Bowhunting
Information on the art of hunting with archery
instead of a firearm.
In
1934, Wisconsin is the first state with an official bow-hunting
season.
Bowhunting is a bit more difficult than hunting with
a firearm. A bow shoots at shorter distances than a rifle,
so generally a bowhunter will need to be much closer to
the game than a typical rifle hunter. This requires
the bowhunter to be more aware of the prey, an archer must
blend in with the terrain better to fool the game. And a
bowhunter typically gets only one shot, so they must be
highly skilled with their weapon in order to take the game.
An arrow kills a deer by massive hemorrhaging (bleeding).
Rarely will a deer fall into a state of shock and drop after
being hit by an arrow. Because of this, a bow hunter should
expect to bloodtrail virtually every deer he hits, so he
should be fully aware of the dynamics of a "bow-shot"
deer. It is important to first understand what occurs after
an arrow hits a deer. The startled animal immediately flees
toward cover, often unaware that it is even hurt, not to
mention mortally wounded. Since the blood vessels are under
pressure, massive hemorrhaging of blood from the wound begins,
and if the arrow passes through the body cavity, both wounds
will bleed. However, there will be a period of time between
when the arrow hits, and when the blood finds its way outside
the body cavity and onto the ground. It may take only three
seconds, but a startled deer could have covered 40 yards
or more in so little time. That's why you should not become
alarmed if no blood is found within 30 yards of the animal's
escape path.
As soon as the deer reaches the security of cover, it slows
down and begins to feel faint. It then beds down, quickly
loses consciousness due to blood loss, and dies. This entire
scenario may take only 30 seconds from the time the deer
is hit until it lays down. Unfortunately, the deer may have
sprinted 200 yards or more, which means the archer must
somehow locate his deer lying out there in the dense cover.
That's where bloodtrailing comes in. As soon as a deer is
hit, an archer should make a mental note of where the deer
was standing, and then note the exact spot where the fleeing
deer disappeared. This is called the "line of flight"
and it will indicator the escape path where the blood trail
should be located. The blood on the arrow shaft will also
reveal valuable information about the hit. Bright red frothy
blood indicates a deadly lung hit. Rich red blood means
the liver was hit, also mortal. Dark red blood with seeds
and vegetative matter in it indicates a paunch hit, and
the archer should wait another few hours to allow the deer
to further weaken. If the blood trail is lost, study the
line of flight that the blood trail indicates, then survey
the cover ahead and walk over to the densest stand of brush
or trees. More often than not, you'll find your deer lying
dead just inside the cover. If not, begin making zig zag
sweeps through the cover until the deer is found.
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