wounding/missing bears

[yukon john]

First off this is not to condemn anyone but hopefully to educate. There has been recent threads where guys mention they missed bears also I just heard it from a younger hunter that I know.
We have all missed shots, it happens and I cant say what happens to anyone if I am not there so I will share some things from my own experience.
First, bears usually dont bleed much even with a perfect shot from a large magnum. Maybe its all the fat or the thick hair but you probably wont find blood.
Second, bears have a slow heart beat and they can go a long ways when they should be dead, they can go even further with a less than perfect shot.
Third, they often show no reaction to the shot
A good friend and professional game tracker once told me that in his outfit when a hunter ''missed'' a bear he would take his tracking dog out and 50% of ''missed'' bears were actually wounded.
I have been on dozens of successful bear hunts and I was so sick of chasing wounded bears for hours that I trained a blood tracking dog just for finding bears http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/showthread.php?51755-The-soon-to-be-famous-tracking-dog!!&highlight=sifton
I realize not everyone can go get a dog for this so I will share some tips for the human tracker
Most importantly remember where the bear was!!! Its hard to do when adrenaline is high but it is very important to pinpoint the location as close as you can. Pick out a rock or stick and remember it in your mind.
Forget about chasing it right away, calm down and go to where it was. If it was on a logging road you will be able to see a scuff mark where the bear dug into the ground on the shot. Get on your hands and knees and look very carefully on the ground. When a bullet goes in it cuts hairs and when it goes out it the hairs have skin tags on them. There may not be blood but there WILL be tuffs of 1-20 hairs on the ground if the animal is hit. Take some time and look, this area tells the dog if the bear is hit, it will also tell you.
Any tracks, hair, blood, etc should be marked, I use surveyor tape.
Now try to get a direction the bear is headed and mark every SURE sign (confirmation) so you can come back to it. The bear had to touch the ground so he had to leave a mark. Stand at each mark and search till you find the next one. You probably will lose the trail within 30 yards but now you have a direction.
Continue in your direction for 100- not more than 150 yards go slow and look for sign, if he is hard hit he should be down by now. If you dont have him, go back to the begining and start working a grid, its hard to do in the thick stuff but try to work a proper grid and not wonder aimlessly. A gps helps to keep you from going back over the stuff you have already searched.
Resist the urge to follow natural trails and the contours of the land, you may cover ground faster but thats probably not where the bear is. Having the dog I can now follow the exact path the bear took and I can tell you they are in a panic, and they will go through the thickest nastiest devils club, blowdowns and blackberries they can find.
Once again this is not a thread to bash anyone, I have lost wounded animals myself and it makes me sick, all you can do is learn from it and try to let it never happen again. Good luck!
John

[olharley guy]

Howdy, thanks for the article-good things to remember even for old time hunters. Later

[greenhorn]

What about giving the bear some time?

I went on a bear hunt last season and helped track a bear that was hit, but it was a marginal shot. We were finding good sign the entire time but I was convinced we were just pushing the bear. After suggesting a 10minute wait to let the bear chill a bit, we stopped and took a breather. After starting tracking again the very next sign was a huge blood patch... bear was spotted in another 20 yards and the job was finished.

That experience convinced me that if they don't go down instantly, give it a bit of time before searching....

Do you do that when you track?

[yukon john]

What about giving the bear some time?

I went on a bear hunt last season and helped track a bear that was hit, but it was a marginal shot. We were finding good sign the entire time but I was convinced we were just pushing the bear. After suggesting a 10minute wait to let the bear chill a bit, we stopped and took a breather. After starting tracking again the very next sign was a huge blood patch... bear was spotted in another 20 yards and the job was finished.

That experience convinced me that if they don't go down instantly, give it a bit of time before searching....

Do you do that when you track?


For sure, take some time to let the adrenaline go down, organize the gear you need for tracking etc

[Rackmastr]

Great thread. I have watched a few dogs trail wounded bears and its amazing what they can do. A bear can go a long ways without 'much' sign of being hit, but the tips that you provided here are excellent and for a rookie bear hunter they could prove invaluable.

I've tracked about 30-35 bears in my life and they are not an easy animal to track for the most part. Planning and proper techniques help a lot and running into the bush without a plan can get a guy turned around easily. Having a dog sure helps though!!

[yakideath12]

Thank you for the great info.

Can you tell me some story how you trained your dog for tracking?

I have a jack russell that loves to sniffing ground and find squrrels and mice on my yard( he is really good at that)

when he was puppy, i tried to hide treats and let him find it and he did pretty good.

