After shot procedure?

[robb92]

Good topic and good info. This fall I helped the other guy who hunts out where I do track a buck he shot, it was a quartering away shot and he hit the buck through the liver and clipped the left lung with a pass through, he found the arrow and the was blood but not enough to identify a good clean shot, there were not guts on it, I had just got off work still in my uniform, grabbed my bow, and hutning pack took my BDU top off and helped him track it, I found the blood trail about 20 yards from where the shot was, not a lot just a couple of drops and so I went and started marking the trail with hot pink tape and that buck ran almost 150 yards with a clipped lung and a good size hole in the liver, found it after about 2 hours of looking for it.

[huntnphool]

Some very good info guys. I have to agree on the liver shots, I have seen several friends hit critters like this and the blood is always very dark.

 Like bow4elk pointed out, I use the brightest nocks and fletching I can find so as to be able to see them when contrasted against a critters body.

 As you all know I hit this moose right before dark. As soon as I watched the arrow hit he bolted strait away and around a bunch of trees until he was out of site, I consciously listened as carefully and aware as I could, trying to make the best of the senses that were still available. I waited about 5 minutes before going to the spot he was standing while I could still see in the little light that was left. I marked the spot and started following in the direction he took off in and soon found a couple drops of blood which I marked. Afterr going a few yards more I heard a noise and looked up to see him looking back over his shoulder at me, he bolted again. Now dark M-Ray and I decided it was best to leave him and come back the next morning.

 As you know that was a very good decision, we found him the next morning having bedded down and expired in his bed.

 You can still see the fletching behind the shoulder, the arrow is intact.

[PA BEN]

This is all good info, but one thing I haven't heard is blood trailing at night. Some time the shot well come at the last light. You make the shot, and go look to soon because it gets dark, and jump your animal. This is the biggest mustack a bow hunter can make. When I first started bow hunting I read a book by Fred Bear. (I hope the young bucks know who Fred Bear is) He said use a colman lantern, you tip it down and the blood glows. I spent hours on hands and knees crowing across a wheat stubble field with a colman lantern finding drop after drop of blood. I also use a 1,000,000 candle power spot light, you can look for the animal's eye's, there open and well glow. I haven't used one of the new blood trailing lights yet. Maybe someone can give there input on them.

[Hoytstaffshooter83]

I have a gerber bloodlight and personally i dont think it is that much better then the bright light it has as well, if you shoot a animal at last light I always wait at least an hour before even looking for my arrow.. then decide what to do according to what I find, I have tracked quite a few in the dark, I hate it but it happens ALOT..... and I do know who fred bear is    I have read a book or two by the man as well.