Tracking Wounded Elk, Deer and Bears: Tactics Based on 100s of Blood Trails 

In 2009, I guided a husband and wife for rifle elk in Wyoming, where I saw one of the most impressive displays of toughness from any animal. The wife was shooting a 7mm-08, and we got her lined up on a raghorn at 400 yards. She had performed well at the ranch shooting range at 200 yards, and she and her husband were confident she could make the shot. We were shooting from a ridge top to an adjacent hillside with time and visibility. When she took her first shot, I watched the bull hunch up and knew he was hit but not sure how well. He turned downhill and took a few steps but did not run. She took a follow-up shot, but I could not see an impact, nor did it sound like a hit. The bull continued quartering downhill into a group of trees. We had an excellent vantage point, so we set up for a long wait before we would go check the shot area. 20 minutes later, the bull ( visibly sick) came back up the same path he went down to almost exactly the same spot. This time, I asked my client to hold for the top of the shoulder because I believed, if anything, her shot was low, or far back, and if not, a high shoulder hit would put him down. Her shot hit exactly where she held, and he went down immediately. When I gutted that bull, there were two rounds in him. One at the top of the shoulders, and one perfect little 7mm hole through the top of the heart! The bullet missed all bones going in and going out and never expanded at all. That bull was dead on his feet for over 30 minutes, with next to no external blood loss.

The fact you put this out there for free is awesome, I’ve paid to learn less about hunting. Thank you for what you do, I’m an appreciative consumer.

“We all have lives and pissed off wives!”- most relatable quote I’ve heard in a while! 😂

I didn’t realize my kids make a bear’s death moan every time I ask them to do chores lol. Now when they do that I will giggle at them

Shot a buck at 14 yards from a tree stand years ago. One spec of blood on the ground. No more blood anywhere so I thought. "I thought that was a perfect shot". Gave it a few hours due to stomach/gut on arrow. Went back and tracked for hours and my cousin's dog found my buck. Perfect hit from a tree stand but angeled back and poked the gut out of the exit wound. So the gut plugged the hole. I use 4 blade broadheads now instead of 2. Thanks

Great video! So I watched my father shoot one of the biggest bulls that I’ve ever seen with his bow. We watched the 6 x 7 bed up on the opposite hillside after the shot. We were about 300 yards away from him, we were steadily watching him and he would put his head down and then occasionally pick it up just to put it back down again. My dad was afraid of trying to move too close for another shot out of fear of spooking him as he was bedded in a pretty open area. And I’ll admit that I thought he was going to die. After a weight of about an hour and a half he proceeded to stand up and started walking up the trail to go over the ridge. The last time we seen him was when he crested over the ridge. We searched for about 3 1/2 hours before it got dark and then searched another three hours in the dark, all trying to find him again. When we called it quits for the night. When we did, we fail to realize that there was supposed to be a storm the next day. Well, the storm hit early and dropped almost a foot to a foot and a half of snow in the area where he shot the bull. We had to get snowmobile’s just to get back in the area. We searched for two more days, trying to find it. And it wasn’t until the next year that we went back in there hunting and found his remains. That story still haunts me. One lesson that I learned, was always check the weather for the next day if you’re going to let them sit overnight. If you were in that situation what would you do differently?

Two things I will offer is don't walk through the blood or tracks. Whether it's rocks, leaves, or whatever, you can upset blood and destroy finer sign. Stay off to one side a few feet and occasionally cut the trail to get a realignment if necessary, but drop back off to the side when moving forward. Also, read the drops. Round drops are slow moving or stationary animals. Drops with a tail, or multiple tails from spatter, are high speed drops. The tail will point in the direction of travel. If the blood is visible, you can match the pace of the animal according to the blood spatter. This will also help if an animal doubles back on its trail. When they're moving slow, you move slow. I prefer the downhill side of the trail since animals will typically go downhill when hurt and trash from my trail isn't falling into the game trail.

