458 00:24:26,720 --> 00:24:29,000 Speaker 1: just leave it till the morning if it's cool out, 459 00:24:29,000 --> 00:24:32,000 Speaker 1: because there's no loss of meat, and you know you 460 00:24:32,040 --> 00:24:33,840 Speaker 1: aren't going to push it in the dark. If you 461 00:24:33,840 --> 00:24:35,720 Speaker 1: shoot it in the morning, you know you might try 462 00:24:35,760 --> 00:24:38,880 Speaker 1: to wait till afternoon. Now, if it's real hot, if 463 00:24:38,920 --> 00:24:41,640 Speaker 1: it's a lot of predators in your area, if it's 464 00:24:41,640 --> 00:24:45,159 Speaker 1: gonna snow or rain, you may have to push those 465 00:24:45,240 --> 00:24:48,280 Speaker 1: times that you would normally wait a little bit quicker. 466 00:24:49,359 --> 00:24:51,320 Speaker 1: And the reason you do that is because you know 467 00:24:51,400 --> 00:24:54,119 Speaker 1: that if you leave it, there's a very low likelihood 468 00:24:54,119 --> 00:24:55,919 Speaker 1: of finding it the next day, where you might have 469 00:24:55,960 --> 00:24:59,160 Speaker 1: a better chance of getting another shot, spotting and where 470 00:24:59,200 --> 00:25:03,560 Speaker 1: it's at, and then waiting or some other form of 471 00:25:03,840 --> 00:25:06,680 Speaker 1: kind of continuing to hunt for that animal and then 472 00:25:06,760 --> 00:25:10,199 Speaker 1: hope to find it bedded still or maybe see it 473 00:25:10,280 --> 00:25:13,920 Speaker 1: moving because you know that if you wait, you aren't 474 00:25:13,920 --> 00:25:16,760 Speaker 1: going to find it, and those kind of things. You know, 475 00:25:16,840 --> 00:25:20,359 Speaker 1: everything situational when it comes to hunting. But there are 476 00:25:20,480 --> 00:25:24,640 Speaker 1: sometimes where it's more ethical to track earlier. But most 477 00:25:24,640 --> 00:25:26,800 Speaker 1: of the time it's more ethical to wait just because 478 00:25:26,840 --> 00:25:29,800 Speaker 1: you won't push it. I think that that makes a 479 00:25:29,800 --> 00:25:32,040 Speaker 1: lot of sense in the moment, but it's something that 480 00:25:32,080 --> 00:25:34,000 Speaker 1: I just have to talk about because there is no 481 00:25:34,600 --> 00:25:37,040 Speaker 1: clear cut this is how long you wait every time. 482 00:25:37,520 --> 00:25:40,000 Speaker 1: I've been places where if you leave a deer overnight, 483 00:25:40,320 --> 00:25:43,040 Speaker 1: it will be completely eaten by coyotes in the morning. 484 00:25:43,320 --> 00:25:45,600 Speaker 1: And there's a lot of places like that. Or there's 485 00:25:45,640 --> 00:25:49,600 Speaker 1: places where you shot something and it's gonna rain now. 486 00:25:49,640 --> 00:25:52,159 Speaker 1: If I am hunting and I know that it's getting 487 00:25:52,440 --> 00:25:54,879 Speaker 1: toward the end of light, you know, sometimes you just 488 00:25:54,880 --> 00:25:57,479 Speaker 1: have to think, Okay, if it's a marginal shot, if 489 00:25:57,480 --> 00:26:00,080 Speaker 1: you don't have a great shot, wait, if you know 490 00:26:00,160 --> 00:26:03,800 Speaker 1: it's raining, or it's it's currently raining, it's currently snowing 491 00:26:03,840 --> 00:26:06,159 Speaker 1: and you've got a shot that's like, I gotta make 492 00:26:06,200 --> 00:26:08,160 Speaker 1: a quick shot, and it might not be that great. 493 00:26:08,600 --> 00:26:11,919 Speaker 1: Don't shoot, because your odds of recovering that animal go 494 00:26:12,119 --> 00:26:17,160 Speaker 1: down drastically if you are tracking an animal, say you're 495 00:26:17,200 --> 00:26:19,399 Speaker 1: tracking an animal that might not be hit that great. 