Featuring:
Riccardo Tamburini
Estimated read time: 4 min.
What’s the worst that can happen when you follow a wounded animal into the woods? And how to ensure that you stay safe while trying to recover a target that escaped from the point of impact (POI)?
A recent event encountered by a seasoned Italian hunter, Riccardo Tamburini, inspired him to ask these questions, share more about his experience in the wild, and give valuable tips on cautiously recovering a wounded animal.
Recollecting the night
Some nights ago, I was involved in wild boar pest control action together with two friends. Around 10 PM, a herd came out from the woods around 120 meters away from us, and after a quick plan about which target to hit, two of us shot at two different animals.
Riccardo Tamburini
After the impact, one of the hit boars fell two times, yet found the strength to go away deeper inside the woods. The first thing we did was download the video footage via the Stream Vision 2 app and carefully analyze it on our smartphones.
Since we had a thermal spotter, we decided to see if the wild boar had fallen near the POI. Unfortunately, thorough research with the Axion XG35 Compact brought no results, therefore we decided to put some markers on the trees to help the dog handler during his search the following day.
Almost a costly mistake
The next day we received a call from the dog handler, who told us what happened. He said that he found the boar still alive, yet wounded very seriously. Despite its severe condition, it managed to find its way and charge the dog handler with his dog two times.
What would have happened if we met the tusker the night before? Probably we would’ve just gotten frightened. But it also could have ended more seriously.
As a Pulsar ambassador, I spend a lot of time suggesting to hunters all kinds of different uses of thermal imaging devices. And one of them – the possibility to recover an animal that went away from the POI.
But no device can eliminate the importance of following the rules of recovering a wounded animal. After years spent on the field, I learned that some animals can be calm and quiet, yet some – aggressive. Therefore, the next time you’re in a situation like this, remember the following tips.
Download your footage
The first thing to do when you’re recovering a wounded animal is to accurately identify its sex, age and class. For example, a tusker boar is much more dangerous than a young male. But determining this is not so easy, especially if you don’t have enough experience observing with thermal devices.
One thing you must remember is that when you’re watching through the lens, you’re not seeing the real-life image of the field. You’re looking at something processed through a sensor that captures thermal radiation. The size of things, as well as the perceived distance, could be different.
Also, the depth of the field is generally compressed. This depends on the base magnification of the device – the higher it is, the lower the level of compression will be.
The first thing to do when you’re recovering a wounded animal is to accurately identify its sex, age and class.
Riccardo Tamburini
Generally speaking, the possibility of seeing the recorded footage downloaded on your smartphone or tablet via the Stream Vision 2 app will help you to understand the environment better.
Watching the video will also help to better understand in which direction the animal escaped. Try to find some objects – a bent tree, a distinctive rock or something else – to use as a reference and find the path used by the animal to go back into the woods more easily. This will help when trying to find the blood track, starting with the POI.
Into the woods
After getting all this information, you can start following the path of the animal and enter the woods. If they’re very dense, it’s better to give up the search – put out some markers which will help the work of the dog handler the next day and leave. Yet, if the woods are not that dense, you can start spotting the area with a thermal device.
Now, which spotters work best in a situation like this? Units with lower base magnification. 1x is the best-case scenario, but they’re not that helpful in many other situations. Therefore, 2x base mag should be enough.
If you have a quick mount, you could also use your riflescope after removing it from your rifle. For example, the Thermion 2 LRF XL50, which has a base magnification of 1.75x, should work perfectly.
The possibility to see with a thermal device in the open woods, while also using a torch to easily enter the forest, will usually make a difference and we’ll spot the dead animal easily if the visibility is around 30 meters.
Lastly, keep this in mind – don’t push the search if your first try, when looking around 50-80 meters from the POI, is fruitless. Walking the same path of the animal back and forth could compromise the work of the dog handler.
I hope that this cautionary story and the tips I shared will help you to stay safe and professional in the field!
Don’t push the search if your first try is fruitless – walking the same path of the animal back and forth could compromise the work of the dog handler.
Riccardo Tamburini
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