There’s nothing better than the anticipation and excitement after you release the arrow or pull the trigger on the buck you’ve been after all season. But the experienced hunter knows that after the shot, one of the most important parts of successful deer recovery is knowing how long to wait before you start the blood trail.
How Long to Wait Before Tracking
Everyone who’s ever shot a deer has asked themselves how long to wait before they start trailing. The short answer is it depends. If you make a good shot with a rifle or bow and don’t see the deer fall, you should give the deer at least 30 minutes before you start the trail. If you make a bad shot, giving the animal time to expire is key. How much time depends on where the deer was hit.
Stay focused and think about where you hit the animal and their reaction through all the adrenaline and excitement that comes with shooting a deer and just after you send your projectile through a deer’s chest or body cavity. This is especially important with archery hunting.
Shot and Deer Reaction
After you shoot a deer, pay attention to where your arrow or bullet hit the animal. This will give you an idea if you made a marginal or clean shot.
Along with shot placement, watch the deer’s reaction after being hit. If the deer leaves the area fast with their tail down, that’s a good sign. If the deer walks off slow and seems disoriented, that’s often a bad shot.
Once you’ve analyzed the shot and the deer’s reaction and calmed down from the adrenaline, you can look at the shot site. If applicable, look for your arrow and any blood in the area the deer was hit and look at the blood sign before you start the blood trail.
Different shots leave different blood:
- Heart shot: Bright red blood
- Lung shot: Pink, frothy blood
- Liver shot: Dark red blood
- Gut shot: Green/brown blood, gut-like smell
On the other hand, if you see the deer fall and expire from your stand or blind, chances are you made a clean hit to a critical body cavity and can recover the animal right away. If the buck or doe’s head is down, that’s often a good sign the animal has expired.
Last season while deer hunting in Kentucky I was lucky enough to get the buck I was after. Around 4:00 one afternoon I saw movement in the woods and realized it was the buck I was after. The deer walked down the trail towards me and I drew back my bow and let the arrow fly at about 25 yards. The arrow hit, the deer ran 70 yards and I watched him fall from my tree stand.
Wait Time for Different Shots
Heart Shot Wait Time
Based on our deer hunting experience, we recommend waiting 30-45 minutes for a heart shot. This will give you a higher chance of a quick recovery and minimize the risk of bumping or spooking the deer making it harder to find wounded deer.
Lung Shot Deer
Lung shots can vary in effectiveness depending on if it’s a single or double lung hit. For double lung shots, wait 30-90 minutes before you start blood trailing. This will give the animal time to expire and succumb to its injuries and reduce the chance of spooking it during tracking.
On the other hand, for single lung hits, the wait is about 4 hours. Whitetails can be tough and travel long distances on one lung. The deer may still be alive after this time so approach cautiously and prepare for a longer tracking.
Liver Shot Deer
Liver shots are not as quick as a heart or double lung shot but still will usually die within a few hours. We recommend waiting at least 4 hours before tracking a liver hit deer. This gives the animal time to expire and reduces the chance of bumping the deer from their first bed.
Gut Shot
When it comes to a gut shot, patience is key. Although a gut shot is considered fatal, tracking a gut shot deer too soon can lead to lost deer and unnecessary suffering. Based on our knowledge and experience we recommend waiting at least 8 hours, but preferably 12 hours or more before tracking a gut shot deer. This will give you the highest chance of recovery and minimize the animal’s suffering. But be prepared to take a follow up shot or finishing shot. Just remember to stay patient because this track job will be longer and more challenging if you have to grid search the area.
Remember these are general guidelines, every situation is different. The level of patience and approach will depend on your shot and the conditions at the time of the hunt. But by using these wait times in your hunting strategy you will increase your chances of a successful and ethical hunt.
Factors to Consider When Waiting on Wounded Deer
Weather
Weather conditions will play a big role in determining the wait time. If it’s raining and you know you made a perfect shot to kill the animal quick, start tracking the deer as soon as possible because rain will wash away the blood trail and make it harder to find the animal. On the other hand, if the weather is cool and dry you can wait a bit longer before tracking your wounded deer.
Temperature should also be considered when tracking wounded game. In extremely warm or hot weather the meat is at higher risk of spoilage. Cold weather is not a factor when trailing wounded deer.
Predators
Predators such as coyotes, bears or other scavengers in the area should also be considered when tracking wounded deer. If there’s a chance of predators getting to the deer or wounded animal before you do you should take up the trail sooner. This will reduce the chance of losing your trophy or more importantly wasting the deer’s meat.
Also remember other hunters may be in the area and could interfere with your tracking. Communicate with your fellow hunters and make sure you’re working together not against each other to have a successful and safe experience.
Risks of Tracking Too Soon
As hunters we always want to have a quick and ethical recovery of the game we pursue. But there are risks involved in tracking a deer too soon after the shot.
First and foremost, tracking too soon can push the deer further away. If we start tracking before the half hour mark we may spook the deer. The deer’s instinct is to run, making recovery harder and longer track job.
Secondly, tracking too soon may compromise our ability to track the deer. If we start tracking and push the deer out of his bed the blood may have had time to clot and stop bleeding and there will be little to no blood trail to follow from that point.
In summary the risks of tracking too soon are:
- Pushing a wounded deer further away
- Disturbing the blood trail making tracking harder
To mitigate these risks wait at least 30 minutes or ideally 1 hour before tracking a deer after the shot.
Wrapping Up
In our experience shot placement plays a big role in determining the wait time before tracking a deer. As hunters we should always shoot to harvest clean and ethical.
Our guidelines may vary depending on weather conditions, terrain or the hunter. For example experienced hunters may have developed their own best practices over time but beginners should play it safe when tracking their game.