After the shot - Locating your game

[cornchuck]

I thought I saw something on the internet a couple years ago of a device that acted like a rangefinder. You shoot something at a distance, aim this gadget at the down animal or target hit the button and the beam would give you the coordinates of the target or a light flashes when you getting close to the target?

I am imagining this or was there something like this out there.

Jason

 

[jmden]

Reverse azimuths and landmarks are very important. Another tool I used this year and last was using the altimeter on my watch (gps would work too) after determining the elevation of the kill site from a map. Then once at or near the spot, another way I checked is to look back at the shooting location and rangefinder to the shooting location and check for the reverse up or down shooting angle (combo rangefinding/angle finding binos are good for that). This combination of techniques took us quickly to the kill site on an elk that was shot last fall at well over 1100 yards and took us over 2 hours to get to it. We were several miles back in the high country in designated wilderness. Took a fair amount of hard x-country scrambling to get there before dark so every technique to find it before dark was important. In that particular situation, we didn't want to leave one of us at the shot site.

 

[mountainman56]

Just a poor boy method, But it worked in south Texas and was simple to use before we moved into the electronic
age.

J E CUSTOM

That is a great idea! Gonna have to make me one of those. I generally hunt by myself and just last fall I shot a whitetail buck at moderate range, under 500 but across an arroyo. Here in West Texas every **** thing looks the same. I walked out there 3 times and back trying to check my bearings. Finally called my buddy and showed him from where I fired from and which particular juniper bush I was huntin and had him wave me in. I had passed within 50 feet of that deer several times.

 

[WildRose]

This is something i began thinking about today during the 2.5 hr runtime of my machine.

Ive run into this problem in the past after making a long shot in tall grass or over hipped row crop and stubble. I got excited and took off after my game and ended up looking for a while. Now i simply drop and item of no significance and pick a heading and walk the distance of the shot. Here in the coastal plains this works 90% of the time.

But for some of you guys shooting game much further than i and over much more difficult terrain, what do you use and how do you locate your game after the shot. Gps is the obvious choice but i know some of you experienced gents got more tricks and know how than gps.

Most important is to give the critter time to expire before departing your hide. Be patient, watch in the scope if at all possible until you are dead sure it's no longer breathing.

Next if you are not alone, leave a partner at the location so they can maintain the same line of sight. This is particularly important in rough, brushy, or heavy forest because your perspective changes dramatically once you leave your shooting position.

Very important at long range is to establish landmarks along the line of sight to the target so that, especially if you are alone you can keep your line of travel the same as your line of sight to the greatest degree possible.

Like you I will leave something at the spot from which I shoot for the purposes of being able to do the above.

 

[Canadian Bushman]

Most important is to give the critter time to expire before departing your hide. Be patient, watch in the scope if at all possible until you are dead sure it's no longer breathing.

Next if you are not alone, leave a partner at the location so they can maintain the same line of sight. This is particularly important in rough, brushy, or heavy forest because your perspective changes dramatically once you leave your shooting position.

Very important at long range is to establish landmarks along the line of sight to the target so that, especially if you are alone you can keep your line of travel the same as your line of sight to the greatest degree possible.

Like you I will leave something at the spot from which I shoot for the purposes of being able to do the above.

I completely agree. You worded it well.