30-06 behind the shoulder with a 150 gr is my choice…….If you’re gonna miss….miss somewhere behind the front legs

cnc , pictures shows what i was saying about shooting down . those guys were aiming as if they were on the ground and deer broad side . if they had aimed a little higher and a little back theyd never called you .

as i just posted , if youre higher up a tree you need to aim a little higher too. ive seen guys get 45 0r 50 foot up a tree and just blow off one leg or just skim the rib cage .

CNC

Serious question and I am tagging on here as you seem to want this to keep going. I often see you reply on here to wait until tomorrow. No doubt it’s neat for me to see a 24-48 hour track on Aldeer. On that note though I see a lot of deer already eaten by yotes or too old for the meat to be good. So while it does increase the likelihood of finding horns, is the sacrifice of the meat worth it to wait 24 hours? I know other trackers that wait four and go in even on gunshot deer. Is it because you track for a lot of high end clientele who only care about the horns?

That’s the conundrum you face with every call……The longer you wait the tougher it can be to track and the more you run the risk of coyotes eating them or running them way, way off somewhere……Go in early and you’re more likely to be dealing with a deer that’s still alive. If I can determine fairly sure that it’s a gut shot I’ll typically give it overnight unless circumstances prevent it…..If its something that’s questionable what we might be dealing with….I’ll present the two options to the hunter of waiting or going in and we’ll kind make the decision together. It’s usually much easier to locate the deer if you just go ahead and go in within a few hours while things are fresh.

Thanks for the reply. Not trying to pin you down just was wondering what sets the priority.

I’ll tell you another conundrum that you have to factor in…..Over the years I’ve gotten pretty good at being able to take the information I’m given and assess what’s happened and where the deer is likely hit…..The problem though is that there’s a bunch of times where the information I’m being given is “bad intel” and almost 100% of the time the hunter is getting at least a portion of the story wrong. I’ve been told the deer ran off toting his right front leg and he end up being shot in the ass. You try to do your best to assess things but a lot of times you just don’t know what you’re dealing with until you find it.

So you get to factoring in all of these things and at the end of the day you kinda come to conclusion that you’re just about as well off to go ahead and go in after a few hours and find some of them dead and finish off what you can rather than ALWAYS wait…….unless like I said, you feel very confident it’s a gut shot. That’s why some guys do it that way……That’s about the same mindset I have now too…..Chit happens sometimes because of going in early but chit happens sometimes when you wait just the same…..Its just the longer you wait the harder you make it on the dog to locate the deer....

I guess I should add something else to that last post…….Keep in mind that for every 10 tracks I go on there’s going to be 4 or 5 of them that are just grazed, flesh wounded, completely missed, etc……..Going in within a few hours makes it a lot easier to assess and determine if its gonna be one of those tracks…..If you go in early and the dog isnt picking up on anything or the track peters out after 100 yards then you know with pretty good confidence that there’s nothing to be found…….

That’s just something else I’m factoring into the equation on going early or waiting. If someone calls me from the afternoon hunt with very little intel to go on….. they didn’t see what happened but found a few spots of blood….yada yada……….then I’d just assume go out there and see what’s what rather than wait……there’s a 50/50 chance its just a graze and if its not we’ll play it by ear as we get into the track......But like I said in the beginning, I try to talk to the hunter and decide on each track individually according to the circumstances

Always aim for the off shoulder. You have to draw a line thru the body cavity like a CSI tech would do. Pretty obvious some people weren't fortunate enough to have dad's and grandads to teach them.

It just didn’t seem right not to make a chart……

You left out shooting them in the guts

Add to the list not checking zero on scope before going in the woods.

I tracked a deer for a guy last year that was using a rifle his dad had. His dad passed away in a wreck with the rifle in the back seat and the guy never checked zero. Got to the deer and I called my dogs off so he could finish it. He shot three times and never touched the deer. I just walked up and knifed him when he ran out of bullets

I can believe that.......Our last track of the year ended about the same way.......The hunter missed him twice, hit him in the top of the hindquarter on the third shot and then blew his back leg off on the fourth.....all at 40 yards broadside with a scope. I'm going back to being the only shooter next year.

That’s horrible.

Or not using proper technique of sighting in a rifle. Also basic fundamentals of bullet placement is critical. I wished I had a dollar for every time I’ve heard just get a bullet in him and you’ll get him.

Sometimes not taking a shot should be part of the equation. Too many think they can get one they that stuff and get him. And those guys usually miss a chip shot too.

A practicing actually scenarios should be part of everyone’s range time.

Or they just do not know how. Like all the people that shoot the gun twice at a pie plate at 25 yards, a hit means they are now a marine sniper. Then there are folks that think they know what they are doing, but just do not understand how the trajectory of a bullet works, and can come up with all kinds of magical ways to "sight in" a rifle. Among my favorites is a guy that sights in rifles to be 3" high at 27 yards. Then can't figure out why he misses. Run the ballistic calculators on that.

I've met people through the years that have bought a bore sighted rifle, never shot it at the range and gone hunting.

Pay attention when you go to a public shooting range and you will see that there is a high percentage of hunters that don't have a clue how to shoot or sight in a rifle.

This is becoming an increasingly troublesome issue for me. No longer are kids honing their shooting skills from a young age on beer or soda cans and sparrows through iron sights on a BB or pellet gun in the backyard. The first gun they shoot is literally a centerfire rifle, often times at live game. Marksmanship is no longer pressed as a skill, and unfortunately, it shows.

A lot of folks have a hard time keeping their composure…… Having to jog 800 yards and then compose yourself to shoot can be tough…..especially if you’re not used to it. …..I’ve learned to slow down about 100 yards out and start easing in and getting control of my breathing. Having the experience of seeing happen over and over helps a bunch to be able to stay calm…..