Am I color blind?

[Campbell]

Yes - I am.
In my early 20’s I discovered I had a “red-green deficiency “. Under most all circumstances I cannot see a blood trail. I learned to base my tracking of wounded animals on signs other than blood. Before discovering my handicap I had lost several animals thinking I had somehow made a horrible shot, when in reality I just couldn’t see drops of blood. Today, I recover animals that others would lose because I can’t rely on a blood trail. Please, I am not preaching, I am only urging those who shoot and “miss” to do a comprehensive and exhaustive search before conceding.

 

[JeffG]

Great advice! So many hunters do a "quick once over" and call it a miss.

 

[64Springer]

No less than one hour should be spent looking for signs of blood. A lot of unethical hunters walk up to where the deer was, see no blood and call it a day.

Many times, that blood has to fill up inside the deer to the point where it can flow out of the entrance and exit holes. Could take 50 yards or more.

Many times, I would see a single drop. Then another single drop. Then another single drop. Then out of nowhere it looks like a crime scene. Blood everywhere.

If people are too lazy to look for the deer they may have shot, stay home, and take up beanie baby collecting.

P.S. To enhance the chances of recovering a deer, do not go after the deer immediately. WAIT. Wait 30 minutes. Give the deer time to relax. Get tired. Lay down. Bleed out. Die.

 

[Spikebuck]

I also have the red/green deficiency. Blood trails are very difficult. My wife can see blood at night by Coleman lantern 20+ feet ahead. I have to have a good amount right at my feet. Like Campbell, I use other sign at least as much as blood to recover deer.

Surprisingly, I am often the one that finds other people's less-than-perfectly hit deer because I just do not give up...even if they do and call it quits I'll do grid searches, etc.

Campbell: Was your maternal grandfather "colorblind?" Genetically it passes through mothers, as carriers, from their colorblind fathers. My mother's dad was colorblind and my two brothers and I are as well. My grandson, through my daughter, is colorblind. It's a 100% certainty. Women, however, are much less likely to have colorblindness. It pretty much takes a colorblind male and a carrier female as parents for their female offspring to even have a small chance to have colorblindness.

With great strides in stem cell trials, I have no doubt my grandson will see full color in his lifetime. I read one article where a few human test subjects that were truly colorBLIND, seeing only shades of greys, black and white, which is extremely rare, had some color vision shortly after stem cell injections. This is significant because those individuals' brains previously had no "color memory" to relate to.

I would love to see normal color just once before leaving these happy hunting grounds.

 

[Peregrine]

I am also red / green color blind. It has always made blood trailing a challenge. I was blessed this year to have my deer drop in sight of me. That is always a huge sigh of relief and thanks. Spikebuck is correct in his explanation, females carry the recessive gene. My daughter's 8 month old son is doomed to repeat the life! Campbell, your advice is good for everyone. The deer deserve our best efforts and commitment to the follow up after the shot.

 

[Campbell]

Spikebuck and Peregrine, yes, my maternal grandfather and I share MANY traits to include color blindness. I have a 17 month old grandson from one of my daughters. I’ll have to teach him alternate tracking methods as well! Yes, it would be very interesting to see colors the way most people do. I was unaware of stem cell research for color blindness, I’ll read about it tonight and we’ll see what the future holds.

 

[Brokennock]

Just a curiosity question.
Have any of you who can't seen blood due to color blindness tried any of the lights that enhance blood and have a low light signature in that phase?
Some of the lights we used, in a world unrelated to the one discussed here, had a secondary red/green combination led set up that allowed medics to see blood better than white light and without causing themselves to be illuminated like a bright white light would.

Something like this,
https://firstlight-usa.com/product/tomahawk-mc/Or this,
https://firstlight-usa.com/product/liberator-stt/maybe?
Maybe there is a less expensive option out there one of you has tried?
I'm not saying you would see the blood as red, but maybe it would enhance it in a way that you would see something that stood out?

 

[Steve Wagner]

No less than one hour should be spent looking for signs of blood. A lot of unethical hunters walk up to where the deer was, see no blood and call it a day.

Many times, that blood has to fill up inside the deer to the point where it can flow out of the entrance and exit holes. Could take 50 yards or more.

