Season is almost here again. I have updated our tracking list to make it easier to find trackers in your county. We have trackers with dogs available in every county of the state. Join the group now before you need it and forget where to look. There is information on tracking, training, etc... It's a great place to be if you are wanting tips on training your own tracking dog.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/alabamabloodtrailingnetwork

If you guys haven’t joined this Facebook group yet, I would highly recommend you do so just so you’ll have it in your back pocket when you need it. Just about every tracker in the state is on there and it’ll come in really handy for you when you need one.

I would also add that there are a lot of new trackers out there now training young dogs. If you see someone listed for your county or maybe a neighboring county….call them up and start networking with them. Many of these guys will be needing practice tracks to put their young pups on this fall. Allowing your local tracker to bring his puppy out and get it on some tracks at your hunting club or land with benefit both parties in the long run. Good luck to everyone.

Can you post the updated list for those of us who dont have facebook.

it's easy to set up a Facebook account and join the group. If they get online they can easily get on there.

As many hours as I have tied up in making the list, rounding up names and numbers of every tracker I can find, compiling everything, etc.., signing up for a Facebook account is a pretty simple task.
And I'm in no way trying to be rude. I've just done a lot to get the group together and prefer people join it. There is more info there than just finding a tracker.

How much do people in Tuscaloosa County charge for tracking deer?

Everyone is different....just depends on the individual. There's anything from “free”….to “track for tips”…..to “a fee” usually in the $100 dollar range.

Join the group and call the trackers listed for the county you hunt in. Feel them out, ask a couple questions. That way you atleast know the first person to call if you have a need. Fees aren't discussed in the group. Everyone should, as a courtesy, atleast be reimbursed for their expenses but it does vary pending who you call. Most charge little to nothing. But what is it worth for a man to leave his family for the evening, load up his dog, all his gear, and drive to you to help you find a deer that you can't find on your own, and spend as much time as necessary to help you recover it? This is a hobby. Most do it because they love working their dogs. But no tracker can travel to every call he gets all year and eat all the expenses. I know that's not what you are implying but a lot of trackers I know now charge because of the lack of the hunter to even offer gas money after driving an hour to track and spending a couple hrs tracking a deer.

This is where I disagree Brandon. I think if someone expects money for tracking then they should be upfront about it and charge a reasonable fee. Everyone is trying to have their cake and eat it too by advertising that its free but then expecting the hunters to pay them just the same. I’m just not a fan of that for several reasons and this is one of them. I think if someone advertises that it’s free and they don’t get paid, then it’s their own fault …not the hunters.

To some degree that's right. However, just using my own common sense, even if somone tells me they do something for free, I know it cost them something to come out. And out of respect, appreciation, and courtesy, I'm giving them something. I've been on both ends of that. Some people just want to work their dogs and don't want to scare people off with fees BUT I would think anyone would offer them something for effort. That's how I was raised. Everyone is different. That's why as I mentioned earlier, some of those guys started charging. They worked for tips, but tips never came. It's not an arguing point. If you charge, that's fine. If it's close to home, I don't charge. If I drive a long ways, which I seldom have time for, I'll get more specific. Some things are worth more than money. Like sharing the experience of finding someone's first deer, or biggest deer, or... I would personally never set a flat fee for everyone. Most things are situational and I'm sure they are for u too. This post was up to invite members to join the group though, not really to discuss fees. We are 2 of 40+ trackers in the group and no one has the same opinions on everything. It is, as I have said before, the hunters job to call, and ask questions.

It’s all good man. I think we can have a conversation about it like grown folks. If nothing else, it’ll keep the thread bumped to the top for a little longer. This is just a subject that I take a little issue with since I’ve been flamed pretty hard for choosing to charge. You can shut down the conversation on the Facebook page but its still a very talked about conversation at tracking events and in personal conversations….and it’s something that should be discussed.

