Responsible Hunting: A Guide to Tracking Wounded Game

Tracking wounded game goes beyond the kill. Many hunters know the feeling of watching a wounded animal vanish from their sight. 

In such cases, the recovery and responsibility of tracking wounded game rest on the hunter. What do they do, and not just that, but what are the right ways to do it as well? 

This guide will explore the techniques and best practices for tracking and recovering wounded animals, ensuring your efforts at hunting responsibly are not thwarted.

Ethical Responsibility and Initial Steps

Responsible hunting or hunting ethically is about respecting the life of the animal and ensuring its suffering is minimized. Your first priority as a responsible hunter should be to track and recover any wounded game no matter how difficult it is or the time required.

Even if the animal flees at the sound of your shot, assume it was hit and take the necessary steps to go get it. 

Although sometimes difficult, it can be easier to track wounded animals  if you follow a systematic approach and understand the signs left by the animal.  

The following are a few things you can do:

Tracking Wounded Game

1. Observe The Animal Behavior After the Shot

Watch how the animal reacts to see where you hit it and how badly it’s hurt. Look for signs like how it moves, the direction it goes, and any injuries or blood. These clues help guide your tracking.

2. Mark the Location and Waiting Period

Mark where the animal disappeared with a landmark, compass, or GPS. This spot is where you start tracking. Wait 30 minutes to an hour before searching. Don’t be in a hurry because waiting lets the animal weaken and the blood trail get clearer.

3. Identifying Blood Signs and Patterns

Start by checking the spot where the animal was shot. Look for blood signs to understand the wound and the animal’s condition. This is where you should know the difference between lung, gut, and grazing wounds because this will help you gauge the severity of the would and track how difficult or easy it will be to track the animal. 

4. Using Tracking Tools and Trail Markers

Having the right tools helps in tracking wounded game. Toilet papers are good for marking blood spots. A compass is also useful for keeping track of the animal especially when the blood signs fade.

In cases where the blood trail is hard to see, you can move slowly and use your senses. Listen for sounds be patient and observant. To really track a wounded animal you will need to be persistent and pay strong attention to detail.

Remember you goal is to track and recover the animal humanely so you have to be committed to doing just that

Now you have an idea how you can track your wounded game, but sometimes how would you know to track the right game? What if there are previous blood trails in the area? 

How can you avoid wasting time only to find out the game you tracked was not the one you shot? Let’s look at that next.

Blood Trail Clues

Where your shot hits and the blood spilled can tell you how badly an animal is hurt. This can help guide your search to find it.

The color of the blood trail tells you a lot about the shot. For example: 

•  Bright red or pink blood with bubbles means a hit to the lungs or heart. This shot is usually fatal, happening within 5-10 seconds.
• Darker, crimson blood means a hit to the muscles or liver. The animal might take up to an hour to die. 
• Greenish blood with food bits means a gut shot. This is the toughest to recover, as the deer may travel far before dying, taking 5 hours or more.

Deer may also exhibit different reactions depending on the intensity of the shot. A deer hit badly will usually lie down within 200-300 yards and die soon, unless scared away.

If scared, it may run a 1/2 mile or more, leaving blood drops if the shot was not good. This could make tracking hard.

Now, after you have used blood trail clues to catch your game, you need to learn how to kill them responsibly if they are not fully dead, what’s more, you should also be able to tell if the meat is safe for consumption too. 

Tracking Wounded Game: Prioritizing Humane Recovery

In responsible hunting, timing is everything when tracking a wounded game. Waiting too long lets the animal suffer. But acting too soon can also make it hard or impossible to find. 

The humane thing to do is to: 

• Watch how the animal acts after the shot to see how bad the wound is.
• Wait at least 30 minutes before tracking to let the animal weaken from its injury.
• Look for blood signs and patterns to follow the animal, telling apart bright red arterial blood from darker, clotted blood.
• When you find the animal, come up from behind to avoid a dangerous fight.

Preserving Meat Quality

While considering humane techniques, to really keep deer meat good, you need to get to it fast. Waiting too long makes the meat taste bad. 

It’s important to handle and store the meat right to keep it fresh and tasty.

Here are some ways you can preserve the quality of your meat. 

1. Know the animal’s body and how it reacts to the shot to check if it was a good hit.
2. Follow the rules for tagging and moving the carcass to keep it safe and sound.
3. Use Responsible Hunting methods to reduce the animal’s pain and keep the meat quality high.

Go Get Your Game!

Tracking wounded deer or bear takes patience and knowledge of animal behavior. It’s a tough task, but the reward of a successful recovery is huge. 

If you follow ethical hunting principles, you’ll become a better tracker. This helps keep your sport sustainable for the future.

Remember to focus on humane recovery and keeping the meat quality up!