Tips for Tracking fatally wounded/dead Deer

If I shoot a deer, and it does not drop with visual range...I back out and contact friends to come and help.

The spot the deer was standing should be able to tell you if it was a good hit or not...blood spray?/white hair?/stomach contents? Base the start time of tracking on the quality of the shot. 30 minutes minimum.

2 people do a much better tracking job than one...one person looks for blood-trail/ sign, the other continuously scans the bush looking for escaping deer.

Longwalker already gave a very clear description of how it should be done.

At dark...might as well go home. If the deer is still mobile, you are just pushing it farther...you can't shoot it after dark and your gun has to be encased (ONT).

GPS is good if you are not that familiar with the area.
 
Those are all good ideas, but my best advice is: use big caliber, slow mooving heavy bullet like 358 cal 250gr in 358W or 35Whelen....in 90% + of hits tracking is not needed in other instances there is so much tracking blood that even half blinded hunter can follow with ease.
 
I use white paper hand towels instead of flagging tape or TP . I carry a small roll in my pack anyway for many other uses.....wiping off bloody hands, wiping down the inside of a field dressed animal, TP and last and hopefully least as a blood sign/trail marker .
I have used the white paper towel to dab at the surrounding vegetation . Blood shows up on the towel way more than on leaves, grass, branches etc....especially when the blood trail is faint.
I once followed a wounded buck for a bit ,then it started to drizzle a light rain washing away the blood sign . I continued to follow the faint sign by turning over leaves and dabbing their undersides where the rain had washed the blood .
My kid and I use the leap-frog method to help recover wounded animals, if the trail is faint .While he carefully sorts out the trail for blood , tracks etc(he has better eyes than me ), I'll circle up ahead in the general direction of flight for 30 or 50 yards, depending on terrain to see if I can pick up sign .If I'm successful, I'll signal the kid to join me and he'll start tracking again . Once the trail direction is established, I"ll again move ahead 30 to 50 yds, both of us watching the surrounding areas until I get to an area where I can start looking more closely for sign.
Until I find some fresh sign my son keeps working out the previous trail .If he finds that the trail veers away , then I will change my position so as to keep ahead of him in the most likely direction .
We recovered, and finished off, a real nice 10-pointer(liver-shot) with lots of stickers this way but thankfully we don't wound that many .
 
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