Do i have to use something that with bear scent on ?

I love to learn things

[Tikka270wsm]

Some very good advice there! Every new hunter should read this post.

[Marlin375]

For sure, take some time to let the adrenaline go down, organize the gear you need for tracking etc

Very sage advice here and in your original post YukonJohn.
I have recovered my share of high lung/liver shot bears, it is almost like the chest cavity has to fill with blood before it even starts to drip and if you did not hit any bone they can sure travel a considerable distance before leaving the first drop. The only thing that I would add is that I find if you are very quite (no yelling, talking or even wispering if you can help it) for the first 10-20 minutes you will not push the bear as far and often you will hear a wounded bear either leaving or making some vocal sounds when you start on the trail, he should be well inside 100 yrds if the bush is thick and the only thing that he was running from was the shot.

Shot placement is another thread/topic/opinion

[peashooter]

great advise! should be a large portion in CORE geared towards recovery.

[Bear Chaser]

Thanks for posting. This is one example where mentoring of less experienced hunters can go a long way to ensuring success and a happy ending after the shot is fired.
The most important & hardest thing as already mentioned is to not be in a hurry. Sit down, have a smoke or a snack and give yourself time to think through the events that have occurred.
Good luck everybody.

[bob the tomato]

this is good stuff!!
the bit about marking ur target so u know where it is when shot comes to mind. when i was "younger" i shot a bear at around 150 yards, which ran immediatly away into the bush. i thought i had it very well marked in my mind a walked to where i was SURE it had been standing. well no sign, nothing, no torn up bush or blood or rotortiller marks on the ground. when home, but thinkin bout it i was sure the shot was good, sooo went back later that day and found i was about 20 yards off on my thought location. found marks on ground and dead bear about 100 feet into brush. live and learn.
interestingly this bear was hit without knowing i was even there, had about 2 inches blown off the bottom of his heart, and still went probably close to 75 yards "dead". makes u think.......

[hunter1947]

This is very good advice you put up on this site Yukon John many members that read your post will take something from it and remember this when it happens to them especially new up coming young hunters and thats including old timers as myself ,thanks for your advice http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/images/icons/icon14.png ..

[5 spike]

this is great advise john for all bear hunters. they are very large animals but they can vanish in a heartbeat. a well placed shot is a must. good luck all.

[wicket]

Excellent advice from someone with a weath of experience ...kudos for sharing it. one thing that disturbs me is that people cant tell you the last place they saw the animal. Whether its when im guiding ducks and was busy with the dog and didnt see the bird come down and you ask the hunter and they say ..oh i dont know u should be right by it. work the dog downwind and its 75yrds in a different cattail patch. I have 30 years bowhunting deer exp and although I dont hunt with anyone but my best friend i do get called from people i know when they are having a problem with recovery. first question is...where were you when u shot....some people cant tell u.....next is where was the deer when you shot...most common answer is right around there ( it almost never is. usually find hair and spots of blood quite aways from whre people think it was) next up ..where did u hit it,,,,oh i hit it great right behind the shoulder and most times they are right because the guts and liver are behind the shoulder...just way behind and one of the last questions i ask is where is the exact last spot you saw it . well over half the time the person can tell me ..maybe they are excited or something else but they take their eyes off the deer. Anyone that has done any amount of tracking be it in region 3=39 or south western ontario would prolly agree that even the smallest detail is important when trying to find wounded game. Im not sure if new hunters realize that or whats being taught in the core classes or hunters safety. guess i was lucky when i was 11 and going on my first whitetail bowhunt to michigan my dad who was a very serious man sat me down and told me all the above things and more. when he spoke i listened. i got dropped off at a tree by myself and was told to stay there until dark. i scampered up the maple...no stands safety belts in 81....i ended up shooting a fork horn ..knew exactly where i shot it where i shot it the last tree i saw it by were i heard a branch break after. maybe i didnt want to disappoint my dad or his buddies who took an 11 yr old kid on their only hunting trip of the year. after all those years i still use everything he taught me about finding dead or not so dead stuff.
great post yukon again!

[Walksalot]

When out hunting we are in an environment we don't have 100% control over, things can go south rather quickly. Having said that we must do our utmost to try to make sure the animal we are hunting is dispatched with in a quick and humane manner. If things are going south frequently then a reevaluation of ones equipment and strategy is in order. Rectifying the problem be it either the firearm or the operator is paramount as after the hunt is over we go home and talk about our experience but ultimately the animal is left to deal with the situation and for that animal it could be a rather long night or even a few days. If it is the rifle then that is easily remedied but if it is the operator then that could be a bit more difficult. If one finds he/she gets far to excited when one sees an animal then a good remedy is, in a hunting situation, simply load the firearm get into the shooting position and then watch the animal until nerves cool down. If the animal gets away what the hell it's no big deal there will be other bears.

