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.

.

I like to watch a good dog work. If I were to make a bad shot, I wouldn’t hesitate to call one. The goal is recovering the deer. I can think of 2 good bucks I shot about 12 and 14 years ago that might have been recovered if I would’ve known a tracker back then.

You have to teach those you hunt with. You have to be willing to learn as well.

I can see how folks could perceive this happening but it just doesn’t…..and if it ever does its an extreme rarity. I’ve yet to go on a single track where I felt like the hunter just took a shot knowing they could call in a dog. It’s just never the case. Folks are shooting with the thought of loading that buck up in the back of the truck an hour later. It’s only after the shot that they start contemplating on calling for the dogs. This may change as time goes on but I just don’t see it happening

Wiley might have come to that conclusion because that’s exactly what that dipshit Timber2 did in his most recent big buck kill. He intentionally gut shot one knowing he could call a dog because some wise old man told him to.

I don’t get condemning others for not having tracking skills. A lot of it just has to do with the fact that a large percentage of hunters grow up in city or subdivision type environment now….instead of growing up in the sticks like most hunters used to do.

Let me ask y’all this……..How many of you feel like you have to kill a big buck this year in order to prove to everyone else on here that you’re a “big buck killer”?? Do you feel like if other hunters aren’t good enough to kill a big buck then they should be shamed for it? How are blood tracking skills any different? Should they not call in a dog so that they can prove to everyone that they’re a superior tracker? Is it not ok that they aren’t Daniel Boone?

10-4.....I understand now.....Yeah, he's definitely a world class dipshit then.

What you see on these shows is a shot placement that is behind what I think is a good shot. I try to shoot with a bow right behind the shoulder into the heart and lungs. I have had one that I lost but tracked it for an hour. We backed out and came back the next day. Lost it when the blood run out and it was bleeding good. Still bothers me that we didn't find it. They do it on shows but you don't see who or what was used to find it.

I ain't even read the comments but the only 2 deer I've lost were directly under me with a bow...i killed one drt like that once..then lost 2 after close to same shot...ill never take that shot again, I tracked both for at least 150 yards before blood ran out...id suggest not to take this shot if u a bowhunter...ive never called a dog but I wouldn't hesitate in certain scenarios....props up for the guys who track for money

what I see as the biggest tracking mistakes are either trying to go too fast or having too many helpers. the right number of trackers is 2 in my opinion with three being the most you want. only having 1 guy out looking for blood is the key with the other standing at the last spot. the worst thing is having lost blood and trying to track by hoof tracks and somebody or the trackers have already turned up a bunch of leaves. this usually happens when somebody with little skill just starts walking around looking for blood and can't find any. On iffy shots always send the shooter back to his spot and have him recreate the shot. once a guy gets up and moves around many lose track of where they shot and the path the deer took. this is especially true at night.

2 cents.

By the time I'm called in (wish I had a dog) sometimes the site is soo tracked up by foot traffic finding the original path can be very difficult. No human traffic helps determine whether it was a hit or miss.

I think there is a small segment of hunters that think you can get blood you killed it. I’ve heard some gun hunters talk about breaking one down. I think some think it applies to archery hunting too. Maybe there’s and underlying thinking that if it’s a good one a dog can be called in.
At the same time I’m glad to see so many tracking dogs.

problem as I see it that some folks shoot deer and do not wait for good shot.

This

There are a lot of people that think that they are expert shots but couldn't hit the broad side of a barn! Most don't practice and some never check to see if there rifles are zeroed in. They figure it was ok last year, so it's good to go this year! I know several that do this very thing!

If you want to improve your tracking skills, come prepared to track. You will need a roll of fluorescent flagging tape, a compass, a headlight, a field notebook, and a plan. After the shot, take a compass bearing on where you saw the deer when you shot it, and where you last saw it. Write those bearings down in your waterproof field notebook. When you come down, flag your stand tree high enough to see over the underbrush. Now you can walk a line to the kill site to look for blood and hair. If you find any, start tracking. If you dont, then walk the other line to where you last saw the deer. Look for blood or overturned leaves. Remember that a running deer can cover a lot of ground in a few seconds, so even heavy blood and tracks may be in spurts that are yards apart. Flag each blood spot or leaf disturbance. Be sure to look for blood on trees, bushes, and tall grass up to deer shoulder height Once you have a line of flagging established, the next spots are most likely down that line. If they disappear, look for a turnoff. Because my buddies always seem to be aimless wanderers, I do not involve them except for a last resort grid search. And if all else fails and you call the dog, at least it will only have to deal with the confused trampling of one hunter.

When I shoot a deer that falls within sight, I practice doing all those things to see if my tracking will take me to the deer. I look at the deer's wound and try to associate it with the blood and track pattern. The more you can learn, the better you get. You learn how deer react to different shot placements. You learn the value of patience and persistence. Most of all, you learn to trust your own abilities.

Actually those numbers wouldn't surprise me. I've been around a little.....

Can someone explain how you track a deer through thick cover without a blood trail? I'll be the first to admit I don't know how to do that.

