Seems like lots of guys are having a hard time with it. Just wondering how confident you are with your own tracking skills. I'd say I'm 8-8.5, but my brother's better at a solid 9.
Share little story too while your at it. One of My best tracking jobs was 3 years ago on a doe my son shot with his bow (first bow kill). I tracked him exactly 100 yards going down hill by kicked-up dirt tracks alone. Did not bleed until I saw the deers eyes shining with my flashlight. I look as much for tracks and up on branches as I do the ground. Lets hear it.
Oh and go slower than slow. I think a lot of it has to do with people not keeping their bearing and direction at night on an evening kill. You gotta go the way the deer's going to find him.

10

You would be......

I found an 8 point that I shot that ran 100 yards and never bled a drop. That was 20 years ago and I shot him past legal shooting light. (by anyones definition of what our state law is)

I tracked him in fairly sandy soil by hoof prints.

Having said that, I am not a very good tracker. In hardwoods, with sparse blood I'm not very good. In pines, I'm much better.

I don't know about a number, but Ive been involved in lots of tough tracks, most were for others. I'm Fairly confident that if the deer is dead more often than not I can find it.

in broad daylight, i'm good, maybe 8.5 or better. blind now from a half hour 'til sundown into dead dark. can't see red then, and contrast is nil, even with good flashlights/headlamps. probably ought not hunt any more after mid-afternoon, unless i'm hunting with someone who's good after dark, like my youngest son; he is a whiz. that's why i got a black mouth cur pup. one of her jobs next season will be deer blood tracking ...

good enough....

10

I'd say a 7-8. My bnl once shot a doe with his bow in the evening. It was early season and we were worried about meat spoiling. She did a huge figure 8 and finally started off the mountain. We were tracking in pitch black crawling on hands and knees. We finally found her about 3 hours later. She was still alive and every time we got close, she would push a little farther. We finally had to abandon the hunt and get her the next mornin.

She was up and down a huge deep hollar and into head high briars and cut over.

I found my sons first deer after about an hour. He didnt bleed a drop until about 30 yards from where he crashed, and i was tracking on overturned leaves and kick marks in the dirt most of the time.

I've only ever been part of two tracks that we didnt find the deer.

Fwiw, and incandescent flashlight is head and shoulders above a LED. The blood is MUCH easier to see.

I won't grade myself but have been on some good tracking jobs been 8-10 years ago my buddy shot what he said was a big buck while bow hunting I am at work that afternoon/night he called me and said I gotta have you so I ask my supervisor and off I go about an hour plus drive get there and another hunting buddy was already there we get the lights and toilet paper to mark last blood one of the toughest tracking jobs I ever been apart of, a drop here and there thru pine thickets on our hands and knees across greenfields and down a large hill heading to a revine I stayed on blood but my two buddies went on a trail instead I found part of the arrow and right before the revine he made a sharp right hand turn and went down a big dip into a gosh awful briar thicket as I went down in the dip and came up there was his big butt I couldn't see his head he had it buried in the thicket I yelled I found him my buddy who shot him comes running and jumps on top of me screaming he pulled the deers head out a beautiful 157 inch buck of a lifetime for a bow kill I was so happy for him I felt like I shot it , don't think the 3 of us slept a wink that night recounting the journey we had been on , to me that's what makes hunting so special the memories you make and enjoy with others .

Same.

that aint a number Fred .

8 by myself 10 with my dog.

Shoot I'm probably like a 3. I've never had a real hard track with my deer but I've had very poor results with other folks deer. I think it's harder if you didn't make the shot.

9.9

Don t have a number but I've never lost one I've shot and helped friends with ones they have shot. Persistance and common sense of injured animals usually will find them for you. I Hope to keep that streak alive.

I've found them crawling on hands and knees finding a drop here and a drop there but I've also found them by figuring out where they wanted to go once they were hit. Knowing the property and where bedding areas, escape cover and water are is as important as tracking by tracks and blood when you have a tough tracking job, IMO.

I ain't worth a crap,color blind and red green is my problem area. Luckily I got a little Beagle that loves helping.

I'm a solid 2/10, being color blind.

this