[islandboy]

Good advice here. I would add watch the reaction of the animal.

My first bear went down with a quartering away shot (through the heart into the far shoulder). My second bear only dipped its head slightly. I noticed it, my partner saw it. The bear just stood there. We waited a couple minutes to see if it would drop. I finally decided to put in another round - missed - kicked up the dirt under the bear. It took off up the hill about 50 yards and fell over. Upon gutting the first bullet had penetrated both lungs and blown the heart apart and exited without hitting any ribs. Now I keep a close eye on the animals reaction.

[fearnodeer]

Great thread as well as great responses, they should provide this info in core classes. I've been on hunts were people have taken shots and when the game takes off they follow in hot persuit and like said have no clue were it was shot.

[bowhunterbruce]

hey john ,wait to go on bringing everyone back and up to speed on just how important it is to slow down,tracking bear can be exactly as you discribed,they don't follow game trails when they are hit,they just run over/under and through everything thats in thier direction of travel,as with just about everything we do in the outdoors it's about how much patience we have that enables us to be succuessful.the importance of identifing markers after the shot and then identifing any evidence with anything from survers tape to toilet paper and to follow the direction of travel.
if there is a trained dog handy it is also just as important that the evidence is there for the dog to get started so he can pick up the scent of that indivdual animal and dosen't get other scents around the immediate area.
bhb

[dave_fras]

funny that this thread just came up!... i was just explaining the same thing to me gf just 2 days ago!we were out hunting towars summerland and we ran into a guy who said he thought he missed a bear... i told him tha we would give him a hand to look with my 2 dogs.. sure enough.. no blood and no hair! i did end up finding a spot where we was running...it just looked like some over turned rocks... but as i started to look closer i could see some pad marks.... so i let the dogs go... and not a 100 yards up the hill was his bear! it was a very solid hit too!! and there bear wasnt even that big! just a 5 footer! its just hard to think that from where he was hit and where he died was 150 yards! and not even a spec of blood! well that i could see!

[Big Lew]

Excellent and timely advice, as usual, "yukon john." I, to, am a little concerned when reading posts where hunters, new ones especially, relate incidents where they shot at, and "missed", and then couldn't find any blood, so were convinced they didn't hit the animal. They could very well have missed, but as mentioned, bears don't leave good blood trails. As a bow hunter, I have learned to go to the exact spot the animal was when I shot, take the time to calm down, and then be very thorough, using methods similar to your suggestions, (I use surveyors white thread.) I have witnessed bears fatally shot,(when gutted, their heart was blown apart) run flat out for 100-150 yards before bowling over. Someone such as yourself, giving such good advice, is all part of what this forum is all about....good stuff.

[fester]

good post!!!

[steel_ram]

If you take "the shot", it is totally your responsibility to follow up, even if it means sacrificing the rest of the morning of what may be a very limited hunting season. Or it may mean going from comfort of dry cloths of road hunting to crawling around in wet, bug infested thickets for hours. It is your responsibility, if your not willing to do this, please don't pull the trigger.

[boxhitch]

Another great thread, thanks YJ et al

A couple of points on marking.
Depending on the ground cover, but I usually start out marking where the shot was taken from.
This can be as easy to confuse as the critters PLS, and can be needed to determine location or direction of travel.
I like using TP as it disappears in the first rain.
Dental floss has its own handy package too.
When the obvious sign is finished, now its time to get down on hands and knees.
Follow up the next day if needed, from the down wind side , using your own nose helps and is easy with a gutshot bear.

Shot placement? Well there is a good reason for the common belief that the shoulder/s should be disrupted.

[The Silent Stalker]

Wow, good advice. I won't steal your thunder on your thread, but look for mine about my first bow experience last Friday night. I'll post it new tonight. We tried everything, I swear. (except the dogs, we don't have them)

[Pioneerman]

If you take "the shot", it is totally your responsibility to follow up, even if it means sacrificing the rest of the morning of what may be a very limited hunting season. Or it may mean going from comfort of dry cloths of road hunting to crawling around in wet, bug infested thickets for hours. It is your responsibility, if your not willing to do this, please don't pull the trigger.