The part that rubs me a little is how the some folks try to shame someone who charges a fee as if they don’t love their dogs… or just love to track….or because “that’s not what it’s all about”….or “it’s just a hobby”……yada yada. At the end of the day, you can call it whatever you want to but we all load our dogs up and go do the same thing. What it boils down to is just what you said….everybody wants folks to give them money….but folks are scared to charge because they’re afraid that hunters won’t call if they do. Folks are relying on putting their names on a website attached to “free” as their means of getting calls but then want the perks of getting paid when it’s over and shaming the hunters for not paying the free guy. I don’t think that’s right. If you want paid for your gas, time, and other expenses then be upfront about it.

Look, I like finding a kid’s deer and watching my dogs work and just being out in nature, etc, etc.. as much as the next guy, but a lot of this talk is just about saying what sounds good for the ears of the masses in hopes that more folks will call. If folks want tracks then they need to beat the pavement to get their names out there like with any other service until word of mouth eventually takes over. Sure, it’s not a business for most folks but if you want calls and you want to be paid for them…you better approach some aspects of it just like it was one. It’s not doing the tracking community any favors for this notion to continue to be promoted that the guys who are out advertising and charging a fee are doing it for the wrong reasons and everyone else are just good hearted folks who want to do the right thing. That’s all horsechit when everyone stands there at the end with the same outstretched palms.

I actually do fully intend on eventually charging a flat fee and it may come before this season is over. If not this season, then likely for sure next. I’m moving toward that as Otis gets older and gets more experienced. It’ll completely depend on how he has progressed. I know exactly what I’ll get into if I don’t. One of the tracks I went on last year, the guy had likely back slapped the deer. I spent half my day tracking the deer down and then chasing it before calling it off as it crossed a paved road onto other property. We got back to the trucks and the guy jumped in with one of the other hunting club members and rode off without offering me a dime since we didn’t get his buck he cut a few hairs on.

I ramble on and say all of that because the whole Alabama tracking community is right under your fingertips. The tone that is set amongst those folks is the tone that will be set for how tracking is conducted in our state. Folks have strong armed this idea into our tracking community of it being shameful to charge and IMO that’s not how things should be. This shaming should be squashed. This whole illusion of its “free”… but I still want paid wink, wink amongst our community should be squashed. If you want to track for free, then by all means do it. But don’t advertise free and then try to shame the hunters afterwards for not paying you. Don’t put it off on them. That will give everyone a black eye. I’ve never seen another service operate the way trackers are trying to do. It baffles me.

I’m just sharing my opinion but I truly think we would all be better off if everyone would conform to the normal standard for offering any service rather than continuing to promote what is going on now. I’ve had a lot of new folks bring it up at tracking conventions and I tell them straight up not to be ashamed to charge. At the national tracking convention, there was a lady from Texas who over heard one of these conversations and started horse laughing when we said “free”. She said something to the effect of….“A great tracking dog is a valuable commodity fellas.......y’all are selling yourselves way short.”

I agree with her. If everyone keeps on trying to run their tracking gig through this odd “business plan” of free….then it hurts the whole group. I ain’t by any means talking about everyone colluding or anything like that but I am suggesting that the group should at least allow the normal laws of supply and demand dictate how things go..... rather than keeping on artificially fugging with the market through "free". People may say that I’m over thinking things la la la,,,,but this is the reality of how economics work. Listen to what I’m saying….If you make the value of a great tracking dog be a $20 bill…..then that is what the value will be and that is what you should expect.

Rant over…….Damn I feel better.

Lol. I feel U in all that. I have no problem charging. That's why I don't let those discussions happen in the group because I'll wind up booting somone for being overly committed to their opinion. Some of the other trailing networks don't allow any tracker that charges to even be listed as a tracker. But it does say that hunters should reimburse for expenses. I'm not going to take trackers off the list because they want to charge because that's robbing the hunter of the person that might find their deer when no one else can come. The hunter is usually an adult and can make their own choices on whether they want to pay somone or not. But I'm giving them the option to make that choice.
I imagine a lot of the "free" trackers will soon begin to charge. Most are waiting on experience to build. There are too many hunters that throw Hail Mary bullets at deer and then tell you what u want to hear until you make the drive and figure out the truth. I had a few trackers this year drop off the list because they are tired of driving to look for a deer that was grazed by a bullet. You have to love doing it like anything else because there isn't enough money in it to make a living. Not in this part of the country anyway.. I know very well about the expenses and time that tracking consumes. You'll never get compensated for that and I know you know that too.

