Aiming for Success

Aiming for Success: Lethal Shots and Deer Recovery Tips

By David Hoffman – Iowa Blood Trackers

The use of tracking dogs originated in Europe in the 1800’s. Recovering wounded deer with the aid of a leashed dog became a legal method in Iowa in 2020. A total of 6,216 deer were recovered by United Blood Trackers/Iowa Blood Trackers members across the nation during the 2022/23 season. Gladfelter et al (1982) reported a 17% wounding rate by Iowa bowhunters. Obviously, we all wish wounding rates were zero. Even though most deer hunters possess high ethical standards and do everything in their power to ensure a quick clean kill, wounding deer is unavoidable. One goal of the Iowa Blood Trackers group is to reduce wounding rates and increase recovery rates. Data is being collected in Iowa and several surrounding states on shot placement, penetration, wait times, shot angle, shot distance, and broadhead/arrow setups.

Shot Distance Matters
Bowhunters possess high ethical standards and are determined to make ethical shots and practice due diligence to recover their animal. One would suspect that the majority of the deer wounded and non-recovered would be at longer range. However, data collected tells us the average archery shot distance was 22 yards, and shots over 35 yards were uncommon. One surprising result, the majority of non-recovered deer were shot under 18 yards. Why is this? The answer is poor shot angle on the vitals from elevated stands at close range and the top archery sight pin is commonly set at 20 yards. Practice shots are often taken at ground level and thus there is a tendency to hit high at close range deer. In summary, the shot placement is high and at a steep angle resulting in a single lung shot, no pass through with the arrow lodged in the off shoulder. Certainly, practice is key, but one suggestion could be to aim slightly lower than normal and error on hitting lower, this can also helpful when the deer “ducks the string”.

Arrow Penetration
Results show a 35% greater chance of a recovery with a full pass through of the arrow. Arrow weights are suggesting that lighter arrows under 450 grains are less likely to have a full pass through. Fixed blade broadheads had a higher percentage of pass throughs. Hunters that used a fixed blade (something like a WASP broadhead where the blades do not deploy) and also used a heavier arrow and had higher arrow momentum.
It’s tricky to interpret, but some tradeoffs were observed with mechanical broadheads. Typically, they had a greater cut but less penetration. Hunters using mechanicals often used a lighter arrow as well and had less penetration. One possible compromise if using a broadhead with a greater cut, is to consider using a heavier arrow for greater penetration and a full pass through. There are several tradeoffs and many options. Back to the main point, results show a 35% greater chance of a recovery with a full pass through. Lethality guidelines and tables are being developed to find the most lethal arrow setups by the Ashby Bowhunting Foundation. https://www.ashbybowhunting.org/

Gun Season Concerns
There are a fair number of notable concerns with wounding issues with the 350 Legend especially during the youth deer season and hunters using the lighter 125 grain bullets. Lighter bullets are typically producing poor blood trails especially at longer ranges over 100+ yards. Heavier 180 grain or higher bullets appear to perform better.
Currently, there are a few notable concerns regarding crossbows wounding rates being higher than expected. It appears people are treating them more like a rifle and taking longer range shots and expecting rifle results.

Best Practices
After the shot, Stop! Stay put! Settle down and determine where you hit the deer. Note the deer’s reaction and how it ran off. Interpret evidence at the hit site: Blood type (lung, liver, muscle or gut), its color, and pattern. Note hair type and any bone fragments. Interpret evidence found on the arrow and broadhead including penetration and what it smells like. Take pictures and ask for help in interpreting evidence if needed.

It is very important to know your wait time and develop a recovery plan! Tracking too soon is the main reason mortally wounded animals travel a long distance and make recovery difficult or impossible. Tracking too slow may cause the meat to spoil or have higher chances of scavengers consuming the animal. Reading the clues and knowing proper wait times will aid in more successful recoveries. When in doubt, back out. Common issues noted by trackers are tracking too soon and bumping a liver or gut shot deer. When bumped out of the first bed, there is often little to no blood trail. Bumping can also result in the deer traveling onto the neighboring property. “Dead in first bed is the best”.

Liver shots are especially challenging. Guidelines suggest 6-9 hours. Tracker data shows a lot of variability, low liver shot deer at times can die under 4-6 hours and high liver shot large mature deer are weak but still alive at 18 hours. Gut shot deer wait times really vary as well. It is not uncommon for a sceptic deer to still be alive at 32 hours, some die under four hours. In short, it is important to know where you hit the deer and the difference between a high vs low liver shot or which part of the stomach was hit when determining your recovery plan. Ninety eight percent of these shots are fatal, it is important to be patient and not give up too soon.

The term blood-tracking dog is a bit of a misnomer. Usually when a dog is called in there is little to no visually blood trail, so the dog must rely on other scent left behind by the deer including the interdigital scent gland found between the deer’s hooves. It is very important to stay off of the scent trail, grid searching prior to the dog’s arrival, especially with several buddies, can create multiple false scent trails as well as degrade the scent trail. Place markers from the shot site to last known blood to help the handler guide the dog on the correct deer to follow. Do not grid search! If a dog is coming, wait for the dog to maximize the odds of recovery. An experienced well-trained dog can recover deer 24-40 hours after the shot. Once a track reaches approximately 40-60 hours old, it will become difficult for most dogs. Rain and snow under three inches is seldom a problem.

Educate Yourself
It has been found that research, outreach, and hunter education is important in reducing wounding rates. If you have questions or want to learn more information, there is an Iowa based group that helps connect trackers with hunters, the Blood Trackers Group. For additional information check out the Iowa Blood Trackers Facebook page or the United Blood Trackers website. They promote and teach wordsmanship skills, and throughout the year, there are field days, and they provide additional resources.
Have a great hunting season!