Blood trailing

merc123

Senior Member
An unfortunate incident (dog shooting) this past weekend made me realize how bad I can't track blood. My friend could spot the drop of blood in foot tall grass, 6 feet away. He had to show me and even when pointing in the general area from only a few feet I couldn't see it. He tracks tons of deer so he has the experience, but what can I do to help me better track blood trails?

What things have you learned over the years that you can share (other than flies on the trail...I know that one)?
 

Booner Killa

Senior Member
I think the biggest mistake most people make when tracking is they get in too big of a hurry. Blood trailing is something that is an art and usually bow hunters are pretty good at it. They tend to be more patient than your average hunter and usually trail more deer/year than your avg hunter. I think it's human nature to want to find the game "right now" and that causes the tracking party to get into a hurry and potentially mess up the trail. I've seen guys just walk in the direction the deer went looking for it and never ceases to amaze me. I shot one directly down through the scapula three years ago and there wasn't an exit wound and the arrow plugged the wound. It was only a ten yard shot, down into the animal with no exit. Needless to say, blood was sparse. I knew the deer was dead but it took me an hour to find her and she only went about 60 yards. Blood was there but it was an incredibly difficult trail to follow.
 

p&y finally

Senior Member
Im the same way. Dont know if its partially color blind or what (if thats even possible). My stepson can just about run down a blood trail and Im lucky to see 1/4 of what he does.
 

merc123

Senior Member
I'm thinking I might have partial colorblindness. I know when I went through military inprocessing they had me go through a Red, Green, White test to make sure I could differentiate. Looking through my old records I failed the color test there.
 

tbrown913

Senior Member
blood trailing is an art like they said above. I have shot many a deer, mostly with a rifle, that ran. I have probably tracked about 100 deer in ten years. Those are mine, and friends deer!

Now I am a police officer, and my squad swears I am part bloodhound when we get on a scene, because I find blood everyone else misses! Guess it helps keep me sharp for deer season.

The only way I can describe my method is dont try to spot the blood. Try not to focus on anything in particular. when you dont focus your eyes, you will notice some distorted area in your vision, where lines of things dont continue like they should. when you do focus on it, you will be able to tell if its blood or not. thats what i do to try to spot blood.
 

weekender

Senior Member
I think maybe some people are looking for a blood spot the size of your hand when in the real world, blood trailing can be a lot closer to spots the size of a BB. Think small, look closely. Depending on the cover, blood may be easier to find on the vertical vegitation vs on the the ground. Biggest error I see is the same as Bonner killa, people trying to go to fast. If the blood trail is sparse, you can make things much more difficult by walking over the sign before you see it. Bottom line, go slow and look for smaller spots. Many times that can mean crawling on your hands and knees.
 

j_seph

Senior Member
Well, you could cut your finger. It must be a good deep cut to allow for plenty of blood! Put a blind fold on and walk through the woods (This way you have no idea where or which way you are going) it also helps to turn in circles a few times. Make sure your hand is hanging down to allow the most blood to drip. At a point, stop and take off your blindfold and track yourself back out. Start off doing this for 20 minutes a few times then you can move up to 45 minutes at a time but may require re-cutting finger to have enough blood.
 

NCMTNHunter

Senior Member
I'm a touch near sighted and I've found I can easily follow light blood trails on my hands and knees that I can't hardly see from my feet. I'm talking about when it gets down to pin drops. Just wear plenty of orange and look ahead for snakes!
 

applejuice

Senior Member
Well, you could cut your finger. It must be a good deep cut to allow for plenty of blood! Put a blind fold on and walk through the woods (This way you have no idea where or which way you are going) it also helps to turn in circles a few times. Make sure your hand is hanging down to allow the most blood to drip. At a point, stop and take off your blindfold and track yourself back out. Start off doing this for 20 minutes a few times then you can move up to 45 minutes at a time but may require re-cutting finger to have enough blood.