Kicked up leaves, broken/bent branches, broken/bent grass, natural trails, etc.

Wounded critters "typically" take the easiest path even in thick stuff.

A GPS and aerial photo from a phone helps tremendously. I use both in conjunction with my dogs to search. The Garmin Alpha I'm running on the dogs will draw a line behind everywhere they go so it allows me to see exactly where we've searched and where we haven't. It also allows me to run a very efficient grid without just wandering around like we sometimes do when the woods make it hard to keep our bearings straight. Using the GPS I can simulate a timber cruise and work back and forth running evenly spaced out lines parallel to one another and not leaving big gaps that have been skipped over. The aerial on my phone allows me to look at the bigger picture and decipher over where the most likely travel routes may be....the different stands of timber around me..... or if there's a nearby pond or swamp maybe. It's just like putting pieces of a puzzle together. Sometimes the dogs can run right to it and all I do is follow. Many times we work together as a team though and these are the tools I use along with the knowledge of what I've seen deer do in the past. The GPS and aerial pic can help you even if you're not using dogs.

Have you ever used a tracking dog to find your deer? You've hunted in Africa quite a few times haven't you? I know they have some of the best trackers in the world but don't they commonly use dogs over there too?

CNC, I've got an honest question, and maybe I'm dead wrong about what I'm assuming, but what percentage of tracking jobs that you get called on are for bucks vs does?

I second all the comments that the there is just a general lack of woodsman ship, a lot of people "bow hunting" now that probably should not be and just a general laziness.

I shot one Thursday evening, first thing I did was go home and get my 7 year old to make the track with me. He's been on several with me know, and he's actually a big help, I use him to mark last blood when I push on, I'm also a little red/green weak in the color spectrum and blood does not jump out at me like it does for most, and he's actually spotted drops a few times before I picked them up, talk about make that little boy proud when he found blood before dad di!

If you don't have at least a splatter or hair where the impact happened then it's dang near impossible. Every time I've been able to do it I found hair, meat or splatter from the impact then I was able to follow the freshest sign to the animal (mud/straw kicked up, sticks broke, hair on briars, etc). It's a slow, painstaking process but it's worked for a lot of deer. Another thing is once you come to a point where you lose the sign (and I lose the sign often) I spiral out from my last sign until I find the trail again. I always often look back up the trail I've walked to see if it makes sense.

You Sir are correct, when it comes to Bow / Cross Rifle (I am not slamming anyone who uses a cross bow due to health or age) so many of the young folks coming up are too lazy to devote the time to become a proficient bow hunter so they pick up the cross rifle and believe the ads....three inch groups at 100yds!!! I have trailed many deer through the years and by far cross rifle shot deer are harder to trail whether the shot was good or not. You wonderful Gentlemen in Al. will also see a huge difference in the adrenalin factor of deer around feeders, the first year wont be so bad but moving forward as the deer determine the feeder is NOT a safe zone you will see and additional surge of energy of these hyped deer that will cause your trailing to be much longer. The worst part of this is you cant tell these corn bag littering millennials anything, they seem to be experts on everything out of the womb, I hate to see our sport take this direction it doesn't look good for the long term.

Holy cow. that sounds like a batman utility belt (compass and waterproof field notebook?) I'm just kidding, but I guess I need to step up my game. I just use the toilet paper in my pocket and hope the fried chicken or chili the night before doesn't use all my marking paper.

What's funny is this guy and myself must have learned from the same people because I have "Field Notes" notebook in my bag at all times with a space pen (bullet pen), a lensatic compass, a pen light and a roll of orange flagging tape. Its standard issue in my hunting pack.

99% of the calls are for bucks……A good portion of them are for “the best buck I’ve ever shot at”…..You get a good number of calls too for kids first deer and that kinda thing.

No one has answered my question though….How is shaming folks for not having superior tracking skills any different than shaming them for not being big buck killers? There’s a wide range of skill level amongst hunters.

Honestly though….I get just as many calls from very experienced hunters as I do from ones who aren’t. The first buck I found this year was for someone who’s probably killed 200-300 deer with a bow. They’ve just been a part of watching a dog work on numerous occasions and understand how superior they are to a human. So they call in the superior tool to help recover their deer. They’re not concerned with all of this nonsense about proving themselves like I feel like this is being made out to be. It feels like just another chest poking, dick measuring contest about who’s the real hunter. Who cares? I like Matt Brocks comment…..A recovery is the desired outcome and how it’s done is of no real concern to me.

While I am not in the millennial generation I am going to stick up for them here. I'm guessing that group lacks the political power to get the law passed in the first place. My bet is the boomers had a big hand in the new baiting law and the push for crossbow use across the USA.

It's not. I addressed that in my comment above. At least folks are getting outside and maybe by walking by you on a track they can see what a blood trail looks like and learn. There's only a few ways to learn and the best is getting out there and doing it.

Also the boomer's raised the millennials so who's really to blame for how millennials act?

