What light to use for bloodtrailing?

[esshup]

I'm sure it's been discussed before but I did a quick search and couldn't find it.

For blood trailing, what light does everybody like the best?

I bought into the hype of the blue/red LED lights - hate it. A buddy had a white LED light that seemed to work better than a Mag Light. I have a 2 burner Coleman white gas lantern, but I haven't used it in 10+ years.

They're predicting possible lake effect snow overnight. I stuck a deer a little bit foreward this evening at 4:30 p.m. Central time. Hunting down by Knox, Indiana

Luminock, so I could see where it hit. Low, about even with the elbow, maybe a tad bit higher, and about that far forward (right behind the leg), or thru the back part of the front leg. I watched the deer run off, and the Luminock went out about 50-60 yards out. Waited 40 minutes and followed with a MagLight. Looked like good blood to me, but it started to peter out, or I just couldn't see it, so I backed out and came home. Going to put the snow tires on the car, and go back in a couple of hours with a different light. I'll dig out the Coleman light in the meantime too, and see if I can get it fired up.

25 Yd shot, with almost a full value cross wind. I don't think I allowed enough for the wind and it blew it a bit further to the right (deer was looking to the right) than I wanted.

If I have to, I'll leave it overnight, and do a grid search in the a.m. if it snows. But, I had a picture of a coyote on the trail cam 2 days ago in the same general area that I hit the deer, so it might be a race to see who finds it first.

[swilk]

purest white light I can get. I prefer a LED light over a standard light. I prefer a lantern over an LED light.

[Woody Williams]

Jan 1, 2012 20:16:29 GMT -5 swilk said:

purest white light I can get. I prefer a LED light over a standard light. I prefer a lantern over an LED light.

Ditto and good luck on your deer. Sounds like a good hit..

[danf]

I've always heard that a Coleman gas lantern works best.

[Sasquatch]

Whatever you get in your hand, get some kind of headlamp! The LED type on a headband work well because they can be stowed easily and work on an early season or winter hat. The headlamp frees up your hands to examine sign, grab trees for balance, and use another light. The headlamp also frees you from having to use your hand-held light to see in order to walk. It can handle light for navigation while you peer at things with the other one. It also aids in any field dressing chores. A coleman lantern does work great, but for portability's sake I usually use a more conventional flashlight.

Sounds promising! Good luck!

[Deleted]

Not so sure about it being a good hit, if it's low and forward, the only thing there is the heart. Deer should be close to where the blood got thin if so and fairly easy to find. I like bright white lights, Coleman lanterns are out dated just a tad.

[joeyb]

Here is the one I use. I used to carry a giant Maglite, but these new LED lights are just much better. This light is brighter than any maglite I've ever owned, and it fits in my shirt pocket. Good luck tracking!

www.menards.com/main/electrical/batteries-flashlights/flashlights/handheld-flashlights/3w-led-camo-2aa/p-1705706-c-6314.htm

[HighCotton]

esshup - Good Luck.
FWIW - Take a pup with you or check with the links here for Blood Trackers! I've learned so much since I lost my doe last week. I really regret not taking Duke (my GWP) with me. I'm finding out more and more that a lot of dogs have versatile/tracking abilites that I was not previously aware of. Check here and find a tracker: www.unitedbloodtrackers.org/

I have now talked to 4 guys from this site and they all are more than willing (depending on their schedules) to come and track simply for the chance to run their dogs. You've got some good ones up around Crown Point/Chicago. As a matter of fact, I will be hooking up with a contact in the next few weeks to learn some tips in starting to train Duke. A lot of these guys have dogs (especially the wirehaired and shorthaired dachsunds) with amazing abilities and succuss rates to track/trail up to 48 hrs from the shot.

Don't take me wrong - I'm not trying to tell you what to do. I just have been amazed at how willing these guys are to come and help just to get their dogs on a blood trail. And that is a bit ironic since I'm the same way...just looking for the slightest excuse to get my dogs out.

I wish you the best my friend!!!

