Here’s a few steps I would suggest doing after the shot if you don’t see the deer go down or hear a definite crash……..Write down some short hand version of them in your own words and then pull them out and force yourself to follow your own directions.


1) Don’t do anything, be still and be quiet for 30 minutes……a REAL 30 minutes too!!

2) Either keep sitting another 30 minutes or ease down and quietly slip out of the area….Don’t start looking for blood!!!! LEAVE THE AREA QUIETLY!

3) Gather yourself and assess the shot in your mind while you wait. Do you already know it was a bad shot?.....If so, then go back to camp and decide how many hours to wait. Did it look like a pretty decent hit? Then after an hour minimum, ease back in very quietly and assess the hit. Don’t go in wide open and ready to go into full fledge tracking mode….you’re just going in to do some initial “recon”. QUIETLY assess the hit site and the first 50 yards or so toward where he ran. If it things don’t look promising then back out and give it another hour or two... or maybe more if need be…..If it looks like a blood bath, then slowly proceed. One big key when you’re doing this is to keep it fresh on your mind that if you hit the deer…..the he is probably still within a few hundred yards of you…..BE QUIET!....and go by yourself to recon. If there’s any question about the shot then just back out and give it time.