Finding Wounded Deer Is Very Simple

Below is a discussion thread amoung deer hunters and note that the point is made that the solution is simple: get a dog - any dog!

Most people who are shopping for a blood dog fail to understand how simple it is for a dog to find down and wounded deer.

In my opinion, many people have a good blood dog at home, and have never given it a chance to help them find a deer. We see the world, dogs smell the world. This applies to lap puppies or working dogs like a Catahoula.

I am realizing most people who call me who are shopping for a blood dog are convinced that it is hard for a dog to be a blood dog and are completely inexperienced as to how simple and effective it is to find down deer with a dog.

Read the discussion thread below.

Thu Nov 26, 2009 9:58 am
sunday evening shot a nice buck at maybe 80 yards, found white hair and a fair amout of blood about what would be in a cup of coffee , about every 20 feet. after about 60 yards of tracking the blood started to be spots of blood eventually turning into nothing. my question is from some of your experiences where do you think the shot hit him i was aiming at the left shoulder . and did find a small amount of white hair. im sick about it


Sun Nov 29, 2009 1:13 pm
I was hoping someone else would chime in on this one.
I tend to think you may have hit the deer very low and the blood coagulated (SP?). That could explain the white hair and disappearing blood trail.
I'm sure deer have survived worse injuries, but I also understand you being upset.


Sun Nov 29, 2009 8:02 pm
I agree with you Brian .... white hair usually indicates a low hit. There's no white hair anywhere you prefer to aim for. Fat deposits can seal off bleeding and most deer should be really healthy this time of year. You can hope he survived and the next time will leave you with the desired result. Good luck!!!


Mon Nov 30, 2009 12:56 am
I have shot and produced white hair and blood at least five or six times over the years, mostly from misjudging the distance and once because my trigger pull was heavy, forcing me to pull low.
I recovered deer every time but once, and on that occasion I should have killed the buck in our sixth hour of searching when we jumped him out of a bedding spot and I threw the gun up on him at 20 yards only to find I had not powered down my scope from the 300 yard shot. He stood up through the scope and ran off, swam a creek and got away. We saw that the buck had been grazed across the front of his breast and the wound was not bad.
From that story, you know I am thorough. I will search for hours and even days (next morning) if I know I made a good hit.
A low shot that gets hair, if shot from the ground or a shooting house on the ground, can get the heart and yes, if the exit wound is small from lack of bone expanding a bullet, fat can seal the hole.
The answer is get a dog. Find a dog, whether trained or not, and put it on the scent trail. I saw a lap dog (no, not a Lab) one time find a buck that had left hair and blood and then run 400 yards in wet woods before falling over dead. I'm a firm believer in every camp having at least one good dog capable of trailing.


catahoula1 on Thu Feb 25, 2010 4:47 pm
I am glad to see Bobby comment about any dog trained or not having the ability to find a downed deer. Many times I have brought in a new dog young or old, with no experience, who does a fine job at locating a dead or wounded deer. There appears to be a great deal of negative assumptions regarding the effectivness of dogs that have no prior experience with finding deer.
Many times the dogs I have used were totally green at blood trailing and crossed water or at least led us to the lake, where we then got into the boat and found the deer floating offshore a hundred yards or so from land. Because we hunt in areas often surrounded by water in south Louisiana, it is near impossible to follow blood across a swamp without dogs. I hope to dispel the myth that there are not many good blood trail dogs for sale. You can visit my site at www.bloodtraildogs.com if you are interesting in purchasing one of mine. I am a breeder and trainer of Catahoulas for hunting and trailing