Many times, I would see a single drop. Then another single drop. Then another single drop. Then out of nowhere it looks like a crime scene. Blood everywhere.

If people are too lazy to look for the deer they may have shot, stay home, and take up beanie baby collecting.

P.S. To enhance the chances of recovering a deer, do not go after the deer immediately. WAIT. Wait 30 minutes. Give the deer time to relax. Get tired. Lay down. Bleed out. Die.

Good stuff here. Almost every deer I have killed has been obviously hit and most of the time there is plenty of blood around. Waiting a bit is a good call, even when you 'know' it's a done deal. But two instances really stand out for me regarding this topic: I shot a nice buck a couple of years ago and his reaction was to instantly jump a barbed wire fence he was paralleling and take off. No blood, no ball of hair, nothing. At 25 yards the blood started showing up in the snow. Found him at 40. After quartering him up, I went to retrieve the heart but could not find it in the correct spot. After digging a bit, I located it rolling around in the chest cavity like a tennis ball, completely severed from the arteries from the shot. This year I took a down hill, quartering away shot at a decent buck. Shot felt good, deer did a 180 and bounced down the clear cut out of sight. I had about 8" of fresh snow and headed down to the spot. I found where he had leaped at the shot and exited. No blood anywhere. Did a 60 yard diameter circle around the strike zone-twice. Nothing. I was convinced of a miss at that point but decided to follow his panic stricken tracks down the cut. At 100 yards from my circle I hit a tiny drop of blood and was irritated at myself for nicking him. At about 150 yards a very small piece of almost bloodless sinew appeared and I knew it was more than a 'nick'. One more speck of blood at 200 yards and his tracks dead ended at a small thicket in the clearcut. Alleys left and right had no tracks and it took me 5 or 6 minutes to figure out that he dove through the thicket. I went around it and he was sprawled out headlong, chest down in the snow where he had landed. Still no blood anywhere in sight. Then, when I grabbed his antlers to drag him to a level bench, it all poured out at once. My shot had hit at the top of his shoulder and exited out the base of his neck in front of the other shoulder. A high vital shot and the blood just filled him up. These critters cruise as far as possible on their last breath. Very tough indeed and if there had been no snow at all it would have been a tough recovery. Lesson for me: Don't expect immediate blood, hang with it and snow is your friend. If you hunt bears, no blood is the norm, so expect that most of the time. SW

 

[Steve Wagner]

Just a curiosity question.
Have any of you who can't seen blood due to color blindness tried any of the lights that enhance blood and have a low light signature in that phase?
Some of the lights we used, in a world unrelated to the one discussed here, had a secondary red/green combination led set up that allowed medics to see blood better than white light and without causing themselves to be illuminated like a bright white light would.

Something like this,
https://firstlight-usa.com/product/tomahawk-mc/Or this,
https://firstlight-usa.com/product/liberator-stt/maybe?
Maybe there is a less expensive option out there one of you has tried?
I'm not saying you would see the blood as red, but maybe it would enhance it in a way that you would see something that stood out?

I have friends that carry 'tracking flashlights' that are made for hunting/blood tracking. I believe it is a green light and the blood glows in the dark from the this. I don't think color blindness would matter. They say the blood shows up glaring like infrared. Red objects like leaves or berries, don't. I have not used one so am not certain of this. Just what I have been told by reliable friends. SW

 

[Lippy984]

It’s kinda cool having a thread like this. I too have this Red/green deficiency. I haven’t hunted in 15-20 years, but yeah, I always had a hell of a time following blood trails. One or two times I’ve spent an hour or two, even searching early the following morning. Having one of those flashlights sounds like a really good idea that would’ve helped back then. I’ll consider that if I get back into it again.

 

[johnraleksa]

After the shot (if I can see it) I watch the deers body ,how it's running, running straight or jumping, bouncing ,if it flag (raised its tail) . All these things tell me if it was a good shot or a poor shot and tells me how soon to go after it. Last deer I shot did flaged and jumped, but then was out of sight. I thought that I screwed up and wounded it. No blood, no hair , no arrow. Only good thing it ran straight through a unpicked bean field . Didn't give up, walked 20 yards from one spot north then walked 20 yards south from that same spot . Then moved east afew rolls. found him 70+ yards out . No blood till I was 5 feet from him. All blood was still inside of body .