496 00:26:19,680 --> 00:26:21,680 Speaker 1: Maybe you think it's hitting the liver, maybe it's hit 497 00:26:21,960 --> 00:26:24,240 Speaker 1: a little bit further back, or maybe you think you 498 00:26:24,320 --> 00:26:26,720 Speaker 1: might have hit it in a muscle. You aren't sure, 499 00:26:26,760 --> 00:26:29,280 Speaker 1: but it doesn't look like it's going to be immediately fatal, 500 00:26:29,640 --> 00:26:32,200 Speaker 1: and you have to track early. The best thing is 501 00:26:32,280 --> 00:26:35,960 Speaker 1: to have two people tracking, so one person staying on 502 00:26:36,000 --> 00:26:39,040 Speaker 1: the blood, the other person out using the wind and 503 00:26:39,119 --> 00:26:42,399 Speaker 1: kind of hunting and looking for that animal simultaneously. So 504 00:26:42,440 --> 00:26:45,760 Speaker 1: someone's following the blood while the other person is looking 505 00:26:45,800 --> 00:26:48,639 Speaker 1: ahead for the deer. Because if you're constantly looking down 506 00:26:49,320 --> 00:26:51,720 Speaker 1: at the ground, tracking and you know there might be 507 00:26:51,760 --> 00:26:54,000 Speaker 1: a chance that might be betted and gonna jump up again, 508 00:26:54,400 --> 00:26:57,240 Speaker 1: you're probably gonna miss it if you're looking at the ground, 509 00:26:57,480 --> 00:27:00,840 Speaker 1: analyzing sign and following a blood trail. So the best 510 00:27:00,840 --> 00:27:03,840 Speaker 1: thing to do is to get another person. One person 511 00:27:03,960 --> 00:27:05,920 Speaker 1: follow the blood because that's going to lead to where 512 00:27:05,920 --> 00:27:09,400 Speaker 1: the animal is, and then you with your weapon ready 513 00:27:09,520 --> 00:27:11,879 Speaker 1: or your your bow or your shotgun or whatever you're 514 00:27:11,920 --> 00:27:15,439 Speaker 1: hunting with, ready to continue sneaking forward and kind of 515 00:27:15,520 --> 00:27:19,240 Speaker 1: hunting for that animal, visually looking and following the best 516 00:27:19,280 --> 00:27:23,680 Speaker 1: assumed direction that the animal went. Really the last thing 517 00:27:23,720 --> 00:27:25,919 Speaker 1: that I would want to touch on for recovery of 518 00:27:25,920 --> 00:27:29,919 Speaker 1: an animal. And this goes for whether you're rifle hunting 519 00:27:30,040 --> 00:27:32,760 Speaker 1: or bow hunting. It doesn't matter. I see this happen 520 00:27:32,800 --> 00:27:35,600 Speaker 1: a lot. Is the way that people walk up on 521 00:27:35,640 --> 00:27:38,520 Speaker 1: a downed animal. Now, if you know that it it's 522 00:27:38,600 --> 00:27:43,560 Speaker 1: down dead, completely awesome, great, it doesn't really matter as much. 523 00:27:43,960 --> 00:27:47,439 Speaker 1: But especially with rifle shots, I've seen so many times 524 00:27:47,480 --> 00:27:50,400 Speaker 1: people shoot something with a rifle. It might be spined 525 00:27:50,600 --> 00:27:53,520 Speaker 1: or they hit it high and it just drops. Animals 526 00:27:53,520 --> 00:27:56,919 Speaker 1: that just drop are generally the ones that get away 527 00:27:56,960 --> 00:27:59,120 Speaker 1: because they wake up, they roll over, they run off, 528 00:27:59,119 --> 00:28:01,680 Speaker 1: they don't leave a lot of blood. So the way 529 00:28:01,680 --> 00:28:04,439 Speaker 1: that I approach an animal is I always approach with 530 00:28:04,480 --> 00:28:08,080 Speaker 1: the wind in my face, very very carefully. I try 531 00:28:08,119 --> 00:28:11,360 Speaker 1: to position my body to where its head can't see me, 532 00:28:11,960 --> 00:28:13,560 Speaker 1: and that way I can get up close enough to 533 00:28:13,560 --> 00:28:17,440 Speaker 1: make sure that it's expired. I Also if it's wounded 534 00:28:17,680 --> 00:28:21,040 Speaker 1: or had been previously wounded and down and there's a hill, 535 00:28:21,480 --> 00:28:24,120 Speaker 1: I will always come in from the bottom, as opposed 536 00:28:24,119 --> 00:28:26,160 Speaker 1: to at the top from above it. So I come 537 00:28:26,200 --> 00:28:28,600 Speaker 1: in from below it because that way, if it is 538 00:28:28,880 --> 00:28:31,600 Speaker 1: seriously injured, it's gonna be harder for it to run uphill, 539 00:28:31,680 --> 00:28:33,720 Speaker 1: so it'll get up and give you a lot more 540 00:28:33,720 --> 00:28:36,560 Speaker 1: opportunity to shoot again. Or as if it's running downhill, 541 00:28:36,640 --> 00:28:40,000 Speaker 1: it might run downhill fast, out of sight quickly and 542 00:28:40,080 --> 00:28:42,760 Speaker 1: not give you an opportunity for a follow up shot. 543 00:28:43,600 --> 00:28:46,400 Speaker 1: I just wanted to really throw out a few. It's 544 00:28:46,400 --> 00:28:49,920 Speaker 1: just like a lot of tips on following up game animals. 