Two things are a must have when having to recover an arrow shot deer that does not drop within eyesight.  They are patience that comes naturally, and the skill to blood trail a deer that only comes with practice.  In a nutshell, the more patient that you are, the longer you will wait before beginning to follow the trail which translates to doing whatever is necessary to find your deer even if it means crawling on your hands and knees.  All this means the more success you have at recovering the deer.

It doesn’t matter how much time you spend at the practice range or how good the shot looked, there are going to be times that it becomes tough to recover a deer.  I am willing to bet that almost any bowhunter you talk to has lost a deer or two if that person has hunted for any amount of time.  One of the biggest reasons that hunters fail to recover their arrow hit deer is because they take up the trail too soon, and they do not have the knowledge to properly trail a deer.

Blood trails are not created equal.  Some will be so obvious that they are impossible not to follow.  Others will be a little tougher to navigate but the same basic techniques to follow a trail can be used for all circumstances.  

You were born with five senses.  It is important to employ all of them, except for tasting, when blood trailing a deer.  Do not walk throughout the woods hoping to luck into finding your animal.  Keep your search area to where the blood trail is.  By noticing which direction the pointed edges of the blood drops point will indicate the deer’s direction of travel.

Do not focus only on blood and miss other good sign that is left behind.  Disturbed leaves and soil, broken limbs and tracks also help in the recovery process.  Study the track of the deer you are following and memorize it.  It should be second nature to be able to distinguish that track from others.in the recovery process.  Another good tool to have is to be able to notice ants, flies and other insects that have gathered.  These critters often accumulate on blood along the trail that is so small that hunters often overlook it.

Unfortunately, hunters shoot a deer in the paunch, and this requires waiting several hours before picking up the blood trail.  This is when the hunter should look and listen for buzzards, crows and jays that might have recovered your animal before you.  I have had coyotes find my deer first, so I always keep an ear open for them as well.  It does not take long for a coyote to find a deer either.  I have had coyotes on a deer within twenty minutes of being shot.  Listen for a deer bounding off that you might have jumped, and for a deer gasping for a breath or struggled movements.

Smelling your arrow will help you recognize where the deer was hit.  A gut shot deer will leave an arrow that smells as if it passed through the intestines.  

The main thing that must be done when tracking a deer is to stay diligent in the task at hand.  This is the most valuable tool to be successful in finding an arrow shot deer.

Wherever you might shoot a deer, there are telltale signs that will help you find the animal.  These signs are the sound of the hit, how the deer reacts, what the arrow looks like and the appearance of the blood trail.

A deer hit in the lungs will sound as if it was just hit with a wooden bat hitting a green tree when the arrow impacts.  Expect the deer to take off on a run with it tail tucked between its legs and its body low to the ground, not caring what it crashes through.  At times, the deer will kick up its back legs when the arrow hits.  The arrow will have bright pink/red blood with small bubbles the entire length of the arrow.  Any hair from the deer will be brown with black tips.  Do not expect to see a lot of blood for the first 30 yards or so.  When you start to see blood, it will look just as it did on the arrow.  Keep in mind though that sometimes the deer may only bleed internally and leave little blood.  The deer should not go more than 150 yards after you wait one hour before picking up the trail.

A heart shot will sound the same as a lung shot deer and the run will appear the same, often called the “death run”.  Hair left on the arrow will be brown to gray in color.  The blood trail will appear the same minus the bubbles.  Again, wait one hour and go find your deer.

The sound of a deer shot in the liver will sound the same as a lung and heart shot deer, but the animal will trot a short distance then begin to slowly walk away, stopping from time to time.  At times, the deer’s back will be hunched, and its tail will twitch.  Look for thick, dark red blood on the arrow with medium length brown/gray hair.  There will not be much dark red blood on the ground.  The deer is not likely to go more than 200 yards if not pushed and might even head towards water.  After 4 hours of being patient, take up the trail.

A gut shot deer is a hunter’s worst nightmare and it can prove difficult to recover the animal, but it can and often is done when pursued correctly.  An arrow striking a deer in the paunch will sound as a hollow thump like a wooden bat hitting a dry, hollow log.  The deer will trot off with hunched back and will slow to a steady, slow pace.  Sometimes the tail twitches.  The arrow will have small amounts of watery blood with brown stomach contents.  The arrow will smell of stomach contents.  A high hit will leave medium-length, brownish gray hair on the arrow.  With a mid-level hit, lighter brown hair and a low hit will leave white hair on the arrow.

After twelve hours of waiting, you will find small amounts of watery blood with brown stomach contents on the trail with a distinctive smell.  A deer can travel a few hundred yards before bedding.  If the deer is not bumped it will die where it first bedded.  This is why important to wait twelve hours.  A jumped deer that has been shot in the paunch might never be found.

I highly recommend using a lighted nock.  This will allow you to better see the flight of the arrow, the impact and to find the arrow itself after it passed through the animal or eventually falls out.  

A lot of guess work is taking out of the equation when you can see the arrow hit the deer or be able to examine the arrow for signs of where the animal was hit.  I have been using Nockturnal Lighted Nocks the last few years and they have performed flawlessly for me and have helped me in deciding how to move forward with the tracking.

Another tool I highly recommend is a good light.  Not all recovery jobs will happen during the daylight hours.  A good percentage of deer are shot within minutes of legal shooting light ending.  Rather than waiting until morning and run the chance of a deer spoiling or a predator getting to it first.  The last couple of years, I have been using the Super Bright Headlamp from Bossman Outdoors.  With 6,000 lumens, it is more than enough to follow a blood trail on the darkest of nights.

