Let me say this first. I may have to call a tracking dog the next time I go hunting. I have no issue with tracking dogs, dog handlers or the use or said dogs.

That being said; are people worse shots these days or does anyone know how to actually track a wounded animal? Or both?

I follow numerous deer hunting pages on Facebook from Alabama and other states. There is always someone on each page CONSTANTLY asking for a number for a tracking dog handler. I’ve seen Numerous post since Tuesday of pics of a bloody arrow and some blood and the poster asking for a tracking dog BEFORE he even tries to find his own deer.

What the he!! Is happening to our sport that “hunters” won’t even try and find their own damn deer?????

Yes, they are.

Not as many.

Ain't hurting no feelings here, but you asked and hers my take
I am a deer Hunter and also a tracker, here is the problem I see in some of the calls I go on
1. Lack of woodsmanship and inability or lack of understanding on what to do after a shot either a good one or bad one
2.not giving enough time on a bow shot before they start to look
3.use of large mechanical broadheads on lower poundage bows or lightweight arrows or a combination of both
4. Hunters esp younger/ newer hunters don't have a good understanding of some things that are for the most part understood by older hunters I think that has something to do with the fact that a lot of older hunters were brought up in a hunting environment and kinda learned alot of things without it being pointed out as much as it was just what you do.
Now with all that said when me or my family kills one we do use the dog on every recovery unless it's a bang flop simply because I need to work him asmuch as I can to make him better when I do really need him.
I will also add this in some ways I think another reason you see more requests for dogs is that people are lil smarter in some aspects to go ahead and call and get a dog coming or on standby in case they can't find it which is a good thing in its own way.and there is more people that are tracking now so it's more available

I have a friend (Art Powers) that has a very good, two actually, tracking dogs. I've never called him. We generally have found the deer we've shot. Mostly because the guys I hunt with tend to be particular about what they shoot and the shot they take. If I ever call Art, it is going to involve a taxidermy bill.

It's probably just the cool thing to do these days.

I’ve always tracked my own deer, most are bang flops with the rifle, but with the bow I have lost a few over the 25 years or so I’ve been hunting.

I called a dog once, deer turned just as i squeezed the trigger I've taken that shot numerous times. Anyways we found the deer "still alive" 20 hours later

Would you rather frame a house with a eastwing hammer or a nail gun?? I’m guessing you’d choose the nail gun because it’s the superior tool for the job correct??

I look at tracking dogs pretty much the same way. It’s a far superior tool for finding deer than a human. That combined with the knowledge of someone who tracks 100 deer a year makes for a much higher probability for recovery. Folks just want to find the buck they shot and they recognize that they stand a far better chance by calling in a tracker with a dog. A lot of calls I get just want me for sort of like an insurance policy. They’ve shot that big one and its more than worth it to them to bring in a tracker to insure a recovery. They don’t care about trying prove themselves to others as being a “worthy tracker” themselves. They just want to find their deer.

I remember a bunch of guys (Older Guys) from different clubs back in the day that i was in that would find a few drops of blood, and say oh well, i made a bad shot it probably live, or it was just a doe, and I'm not tracking that damn thing...

Yep he's a good guy!

My buddies call me to come track their deer for them. I once tracked one over 450 yards through pines without a drop of blood.... I was able to notice a small drag in the pine straw from the shot. Personally it doesn’t bother me because none of my friends really know how to track or field dress deer, they always ask me to do it for them BUT, they’re out there, they’re enjoying themselves and they’re doing it legally. None of their fathers showed them how just like mine never showed me. I would rather them be out there calling me to do it for them than sitting at home not learning.

Not offended at all BGH. I'm no world class shooter hunter but I've followed O'Connors advice to hold 1/3 the way up broadside. Far all the ballistic gack us powder burning gun loonys speak of today's bullets are the best yes even the Barnes ttsxs.(That'll be screenshotted ol partition loving Dave said something positive about Barnes bullets.) Another problem is the internet says this 6.5 300 prc whizbang eargensplitten loudenboomer kills deer at 1583 yards with this scop&ammo combo no need to practice just run the numbers twist the turrents and yank the trigger equals dead deer. Targets reveal the cold hard truth and nobody has "time" for that.