[esshup]

Thanks guys. I couldn't take it anymore and went back there @ 9:00 p.m. I figured at the worst I could flag the blood that I did find so it wouldn't be buried in snow in the morning. I took my LED headlight (put new batteries in it), my MagLite and my SureFire AA sized flashlight. The LED worked the best, Surefire 2nd. MagLights prro 3rds. You're right, the whitest light works the best. I'll be investing in a bright white LED flashlight before next season.

The deer never slowed down, I could only follow the blood for 50-60 yds (so it seemed) before it petered out. I didn't want to tromp all over the area and disturb it, figured I'd hit again this a.m.

Woke up to an inch of snow, and it is snowing so hard that I can't see 100 Yds. It hasn't let up yet, I'm going to throw the snow tires on the car before heading out.

I called the property owner this a.m. about the dogs, and he'd prefer not to have anyone else on the property - absentee landowner. I'll start grid searching if the snow is covering the trail.

I might jinx myself, but the more I think about it, I think it was a good hit. I lost sight of the deer after it ran about 40-50 yds. The Luminock wend out after about 30 Yds., and at that time it was still stuck in the deer. I feel that if the shot was low enough to miss the lungs, the arrow should have exited. Some of the blood that I found I could say it was pink, some clots were 3/4" x 3/4". It seemed that the blood was hitting the ground with every step the deer took with it's right front leg.

Luckily the woods is pretty open where it ran, so a grid search will be pretty easy. I'll report back with a yea or a nay later today.

[HighCotton]

Good deal. We're sure pullin' for ya! I hope you have success!

[Woody Williams]

Fingers crossed for you...

[gillgrabber]

Best of luck. Let us know how it turns out. I bought one of those colored "blood tracking lights" a few years back. It was supposed to make the blood light up and be easy to see. All it did was make everything look red (or green or whatever the heck color it was). It was junk. I had a pocket white light LED that worked great.

[hornharvester]

Ive found the brightest coon hunting light to be the best for tracking. A coon hunting friend has one that I think is 19 volts and it literally lights up the woods. Very easy to track a deer blood trail. Look around and buy a used one and you will never regret it. h.h.

[esshup]

Good idea on the 'coon light!

The deer is at the processors. I'm still amazed at how fast they can move. I was wrong on the shot placement, what I saw from my angle was the Luminock. The deer dropped at the noise from the x-bow, and started to turn to the left. The shot was a high right, and angled from right to left, rear to front. The arrow entered 3/4 back on the ribcage, breaking a rib, and just barely poked out the other side right behind the shoulder blade, breaking a rib too. Not much blood because the shot was about 2" below the bottom of the spine, when I had the crosshairs 2/3 the way down the body, and tucked tight to the rear of the right front leg. I have the rear 1/2 of the arrow, the front half is gone. The luminock was pulled apart a bit, that's what turned it off.

The deer ran about 80 yds further past the end of the blood that I had marked last night. There was about 3"- 4" of snow on the ground this a.m. It looks like he died on his feet and piled up. Small forkhorn, but as bad as my deer season went this year (not seeing deer), I wanted meat in the freezer. This is the first buck that I've shot in about 4 years. I had chances, but knew that there were bigger ones out there, and passed on a LOT of them.

I'd never had shot at the deer if it wasn't 20-25 yds out (i.e. if it was further than that), it was on pretty high alert. It had turned around and was looking along it's back trail. It whirled and ran the way that it was orig. going after the shot.

Thanks again for all the light tips!

[Woody Williams]

Congratulations on the recovery and putting meat in the freezer.

Alert deer can do all kinds of tricks...

[schall53]

Congratulations on the find. I know what a relief it is to find one you think you might lose.

[steiny]

Hard to beat a coleman lantern. A bit awkward to carry, etc. but they put out lots of light and blood shows up well.

[HighCotton]

Great job! Congrats esshup!

[HuntMeister]

Glad to hear you found him, congrats!

[dbd870]

Glad you got him - way to stay on it.