Thanks Cliff for all of the great videos. I rifle hunted this year, we had a lot of fresh fluffy snow fall overnight before the hunt. I shot a bull early in the morning at 200 yards. I was sitting with a very good rest, and was very confident that I had a good shot. The bull took off into the timber at the shot, as did the whole herd that he was with. I went to where he had been standing and I found his track, but no blood. I followed his track and found just a couple of small specks of blood on top of the snow, I started to think maybe I had just nicked him. His tracks mixed with the herd and I lost his individual track. I tracked the herd for over an hour and never saw any blood, so I went back to where I had last seen just a small speck of blood. I was in the process of studying the tracks from the herd, when I noticed pink "clouds" under the snow. By this time, the sun had been on the snow for a while, and in the full sunlight I could seen pools of blood underneath the snow. The blood had cut through the snow and left no visible marks on the surface. I was able to find where the bull had split from the herd and headed downhill, a track I had missed before. I found him dead about 80 yards from where he was shot.

Excellent information. Last season I shot a bull elk with a bow and had a very poor blood trail. When the blood trail would peter out we noticed that if you looked for the yellow jackets buzzing around the ground nearby the last blood you would often find a few drops of blood and be able to take up the trail again. Ultimately we did recover the bull.

Cliff your videos give us years of experience in 30min. Many of your tips I have learned the slow hard way . So thank you truly for the years and hard lessons you save me with the tips .

My first buck was a 400-yard shot. I saw the shot hit the buck in my scope. I got excited and didn't reload immediately. I saw him go down, and then he started moving with a limp across the face of the hill in front of me. I reloaded, but I couldn't get a second shot on him as he moved in and out of scrub oak. He went into a clump of trees and then didn't come out. There was other hunter pressure, and I was worried about one of them finding and claiming the buck i just shot. So I mentally took a picture of where the buck was at the shot and where he'd gone. I ran down the mountain and across onto the next face and talked to the other hunters to let them know what had happened. They were nice and offered to try and help locate my buck for me. Unfortunately, one of them spooked my buck out of where he had bedded, and according to them, it didn't look like he was injured... I've spent hours reloading ammo and making sure that I'm confident in my ability to place a shot, and I'm 100% confident that I hit this buck. I go to the shot location, and there is no blood. I can see where the buck was standing, I can see the depth of the hoof print change as he jumped from the shot. The other hunters couldn't see blood, so they gave up and went elsewhere to find other animals. I followed every hoof track to the bed, where the other hunter spooked a deer. After closer examination, I found a golf ball sized blood patch mixed with snow on the edge of the bed. I sat down there and waited about an hour just to be safe. Then I picked up the trail again. It turned out only about 15 yards from the bed the deer had turned down hill on a death run. He emptied his bowels and then was found 15 yards further down the hill, total he had only gone about 50 yards from the bed, and about 50 yards from the shot to the bed. Aside from the golf ball sized patch of blood, I had no other blood along the entire trail. I turned out that my shot hit in the middle of the body top to bottom, but was further back than I would've liked. My shot hit the buck in the rear portion of the shot side lung, diaphram, and liver. Both the entrance and exit wounds were middle of the body, so the animal was bleeding to death internally, but very little was coming out the wounds. I was extremely grateful I just kept going when I finally found my buck. I can't describe the stress and sorrow that I felt during the tracking process, and the relief and joy when I found that buck.

Again, great video! I liked your comment on the so called "missed shot" in Germany we have this saying that "only the dog can tell you'ved missed your shot" because we track every "missed shot" with tracking dogs. That makes you think twice about your shot selection, so you don't have to call your hunting buddy with the tracking dog at 5:30 a.m. on a sunday to help you out... "Waidmannsheil" to all Hunters out there!

1. Flagging material when tracking....I use toilet paper that way I don't have to go back and pick up the flag tape. 2. I never track with more than a party of two DEDICATED quiet hunters. 3. On tough track jobs... Usually sign (blood, tracks, other) occur in intervals. I.e every 10 feet, I don't move along the track any further until I've search 360* a distance of that internal, then I leap forward and search another 360* 2x the interval. Etc. Etc. I measure that interval with bow, equipment, steps, or stick. Good shit you put out Cliff

"Run until you throw up" Love it! 😂

I shot an elk this past Sept. 2022. I double lunged him in the lower half of the lungs. Had initially found blood, than nothing for 60 yards. I knew where he walked through. Followed tracks. Got to the edge of the hill and once he started going down hill. He was spraying blood everywhere. And was pulled up 30 yards down.

