If anybody remembers I have a knee and hip replacement. The new knee works good, the new hip not nearly so. And just recently my Dr. said the other knee is bone on bone and it needs replacing now too. I won't go into my other maladies now but I decided not to share the travail I experienced getting that big doe out of the woods by myself.
But as for tracking her down, I fully believe blood trailing, even when there is no longer a blood trail to be a learned art of the highest order. It's been many years since I believed blood trails just stopped suddenly except in cases where a marginal hit was proven. Most of the time it simply means the game has changed direction while we the hunter continues to plunge blindly in a direction we have determined to be correct. A couple of "Keys" here is being able to recognize when it's time to turn back to last blood and being able to work out the sign until you find the correct direction the game is traveling. And of course reading the forest floor has value without question.
My wife is a high percentage Cherokee and had the sharpest eyes for finding small blood spots of anybody I've ever known. During my bow hunting years my impatience often showed and I'd get her to help. I only remember 2 we failed to find and we had trailed several miles, across several property lines, before giving up. Alas her sight is much dimmer now and she no longer can traverse the woods as she once did.
But the main thing I allowed her to teach me was to "never give up while there was one spot of blood to be found."