545 00:28:50,080 --> 00:28:52,720 Speaker 1: Most of them are going to be used when something 546 00:28:52,800 --> 00:28:56,160 Speaker 1: is hit poorly, and that should not be very often 547 00:28:56,560 --> 00:28:58,720 Speaker 1: because you're gonna listen to the last podcast and do 548 00:28:58,840 --> 00:29:01,040 Speaker 1: everything in your power to make a clean, ethical kill. 549 00:29:01,360 --> 00:29:04,760 Speaker 1: But there are times where things don't work right. Something happens, 550 00:29:05,320 --> 00:29:07,600 Speaker 1: maybe you make a bad shot, maybe the animal jumps 551 00:29:07,720 --> 00:29:11,080 Speaker 1: or arrow hits a stick on flight you just don't know, 552 00:29:11,280 --> 00:29:14,160 Speaker 1: or something crazy happens, like in the Meal of Dear Story, 553 00:29:14,200 --> 00:29:17,239 Speaker 1: I told where everything should have been good, but it 554 00:29:17,280 --> 00:29:19,600 Speaker 1: looked like a good shot. You did the best you 555 00:29:19,640 --> 00:29:21,880 Speaker 1: could with what you thought you were aiming at, and 556 00:29:21,920 --> 00:29:26,240 Speaker 1: you end up hitting one lung randomly and the animal 557 00:29:26,280 --> 00:29:29,480 Speaker 1: goes a lot further than you think. So just keep 558 00:29:29,480 --> 00:29:33,440 Speaker 1: in mind that there are ways to increase your chance 559 00:29:33,760 --> 00:29:36,960 Speaker 1: of finding an animal that's hit poorly. A lot of 560 00:29:36,960 --> 00:29:39,520 Speaker 1: it comes down to the time you wait and how 561 00:29:39,560 --> 00:29:42,960 Speaker 1: you interpret the sign that you see at the shot, 562 00:29:43,280 --> 00:29:46,600 Speaker 1: at the blood trail, and the way that animal reacts. 563 00:29:48,480 --> 00:29:52,440 Speaker 1: There is a art to tracking, and you get better 564 00:29:52,480 --> 00:29:54,560 Speaker 1: at it with time and with practice, is just like 565 00:29:54,640 --> 00:29:57,960 Speaker 1: anything else. I was actually very fortunate to have some 566 00:29:58,280 --> 00:30:01,840 Speaker 1: experience going with some bushmen in Africa that were just trackers. 567 00:30:02,080 --> 00:30:05,440 Speaker 1: I mean, hundreds of generations of people that could track, 568 00:30:05,680 --> 00:30:08,360 Speaker 1: and their skills and abilities and the things that they 569 00:30:08,480 --> 00:30:12,160 Speaker 1: picked up on was just uncanny, and I really tried 570 00:30:12,200 --> 00:30:15,120 Speaker 1: to kind of take that into my own way of 571 00:30:15,680 --> 00:30:19,120 Speaker 1: ciphering tracks and following up on animals and just understanding 572 00:30:19,160 --> 00:30:22,040 Speaker 1: animals by watching them and their behaviors and a lot 573 00:30:22,080 --> 00:30:24,560 Speaker 1: of the things that they do they probably can't explain 574 00:30:24,640 --> 00:30:26,800 Speaker 1: to someone else how they do it. Because I found 575 00:30:26,840 --> 00:30:29,280 Speaker 1: over the years, I've gotten so much better at finding 576 00:30:29,520 --> 00:30:32,800 Speaker 1: and recovering animals. For people. As a guide, you get 577 00:30:32,840 --> 00:30:36,960 Speaker 1: a lot of experience maybe recovering something that wasn't shot 578 00:30:37,040 --> 00:30:39,760 Speaker 1: that great. You know, not because it's something you did, 579 00:30:39,760 --> 00:30:42,440 Speaker 1: but maybe the person shooting got way too excited and 580 00:30:42,880 --> 00:30:46,840 Speaker 1: things happen. I mean, it's it's it's the truth of it. Now, 581 00:30:46,880 --> 00:30:49,120 Speaker 1: we do everything in our power so those things don't happen, 582 00:30:49,200 --> 00:30:53,040 Speaker 1: but when they do, the way that you react and 583 00:30:53,280 --> 00:30:55,520 Speaker 1: the things that you do right after the shot can 584 00:30:55,560 --> 00:30:59,960 Speaker 1: make the difference. Things like marking where you're at, interpreting 585 00:31:00,160 --> 00:31:03,480 Speaker 1: the shot, and interpreting the sign. All that stuff is 586 00:31:03,520 --> 00:31:07,600 Speaker 1: just going to be key to actually making a good recovery. 