Outstanding advice. I knocked a bull elk on his butt . Double lung but high. Spotted him with head up pointed down. I waited and moved until I could see him good. I shot him again and glad I did. I backed up to where I hit him the first time, and found disturbed ground but no blood. The bullet did not exit . 180 grains federal trophy bonded from a .300 H&H. Before the second shot, I watched the elk exit without the bull I shot. Then after glassing we found the bull.

Great video. I'll have to watch again.

Such an appreciated wealth of knowledge. Love the lack of wasted time in this video, straight to the point! Thanks Cliff

Man you’re spilling all our secrets! But really, it’s awesome to have an experienced voice in this space. Breath of fresh air from the TV/Influencer BS. Thanks for keeping it real 👊

I can't tell you how much I have learned from you. Thank you, I truly appreciate you sharing your knowledge!

Great advice Cliff.

2 years ago I shot a 6X6 Bull Elk at about 175 yards in a steep down hill angle. Heavy cover prevented me from seeing him exit. However, I listened and could hear his exit direction over the rocks. I never saw the cows exit and expected him to run up the far side of the canyon on 2 different escape routes. I shot him with a 300 Weatherby Magnum with a 180 grain Nosler Partition bullets. When to impact site and found no blood. It was a water hole with that had dried up considerably and there were a lot of elk and cattle tracks. So I liked back up to where I had left my pack. 30 min to go before dust dark and could not glass him up. Went back to where I thought he was standing and started thinking about what exit trails could be and how sound traveled in the canyon. Headed out to get to opposite to gain elevation to see if he circled around ‘“j-hooked”. Started up the trail and up under the pinyon juniper I could see his rump. Watched him and then approached him slowly ready to shoot. Scope on lowest power in a shooting position. Poked him with the gun barrel and he was dead. The 180 grain Partition entered his right shoulder right on the joint, passed thru his rib bone, took out part of his lungs, passed thru his heart and exited left side thru the rib cage bone. Still a big believer in the Nosler Partition Bullet. The wound channel was a 3 inch diameter hole all the way thru.

Excellent video. Lots of tips. Let me give you guys one. I call this my post shot call. After shooting an animal (eg. deer). use a grunt call immediately after the shot. This might confuse the animal and stop it for a second shot, or it may feel it is in friendly company and stop sooner.This does not always work but it could shorten the track job. Hope this helps someone.

Great tips! I had an unfortunate situation a few years back where I shot a nice bull elk in archery season. My girlfriend and I spent all day following his blood for about a mile until we lost the trail. We came back the next day and I thought maybe he went down to get water so we grid-searched the entire hillside below. This was all steep, nasty, brush and beetle kill, mind you. Nothing. So I called a blood tracking group to see if someone could come help. Nobody could but they gave me some pointers: that wounded elk will rarely go down but will keep on the same path as their blood trail or go up; and that they're usually dead within 500 yards of where you lost the blood. On day 3 of searching we found him 400 yards straight ahead in the direction of travel from where we lost the blood. Sadly, the meat was ruined and I felt like shit but it was nice to know he was dead. BTW I too am a little color-blind but it helps to have a girlfriend who isn't!

Son dropped a large 6 in his tracks this year, his first bull. At first I said hit him again, even though he was down and shaking but then he stopped shaking and legs were high in sky. 10 minutes later herd walks up, we put rifle away and glassing herd approach him. Cow starts talking to him, he wakes up runs off like nothing happened. By time rifle was back out, son missed him running through trees. Searched forever, found tons of hair where he slid 50 feet down mountain but never any blood and there are so many elk in our hole, his tracks merged with others and lost him. Talked to others, hydrostatic shock from bullet in chest cavity will knock them out, normally undisturbed they bleed out an u think u killed him instantly. Good chance shot passed above lungs below spine. Kills me that I didn’t have him hit the bull again. Old rule: if they are standing hit them. New rule: empty gun into them even if down, reload and hold for hour. I will take a little meat loss over loosing a nice bull again

I don’t have much to add to your complete experience. On several shots, one on blacktail in the Cascades and the other open sage rangelands for mulies, I had to finally backtrack to my shooting spot to get a fresh perspective. Both times I instantly saw a flaw in my initial search. The first, the deer went on a slightly different track through the firs. It made all the difference. The second, I climbed too far, past the Bush I had visually marked to a slightly larger one about 30 yards further upslope. Only by returning to my shooting spot was I able to see my mistake and quickly find the animal. Quickly that is after wasting an hour in the wrong trail or spot. Therefore, I carry precut pieces of surveyors tape. I mark my shooting spot before moving. Then mark place where animal was hit before tracking and marking the place where I last saw it. Stay off the sign, track, blood, fur. I enjoy your life experience, your ability to say it clearly and your enthusiasm for ethical hunting success.

