It is not uncommon to have a poor initial blood trail with a high hit from rifle or bow but you need to know what to do when that happens. Below is a scenario that can and does occur.
It is minutes before shooting light is gone! Your heart sinks as the sky darkens, but wait, a buck suddenly appears. He is right beneath your tree stand. You can hear the leaves rustle under his feet. Your heart went from normal to now beating out of your chest, adrenaline rushes to every corner of your body.
As the deer steps in front of you, your bow comes up and you draw and put the 20 yard pin on his back and let fly. The arrow thwacks the deer loudly but you are not exactly sure where it hit. It was all so fast… as if in a blur. The deer is gone. Now is the time your brain replays the shot, over and over. Stay in your tree and observe where you last saw the deer and mark that spot. After 30 minutes the hunter climbs down to look for the arrow and does not find it with his flash light. No blood! The hunter guesses the deer direction after the hit and finds a speck of blood on a leaf. It is now that the hunter recalls that he did not see the tail flag after the shot. A possible sign that the deer may be hit hard. The hunter follows scuff marks as the deer exited but no more blood. It is likely the arrow is still in the deer but did not exit to provide a blood trail. What to do? Notify Fish and Game. Here in Southern NH the coyotes are hoping you cant find your deer in time. The clock is ticking…will you get your deer before the coyotes? You can wait till morning and get back on the deer’s tracks or you can see if you can get a Trained dog to help you find your buck. Yes you heard that right, there are dogs in NH that are trained to recover wounded game. The site below is a list of dog owners that are licensed to track wounded deer. The owner cannot charge a fee for his services to find your game but you can certainly thank him or her in a multitude of ways.
https://wildlife.state.nh.us/hunting/leashed-dog-tracking.html
If the search can continue that evening with permission of NHFG and a trained dog you are likely to find that deer maybe in 150 yards or so if the arrow hit the chest cavity from high on the back. The scapula and other bones often gets in the way and slows the arrow from exiting. The surgically sharp broad-heads today will sever lungs, heart and arteries if the broad-head is in the chest area in a hurry, however, without the exit wound it will be harder to locate your deer.
If there is no dog available for recovery then with NHFG permission the hunter and experienced friends can help you look for blood and scuffing with flashlights before coyotes find it. It is a game of time and your tracking skill and that of a trained dog if you are so lucky…
Below is the dog and deer recovery video from the above NHFG website.
It is my belief that trained dogs may be increasingly be needed to quickly recover game for your freezer, especially on coyote laden areas of southern NH. We need more trained dogs!
Good Hunting!
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