How skilled are you at tracking?

[popeye]

After reading some of the other threads on hunting, what cartridge is enough and how far have you killed an animal, It has me wondering how comfortable do you feel with your tracking and recovery skills?
I personally have not killed anything other than a prairie dog further than 400 yards and I am impressed with others that post amazingly long kills. I grew up in the Ozarks where most shots are 200 yards or less but I've killed a couple of coyotes at just under 400 yards. I strive to only take one shot kills on whatever I am hunting, but sometimes Murphy is in the rucksack and your left looking at a blood trail. If you have found yourself in that situation how skilled are you at blood trails or tracking your quarry?

 

[Bobby Bailey]

Very good, and I taught my son, and now my grandson to do as well.
Attention to detail.
We never kill a deer that we don't tract backwards to the point of empact.
Even when we can see where it is, we still track it. It hones skills.

 

[Turpentine21]

After reading some of the other threads on hunting, what cartridge is enough and how far have you killed an animal, It has me wondering how comfortable do you feel with your tracking and recovery skills?
I personally have not killed anything other than a prairie dog further than 400 yards and I am impressed with others that post amazingly long kills. I grew up in the Ozarks where most shots are 200 yards or less but I've killed a couple of coyotes at just under 400 yards. I strive to only take one shot kills on whatever I am hunting, but sometimes Murphy is in the rucksack and your left looking at a blood trail. If you have found yourself in that situation how skilled are you at blood trails or tracking your quarry?

I used to be very good. Until I started loosing my ability to see real well in the red spectrum. I can't see the pen drops of blood as well. Another reason I shoot shoulder shots. I rely more on a tracking dog now if I need to track

 

[popeye]

Very good, and I taught my son, and now my grandson to do as well.
Attention to detail.
We never kill a deer that we don't tract backwards to the point of empact.
Even when we can see where it is, we still track it. It hones skills.

I do this as well when teaching my sons and grandson to hunt. I think too many hunters think they more skilled at shooting than they actually are, resulting in wounded lost animals.

 

[Ckgworks]

I hesitate to say Im "good" at it, but Archery hunting has taught me much about tracking and has helped me find rifle kills that have made me wonder if they would have been wrote off as a miss, or bullet failure. I have been surprised sometimes how little blood a rifle kill produces initially and tracking without blood for some distance is sometimes required. What I have learned is that each time is different, nothing is standard and like others said you can learn alot by back tracking. I've tracked with others that make me feel like a child

 

[xsn10s]

I'd say I'm okay. I mostly only get to hunt coyotes and badgers in the sage brush these days, if I'm lucky. Last coyote I tracked to was only 458 yards away. I didn't have a compass with me so I walked across the desert to get to it. I couldn't keep line of sight with it because I needed to scan for rattlesnakes and scorpions the whole way. I walked up to the wrong sage brush, they all look the same lol. So I started circling the spot until I came to the impact site. Then I followed the tracks and blood for 20 yards. I guess I could of used my phone to shoot an azimuth to the coyote.

 

[Greatgrandad]

After reading some of the other threads on hunting, what cartridge is enough and how far have you killed an animal, It has me wondering how comfortable do you feel with your tracking and recovery skills?
I personally have not killed anything other than a prairie dog further than 400 yards and I am impressed with others that post amazingly long kills. I grew up in the Ozarks where most shots are 200 yards or less but I've killed a couple of coyotes at just under 400 yards. I strive to only take one shot kills on whatever I am hunting, but sometimes Murphy is in the rucksack and your left looking at a blood trail. If you have found yourself in that situation how skilled are you at blood trails or tracking your quarry?

If one never desires, learns, develops and practices shooting/hunting at LR/ELR, then one never becomes an LR/ELR shooter/hunter.

As for tracking a wounded animal, I don't correlate that with LR/ELR hunting, for we too strive to make those kills with one shot. I have seen FAR more wounded game by people who shoot much less distances, and often, well under 200yds with most under 100yds.

As for tracking, personally, I began as a youth living on the farm/ranch and in the country. Then as a teen, I began reading various books and magazine articles, some by Native Americans, on tracking most everything, and I would put that knowledge into routine practice in my trapping, hunting, snaring, etc. If one learns to be observant, one quickly learns most everything leaves a trail of some type. If one struggles to track wounded game, then pick up a couple of books on tracking, read articles online by real trackers, or take a course or two on tracking. Then practice, practice, practice.

 

[Bitteroot]

I'm not very good following tiny blood trails or tracks in hard ground.

I'll concede to the pro's or my mentor.

 

[LRNut]

Having hunted in Africa a lot, I would say I have yet to see a North American hunter who can track. Following blood trails is not my definition of tracking. Last fall I was once again amazed at how our trackers could find tracks of a buffalo. Until you have seen it, you would never believe it.

 

[Greatgrandad]

One book I always loved from decades ago. While not an indepth teaching on tracking, it is a composite of a few of his best tracking adventures and reveals just what a good tracker can do.

Just one of several decent books on tracking from years back, but there are several newer and decent ones out there.

 

[Recon$$]

Having hunted in Africa a lot, I would say I have yet to see a North American hunter who can track. Following blood trails is not my definition of tracking. Last fall I was once again amazed at how our trackers could find tracks of a buffalo. Until you have seen it, you would never believe it.

I shot a wildebeest that stopped bleeding (hit front right shoulder facing me) after a 100 yards. The tracker, took us on a 2-3 hour track and located him 4 miles away by his tracks. He explained as a kid and goat herder, he was able to memorize each goats separate track and could see the nuances of each animals tracks. It was wild, and I'm sure the most impressive track job I'll ever witness.

 

[dwightb]

You learn to track when you are very young. Walking every where bare footed! You learn to be observant where you put your feet! Then its just constant practice. Those guys in Africa have the beginning, develop the skill and constant practice. I have tracked a few hard ones!

 

[jseandsje]

I've done a lot of tracking, because we always shoot vitals. Sometimes they run sometime they don't.
If you can track, you never have to worry about lack of blood trail

 

[xsn10s]

Well I've tracked bobcats, albeit it was in the snow. Tracked two of them for a few hours until I figured out they circle around and were back tracking me. Right then my sling decided to break and send my rifle muzzle first into the snow. I worked feverishly to clear the muzzle. After that I always carried two firearms.