Appreciate the information, thank you.

Thanks for all your videos!! I’ve just recently found them and have been binge watching so to speak. I shot a big whitetail buck at last light, no blood to be found. I tried tracking him but had no luck. When I gave up for the night I turned wide to go back. Walked back halfway and there he was. Never heard the term J hook but I’ll be damn that’s exactly what he had done. He was about 80 yards from spot of shot but went well over 120 yards total. I always check this now when tracking. Now I know what it’s called!😁

thanks again, Cliff. Great points as usual.

Since you mentioned.. I got a 6.5 creedmore I lost so many bears with that gun, the bullet just went straight through left a pencil hole pass through I’m guessing never find em

My spring bear this year didn't bleed out at all. Thankfully it dropped close to the spot I shot it because that would have been a nightmare to track in the thick timber we were in. Excellent information in your videos Cliff. Thank you !

Best on youtube. As a new hunter I've already learned a lot from you and appreciate it. I lost my 1st deer last year and feel 100% more confident in my tracking next time because some of these tips.

I already know this comment is going to get long, the beginning point I'd make is to never stop learning. Every encounter or experience, good or bad, analyze and try and learn from it. What did I do wrong? What did I do right? What could I have done better? I can think of three encounters that I still think about in that context. Before I get into those, I'll want to throw out one preliminary piece of information that might explain at least one bone headed shot. I used to do A LOT of archery growing up. My folks lived on a hill, with an undeveloped backyard, nestled up next to an undeveloped valley. I used to shoot archery at some haybales, two to three hours a day, every day, during high school, from all angles, and ranges, usually using a 8.5" X 11" piece of notebook paper as a target. It was my time of zen. I'd shoot a compound bow, instinctive with no pins, using fingers, and a leather archery glove. (90s archery tackle with longer ATA) Just keep that in the back of your mind for a bit. Elk Number 1: Literally. Shanked this cow in the afternoon, on opening day of archery on my way back to camp. I was using a 28 year old compound bow, with 2 pins, no rear peep, and I think I was using a finger tab. No mechanical release. I don't remember what Pin i used honestly. But this much I know, I was aiming for the vitals, and I hit the base of the neck. At first I thought I missed, only upon further investigation, I found that cow was leaving a blood trail even a blind man could follow. I heard it moan and die 5 mins after the shot. I waited at least 20 mins before tracking it down even though I had recovered my arrow ( went straight through) and enough blood on the ground to start making comparisons to a stuck pig. The blood was dried in the leaves, august is hot. When I recovered the elk (wasn't hard to follow), it had been dead long enough to where the eyes were glazing over and flies were forming in a large cloud. It was clear I hit what I'll call a carotid artery at the base of the neck. Again, I was aiming at vitals. It was blind luck I hit that cow where I did. What I think I learned: 1. Don't trust myself completely no matter how much I practice. What i think happened is that in the heat of the moment, I torqued the bow string with my fingers. When you do that your shot will go off. After this season, I moved to a mechanical release even though my ego was slightly bruised. 2. I'm not sure there are any hard and fast rules. Should I have waited 20 mins on that elk, given I heard the death moan, and it was during an august afternoon? It died in the sun, not that I would have anyway to know that. So I'm not sure, and I'm still mulling that one over. Elk Number 2: This one I *THINK* I missed, but I'm not sure. Long story short, I was again too confident in my own abilities. Took a downhill, traversing angled shot at a cow elk and missed. I heard that arrow go off in the woods. Took a second shot at the same cow, and I could have sworn I heard it hit. Probably the two most boneheaded shots I ever made because.......... I didn't use my range finder. (see growing up story above). It looked like 50 yards to me, but given the downhill traversing angle, it was closer to 80. I was falling back to my archery growing up shooting at this cow. Because of that, I'm willing to write that one off as a miss, except for one thing. I have NEVER recovered ANY of those arrows. I hunt the same area year after year, and I've been looking for them for a few years now. I wouldn't be surprised to find an elk skeleton with my weather beaten arrow in the pile of bones some day. I will probably never know. Yeah, it bothers me a little. What I think I learned: 1. Always use my range finder.... obviously. 🙄 (told ya it was boneheaded.) A Buck Deer : This is getting long, so I'll try and keep this one shorter. I think it was a 170ish yard shot with a muzzleloader, which I had zeroed for 150 yards. So I was using my first subtension. Again, I thought I missed. I shot at this buck 3 times, which adds to the stupidty. Now, as he eventually ran off, I *thought* I saw a limp, but wasn't sure, as he moved fairly quickly, along with the rest of the herd. Searched the area most of the evening, no blood, no fur, nothing except green scat. So I dismissed that limp as just me seeing things in the confusion. A muzzy shot leaves a huge cloud of smoke. Now, I had been in this area 9 days total up to this point, and hadn't heard a peep from a single coyote. The next morning, I heard a TON of them, and they sounded pretty happy. Given the situation, I saw which way the buck ran, and then off into the woods, but heard the yotes uphill and behind to where I had shot at the buck the previous day. I'm guessing I gut shot that buck, he J hooked up the mountain, and died somewhere overnight. Things I wonder: - What if I had looked further outward from my search area? Would I have found sign then? No idea, but it's a festering thought. What I think I learned: 1. Make sure you zero correctly. My zero WAS off, because of a breeze when I was out zeroing. I thought it wasn't enough to make a difference. In hindsight it did. It's been my habit to take whatever it is i'm zeroing to an indoor range and test the zero there. A 1/4" or 1/2", or worse yet a full inch, at 25 yards indoors, makes a big difference later. 2. Don't trust pelletized powder beyond 100 yards. This is a debatable statement, and falls into the realm of nerding out on muzzleloader specifics, but it is a thought. Muzzy in general isn't as accurate as centerfire. I'm also mulling over what is an appropriate distance for me, with a smokepole in my hand. Longest.... comment..... ever. I probably should have made a video with this. Oh well. No fun telling on yourself.