The general comments the OP made gets posted a good bit on social media. It tends to be the case though that the person posting it has never used a tracking dog or seen one work. Also, if you’ll notice….I don’t think I’ve seen a single person yet who HAS used a tracking dog who agrees with the sentiments. It’s always the exact opposite. I think a lot of this just has to do with folks not knowing enough about the whole situation.

I've never had a reason to call a tracking dog, I use a 6.5Creedmoor...deer just fall over

But actually I've never had to track a deer more than 25 yards or so but I've only been hunting for a few years, I'm sure my time will come I'll need a dog, hopefully, it doesn't.
I'm glad there are dogs available though.

I grew up shooting a bb gun like about everybody else around here. Thats not the case any more. I think alot of folks, when out of a stricktly controled environment, just arent really too good of shots. They might think they are because they do pretty good at the range with a gunvise and all that but in a real life situation, not so much. Then you have the shakes that happen to alot of hunters when they see a deer they want to shoot. Im no sniper but I cant remember ever not being able to shoot. Ive choked a few times but for the most part, I can hit what im shooting at. I always figured it was because I grew up shooting every day.

Lota people bow hunting that really should wait till gun season.

Yep he is awesome. I called him because I had 3 hrs to find a deer I shot the afternoon before and only had white hair at the impact site. I wanted to know for sure the deer was alive as I could find no blood and white hair is normally bad. His dog found the deer in about 5 minutes.

BGH, it would surprise you if you knew what percentage of deer are wounded every year and not recovered. It happens often, even to experienced killers.

It’s even more surprising how many hunters in the under 35 crowd who have no woodsmanship skills. They can’t track because they never learned. I’ve recovered many deer through the years for other people they never would have found otherwise. It’s not because I’m a great tracker. It’s because people are not going to take the time to really evaluate what happened after the shot, and don’t know what to look for when sign goes cold. It’s the experience they don’t have because they’ve never had to use it. It’s much easier to back out and call a dog. I personally have no issue with that. It’s a smart decision and leads to many more recoveries than someone haphazardly blundering through the woods not having a clue what they’re doing.

I’ve used a dog on two deer that I would not have recovered otherwise. I also used a dog on a bow kill that was less than 150 yards from where I shot him. Even though he didn’t go far, and I had a pass through, the deer would not likely have been recovered without the dog. To me a recovery is the desired outcome. How it happens is of no concern to me.

I believe a lot of this falls to marginal shots taken when no shot should have been made. I haven't bow hunted in a few years now but I've lost a few back when I did. I always tried to hold off until THE shot presented itself. Quite often that meant no shot. I've had some hoss bucks at short yardage but no favorable shot presented itself and I didn't take the low percentage shot. That's hard on the nerves and the hopes of getting that big one but it's the right decision. When I read about a deer being trailed 1000 yards and it's found/not found/still alive, etc it speaks to me of poor shot/deflected shot OR a shot that was made knowing that a dog could be put on the deer after the poorly placed shot. Then the pics come along and provide the evidence.

All that being said, I will bow hunt again, possibly this season. I run the risk of losing a deer that I shoot but it won't be because I tried to make a shot out of a situation that wasn't gonna do anything but wound the deer in hopes of finding it with a dog.

My daughter sat with me from 12 to 16 years old(she is in her early 20s now). She killed at least a deer every year during that time and let several good ones go because she was not comfortable with the shot. During that time, I thought I taught her about shot selection. If the deer is walking to you, you have to wait on him to get beside you or past you for the best shot if he does not turn.

Well last deer season she struggled to kill one and took a shot where the deer was at a bad angle. Found a definite hit. As cheap as I am about stuff like that, I backed out and called a dog man. We always had a house dog semi-trained that did a damn good job on a leash, and they were great when you killed the deer and just needed to find it. This dog was/is PROFESSIONAL...Zeena out of Columbus, GA if I remember.

I don't know about the cool thing to do, but it was damn sure cool. I was impressed. As much as spend on hunting, that extra bit was well worth it to ease my daughter's conscience about that bad shot and get some sausage. Hell, she was upset enough that he suffered as long as he did. So for even that small buck, it was worth it to me.

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