We got a call last night a hunter had shot a buck amd she couldn't find much sign. We decided to load up and got to the field and about 20 yards in off the field I found a piece of bone. I knew them We were gonna have to get our running shoes on. Heidi made her way through a nasty clear-cut and into a hardwood ridge. Finding bits of bone and blood along the way I knew this deer was still on his feet and not stopping until she caught him. Well we made it to a wet little creek drain and I heard her barking. The garmin showed she was close but I could barely hear her. When I closed the distance I figured out why, she was down in one of the deepest ravines on the property with a bayed up leg shot buck. I didn't hesitate and slid down about 80ft on my butt straight down. When I got to the bottom I was able to dispatch the buck with my 10mm, they cannot tote that round I have found and the chase was over but the task was not. My collar showed 3.04mi from where we started. The hunters husband was with me and had to call them to try and find us. Knowing that the ravine was all around us we decided to wait until they got close on the side by side to try and get him out. Well after several hours of dragging uphill we finally got him out.

Congrats on the recovery! Those tracks can take you into some crazy situations for sure.

Man, I need beer just after reading that. Way to go Heidi!

Good job, glad you didn't give up...congratulations

Sounds like a tough night, but well worth it.

Congrats

Did they have that much property, did you contact property owners, or track the deer without worrying about it? 3 miles covers a lot of property.

Congrats on the recovery! Tell us more about that 10mm round if you don’t mind

Saw it on her fb page nice buck! And a hell of a track!

Admire your dedication! But, damn it, I don't think a lot of folks pick up their gun until hunting season starts. This scenario happens way to often without a happy ending.

Great Job some of these stories amaze me on two fronts, first the dedication and determination of the handler and the dog your commitment to your profession / job is amazing. I don't know how it works but I hope you are compensated well for your investment and time. Second as stated above, and I am not slamming anyone, but we as hunters have an obligation to go to the woods with equipment that we KNOW is ready to use and will be effective. I check my bow and guns regularly for accuracy and loose screws, mounts etc. just riding in a truck or SxS will loosen things and cause a problem

There’s a lot of things that can happen in hunting scenarios you can’t predict or prepare for. Yes we owe it to our sport, the game and ourselves to only enter the woods properly trained, prepared and with effective equipment, but what I see OFTEN is ppl who are not. I don’t necessarily blame them. I blame the ones who came before them for not being good instructors and mentors. That and you have a generation of hunters who entered the sport at older ages (didn’t grow up in a house with hunters) and they honestly don’t know any better. We have to do better at assisting them so avoidable mistakes don’t happen. Some are unavoidable. There’s one incident when I’ve had to call a dog in the last 10 years that I feel like was entirely a bad judgement call on me. It was my fault to take a risky shot. The other couple of times though, wasn’t anything a shooter did or didn’t do right. If people would just slow down and be deliberate with their shot placement rather than quick and in a panic, it would eliminate a lot of tracks with dogs. I personally love the fact that dogs are a tool for recovery.

Thank you for being concerned, but most deer I've tracked have never gone in a straight line, nor has the dog, you can wind through the woods and make a lot of ground just FYI, hence the reason i said my collar showed 3.04mi .

But to answer your 1st ASSumption, yes they had plenty of land and no property lines were crossed, and if I need to contact property owners I do so.

I have to agree i totaly blew a shot on a biggun saturday afternoon. He had his head on ground and was walking. I had to stand up and turn around and i got in a hurry and shot plumb over him. It happens

I decided that I didnt want to lug a rifle around on a track, but needed something substantial to finish one off in case we have to. I decided on the 10mm Glock long slide. I have a custom chest holster for it and typically shoot 180grain or 200grain JHP. Just got some more rounds from Sig Sauer and they seem to pack a punch as well. Its got some kick to it so no holding it gangsta style LOL, but its accurate and usually ends the track in one shot.

The Smile on the Hunter’s Face, was my take away from the story. Good job Tracking. 👍

This

I can’t criticize because there are too many variables. One she could have unknowingly bumped the scope knocking it out off zero/off target. May have been awkward shooting position not able to align for a good shot. May have been shooting a husband sighted in rifle. Glad the deer was recovered.

Glad you and Heidi got the young lady her buck. Tracking sounds like it's a combination of things. Tiring, exciting and fun are just some of I can think of.

I agree we all need to make our shots count. We need to make sure our scopes are on and practice shooting our guns but every hunt / shot is didiffernt . A deer can turn or jump right at the shot . We can be a little nervous or have buck fever. All kinds of things can happen. I have the good fortune of only having to call a tracker once and we were fortune to find my buck . Thankful for these folks and their dogs ! If you've never blown a shot or made a bad shot I salute you , it must be nice to be perfect !