Deer and moose hunter in big woods here; tracking is sometimes part of the game. Animals know their territory and know where to go for dying to escape predator and it's typically a combination of down hill thick stuff and water (knowing your hunting territory helps a great deal). I always mark my shooting position and then every evidence of the animal I shot (GPS and flag tape should be part of your kit), this include blood, fresh tracks, broken branches, troubled waters etc. If I loose the animal's tracks, I can always go back to the last firm evidence I marked (you can then make circles around that mark and try to find the track again). You need to go in there with the conviction you've done a good shot and keep the spirit high. At one point, you'll need to make a decision to seek help from other hunting buddies and using some kind of communication device is helpful. The worst case scenario is a bad shot during last hour of light with some rain, in those times I move quick, I always carry a tactical flashlight and a headlamp with me. The headlamp is for tracking and the flashlight is to emulate day time. Before your hunting trip you can always inform yourself about dog tracking services and keep that phone number with you and give it a shot as a last resort.

Cliff, Your videos are top notch. Thank you for the information you share, Coming from the world of stand hunting whitetails and black bears in the Appalachian Mountains, one thing I have found that I really put a lot of confidence behind is the sound of a bullet impact when using a suppressor. On a sub-300 yard shot, I can usually tell by the distinct impact sound of whether I have hit flesh and bone, or dirt, rocks, trees, etc. I realize that wouldn’t be practical on mountain hunts, but could be useful on certain muley and late season cow hunts. Thanks again for the info you continue to share!

It depends on how long to wait! I have single lung shot a doe that after 20 minutes and jumping, we continued to push her. She would only go 20-30 yards. If we didn’t push her, we wouldn’t have found her or temps would have ruined the meat. The temps went from 50 in the am to 90 by noon. We had her meat on ice within 20 minutes of her expiring.

don't forget that an Animal hit (in my experience) with a high powered rifle will often run in the opposite direction than it was facing when the shot was taken.

