Well, it was just another one scratched up……..We didn’t pick up a single speck of blood until about 250 yards where we found a couple spots the size of a skoal can where the deer had stopped and stood. From there we went another 250 yards or so where Otis got the buck up out of it’s bed. It bayed up long enough for Otis to get out about 4 barks and then it broke. I let Otis push him for a good ways before we came to a really tall, steep ridge for this area. It was probably 150 feet or more to the top and damn near straight up. When we caught up, Otis had already made it nearly to the top of the ridge. We all decided at that point that with the little sign we had found and with the deer climbing that steep ridge with no issues that he probably wasn’t hurt too bad. That’s where we called off the chase.

Another call just came in………

Hunter says he shot a real good buck yesterday afternoon. Found a good bit of blood for 400 yards and then nothing. That’s all I have to go on right now.

To be continued…..

I feel like we’re suddenly snake bit. Otis is tracking great but the cards just aren’t falling our way. This was very likely a leg hit. The hunter said the deer took off running and did a flip….got back up to run and fell down again. He had pushed the deer just about as far as he could before giving up. They had brought in a Weimaraner pet to try to track as well as driving a rhino all over the area we were trying to search. Otis dug it out though and progressed the track a few hundred yards before coming to a spot he was having to work over. Suddenly the wind shifted and he just took off like he had been shot out of a cannon. No sooner than he got out of my sight good then he cut loose barking on bay. I started easing his way just in time to see the deer break and run. We were bumped right up against a paved road with cars steadily going by so that was pretty much all she wrote. It just wasn't a big enough area for us to be able to freely run. It sucks when that happens but it's just part of it I suppose.

Thanks for the advice today! Spot on.

Dont worry about the run of luck, that may change the next time the phone rings.

Glad you were able to find him…..

It’s amazing how many bad shots are made that you are running into. And you’re only covering a couple of counties?

I cover several counties but many of them are coming from Macon and Bullock.

Snow day at CNC Tracking.....

Nice pic!

Thanks!

I thought about that lately reading these posts. Imagine how many people don't call for a dog. Imagine how many calls other trackers across the state get also.

CNC-on bow shots, what are the chances the deer lives on one lung hits with you?

I really don’t know on that one. I’m sure some do though……they’re tough animals.

Call just came in……….

Buck was chasing a doe. The hunter shot at it on the move and said it jumped up in the air. They’ve tracked it for 400 yards or more already, finding small pools of blood where the deer is stopping and standing every so often. Sounds like they’ve hit him low somewhere. Maybe he’s bedded up. Gonna meet them around 2:00 and track it. Not really optimistic on this one being dead.

To be continued………..

tuned in. good luck

No luck on the first track. I had assumed it was shot this morning but when I arrived at the land the hunter told me it was actually shot yesterday afternoon. It looked to be another hard-grazing shot in the leg. There was skoal can sized spots of blood where the deer would run a ways and stop….run a ways and stop. The hunter told me as we were tracking that he could see in the snow where the deer was favoring one leg. We tracked it for a mile but just never came upon the deer.

While I was tracking that one, a neighbor from down the road told me he had stuck one around 10:00 with his bow on a quartering away shot but hit it way back. I told him I’d stop by on the way home. We got on the track pretty much in the last 30 minutes of daylight and I rushed Otis through a 350 yards loop on one that didn’t bleed a drop. The hunter was sitting about 75 yards off of a big creek. The deer ran away from the hunter after the shot going upstream….He got out to 150 yards or so and then looped over to the creek and made a complete “U”….coming right back down the creek the way he had come from but just out of sight of the hunter. He went right back by the hunter’s stand and was laying about 100 yards behind him just inside of the bedding area he was hunting on the edge of. The deer was hit toward the front part of the hind quarter on a hard quartering away angle. That’s a lethal shot with a bow. We had about 10 minutes of light left when we found him. By the time we got him loaded up it was dark. Something had already been eating on him.

On a side note….this deer had completely broken off one side at the base. I started looking at it closer and it was crusted over with a big hard scab. Underneath was nasty with puss and goo. I wonder if this one would have made it. Brain abscess???

Call just came in for tomorrow morning………….

A ten year old young lady shot her first deer while hunting with her dad. The buck did a mule kick and ran out of the field into some really thick pines......they can’t find any blood. I feel pretty good about this one if the deer did a classic mule kick. I didn’t ask but I would bet it was a smaller caliber gun which may have just had an entry and no exit. We’ll see.

To be continued……….

Got a call back last night from the hunter saying they were concerned about yotes getting the deer overnight. They felt like it wouldn't be far so they were gonna go back with a search team and look. Sure enough, I got a text late last nighy saying they had found it.....so no story on that one this morning. Congrats to the young lady though on her first deer.

A mild rant………

This isn’t directed at any one person. I get this call pretty often and I’m certain other trackers do to. I’m sure a lot of it is just the excitement of the moment and all………but…….

There’s no need to call a tracker to inform them that you MAY need them later……. and there’s no need to call them to “put them on standby”. It doesn’t work like that fellas. I may hang up the phone with you and immediately get another call from another hunter. I’m not gonna tell them that I can’t track their deer because someone else MAY need me later….. You don’t need to call until you are 100% ready to back out and bring in the dog....unless you're just calling for advice, that's all good. The hunter last night never did seem to understand what I was trying to tell them. They were like…..Them: ”Well what if we just book it for in the morning and let’s plan on meeting….and then I’ll text you later if we find it???” …....Me: (sigh)