Tracking Wounded Deer: How to Find and Tag Deer Shot With Bow or Gun

Any hunter who respects the animals he or she hunts, should read this book. All the detail you need is there, pictures are good (could be clearer) and all this with interesting details of many hunts.All this in a package that is easy to read without being long, clearly laid out.My only criticism is that I would like a table at the back of the book that I could copy and take with me in the field that lays out sign by type (hair type or blood colour) and probable injury with suggested wait time.I have picked this book up over 10 times last season to re-read sections and expect to do the same again this season.

This book is a must read for anyone who has hunted or considered hunting whitetails. It is filled with exceptional detail and photographs to assist with recovering wounded deer. Hats off to Richard Smith and the people who assisted him with the production of this book. I feel he has done a great justice to the deer and deer hunter by writing this outstanding reference.

Tracking wounded deer will put more deer in your freezer. If you hunt hard and put yourself in a positon to make a shot on a deer and loose the animal, nothing is more of a let down. There are so many variables involved in the hunt, the odds of making a marginal shot with a bow or gun is always there. I have been owning this book for so long, I can't remember where I bought it. I read it over every year and have loaned it to and insisted that hunting buddies read it. To me the trailing of a hit animal is only second excitement wise to making the shot. If you hunt long enough, at some point there will be a tough tracking job. When you come across this tough job and have read this book, you will surprise yourself at how much you see besides the obvious. The book starts off with hit or miss determination. Reading of the blood condition and color as well as hair type which is critical when starting the blood trail. This book will show in great detail the blood from different hits and what I have found to be an incredible asset, a color photo with hair from 12 seperate areas on a deer. Plenty trails start without blood and hair is your only clue. Next the author discusses vital or mortal wounds and how to go about approaching the trail based on your determination of the hit. Next Mr. Smith covers nonfatal hits, string trackers and tracking with dogs. Also the last two chapters cover mistaken impressions such as hitting the wrong deer or even two deer and other such instances,and the final chapter deals with stories involving finding deer shot by other hunters. The book closes with a Bibliography and a very helpful index. The Photos in this book are incredible and there is even an actual deer carcas with a cut away view of internal organs. This along with the actual blood trails and recovered deer will amaze you. From a personal stand point, this book has made the difference of a sad story of a lost deer and putting meat in the freezer after a tough tracking job. Not just for me but for many of my friends that I have helped. This book WILL make you better at recovering your deer. It will also get you invited on many tracking jobs because of your skill in tracking. I have pictures of a 10 point that I shot in 1996 and I put the book in the picture because I found this animal because I learned what to look for from TRACKING WOUNDED DEER.It was 8:15 A.M. and I made a broadside shot with my 30-06 at about 100 yards from about 45-50 feet in a tree. At the time I didn't know, but I had just clipped the paunch side of the liver and the exit was through the paunch. There was no blood, but there were loads of hair and it may sound funny, but several stunned ticks on the ground where the hair was. After collecting the hair and sneaking off back to my camp, I was able to determine where the hit was from the photo of the hair in my book. My concern with no blood and tons of hair was that I had made a flesh wound and knocked off some hair. From the photo in the

This book is a must read for any novice or expert whitetail hunter. Richard clearly describes the steps you should take to track your deer for several different shot scenarios, and color illustrations are included. Well worth the money, this book will help you find your next deer.

Richard Smith really covers all aspects of tracking wounded deer, with great photo's to boot! You will definitely learn from this book.