Longest tracking job

What has been the the longest you have been on a blood trail? I have trailed one for probably a mile and a half before having to put one down. I will never forget the experience. Took 6 hours. Went from good blood, to needle drops, but sealed the deal.

I tracked a buck for 1,150 yards one time according to google earth. Had to get permission from 3 different landowners. Never recovered the deer and none of the landowners ever did either to my knowledge. He had blood running down his front leg. And a lot of it. I followed that bloody track until I lost it in tall grass on a power line. Never jumped him up either.

Not my deer but I was on a track with a dog that went like 1.69 miles.' Funny thing is he just ran big circles. maybe cause one of his legs was broke he could only turn one way lol. He stayed on about the same 200 acres and crossed the same paved county road 3 times.

About 2 miles and 6ish hours of good blood..Don't know how the hell that deer was still going but he was and I never found him.I watched him lay down for a few minutes and it looked like you had poured 5 gallons of blood out where he layed.Blood would get spotty at times but for the most part it was a good blood trail.Tough animals for sure.He was a big one too.Still makes me sick to think about it.

What was the distance IdahoMike and Lucy tracked that buck for Matt Brock? Seems like it was 5 miles or something like that.

I bet a deer could go a mile in 2-3 minutes so these numbers aren't surprising.

Not all, but many of the deer that go long distances are being pushed by the hunters. Deer that are hit hard will bed up quickly if you leave them alone.

1.3 miles is what Google Earth showed . What looked like good blood on the Arrow. Didn't start tracking until 2 hrs after the shot. Didn't loose blood it started down into the canyon at Little River. He never laid down.

Me and CNC tracked a good buck I shot last year for close to a mile I believe. High shoulder. Deer wasn't found and is probably alive today.

Years ago we dog hunted around Clayton. A younger guy shot a good buck and had a good blood trail where he crossed the road and he was wanting a dog to help trail. I had a dang good bluetick that was a bit crazy and I told the boy he could use him, as far as I know the dog had never been on a lead before. I put a 10' leather lead on him and we waited around for a long time, but he didn't show back up. They started driving the roads and finally found the boy on another highway almost to Clayton. He was leaving a blood trail from the briars about better than the deer was. They didn't find the deer, but he never turned the lead loose. i kinda felt sorry for him.

It’s really a little bit apples and oranges to compare dog versus human in this discussion. Not every track…..but with a good scent line and good conditions a dog could follow one as far as you want to go. Me and another hunter jumped a leg shot deer last year at the 400 yard mark and followed it in circles for close to 5 miles until it finally went over onto the neighbors. Given the room though, you could have taken that one 10 miles if that’s what you wanted to do…..or until either you, the dog, or the deer finally wear out.

Many hunters are doing the same thing. They just don’t know the deer is right out in front of them and they’re pushing the deer along like a beagle would. This is not meant to call anyone here out cause I hear it all the time when I go to track for folks. You’ll hear…..”But I gave it PLENTY of time before I tracked it. It was close to 2 hrs later!”…..Two hours is not long at all in these type situations. Assuming here that any of the deer we’re talking about on this thread weren’t smoked.....marginally hit deer......in which case, 2 hours ain’t much different than 2 minutes.

One of the last tracks I went on last year was a prime example of what deer often do on marginal shots. The hunter gut shot the buck really low with a bow and instead of tracking it…..he immediately backed out and called me for advice on how to proceed. I told him to give it until the next day and we’d go find it. When we tracked the deer we found where he bedded up at only 100 yards from the hit site and likely laid there for several hours at a minimum. It was long enough to leave a well-defined bed impression. From there the buck got up and moved another 200 yards before bedding again where we found him. That deer went a total of 300 yards but it could have very well been one that went 2 miles. The difference between the two is in the hunter’s approach to recovery.

A little less than 3/4 of a mile. This really surprised me. I went to Google Maps and measured it. I was sure it would have been at least 2 miles. Never found the deer. I stuck him with an arrow and watched him stand by the creek bed for ten minutes. I assumed I had missed. When I got down at dark I spooked him and he ran off. I immediately found blood and walked to the creek to see where he was standing. There was at least a half gallon of blood on the ground where he was standing. If I would have waited 10 more minutes to get down he would have fallen out. Eventually I learned my lesson on waiting to get down after the shot. It took 15 years.

Tracked one almost in a straight line from 4:30 pm to 6:30 am. Never found the deer was a shoulder blade shot with slick trick broadhead. Found a good bit of blood though. Had to say it was atleast a 2 mile track until we quit

Matts deer went 3.2 miles by GPS and was still alive 8 hours after the shot. The longest track job and best dog work I've ever seen by far.

Shot broad side through the brisket ?

I started tracking one in 1992 and still haven't found him.

Dang, I think that was the same year I shot one I been looking for since. It was the only deer I ever lost with my 7x30 Contender and he was the biggest buck I've ever seen on my place.

He was chasing a doe the day after Thanksgiving, and stopped facing me at 50 yards. His knees buckled at the shot, but he didn't fall. He ran off hard and I expected to find him within 100 yds, but I didn't. Not surprising that there was no blood trail; the gun didn't have the power to shoot the bullet the full length of him and get an exit.

I finally found blood 1/4 mile away where he crossed the road, and did at least have sense enough to back out and leave him for 2 hours. I would have waited longer, but it was nearly 80 degrees and I thought he was dead and the meat was spoiling.

I had a good blood trail after he crossed the road, and jumped him in about 200 yds. If I'd had a brain in my head I'd have waited 8 hrs to follow again, but I didn't. Jumped him again after another 200 yds and never found another drop of blood and never saw him again. It still makes me sick to think about it. By far the worst blunder of my deer hunting career.

Only thing I can imagine.

That sounds rough. Maybe some of us can learn from your experience.

My dog Annie took one 5 miles as the crow flies one night across a big club and plantation. Crossed a river.Half way in I turned her loose to bay and she did once but he broke. A new fence on the back side of a huge cow pasture stopped her and we left and returned the next day to track 65 more yards and find the deer dead. This year I tracked one with his tongue shot out (his whole tongue was on the ground) for four miles. I couldn't turn my dog, Reba, loose to bay him because of a 4 lane and railroad. Relayed my friend's dog in on lead and he took it another 4 miles. Never got that one because we couldn't turn the dog loose.
Forgot to add that Annie was 11 years old when she did this and there was a write up and picture of it in GON magazine.