You dang right. I’m spending more money to own tracking dogs and track than I did hunting. It kills me to hear guys carry on that some of us are trying to make a living doing it or something. Most folks are just trying to cover enough of the expense to keep from getting kicked out of the house.


Weeding out the bad calls is a great reason for charging a set fee. If you get your name out there enough, then “free” will get every Tom, Dick, and Harry calling you with every scenario under the sun. That puts you in the position then of almost having to interrogate the person to decide on whether or not you should take the track. It’s exactly like you said…..folks say all kinds of things on the phone to get you out there to look. Having a reasonable fee for coming out will in itself take care of much of that. It will be on the hunter then to decide if the track is worth them paying you to come out. The guy that cut two hairs and knows it won’t call you out on a goose chase that never had a chance from the git go……and even if he still does want you to come out knowing he only cut two hairs…then everyone is all good with it because he is compensating you for looking the same as if the deer were dead. The tracker shouldn’t have to goose chase for free and eat the cost of every Hailmary someone slings out there.

Anyways, I’ll stop before I write the War and Peace of tracking. I just think these things should be considered when folks start blasting that stuff out again from other states telling us how tracking is supposed to be and what bad people we are for charging them. The 40 folks in that group and the guys who attend these tracking events are the ones who decide how tracking will be in Alabama. I was caught off guard by those responses that day when I asked the forbidden question about "free". I had no idea that folks were about to come out of the shadows and start flaming my arse with a blowtorch.

I believe if you charge $40 or $50 just to show up and a recovery fee you would most likely get better results. I personally couldn't imagine having someone track for free! Let the ahole find his on deer if he doesn't want to pay.

For years I told hunters "just fuel and tips." Usually worked out fine but there were times when a hunter would really take advantage of that. My average tips grew from $60 to $105 over the last few seasons. I have found that a lot of hunters would rather just be told a set price. What works for me is "$50 minimum, $100 per hour one way travel time. Broken down into 15 minute intervals. Hunters will usually pay more than this. I don't charge a recovery fee because we work harder for the ones that we don't recover. Some folks charge more if they "find" the deer, but then they consider it a "find" if there dog runs out in the woods and jumps a deer. I always like J.J.'s saying "All a tracking team has is their reputation." I will negotiate because I love to work my dogs, the sport and I never want $$ to keep someone from recovering their deer. What's the secret to making a small fortune tracking? Start with a large one!

I agree with you on this. I tracked for more than one person last year that asked me about the payment plan of “free with tips” after having talked to other trackers. I got the same feeling that they would rather just be given a set price up front rather than putting them in limbo about it. I can understand where they’re coming from too. If you leave it open ended like that then it puts folks in a similar situation as if they were negotiating over the payment…… and many, many folks hate negotiating over money. Everyone is free to choose how they operate….but I think it should be just as acceptable, if not more the norm amongst our tracking community to charge a set fee rather than everyone continuing to push the “free but not free” approach. JMO

I lost a good buck a few years ago, waited an hour before I went in, found multiple puddles of blood where he'd lay down but like a genius I kept pushing him instead of backing out. Never found him. Still hurts. I would've happily paid to have someone help me find that deer and you can bet if it happens again I'll be calling a tracker!

Let's get back to the facebook thing. I (and a bunch of other good ole boys) will not be joining facebook for any reason. It's actually a pet peeve of mine when that place is seen as the end all, be all place to have public information.

Where can we see the information?

I will NOT sign up for a facebook.