Tracking Tips

[WapitiTalk1]

Can't remember if I started a thead like this previously in the Elknut forum or not.. Old timer's disease I guess Oh well, always good for some discussion.

I'm sure many of us have had difficult tracking experiences. It goes with the game. What are some of your tips for tracking elk once the arrow (or other projectile) has found it's mark? Let's skip past the standard ones that most big game hunters know (try to determine what type of hit it was, mark where you shot from, mark where the elk was standing, wait XX minutes before proceeding, mark every spot of bood). I'll throw out a couple.

1. Move slowly when tracking a hit elk. Stop often and listen.

2. An elk, even when hit well, may not bleed significantly for some pretty long stretches (depends on the hit, the hit angle, going uphill, downhill, etc.). Learn to tune in to the tracks of the target elk as much as the blood sign. This is crucial.

3. Realize that bright red/frothy blood does not necessarily signify a lung shot.

OK, these are just a very few. Tracking an elk after the shot is kind of an art and something that is learned through many years of doing it. Please throw out a few of your after the shot tracking tips.

[Triplebhunters]

I go get my wife.
Also most animals will head for thick cover and seem to expire by a down tree.
So looking for broken branches is another.

[Olydog09]

Make sure and check the under side of the leaves and branches not just the outward edges.

If you have a partner or partners and the trail goes cold so to say I always keep the best tracker on the blood and have the others do circles ahead looking for blood in obvious spots like across down logs, rocks etc.

Keep a flagged trail every time you get a hit of blood and look back frequently to try to read the line that the animal is taking then project that forward. send partners there.

[Ghost]

Kneel down if your having trouble finding the trail, most of the time and animal especially if its running will leave a trail of disturbed leaves, pine needles etc

[timberland]

When your kneeling down, look for "travel corridors". Paths of least resistance as a hit animal navigates through timber. Once found a mature WT my dad hit this way. Traveled over 200yds and had just three drops of blood.

[Toby]

Use your binocs to scan for blood. If you can't see the tracks, get down on your knees and feel for the toe prints. If the elk went through brushy cover, don't just look on the ground, look on the brush, especially the underside, blood may not be hitting the ground, but may smear on the brush.

[Elkduds]

Great tips, guys. I like to preserve the trail by walking or kneeling next to the animal tracks, not walking on them. Then if I lose the trail and need to go back, the tracks are undisturbed.

[Fridaythe13th]

Not all the time, but if a whitetail is hit hard they seem to go down hill. A less than perfect hit find water. This one might just be me, but its a lot harder to follow blood up hill. I don't know if its gravity, the blood flows back in the cheat cavity.

[zpd307]

I followed a nice whitetail buck for a long time with only tracks and hair....

[WapitiTalk1]

Great stuff guys. Does anybody pack a little squeeze bottle of peroxide in ther pack?

Edit: Yes, I mean a small squirt bottle (thanks for the reminder elk-n-walleye). You can pick them up at Rite Aid, Walmart, etc.

[jmez]

To add to your #1 Phantom, glass ahead while you are stopped and listening. I found my first elk this way. Glassed her behind a deadfall from about 100 yards away.

Was already mentioned but walk, kneel and crawl next to where the elk ran, not right on their trail. Leave the track/trail undisturbed.

Birds are a dead ringer. They will find the elk if its dead, within 24 hours. Crows, ravens and vultures. If you haven't found it and there aren't birds, it likely isn't dead.

[rudyc]

If you have more than two people tracking, keep one person at the site of last blood. I use toilet paper to mark the trail, it won't last long and you won't need to go back and pick it all up.

[elkmtngear]

Use your nose. In case of a poor or lost blood trail, get downwind of where you think the elk might be. We have found a lot of bulls this way, just walked right to 'em

[elk-n-walleye]

Great stuff guys. Does anybody pack a little squeeze bottle of peroxide in ther pack?

I had never heard this before but it makes perfect sense. Would a spray bottle produce better results as it would cover more ground and use less of the peroxide? Just wondering because this is a new concept to me.

[ishy]

Never used hydrogen peroxide, but will always have blue star in camp. Lights up blood in the dark. It's the same stuff law enforcement uses at crime scenes. Stuff flat works. Won't fix bad shots but can show smaller particulates than you can see with your naked eye in full daylight. It is especially effective in rain as the rain spreads out the hemoglobin and will widen the trail for you.

[timberland]

If you have more than two people tracking, keep one person at the site of last blood. I use toilet paper to mark the trail, it won't last long and you won't need to go back and pick it all up.

Shot a buck a few years ago so I went and got my wife to help track. She gave me a funny look when I handed her a half a role of TP but I explained how I use it to mark the blood trail. We make it about a hundred yards on a pretty good trail, me pointing out the blood and her behind me in the dark. Then I hear her say "I'm out" I turn and see a sheet of TP about every foot or so leading back to my stand.

[Fridaythe13th]

You have a good wife, just doing what she told.

[ElkNut1]

Yes sir, very good stuff here for all to consider! -- Do your best to see the arrow impact the elk, this can help a ton on how good a hit you have, also do your best to see where you last saw your elk leave & make a mental note. Don't be discouraged if you don't find blood at hit site or even in the first 50yd-60yd, this is common. We've had elk spill blood immediately & ones not spill a drop for close to a 100yds from shot site so stay with it blood will show itself! So much is depending on height of hit & location. Good stuff in this thread!

ElkNut1