Same here always like to meet bama sportsmen.
No more than five minutes after we talked I got a speeding ticket,was on my was to track a deer up there in the Prattville area,got caught in a speed trap,dang,costly one to!!!

Well dang that sucks man

James 1:17 says all good and perfect gifts come from the Father; Lucy is certainly a perfect gift. I'll be packing up my bow and heading up to Bullock county soon, it is reassuring knowing you and Lucy will be available. What an incredible,unforgettable experience i had with you and Lucy. Hearing her open up when she bayed my buck was certainly music to my ears cuz I knew what that meant. And even though the buck lost 20" of horn between the time I shot him and recovery (I get awfully excited bowhunting) I am so very thankful for the outcome. We are in the first pic of those you posted. Thank you for doing what you do!

Whereabouts in Prattville? I'm here, woulda loved to tag along n watch Lucy work

I was tracking in a club by that high fence place,it was called white something.then I went to union Springs and recovered a nice 11 pt.in the poring rain and lightiening storm,Hunter was from Georgia,hunting with guide Kent mclelland.
On my way to track for Kent it was raining so hard I had to slow down to 40 mph with the wipers on high just to stay on the road,had a lightening strike rt in front of my truck,blinded me for a second,met with Kent and his hunter and some other guys there to help, told them with all this rain and the buck ran into a wet/swamp area Lucy wouldn't be able to track it,any scent on the brush would wash off into the water and be gone,if the buck had gone into a area with soil on the ground instead of water there might be a little scent on the ground,all the time were talking it's just pouring and lightening,they said they understood so I was getting ready to leave and Kent says well were awake anyway, it was after midnight,we might as well go out there spread out and wander around we might get Lucky, I said well if you are going to do that I'm going with you to help more bodies the better, I put on my ground length rain slicker put the tracking collar on Lucy and jumped in on of the gators planning for me and Lucy to just grid the area out,we got at the hit sight and rt away Lucy took and interest like she could smell something I couldn't believe it so we just stayed back and let her go to work,she worked the immediate area for about half and hour slowly advancing in the direction they thought the buck had gone,then she stopped and the GPS showed that she had been stationary for a long time so I snuck in there and found her meticulously working one bush! She would work one stem at a time working her nose the length of the stem smelling every leaf,then she would work another one,I figured the buck must have brushed up against it and all the scent hadn't been washed entirely off.finally she moved on sweeping the ground with her nose moving forward only inches at a time,then all of a sudden her intensity and speed picked up and she move out of sight,into a deep ditch full of thick brush and fallen trees,I had to go around it,by the time I circled around she was gone,I looked at the GPS and she was locked down out in the swamp,I eased my way out there and there she was and so was the 11 pt buck!! Talk about a bunch of happy wet hunters!!!
By the time I drove back to the motel,took care of the dogs shed my soaked clothes ,my head hit the pillow at 4:30 am..

Great story of dog work and your confidence in her.

She sounds like a mighty fine, deer finding machine!!
Congrats to y'all!

absolutely amazing what an experienced driven dog can do under the worst circumstances ain't it Mike? I hope you apoligized to her for doubting her abilities congrats to all there.

troy

It is amazing what a dog (or a deer) can smell, even if the conditions aren't optimal of what we think they should be.

Awesome dog..she looks proud!

Great job and a great dog Mike. I bet that was a huge load of relief for that hunter as that is a heck of a buck!

That was one helluva night\morning, BIG THANK you to Mike and Lucy for comin out that late and under those conditions. My hunter was leaving for home the next morning, and i wasnt giving up, sleep or no sleep, rain or lightning, it was a nasty place to track a deer, but once i saw Lucy work that line i knew it was gonna be worth it.thanks again and a big thanks to all the deer trackers..you made this old deer guide and his hunter very happy, we got one hour to fall on the sofa and doze off before we were back at it gettin hunters out. this track proved to me once again, never give up and call a dog!!!!

Sounds like a magic dog . Congrats Mike and Lucy and to the hunter. Great buck!

Lucy and I sure enjoyed that walk in the woods with you guys,that nite started our longest streak,17 in a row.13 had to be bayed up.
Thanks hope to be in the woods with you guys again

Congrats and thanks for sharing a great story with us.

Yesterday tracked a buck for a 8 year old,it was his first deer,
Walked up to the hit sight all there was,was a pile of 2 to 3 inch white hair,then in a couple yards a little bldand then nothing,I couldn't smell any gut shot smell but I don't have the best smeller,no gut material,after thinking about it and analysing the evidence I figured it was a low brisket shot and probably not recoverable.
I was bumbed, wanted to get this super nice boy his first deer.But according to the evidence and my experience,the buck would probably live and even if we found him he would run like the wind and we wouldn't be able to catch him..
So I'm asking you aldeer hunters what you think?

Hey Mike you tracked a buck for my buddy in Cussetta this weekend. Sounded like Lucy and the hunter had to get wet to get the buck. Keep up the good work!

I wish I had known about you and Lucy in earlier I lost a big ten point before christmas . I won't let it happen again. We found a good bit of blood but I think it was a brisket shot meat bone and some white hair. No buck

Yea!
Yea!Surprised us all that a buck hit that hard would go so far and swim a wide,deep,Swift current creek,was fun watching the hunter shimmery across a couple trees,that had convienetly fallen across the creek

Yesterday tracked a buck for a 8 year old,it was his first deer,
Walked up to the hit sight all there was,was a pile of 2 to 3 inch white hair,then in a couple yards a little bldand then nothing,I couldn't smell any gut shot smell but I don't have the best smeller,no gut material,after thinking about it and analysing the evidence I figured it was a low brisket shot and probably not recoverable.
I was bumbed, wanted to get this super nice boy his first deer.But according to the evidence and my experience,the buck would probably live and even if we found him he would run like the wind and we wouldn't be able to catch him..
So I'm asking you aldeer hunters what you think?

I agree with yer thinking.