Thank you.

Love the spearfishing analogy. Hope all is well brother. When ever in LOS ANGELES hit me up. I'll take u spearfishing.

When blood trailing very little blood, pay attention to spiders, flies, and bee's. They have helped me find specs of blood. Especially in the dark. Also, illuminate from different angles to see the shine. Sometimes, a flashlight that is too bright limits the shine you would see with a lower luminous light.

I once shot a nice whitetail buck . Just shy of 300yards. He did a big donkey kick and bolted . My brother and I walked to where it was standing and didn’t see any blood or hair. My brother instantly started teasing me about missing . He was ready to walk away. I just started walking in the direction that his tracks went and found him within 50 yards piled up . No blood until I opened him up and his chest was full, high double lung . On closer inspection we found hair at the spot he was standing that we missed

I have found that when archery hunting and I have a gut shot deer, I always get disappointed if I don’t wait at least 12 hours to track the deer. I have 9 kids and six of them are old enough to hunt. I always start them first on archery. When I started waiting 12 hours on gut shot deer, we increased our success rate exponentially. If I do bump it I try to gain elevation and look for it.

I took a 20 yard braudside shot on a bull. He aggressive turned but the just walked up and away the same way he came in. He paused at 50 yards with a ton of branches along the line of sight. His head bobbled as he passed out of sight. I didn't cheer or anything. I could smell him for a while so I proceeded to look for my arrow to no avail. Spent time listening and smelling for a while and the smell went away. I walked all over the area for days. Nothing. A few days later, saw a bull on the trail cam but can't be sure. It's been a year and I still look for that arrow when I hike through there. From the super excited to bummed in the same hour. Buddy shot his 1st bull the day before.

Another great food for thought video! When I shoot i listen carefully for bullet impact, bone will crack making an unique sound. After that is we’re I struggle thanks for some insight

Great content - thanks for tutoring us.

You are Great wealth of first hand experience & knowledge! I would add that ants, flies & even bees can put you back on the trail when blood seems lacking.

As an additional resource I would find out if you are in a state where blood tracking is legal with dogs, If so, I would recommend finding out if there is an organization that keeps a list of dogs/handlers. If not, try to find one before your hunt. Before the hunt is, by far, the best time to reach out.

Awesome video, I just added a lot to the toolkit. Not a guide so my experience is limited. Shot confidence is key for me. I haven’t missed an animal that I was confident shooting at. If I make a good shot I wait and listen. I walk to the spot that I shot and look for blood and tracks. If there is nothing to follow I move back 50 yards and start walking in a grid pattern 200 yards wide with the last place I saw the animal in the middle. I methodically search every piece of ground. I’m hunting the bush in bc. Not a lot of open country.

Well Done!

Channel is getting their 👊🏻👍🏻

Hey Cliff, refreshing to hear your approach to hunting that is more than just regurgitated dogma from previous generations. I too have found animals buy ignoring the tracking sign and honing in on the sound of death kicks as the animal tries to run while lying flat and passing out. I’ve also lost a few from bumping them because I started tracking too early. As far as mortally wounded animals running down hill, and poorly hit don’t run straight up. I did have 1 case that challenged that theory. Anyway thanks for the vids, hope if I come state side my guide is as knowledgeable as you.

Great content Cliff! I shot a bull once and thought it was a pretty good shot but not 100% sure. I decided to just sit still and continue calling while I gave him time. 20 minutes later the bull snuck back in to my setup and I was able to get a second and final shot in him. Sure glad I wasn't celebrating instead!

Great real world advice. I've noticed shooting Barnes ttsx bullets that there is very little blood coming out of the animal. These were deer, 270, 130 grain bullets, ranging from 100 yards to 320 yards. Now, five deer, all shot behind the shoulder. The furthest went 30 yards, BUT, the chest cavity on all of them was full of congealed blood. Never had that happen with accubonds. In heavy cover or a less than perfect shot, tracking without blood is critical. Not knocking Barnes, it's just different in my experience.

