Even when you do everything right when it comes to recovering a deer that was poorly hit with an arrow by waiting before trying to follow up on the animal, circumstances beyond your control can make finding the whitetail extremely difficult. A predator, such as a coyote, could jump the deer prematurely. Heavy rain or snow could also eliminate any blood trail.
Paul Blettner from Land O' Lakes, Wis., was faced with not one, but two of those complicating scenarios after arrowing a trophy buck on November 10 one year in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. At the time, Blettner lived in Watersmeet, Mich., which isn’t far from where he currently lives.
Paul experienced a lot of excitement that led up to the shooting of that particular buck. A real buck fight lured the whitetail into position for a shot.
Blettner was hunting from a treestand in a narrow strip of jack pine trees that bordered a 10-year-old clearcut. A well-used deer trail that was littered with buck sign was within view of the stand. Blettner had barely gotten in the stand when he heard the rustling of
