What is your Acceptable Wound Ratio when hunting?

[Harve Curry]

If I wound one I can't justify hunting another.

I really don't feel right if the animal gets away, I blew the shot, after tracking for 2-3 days the animal gets away, I figure I'm done.
That happened to me once in the late 1980's when a large buck Coues deer was at a watering hole. I was packing out on the last day, my rifle was stowed away, I shot him with a Colt 44spl handload that came with the gun at 20-25 yards and saw the 275gr bullet cave in the side of his chest, the dust flew off his coat, and he went down. I dismounted to finish him and thats when he got up and ran into a mesquite bosque. I never saw any blood and lost his trail the next day.

What is your Acceptable Wound Ratio when hunting?

 

[Art Eatman]

I've only lost two deer that I wounded, but each time I was hard to live with. I didn't quit hunting, but my attitude was definitely different.

On one, I still don't see how that buck wasn't within a short distance. I saw the bullet's strike, right where I had intended. My father and I tracked and searched for a long time.

The other, I pulled slightly low and broke a foreleg instead of punching into the chest. (Quartering frontal shot.) I thought I'd killed him; slung my rifle and walked toward him. He jumped and ran. I got the crosshairs almost on him, but instead of deer I had the settting sun at 4X.

Art

 

[22-rimfire]

Acceptable wound ratio: zero

I wounded one deer that stopped bleeding when I tracked him. I believe it was a very shallow wound (as in the bullet exploded onto him... shot through a 4" maple tree that I didn't see.) I felt pretty bad about it and really didn't have much desire to continue hunting (but I did reluctantly). Figured my opportunity was provided and I failed.

 

[mete]

Zero. The imporant things are picking the right cartridge , right bullet, practice, knowing your limitations as far as distance , and having the disipline to pass up a shot that you're not sure of. That will minimize the lost deer.

 

[killzone]

Deep penetration

For deer use at least .270 and and don.t forget about your bullet velocity ,,, When I'm hunting I tent to pay attention that my bullet will be traveling at or over 1000 fps. Using prem. rounds will aid you making that kill ethical and no gilt.

 

[Northslope Nimrod]

I've lost two deer in all my years of hunting. I've never lost an elk. I nearly gave up on a cow one year but then luckily stumbled into her over 1/2 mile away. I had long lost her blood trail and tracks. I was very relieved.
However, if I wound an animal, I do continue to hunt. I re-play the scenario over and over...thinking what I could have done better.
If I hit one with my truck on the way, do I then decide not to hunt? Better for me to take a deer, use it properly than many other hunters I see proudly displaying their trophy in the back of a pick up truck parked at the local gas station for two hours in the hot sun.....ruined.
Two years ago, my meat cutter turned away five dead elk because the hunters had not properly cared for them and they spoiled. NOW that really irks me.
On the subject of wounding animals, especially elk, I strongly believe in shooting them again...and again...and again if needed...until they are down. Then I NEVER leave them until the throat is cut. Last year, I shot my elk 4 times & never ruined an ounce of meat. I shot a spike years ago 7 times and my first shot was the only one that ruined any meat. (I hit him high in the back). I shoot a 30-06 with 180 grain.
A buddy recently lost the biggest bull he's ever shot. Would score low to mid 300's. He shot it with a bow and watched it for one to two hours (I forget) then left to get his buddies. He returned and the elk had left.... He lost it.
He should have known better than to leave it without cutting the throat.

 

[Lennyjoe]

Only lost 1 so far. High shot with a bow on a doe at 30 yds. Stupid me got impatient and got out of the stand about 15 minutes after the shot. Walked another 30yds from the shot location and kicked her up with the other 3 does she was with. Ran off and never found her. She cut thru a swamp and I lost the blood trail. I walked circles around that area for hours on end.

Found the remains a week later tracking another deer a buddy shot from the same stand. She was about 350 yds away on the other side of the swamp.

 

[TrapperReady]

Ideally? Zero.

Realistically? I don't know. I'm new to deer hunting, but I've lost birds on occasion. I hate it... and I will look for a long, long time before giving up, but it's part of the game.

