Bucks hit high in the back that do get back on their feet are capable of going for miles. I was involved in the recovery of a buck that was hit high in the back with a centerfire rifle one time that took two days to recover. Some relatives of mine wounded the buck in the morning and snow tracked it the remainder of the day without getting him, although they got a number of follow-up shots at the deer. When I heard their story, I offered to return to the buck's track with them the next morning.

This buck was dragging a front leg, making it easy to follow his tracks in the snow even though there was no blood. Two of us took off on the whitetail's trail while other members of the party posted in locations to try to intercept the wounded whitetail if we pushed it into them. That's always a good strategy when dealing with marginal hits in a situation where a number of other hunters are available to assist. In effect, it's a one- or two-man drive, with the people following the buck doing the driving.

In this case, the two of us jumped the buck at close range after following him about a mile. We dropped the deer before he made it very far. No one knows how many miles that buck was trailed through the snow before he was recovered, but it was much farther than the hunters would have preferred to go. Dragging that buck to the nearest road once we got him was no easy job either.

Gut- or paunch-shot bucks can also be difficult to recover, especially if they are pushed too quickly. Patience is the name of the game when it comes to this type of wound. Whitetails tend to hunch up when struck in the rear half of the body with a bullet or broadhead and may remain humped up as they trot or walk off. Some deer that are wounded with this type of hit bed down within view of the hunter after traveling less than 100 yards.

If a deer beds down within view, keep an eye on him, but remain where you are to avoid spooking him. If and when he gets up and moves out of sight or it gets dark, sneak out of your stand as quietly as possible to avoid disturbing the injured buck. In situations when a whitetail goes out of sight soon after a suspected paunch shot, leave the area as quietly as possible whenever you are confident your departure won't disrupt the deer.

If unsure of a gut shot, check the area where the deer was standing for your arrow or blood sign, assuming it has left the area. Arrows that penetrate the rear portion of a buck's body will usually have coarse food particles from the stomach or slimy contents from the intestines that are mostly digested. Either way, such an arrow will have a strong odor associated with it.