:bounce:
 

klemsontigers7

Senior Member
An unfortunate incident (dog shooting) this past weekend made me realize how bad I can't track blood. My friend could spot the drop of blood in foot tall grass, 6 feet away. He had to show me and even when pointing in the general area from only a few feet I couldn't see it. He tracks tons of deer so he has the experience, but what can I do to help me better track blood trails?

What things have you learned over the years that you can share (other than flies on the trail...I know that one)?

I'm the same way. I have color deficiency and a lot of time red and green look like the same color to me. Take this test.
http://www.archimedes-lab.org/colorblindnesstest.html#testcolor
You have to move your cursor over the test letter to the right and the image will change, then put your answers down below.
The only one I can see is the first one.
On some of them I can see part of numbers.
On most of them I can't make out any numbers and it just looks like a bunch of dots.
 

golffreak

Senior Member
For practice, I track every deer I shoot that runs off. Even of I see it fall.
 

Grey Man

Senior Member
I am a tad color blind. Not much, but a little. Here are some things I have lanred:

1. Start at the beginning. Go to where the arrow hit the deer, and begin there.
2. Get low (great movie by that name, btw). You will find blood much easier on hands and knees. I have found blood the size of a head of a pin. You can to.
3. Mark the line. Deer walk in a line. It may bend and swerve, but it's a line. Use tape, flags, whatever you can to mark that line. When you know what direction they went in, you know where to look next.

I hope that helps. You CAN do it, you just have to not cut corners.
 

speedy claxton

Senior Member
I herd you can use a spray bottle with hydrogen peroxide in it and that will help the fresh blood show up easier I don't know about a 2 day track job but with in an hour or so it should help.I don't know I've never tried it if anyone has let me know cause losing deer is heart breaking and calling tracking dogs is wallet breaking.
 

Nicodemus

The Recluse
Staff member
It`s an art, and it involves more than just blood. Disturbed ground, tracks, stride length, broken limbs, flattened grass and vegetation, and more. Gettin` with somebody who knows what they are doin` will be a big plus, and then you can go from there. Plus, it`s a lot of fun.
 

BowanaLee

Senior Member
There was a time when I could track with the best of em. Then I got old. :huh:
Now I have a dog to do it for me. I just hold on to the leash and go. :)
 

Dixiesimpleman32

GONetwork Member
One of the biggest things i do that helps me is i make sure i remember exactly were the deer was standing and the last place i saw the deer before i climb down.Being offf a few feet can make a big diffrence.Sometimes you have to get down on your hands and knees to find a drop.Pay attention to what you here when they run off like if you here them knockin down trees and running in to stuff.Good luck.Great feelin when you know you hit them good and you here or see them go down.
 

the Lackster

Senior Member
2 words WEENIE DOG. They are good on the blood. They can keep that nose on the ground and still navigate easily. Just make sure you dont step on a cheese burger or she will forget about hunting.
 

Nugefan

Senior Member
It`s an art, and it involves more than just blood. Disturbed ground, tracks, stride length, broken limbs, flattened grass and vegetation, and more. Gettin` with somebody who knows what they are doin` will be a big plus, and then you can go from there. Plus, it`s a lot of fun.

remember the blood trail at our first Poole Plantation hunt ....:bounce:
 

Nicodemus

The Recluse
Staff member
remember the blood trail at our first Poole Plantation hunt ....:bounce:



Yep, that was like followin` blood poured out of a bucket. :D

That was a good weekend. It was colder`n a frog too.
 

grouper throat

Senior Member
My old man taught us from a young age how to track them. He's slow but steady and always tries to not be rushed. Practice makes perfect. These days if I get stuck blood trailing for more than 10 mins I cheat and run back and grab a few dogs though. Their noses are much better than my eyes and they'll find one in 10 mins that might take me 3 hours. It's added incentive to get the dogs in the woods and watch them work.
 
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