 

[Packrat]

Color blind? once I pulled over for a street sweaper, though it was the police

 

[64Springer]

Good stuff here. Almost every deer I have killed has been obviously hit and most of the time there is plenty of blood around. Waiting a bit is a good call, even when you 'know' it's a done deal. But two instances really stand out for me regarding this topic: I shot a nice buck a couple of years ago and his reaction was to instantly jump a barbed wire fence he was paralleling and take off. No blood, no ball of hair, nothing. At 25 yards the blood started showing up in the snow. Found him at 40. After quartering him up, I went to retrieve the heart but could not find it in the correct spot. After digging a bit, I located it rolling around in the chest cavity like a tennis ball, completely severed from the arteries from the shot. This year I took a down hill, quartering away shot at a decent buck. Shot felt good, deer did a 180 and bounced down the clear cut out of sight. I had about 8" of fresh snow and headed down to the spot. I found where he had leaped at the shot and exited. No blood anywhere. Did a 60 yard diameter circle around the strike zone-twice. Nothing. I was convinced of a miss at that point but decided to follow his panic stricken tracks down the cut. At 100 yards from my circle I hit a tiny drop of blood and was irritated at myself for nicking him. At about 150 yards a very small piece of almost bloodless sinew appeared and I knew it was more than a 'nick'. One more speck of blood at 200 yards and his tracks dead ended at a small thicket in the clearcut. Alleys left and right had no tracks and it took me 5 or 6 minutes to figure out that he dove through the thicket. I went around it and he was sprawled out headlong, chest down in the snow where he had landed. Still no blood anywhere in sight. Then, when I grabbed his antlers to drag him to a level bench, it all poured out at once. My shot had hit at the top of his shoulder and exited out the base of his neck in front of the other shoulder. A high vital shot and the blood just filled him up. These critters cruise as far as possible on their last breath. Very tough indeed and if there had been no snow at all it would have been a tough recovery. Lesson for me: Don't expect immediate blood, hang with it and snow is your friend. If you hunt bears, no blood is the norm, so expect that most of the time. SW

You mentioned deer using every last breath.

Hunting in cold weather allows the hunter to see if the deer has oxygen in its lungs or not.

Pull the trigger when condensation is coming from the nostrils, because that deer will have empty lungs.

If the lungs are hit when empty, it's very hard for the deer to take another breath.

 

[dylan84]

Use a bigger ball and more powder. Why are you having to track so much?

 

[Jedidiah]

Yes - I am.
In my early 20’s I discovered I had a “red-green deficiency “. Under most all circumstances I cannot see a blood trail. I learned to base my tracking of wounded animals on signs other than blood. Before discovering my handicap I had lost several animals thinking I had somehow made a horrible shot, when in reality I just couldn’t see drops of blood. Today, I recover animals that others would lose because I can’t rely on a blood trail. Please, I am not preaching, I am only urging those who shoot and “miss” to do a comprehensive and exhaustive search before conceding.

I also have the same red green deficiency. it occurs only in men, 6% of the population. I did not find out until I went into the Service on a "flight" program. They said, LOL, no way you're flying!!!

 

[Jedidiah]

