REPEATED TENDENCIES

Howard Hill wrote that every animal is an individual, and although, with knowledge and experience, a hunter can say what an animal might do, he can’t say what it will do.

That’s true about the route a stricken deer flees. Each is unique. A few trends, however, emerge again and again, and being aware of them helps a hunter tracking wounded deer watch for specific possibilities.

That knowledge does not take replace blood trailing. However, it can steer you where to direct efforts at finding blood or sign and offers ideas if a trail fizzles or cannot be located. Use caution, though. Too much conviction that you know what will occur next can interfere with correctly piecing out the true trail.

TENDENCY 1: THE BULLDOZER

Sometimes, deer flee like highspeed bulldozers, blasting through thick cover, seemingly oblivious to less encumbered routes nearby. In those cases, you can be almost certain the injury is mortal. The wound is so dire the deer ignores brush, vines,