Appreciate all the knowledge man. I shot a black bear last year and hit him a little back, gave him overnight and searched the next day for hours and couldn’t find him. I knew I had to look harder, so I went back the next day and ended up finding him 60 yards from his den where we had last blood in a creek bottom trying to j hook just like you said. The video is on my channel if anyone wants to see. Also I really like that bear rug

Good content.👍

If you have a dog with you as I most of the time as my wife asks me to bring him; then they can find game better than even the most experience trackers. My dog with no training found a deer in ten minutes that me and my son looked for many hours. I finally went back to camp to get the dog after giving up and it was getting dark.

thanks

Awesome info. Thanks from a color blind guy

I had a 20 yard shot on the biggest buck of my life a few years ago. I was elk hunting and the seasons overlapped a few days. I had not seen any deer until two big boys came out of nowhere. I had a shot between two trees and just as I was drawing back, a third even bigger buck came out. I let the arrow fly but had changed my stance to look at the other buck and rushed it. Too far back but maybe alright? The three deer trotted over the ridge. We gave it an hour and then found my arrow. It smelled like bile! We started quietly walking and listening. I heard a stick break and looked up. Another hunter which surprised me because I have never seen a hunter that deep. He said he saw the deer and the buck was wobbly legged. He said he didn't shoot because he saw my shot and didn't want to take my deer. I wish he would have shot and then worked something out. We found some blood and began marking with tape. Something stunk really bad and I was sure it was the buck. We lost the blood and searched until dark. We came back the next morning and the smell got really strong again. I was sure the buck was near and was dead. Nothing! I reached into my pack to get a snack from the day before and found the cap to my elk piss sitting in the bottom. The smell wasn't a deer but my pack! I notched my tag and never found any sign. In 40 years of hunting, I have only lost this one animal so I feel good about that but I would love to find the dead head to show everyone the size of the buck I shot at. Thanks for all your advice and reminders! We learn from mistakes also but it haunts me to this day. Please give the FATBIKEHUNTER RU-vid Channel some love! I drew a multi-season elk and deer tag this year in WA so I will have some great footage from September to December.

Shot a doe from treestand with a 70# compound bow with a 2 blade expandable. Complete pass through boiler room, arrow come out and stuck in a corn stalk 6" off the ground. Absolutely 0 blood on arrow, looked like it was brand new. No blood for 10 yards, then it looked like some through red paint in both sides of the corn rows as she ran off, stone cold dead 40 yards from where I shot. I wouldn't believe it unless I saw it with my own 2 eyes. Really bizarre, guess anything is possible.

I have a rhyme based off this video: Lack of blood don’t mean shit, bursting sprint??? Could be hit!!!

Yeah I’m with u if game hits deck and nose not in dirt fire again!!

Every time he says "animal" his voice goes up in pitch. Starting at 23:30

Ive got a couple different instances where weve shot animals and couldn't find blood the first is we shot a doe at 100 yards she mule kicked and barrelled into the timber we thought for sure she would be dead we go up no blood or hair at the shot we search all over the property for the dead deer and couldn't find it to save our lives. So we get on a different one this doe is about 150 and broad side we shoot and hit the doe and im able to keep eyes on it the whole time and i watch her fall after going 100 yards so we give it 15 mins or so to make sure its dead and we went in and we found the deer but there was no blood anywhere to be found further examination after the shot the bullet hit square in the shoulder couldn't find a exit hole and after we butchered it we found a bullet in the rear ham of the deer we still have no idea how the bullet got there but it was there. Hopefully this gives some information to keep looking and pay attention to the deer till you can't see or hear it if i didn't see the deer fall we probably wouldn't have found her due to thick crp and no snow being on the ground.

Great video, but I'm curious from where you're pulling your statistics you quote 😉

I believe you, but I don't understand why a wounded animal going uphill will be harder to find than one going doing hill or laterally. Can you explain why a wounded animal moving uphill makes it less likely we will recover the animal?

We all have pissed off wives! 😂😂😂

dark as a bag of black cats. track real slow. dont take long or imperfect shots. don't shoot too close to dark and leave enough time and light to track right. all of the lost animals Ive seen have been shot near dusk and bumped in the dark. flagging. expect a second shot.

Not only a hunting guide but a truth guide as well… “You’re hunting until you touch the unresponsive eyeball of the critter”. And “we all have pissed off wives”

The closer you get, the easier it is to hit.

😢such great information

This is why i got a dog lol