587 00:31:08,080 --> 00:31:10,000 Speaker 1: So that's just something to think about when you're out there. 588 00:31:10,000 --> 00:31:12,600 Speaker 1: When you have an opportunity to follow up and and 589 00:31:12,640 --> 00:31:15,240 Speaker 1: track something, even if you saw something just fall over, 590 00:31:16,360 --> 00:31:19,520 Speaker 1: don't miss an opportunity just because you know it's dead 591 00:31:19,640 --> 00:31:22,040 Speaker 1: or you made a great shot. Don't miss an opportunity 592 00:31:22,080 --> 00:31:25,120 Speaker 1: to go to where the animal was shot, look at 593 00:31:25,160 --> 00:31:28,120 Speaker 1: the tracks, interpret how did it jump, where did it go, 594 00:31:28,400 --> 00:31:32,080 Speaker 1: what's the blood look like, even on something that's fatally shot, 595 00:31:32,120 --> 00:31:35,640 Speaker 1: on whatever, Take every opportunity you can in the field 596 00:31:35,680 --> 00:31:39,320 Speaker 1: to learn and get better at it. I really appreciate 597 00:31:39,440 --> 00:31:43,520 Speaker 1: everybody listening as always if you get a chance. I 598 00:31:43,600 --> 00:31:47,800 Speaker 1: looked through a couple of days ago, and there are 599 00:31:47,840 --> 00:31:52,080 Speaker 1: some incredible comments, some great comments from everybody out there 600 00:31:52,080 --> 00:31:55,520 Speaker 1: about the podcast, things that they liked, and some really 601 00:31:55,520 --> 00:31:58,680 Speaker 1: good ratings, and I just really really appreciate that. Like 602 00:31:58,760 --> 00:32:00,960 Speaker 1: I kind of forgot to read some of them, all right, 603 00:32:01,040 --> 00:32:02,680 Speaker 1: I haven't read them in a while, and I went 604 00:32:02,720 --> 00:32:05,120 Speaker 1: back and I'm like, wow, that's the reason that I'm 605 00:32:05,160 --> 00:32:06,960 Speaker 1: going to keep doing this podcast. So I just want 606 00:32:06,960 --> 00:32:10,080 Speaker 1: to thank everybody that's left to comment left or rating, 607 00:32:10,400 --> 00:32:12,960 Speaker 1: left or review. That means so much to me. I 608 00:32:13,320 --> 00:32:16,120 Speaker 1: really do appreciate that. And you know, if you're if 609 00:32:16,160 --> 00:32:18,320 Speaker 1: you're listening and you haven't left one or you want 610 00:32:18,360 --> 00:32:21,400 Speaker 1: to leave a rating, go to whatever app you listen 611 00:32:21,440 --> 00:32:25,840 Speaker 1: to drop a good rating, leave a good comment. I 612 00:32:25,960 --> 00:32:29,440 Speaker 1: just I really appreciate that. Thank you so much. And 613 00:32:29,640 --> 00:32:33,600 Speaker 1: if you don't subscribe to the podcast, definitely click the 614 00:32:33,640 --> 00:32:36,240 Speaker 1: subscribe button. That way, it makes it easier for you 615 00:32:36,320 --> 00:32:38,960 Speaker 1: to get the new episodes as well as find them 616 00:32:39,360 --> 00:32:43,160 Speaker 1: and kind of keeps the podcast going. That's the whole Like, 617 00:32:43,240 --> 00:32:45,120 Speaker 1: as long as there's people listening, I'm going to keep 618 00:32:45,200 --> 00:32:49,040 Speaker 1: doing it. So if you don't subscribe, subscribe. I really 619 00:32:49,120 --> 00:32:54,200 Speaker 1: appreciate that. So until next week shoot straight track. Well 620 00:32:54,280 --> 00:32:59,160 Speaker 1: if you don't, I don't know. Maybe by our one 621 00:32:59,200 --> 00:33:03,080 Speaker 1: year anniversary in August, I will have a tagline. But 622 00:33:03,240 --> 00:33:10,080 Speaker 1: until then, keep trying. H