Any hunter worth his salt comes to love and respect the creatures he hunts. Though this may seem a contradiction, it isn’t. Hunters come to know in intimate detail the habits and terrain they inhabit, have spent countless hours getting to know their reactions to weather, predators and how they behave in a hundred different situations.
Archery hunters must have a game plan after they shoot. They must follow basic rules, and, if they wish for the respect of other knowledgeable hunters, will read this article very carefully and remember what it says.
Reacting properly after a shot with any type of weapon — especially with archery equipment — is a critical decision often made under extreme excitement and emotion. Trophy horns make even seasoned hunters go loopy, but the decision made immediately following the shot will often be the deciding factor in recovering or not recovering the animal.
I cannot stress enough the importance of having a solid, carefully thought through, and disciplined game plan. With archery especially and often times with firearms, the hunter has to have made a series of decisions before even going afield and then needs to review them in his or her mind as often as possible.
First, you have to make a good shot. When the deer is sighted and your heart begins hammering wildly on your ribs, you must control your emotions. It’s of the utmost importance to remember three rules that must be obeyed at all costs:
1) Remain as calm as possible, don’t panic or rush. Control your actions.
2). Do not aim at the entire deer. Pick a small spot, a wrinkle behind the shoulder or a group of hairs, and try and split them.
3). Last and not least, you must always constantly think to yourself “squeeze” the release or trigger… squeeze, squeeze, squeeze and hit the tiny spot you’re aiming at.
Once the arrow flies, mark in your mind the exact spot the animal stood and the exact spot it was last seen. No matter how good the shot looked stay in your stand for an hour or leave, grab a bite to eat, listen to music, drive around or take a nap. If you leave, be sure to not spook the animal on the way back to the vehicle.
If your shot looked a little too far back, a liver hit, give the animal at least two hours before following up. Once a wounded animal gets up the odds are very high the wound will have clotted and he won’t leave a blood trail, so whatever you do, give a borderline liver hit or one lung hit a minimum of two hours.
On a poor shot leave your quarry till morning. Do not attempt to follow it up. Given enough time blood poisoning will dispatch the animal overnight, but a badly hit deer can travel miles making recovery largely impossible if pushed.
On the opposite side of the coin, no or little blood doesn’t mean you haven’t made a good, even an excellent shot. Many times a double lunged buck will run off as if nothing is wrong and leave only a drop of blood here and there in the leaves.
Summing up, make a great shot — a perfect shot — or don’t shoot. This is the single most important goal you can accomplish. Second, be patient, wait an hour before following up a good shot, 2-3 hours on a liver shot and overnight on any shot you feel is questionable.
When you’re starting to track, mark the spot the animal was standing and then mark the trail and blood drops often, every 30 yards or so, you should always be able to see, at minimum, your last 2-3 ribbons.
A wounded animal, if not pushed, will seldom travel any distance before lying down. You want them to stay right there until they expire.
Patience is the key to finding and recovering your trophy, whatever size it is. If you are excited and impatient, force yourself to get out of the woods, go to a restaurant, grab some food, call a friend, and watch some football, whatever it takes, but leave your animal alone. The time will come when I guarantee you will be very glad you did.
