Post by tuketu on Feb 3, 2016 15:03:20 GMT -4
AFTER THE SHOT
So now what? Your shaking in the tree, you’ve just shot your first bear. Now the questions begin. Was the shot high? Was it Low?
Too far forward or too far back, it all happened so fast. Your mind is racing.
This is where you need to compose yourself … this is critical for the recovery. You need to focus on what the bear did after the shot. Now you wait in your stand to allow the bear to lie down and expire. The last thing you want to do is push a bear that is critically hit to ensure it’s recovery.
As you wait patiently in the stand take the time to reflect on what just happened. This is what should be going through your mind as you wait.
- In what direction did it go? Maybe check a compass bearing.
- How did it act after the shot?
- Was it limping or hunched over?
- Look for landmarks, trees, stumps, fallen logs that the bear ran over, under or around.
- What did you hear and in what direction?
THE RECOVERY:
So now it’s time to recover your harvest. So let’s go directly to the place of contact. This is where you really begin to hone your tracking skills. This is also where your observational skill will be put to the test. In many cases, especially with archery hunters, there may be no evidence of blood or hair at the location of the shot. This is especially true when there is no exit wound. If you have help in tracking you may even need to go back to your stand while your partner stays at the spot where you think the shot was made. Your perspective of things changes drastically when you’re on the ground.
Remember we discussed landmarks … this is where you begin inching your way along the perceived exit route the bear took, looking for signs of torn ground, tracks, freshly broken twigs & branches and blood. This can be a very slow and tedious process and it may be 20 or so yards before you pick up any evidence. Bears are notorious to track as their thick fur absorbs a lot of the blood leaving very little evidence on bushes and high grasses. Many’s the times I have needed to get on hand and knees, looking for specks of blood on leaves and twigs.
Use flagging tape to mark your trail as this will leave you with a good starting point if recovery has to wait or there is impending rain or snow. Always walk to the side of the trail when tracking so as not to disturb any possible evidence. At times you will need to back track to find direction of travel. Two to three trackers is all you really want so as to limit any disturbance to evidence … and the stronger the better … trust me !
tuk
So now what? Your shaking in the tree, you’ve just shot your first bear. Now the questions begin. Was the shot high? Was it Low?
Too far forward or too far back, it all happened so fast. Your mind is racing.
This is where you need to compose yourself … this is critical for the recovery. You need to focus on what the bear did after the shot. Now you wait in your stand to allow the bear to lie down and expire. The last thing you want to do is push a bear that is critically hit to ensure it’s recovery.
As you wait patiently in the stand take the time to reflect on what just happened. This is what should be going through your mind as you wait.
- In what direction did it go? Maybe check a compass bearing.
- How did it act after the shot?
- Was it limping or hunched over?
- Look for landmarks, trees, stumps, fallen logs that the bear ran over, under or around.
- What did you hear and in what direction?
THE RECOVERY:
So now it’s time to recover your harvest. So let’s go directly to the place of contact. This is where you really begin to hone your tracking skills. This is also where your observational skill will be put to the test. In many cases, especially with archery hunters, there may be no evidence of blood or hair at the location of the shot. This is especially true when there is no exit wound. If you have help in tracking you may even need to go back to your stand while your partner stays at the spot where you think the shot was made. Your perspective of things changes drastically when you’re on the ground.
Remember we discussed landmarks … this is where you begin inching your way along the perceived exit route the bear took, looking for signs of torn ground, tracks, freshly broken twigs & branches and blood. This can be a very slow and tedious process and it may be 20 or so yards before you pick up any evidence. Bears are notorious to track as their thick fur absorbs a lot of the blood leaving very little evidence on bushes and high grasses. Many’s the times I have needed to get on hand and knees, looking for specks of blood on leaves and twigs.
Use flagging tape to mark your trail as this will leave you with a good starting point if recovery has to wait or there is impending rain or snow. Always walk to the side of the trail when tracking so as not to disturb any possible evidence. At times you will need to back track to find direction of travel. Two to three trackers is all you really want so as to limit any disturbance to evidence … and the stronger the better … trust me !
tuk