I've dropped doves in heavy undergrowth, and never found them, despite using a dog. I've hit pheasants hard, only to have them sail off into the distance... onto adjacent property which I don't have permission to hunt on. It's aggravating and a waste, and I try my very best to ensure it doesn't happen. I also try to learn from these experiences to try to prevent them in the future.

I figure if I've:

1) Become proficient with my chosen weapon (shotgun, pistol, rifle or bow).
2) Passed up out-of-range/unfavorable shots.
3) Diligently searched for the game.

Then I've fulfilled my part of the deal. In the past week, I had a doe in my sights, within range and fully broadside. However, the lighting conditions were just a bit off and I couldn't make out my sight pin exactly. I passed, and felt good about it. But, there are a lot of variables when you are using a bow to shoot deer. You can hold perfectly, and have the deer duck or jump at the shot. A good friend who is the antithesis of a slob hunter put an arrow high into a deer last year. He tried tracking it for 2 1/2 days, but never found it. It can happen.

Hunt long enough and a shot may go bad. Heck, watch one of the cable TV hunting shows and see how often they miss completely. It's funny that I've NEVER seen a show where they get a marginal hit and can't find the animal... but they frequently miss completely. Do you think some of that footage may end up in the trash bin?

I guess in my rambling way that I'm trying to say that I'm human, and therefore imperfect. It's not realistic to demand or expect perfection... but I can demand that I do the best I can.

 

[WayneConrad]

It's funny that I've NEVER seen a show where they get a marginal hit and can't find the animal... but they frequently miss completely. Do you think some of that footage may end up in the trash bin?

I saw one such hunt on a cable TV show. The deer ran and they lost it in thick brush. The hunter called in a local tracker with hounds to find the deer. They did find it. I don't know hunting, but I did like seeing them go the extra mile to find it.

 

[Harve Curry]

NorthSlopeNimrod said alot here;
QUOTE: "especially elk, I strongly believe in shooting them again...and again...and again if needed...until they are down. Then I NEVER leave them until the throat is cut."

That is real good advice. I have seen that same error done more times then I care to remember, bow hunters are bad at that and arrows are the cause of most wounded Elk, four that I know of this week and two of them found a few days later.

New Mexico it's against the law to use dogs to search for wounded or downed game, also unlawful for anyone but the hunter to finish off a wounded animal.

 

[Byron Quick]

I've wounded three that I could not find. One shot at 30 yards with a .300 WinMag. The knob of his front shoulder bone was lying on the ground. I got down too soon, jumped him up, and lost the blood trail after about a quarter of a mile. Lessons learned: when the deer is already aware of you for sure, then don't shoot. There's too much of a chance they'll zig and you'll hit in a manner that is not quickly fatal. Wait for twenty minutes or so for a wounded deer to lie down, stiffen up, and bleed out.

Two: Shot a doe in a beaver swamp at 75 yards. Watched her for fifteen minutes. No movement. My Marlin 336 had jammed when I tried to load another round. To the point of needing tools to clear. I jacked the climber down the tree. Still no movement. I walked up to the deer with my useless rifle and watched as she bounded up and away through the beaver swamp. Dinner plate patch of hair knocked loose on the ground where she was lying. I never spotted the first drop of blood. Searched that beaver swamp in 16 degree weather for six hours. Lessons learned. When you start having problems with a rifle, get it fixed for sure not for maybe. Carry a good multitool. Carry an adequate handgun just in case your rifle messes up just after you wound a deer with it.

Good hit on a good sized doe at about 220 yards. Watched her run and fall. She fell about 80 yards from a friend of mine who watched from his stand. Waist high broomsage. We never saw that deer again nor any blood except where she was standing when shot. Don't know what to say about that one. We still don't know where she went or how. She would have had to low crawl to get from where she was without Doug seeing her.