I agree 100 % and don't keep hunting for two or three more animals and go through the same thing, check your gun now. I always do some rechecking if I miss once, then I can rule out the gun and know it was my fault, but always bust your butt looking for the animal you decided to shoot.

[yukon john]

BTT seems a few more guys should read this

[demlake]

Thanks for the bump.

Didn't see it originally.

Some very good advice for a novice like me.

dl

[dana]

I'm sorry but I disagree with a little of this thread. When it comes to spring bears, I don't wait to go in. Why? Because they bleed very little and things are very very green and thick in my neck of the woods. Most bears don't go far when hit and I want to be in that thick shit as fast as possible to hear them. Listening for those last gasps or for it biting at itself is key to finding that bear and putting another bullet in them if needed. Bears have an incredible habbit of diving under blowdown and debris and they are like accordians and can really shrink up their bodies to hide. Hearing that last breath can make for an easy recovery versus hours of combing back and forth with your head kicking you in the ass as you second guess your shot. Thick spring growth has a way of springing back up and covering any sign of a passing animal. Do you want to be on your hands and knees trying to intrepret hour old sign or do you want to be there moments after the bear dived in so you can hear him and locate him easily?
Fall hunting is way different. You have snow or leaves to track with. Spring, totally different ballgame. IMO, the best way to not need to track at all is shot placement. You can't shoot bears like you shoot deer. Don't aim for just behind the shoulder. Aim for mid shoulder and anchor that bear and be prepared for a followup shot. Having them drop at the shot without them diving into the thick $hit is the goal! Reload fast and watch that bear. Even with a shoulder shot, they can find the energy to get back up and then dive into that thick stuff where they will crawl into a ball and hide up under stuff. So back it up with a second shoulder shot.
I also recommed getting close to the bear instead of shooting from a distance. Getting close is what makes bear hunting fun! Play the wind and put a stalk on. Move when their heads are down feeding. Keep natural cover between you and the bear so you can close the gap and be up and close on it before you pull the trigger. And always keep in mind that there are a Shitload of bears out there. If the stalk fails, go find another one.

[nolimits]

Threads like this one are exactly what I am looking for. Something coming from guys with a lot of hunting experience, and willing to share it, so that less experienced guys, just like me can learn from it. Thanks for posting.

[srupp]

hmmm I was explaining this topic last night to a grizz hunter..some sage advice here..some bears do not react others collapse wherever theyw ere hit..dont judge the shot by the reaction..

do mark that spot from where you shot, and where the bear was standing..find the first blood where it enters the tree canopy...this may take some time..hands and knees and dont mess up 'the crime scene with excessive tracks.."

I find most blacks are shot in the late afternoon..evening..once the blood is found at the tree line..mark it..LOOK at the amount, does it spray?? what level is the blood??cast off ?? drops?? spray..as the bear left was the blodd on the right side?? which side did YOU shoot..is it a through and through..?color..is it watery ..muscle..or dark red..= deoxiginated..or bright red..lungs..look for blood smears on leaves and twigs the level of the shot on the bear.....listen for sounds of a bear in distress..or even air escaping through the open wound..= very close bear..

I personally dont like going more than 15-20 yards inside the tree line..if the sighn is iffy or very little blood...I matrk the last spot..UNLESS there is rain...then now is the best option....bears seldom pull a crazy Ivan..=sudden change in direction if hit really hard...they run dead out in a pretty consistant direction...one poorly hit may hook back and lay under a tree or log watching their back trail..

Pushing a bear is merely adding adrenaline to a already hopped up bear..however they arnt invincible.. they bleed, the lungs are disrupted and fill with blood preventing proper oxygenation..little o2 to the brain leads to sluggish , slow movements..staggering movement..they also get incredibly thirsty as the body and the brain try and compensate for the lost fluids..

Slow and steady is the key..most folks are looking too high downed bears arnt all that tall off the ground...and most well hit bears are well w/i the 200 yard distance freom where they were hit...

If a dead bear or copious amounts of good sighn arnt found w/i the 15 yards I will mark the last location and come back in the am..bear isnt pushed..calms down when not hearing a chase ..lays down and expires...



cheers
Steven

[rburm]

Best thread on the site. Very informative. Thank you from a rookie!

[Phreddy]

Excellent advice. I'm just completing the first stage of the BC Tracking Ass'n training course through our local G.S.A.R. and what you say about it being impossible to walk anywhere without leaving some sign of your passing is abosulutely true.

[srupp]

Phreddy you will enjoy the course...

steven

[emerson]

All good stuff, putting it into the memory bank.