Chapter 7: Shot Placement & Recovery Techniques
Trailing Game

After you have waited a sufficient amount of time, move slowly and quietly from your shooting position to the area of your shot. Approach carefully to avoid destroying any important game sign. Look carefully for blood, hair, or your arrow if you think it passed through the animal, realizing that the arrow can be buried under leaves, grass, or dirt. Inspecting your arrow can help you confirm the type of hit (see Blood Sign).

Move in the direction the animal headed. Be careful to walk on the side of the escape route. Look closely for blood on leaves, weeds, rocks, and logs. Be aware that some drops may be very tiny so that you may need to get on your hands and knees for close inspection. Blood spots confirm that you are following the correct route.

Most bowhunters mark the location of blood sign. Reflector ties, toilet paper, or orange or chartreuse surveyor’s tape may be used. Permanent marking materials must be removed after trailing is completed.

Blood Sign

Blood sign can offer important tracking clues, such as blood splashes in the direction the animal is traveling. (Dried blood usually has a brown color and can be difficult to spot on brown grass or leaves.) The color, appearance, and location of fresh blood can indicate the type of hit.

• Bright red blood indicates bleeding from arteries; darker blood indicates bleeding from veins.
• Blood that has bubbles or looks frothy could indicate a lung hit.
• Fluid that is greenish, has tallow, or is clear, can indicate an intestinal shot.

Lost Sign

If all sign is lost, don’t give up.

• Go back to your last marker, and begin a methodical search of the surrounding area. Some bowhunters will search in ever-widening circles. Another method is to grid off the surrounding area in squares and to search each one. You may need to get down on your hands and knees to inspect every detail in the area closely. Look for obvious escape routes such as trails, especially those heading downhill or toward water.
• Be aware of any wildlife activities in your area. Crows calling, squirrels barking, or vultures circling may indicate the presence of a downed animal. Look around the surrounding area for game trails, openings in fences, thick cover—anything that could attract a running animal.
• If necessary, you may need to go back and start your search from the beginning. Don’t give up until all possibilities have been exhausted. A responsible bowhunter will make every legal effort to recover the animal.

White-Tailed Deer Hair Can Give Clues About a Hit

Knowing the different colors, lengths, and textures of hair on a white-tailed deer can help you determine where you hit the animal when you examine your arrow or when you find hair at the hit site.

• Back hair is long, dark (often blacktipped), and coarse.
• Neck hair is like short back hair except it is light-colored on the front of the neck.
• Brisket hair is very dark and is twisted near the junction of the neck and the body.
• Side hair is short and brown with dark tips.
• Bottom of the rib cage is a mixture of white and dark brown hair that is straight, moderately long, and thick.
• Belly hair tends to be white, long, fine, and sometimes twisted.
• Tail hair is very long.
• Hair on top of the tail is dark brown tipped with black.