Two seasons ago, John Shirley shot a 10 point just before dark. Deer was trotting on a trail. John had about two seconds to shoot through a gap in the bushes. He hit a tad back with a 12 guage slug. The slug entered the bucks abdomen just behing the diaphragm, burst the diaprhragm, and exited the short ribs on the far side. Buck ran. John sat in the stand for thirty minutes. It was full dark when he came down. He was looking for sign and thought he had heard the deer down in the swamp...ninety degrees off the trail the deer was on. I helped him look down there with lights but I was skeptical. I told him that I had seen exactly one wounded deer that did not run by the easiest route when not pursued. I believed that the deer would have stayed on the trail and gone out into a open pine thicket.

There was a hunting club a few miles away that had a tracking dog. We asked for help. They asked if it was a big buck We said yes. They asked if there was blood on the ground. We said yes. They said let's go. They took an eighteen month old beagle on about a twelve foot lead to the blood. He bayed and started trotting. Straight to the buck, four hundred yards away. On the line that I thought he would be on. Sucker ran another quarter mile before he fell down. It took three 10 mm bullets in the center of his neck before he stopped trying to get up.

If you wound a deer; a trained beagle can find it. From what I've been told, the training for a tracking dog is not that difficult.

John's ten point.

 

[sumpnz]

If you wound a deer; a trained beagle can find it. From what I've been told, the training for a tracking dog is not that difficult.

Beagles sure have one heck of a nose. We had a beagle/daschund mix growing up. He didn't need much training to track almost anything in the area. Never tried him on deer since dad was a non-hunter (mom's boarderline anti-hunting - last year as I was getting ready to go deer hunting she she wished the deer good-luck).

Maybe this will help me convince my wife to get a small dog like a beagle next fall, or whenever we get one. At least if its legal to use one to track wounded animals in AZ.

Edit: AZ G&F regs state:

A.R.S. 17-309
Violations; Classifications
A. Unless otherwise prescribed by this title, it is unlawful for
a person to:
1. Violate any provisions of this title or a rule or regulation
prescribed under the provisions of this title.
.
.
.
6. Take big game, except bear or mountain lion, with the
aid of dogs.
.
.
.

So, does "aid" include using a dog to track a wounded elk/deer so long as that was the entire extent of the dog's involvement in the hunt? i.e. The dog was not used to drive, track, or locate the animal in any way prior to it being shot.

 

[Polishrifleman]

It's amazing how many people that don't hunt or are first timers don't understand the possibilities of having to go after a wounded animal. The first deer I took (buck fever) was a bad shot to the front shoulder area at about 7am, found bone, blood etc... but no deer. After 3 hrs went back feeling really bad. Went out again early evening and the birds helped me find it. Luckily it didn't get above 30 degrees and they had barley touched it.

 

[Byron Quick]

You might want to talk with AZ Fish & Game people.

You can only hunt with dogs in certain areas in Georgia. But you use a free ranging pack to hunt deer. You use one beagle on a long lead to track wounded deer. Apparently, game wardens around here can differentiate betwixt the two. Still, game wardens in AZ might not care to go to the bother of differentation and just write you a ticket. Check. They should appreciate you going to the trouble of just about negating the chance of a lost, wounded animal.

 

[Oldnamvet]

To date "zero". All deer shot went down within a few feet. I have to say though that I like the hunting more than the shooting and have passed up a lot of deer that I didn't think were "perfect" opportunities. All shot between 50 and 130 yds using a rest.

 

[scout26]

Illinois just changed the rules this year. Previously using dogs for any purpose while hunting deer was strickly verbotten. There must have been a lot of wounded deer the past year or so, because this year you can use dogs but only to track wounded deer.

Never lost one myself, but I've helped other people search for deer that we never found.

What I've found that helps is when you get to the end of the blood trail, start walking in circles with the last blood spot as the center of the circle. Make each circle just a little larger (2-5 ft) then the previous circle. You should either pickup the blood trail again or find a dead/dying deer. Seems that they run out of blood but still keep walking or the wound closes up enough to stop bleeding. Found a few deer that way.

The key though is taking only good clean ethical shots. The acceptable standard for wounding deer ratio is 0.