The first step in finding downed game is to mark down the spot where the game dropped or was last seen. This can be done, even
at extended shooting distances, by making a mental note of the spot's relationship to some object or natural feature such as a
nearby tree, rock bluff, or distinctive bush. Even in comparatively flat or bare country, there is always some dip in elevation, some
kind of vegetation or change in the color of the terrain that can serve as a point of reference.
The next step is to mark the spot from which you shot, so that if an initial search for the game proves fruitless, you can return to
this spot and try again. The position can be marked by tying a hankerchief or a rag to a high bush or tree limb, where you can see it
from a distance.
Once these two points have been established, you must estimate the distance from where you stand to the dropped game. With
short distances this is relatively easy. It becomes more difficult and more vital at long ranges such as 300 or 400 yards. Estimating
ranges also becomes more difficult if it involves complex terrain and vegation. In order to estimate long ranges accurately, you
should base the estimate on multiples of known distances.
With the game marked down in relation to some landmark, your position also marked, and the distance between them is estimated,
the next step is to carefully pace off this intervening distance, keeping your eyes always on the spot where the game apparently
went down. Often you will have to deviate from your course because of intervening trees, rocky bluffs, or lake edges. You must
compensate for such deviations by going an equal number of paces in the opposite direction after skirting the obstacle. Moreover,
such detours mean that you must increase the original distance measured. As you go around obstacles, you should continue to
pace off this original distance mentally.
If all the above is done with care and if the game died where it fell, ninety times out of a hundred you will come either directly upon
or close enough to spot it as you look around yourself. In heavy brush or any kind of high foliage, you should make a close scrutiny
of everything in the immediate area, since the animal's protective colorization will make it hard to see.
If the game is not spotted at this point, the next step is to mark that particular place with a coat, shirt, or other object placed as
high on foliage as possible, so that it readily be seen. This marker is then used as the center of widening concentric circles that are
described, as 3 to 5 yards apart, all around it. While moving about in these progressively larger circles, you should scrutinize
everything withing view, especially between yourself and the circle's center.
These circles should progress until the game has been spotted. If, however, the game was not dead or nearly dead when it dropped,
it will have moved away from the spot, leaving numerous tracks. Here is where your tracking skills come into play. You start all over
again from the marker, but this time, when making the concentric circles, you must look not for game but for tracks. At this stage,
another factor enters. If the game is only wounded, it will normally head either downhill, or for the heaviest cover or both. The circles
should be described all the way around the center spot, but you should concentrate on those places which run downhill or lead to
heavy cover. You should look not only for definate tracks but also for such things as freshly turned leaves, sticks or earth that
indicate an animal's hurried passage. The tracks may be widely seperated, as the wounded animal will move as fast as possible.
