If you want to improve your tracking skills, come prepared to track. You will need a roll of fluorescent flagging tape, a compass, a headlight, a field notebook, and a plan. After the shot, take a compass bearing on where you saw the deer when you shot it, and where you last saw it. Write those bearings down in your waterproof field notebook. When you come down, flag your stand tree high enough to see over the underbrush. Now you can walk a line to the kill site to look for blood and hair. If you find any, start tracking. If you dont, then walk the other line to where you last saw the deer. Look for blood or overturned leaves. Remember that a running deer can cover a lot of ground in a few seconds, so even heavy blood and tracks may be in spurts that are yards apart. Flag each blood spot or leaf disturbance. Be sure to look for blood on trees, bushes, and tall grass up to deer shoulder height Once you have a line of flagging established, the next spots are most likely down that line. If they disappear, look for a turnoff. Because my buddies always seem to be aimless wanderers, I do not involve them except for a last resort grid search. And if all else fails and you call the dog, at least it will only have to deal with the confused trampling of one hunter.

When I shoot a deer that falls within sight, I practice doing all those things to see if my tracking will take me to the deer. I look at the deer's wound and try to associate it with the blood and track pattern. The more you can learn, the better you get. You learn how deer react to different shot placements. You learn the value of patience and persistence. Most of all, you learn to trust your own abilities.