If you follow this advice almost any deer is likely to be recovered.  Just remember to be patient and persistent on your next blood trailing job.

Captions

1. The author with a nice management buck he shot in Texas last year.
2. Unfortunately, not all blood trails are like this one and a little effort needs to be put into the recovery.
3. Nockturnal Lighted Nocks will take a lot of guess work out of where the arrow impacted.
4. Not all blood trails will be on the ground.  As was the case when this deer left blood a couple feet off the ground on standing corn.
5. It does not matter how much time you spend on the practice range, there is going to come a time that trailing a wounded deer is difficult.
6. A good headlamp is a must when tracking after dark.  This Super Bright Headlamp from Bossman Outdoors is more than adequate to light up the dark.

A Third First Nation Advocates for Increased Access and Co-Management Rights in Jasper National Park, Citing Past Eviction

Members of the Aseniwuche Winewak Nation are urging Parks Canada for enhanced access and partial hunting rights within Jasper National Park, emphasizing their historical ties and claiming eviction during the park’s establishment in western Alberta.

In an Oct. 27 letter addressed to Jasper National Park superintendent Alan Fehr, the Aseniwuche Winewak Nation urged immediate negotiations with Parks Canada to restore access to the park and prioritize their involvement in its co-management. They highlighted their status as both the park’s neighboring Indigenous community and its former inhabitants.

Recently, Parks Canada commemorated the renewal of an ancient treaty between the Simpcw and Stoney First Nations, affirming resource-sharing within Jasper. Parks Canada indicated this ceremony was part of a broader effort to re-establish ties with the original Indigenous groups and restore their influence in park management. Notably, this led to the first hunt in Jasper since 2017, conducted under an agreement with Parks Canada.

Despite this, Fehr clarified that the ceremony didn’t grant any new rights to any First Nation. However, David MacPhee, president of the Aseniwuche Winewak, expressed concern about his people being overlooked, noting their eviction from the park in 1911, supported by the band’s oral history documenting the involvement of the Mounties in their removal.

Around 550 band members, mainly residing in the Grande Cache area, continue to use lands adjacent to the park. MacPhee emphasized their deep cultural ties to the mountains and highlighted their historical connections to the park, stating that these connections are as significant as those acknowledged by Parks Canada.

The Aseniwuche Winewak Nation voiced disappointment over Parks Canada prioritizing agreements with distant First Nations while neglecting reconciliation efforts with the Indigenous community residing close to the park. MacPhee also pointed out their exclusion from discussions between Parks Canada, the Stoneys, and the Simpcw.

Responding to these concerns, Fehr clarified that the recent ceremony primarily celebrated the treaty renewal between the Stoneys and the Simpcw and wasn’t initiated by Parks Canada. He assured further discussions with Indigenous groups regarding park activities, including limited hunts, welcoming the Aseniwuche Winewak Nation’s participation.

The Aseniwuche Winewak Nation, headquartered in Grande Cache, is not covered under Treaty 8, signed in 1899, encompassing northern Alberta and several First Nations from other regions. The Nation’s website highlights the lack of recognition and rights afforded to them as an Indigenous group under Canadian law.

Male white tailed deer in autumn

Iowa deer hunters are now transitioning to the late muzzleloader and archery seasons after concluding the two shotgun seasons, expecting a harvest similar to last year. These late seasons, known for their solitude, offer opportunities for hunters to pursue their game.

Jace Elliott, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources’ state deer biologist, anticipates around 15,000-20,000 hunters participating in the late muzzleloader season, projecting a harvest of approximately 10,000 deer. This season attracts hunters seeking a less crowded experience and provides a chance to manage deer herds or secure meat for their freezers, especially by targeting existing food sources.

Although the archery season reopens alongside the late muzzleloader season, historically, fewer deer are harvested during this period compared to the earlier part of the season.

The late muzzleloader and late split archery seasons run from Dec. 18 to Jan. 10, 2024.

The final phases comprise the January antlerless deer-only seasons—Population Management January Antlerless Season and Excess Tag January Antlerless Season—spanning from Jan. 11-21. These seasons vary in their rules and locations.

The Population Management January Antlerless Season is restricted to specific counties with more than 100 available antlerless tags on Dec. 18, such as Allamakee, Appanoose, Decatur, Lucas, Monroe, Wayne, and Winneshiek. Hunters in these areas may utilize various methods of take, including bows, muzzleloaders, handguns, shotguns, crossbows, or rifles .223 caliber and larger.

Conversely, the Excess Tag January Antlerless Season is open in all counties with unsold county antlerless tags on Jan. 11. This season permits the use of rifles from .223 caliber to .500 caliber as a method of take, with licenses available over the counter due to a shorter sales period.

Elliott expects a similar turnout as last year for these seasons, primarily in northeast and southern Iowa counties, where antlerless quotas might not be met by Jan. 10.

Hunters can stay updated on available quotas at iowadnr.gov/Hunting under the “Available Tags, Quota Information” link.

Regarding the overall harvest, tracking data suggests a projection of about 110,000 deer harvested statewide, maintaining a pace close to last year’s numbers.

Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) surveillance has intensified this year due to increased sampling around new positive cases detected in 2022. As of now, 20 deer have either confirmed or suspected cases of CWD, primarily from areas affected by the disease.

For specific details on the late muzzleloader season and January antlerless seasons’ methods of take and dates, refer to the provided information.