Good stuff here. Almost every deer I have killed has been obviously hit and most of the time there is plenty of blood around. Waiting a bit is a good call, even when you 'know' it's a done deal. But two instances really stand out for me regarding this topic: I shot a nice buck a couple of years ago and his reaction was to instantly jump a barbed wire fence he was paralleling and take off. No blood, no ball of hair, nothing. At 25 yards the blood started showing up in the snow. Found him at 40. After quartering him up, I went to retrieve the heart but could not find it in the correct spot. After digging a bit, I located it rolling around in the chest cavity like a tennis ball, completely severed from the arteries from the shot. This year I took a down hill, quartering away shot at a decent buck. Shot felt good, deer did a 180 and bounced down the clear cut out of sight. I had about 8" of fresh snow and headed down to the spot. I found where he had leaped at the shot and exited. No blood anywhere. Did a 60 yard diameter circle around the strike zone-twice. Nothing. I was convinced of a miss at that point but decided to follow his panic stricken tracks down the cut. At 100 yards from my circle I hit a tiny drop of blood and was irritated at myself for nicking him. At about 150 yards a very small piece of almost bloodless sinew appeared and I knew it was more than a 'nick'. One more speck of blood at 200 yards and his tracks dead ended at a small thicket in the clearcut. Alleys left and right had no tracks and it took me 5 or 6 minutes to figure out that he dove through the thicket. I went around it and he was sprawled out headlong, chest down in the snow where he had landed. Still no blood anywhere in sight. Then, when I grabbed his antlers to drag him to a level bench, it all poured out at once. My shot had hit at the top of his shoulder and exited out the base of his neck in front of the other shoulder. A high vital shot and the blood just filled him up. These critters cruise as far as possible on their last breath. Very tough indeed and if there had been no snow at all it would have been a tough recovery. Lesson for me: Don't expect immediate blood, hang with it and snow is your friend. If you hunt bears, no blood is the norm, so expect that most of the time. SW

I was hunting with my brother & friends once (unmentionables) and one of the guys (new addition one of the others brought with him!) had a poor shot on a deer, because it was running! He survived the tongue lashing from everyone, but we spent close to 5 hrs looking for the deer. The snow was deep and when it finally expired it had fallen into a drift and was impossible to see unless you were on top of it. We are/were all very ethical hunters and we will look for a wounded deer until we drop if need be. The "gentleman" who took the shot was NOT invited back.

 

[Patocazador]

My son is red/green color blind. He sees various shades of green as orange to brown depending on the shade of green. Grass is orange and cedars are red. After he shot a deer, he walked up to me and said, "I guess I missed." I looked down and saw blood on his boots. I followed a very clear blood trail to a swamp and even followed drops floating in the water but eventually we lost that deer. He stayed in the creek swamp and either died in the water or the blood clotted. A search up and down both banks turned up nada.

Also he can't see red, pink, or orange ribbons .. OR orange vests.

 

[VA Hawken]

Same for me, found out that I had the red-green issue when trying to get a flight physical to take flying lessons. Somehow they had a problem with me differentiating with the red-green lights on opposite wings. So, couldn't be certified to fly at night. Pretty much ended the flying lessons at that point. As far as tracking, I've never had to track a deer I've shot. All were down with one shot, either DRT, or maybe a 10 yard run before they dropped.

 

[Jedidiah]

Same for me, found out that I had the red-green issue when trying to get a flight physical to take flying lessons. Somehow they had a problem with me differentiating with the red-green lights on opposite wings. So, couldn't be certified to fly at night. Pretty much ended the flying lessons at that point. As far as tracking, I've never had to track a deer I've shot. All were down with one shot, either DRT, or maybe a 10 yard run before they dropped.

Yes, LOL, they had the same issue with me , all those lights in the cockpit, why did they pick red & green!!!

 

[Spikebuck]

Just a curiosity question.
Have any of you who can't seen blood due to color blindness tried any of the lights that enhance blood and have a low light signature in that phase?

I have tried everything out there. The lights did absolutely nothing for me...nothing. The color vision glasses available will help in daylight, but not at night under artificial light and diminished under cloudy skies as they require a full spectrum of natural light.

The best for me was a red contact lense in my non dominant eye. When wearing it in the doctor's office I went from only being able to read three of 25 of those "numbers buried in colored dots" test to 19 of the 25. Unfortunately for me, I have serious issues with contact lenses and cannot wear them. But for red/green deficiency, that does work to enhance...at least in daylight. Would make everyone think you have a serious case of pinkeye though!!!

The stem cell gene therapy that is coming will be amazing. This is an older article, but is a quick read for a start on the subject:

https://hms.harvard.edu/magazine/art-medicine/color-therapy
There is one advantage to being colorblind ... You don't need the secret decoder glasses in the cereal box to read the clues/answer on the back of the cereal box. Hitler's army actually used colorblind people in airplanes as spotters for camo'd allied equipment. Those kinds of things are designed for people with normal color vision, but colorblind people can often see through that and pick out the hidden items.