While most of that statement is pretty self-serving I don't disagree. I wish I had a dog tracker a couple of times in the past. However, most of the issue is that all the skills learned by hunting small game aren't used today. Tracking squirrels and rabbits (and such) are what trained many in the past. Heck, half the guys I hunt around these days can't even tell what kind of tree they are looking at. Plus, understanding how deer navigate a property is very helpful. Many times on our property the deer are pretty predictable after they are hit (7 out of 10). But knowing the terrain and experience are hard learned and not everyone has those opportunities, so dog trackers offer a great service.

CNC. I’ve hunted a lot in a lot of places.

I have used dogs here and in Africa. They actually use dogs a lot there. Mostly Jack Russels but when I hunted in South Africa last September two of our PH’s had beagles.

I made a bad shot on a huge kudu bull at 280 yards. Had we not had a dog; I’d never have seen that bull again. We recovered him very much alive 4 hours later over 1 mile away in a Different direction than we saw him run.

As I said in the very first sentence; I have no issue with the use of dogs. My issue is with people going into the woods with the intent of shooting an animal that they have very little chance of recovering WITHOUT the use of a dog.

why process your own deer if you can drive it up the road a piece & drop it off with somebody to do it for you? see my point? times/things change ... i've known GREAT hunters for years who've had dogs to "track" deer ... IMO what's happening now since social media/interwebs exploded is you've got marketing of tracking services to hunters ... so why bother?

i would not hesitate to call a tracker -- much like the Pinhoti guy did in his recent video -- if my best efforts had failed & i knew i'd hit the deer with my shot

What's funny is this guy and myself must have learned from the same people because I have "Field Notes" notebook in my bag at all times with a space pen (bullet pen), a lensatic compass, a pen light and a roll of orange flagging tape. Its standard issue in my hunting pack. [/quote]

I think that is a great idea, but I am kind of a minimalist. Heck, I hunt with my grandfather's 1953 760 gamemaster (270). Funny thing is I have a roll of marking tape 2 inches from my computer right now, but have never had any with me hunting. I "stalk/still-hunt" more than I sit (especially with a gun), so usually I only carry a knife, 4-5 extra shells, some loose toilet paper or paper towel, and maybe a bottle of water.

I wasn't trying to take a shot at you, or at using a tracking dog in general. Guy I buy my welding gas from is big into running hog dogs, and got into blood trailing a couple years ago. I have his number in my phone should I ever need it, and wouldn't hesitate to call. Almost called him on a hog I shot with the bow last spring, but I ended up finding it first.

In the mean time, I will continue to bring my kids small game hunting, teaching them how to blood trail, and woodsmanship to the best of my ability.

I think the fact that 99% of the calls you get are for bucks is very telling, and part of what bugs me about it all. So is no one ever making bad shots on does? My assumption, sadly, is people just don't care enough to go through those efforts to recover a doe. I guess putting your hands on that big doe to get that picture out on social media is just not as important.

I don't disagree with you bamaguitardude, but I think your example kind of undermines your argument. Big Game Hunter is saying he wishes the sport was more traditional and you give an example of a show produced for entertainment.

Like I was telling Wiley in response to his post….That’s just not happening enough to even be significant. I mean maybe you’ve got a few dipshits like this Timber guy who are doing it but I’ve never run across a single situation where I thought it was the case. I listen to folks tell me their story about what happened and what I hear is folks just making the same bad decisions and making the same bad shots that we as hunters have always made. A lot of times it’ll be a situation where the hunter just got antsy and took the first shot they could get……I remember one specifically from last year where a guy took a very poor quartering to shot and I remember looking at the situations when I arrived and thinking….”Damn, he just slung an arrow at it as soon as it stepped out of the woodline into the green field.”…..That’s what’s common….Hunters aren’t thinking anything about a dog at that moment. They’re thinking…”Oh God I gotta shoot before he gets away!!”….and they make a poor, rushed shot. I'm guilty myself as I'm sure many of us on here are....

I understand....I didn't take it that way.

x2
I have seen it myself and it is the definition of unethical

Personally i hope i don't have to track one at all - but when the situation arises, I like to track the deer myself - that's part of the whole experience for me...just as much as any of the rest of the things that you do to hunt. I have no problems calling a dog if needed but the tracker aint gone be happy with me when he gets there because i can assure you that i have done everything i possibly could to recover the animal myself before i call a dog in. (that's when you would see the obligatory posts on here about not screwing up the area if your going to call a tracker )

I don’t like it when people shame folks for NOT calling in a tracking dog. It happens on this site pretty frequently. Nowadays if you don’t call in a dog your a lazy hunter who doesn’t care if you recover your deer.

i hear ya ... my only point in mentioning the Pinhoti guy is simply that he exhausted ALL his options the traditional way before calling in a tracking dog ... perhaps this was all stage, i don't know, but i doubt it:

I still think a lot of folks are just looking at this the wrong way. I think in another ten years a lot of this will pass. I’m good with whatever a hunter wants to do…..back out and call a dog before even looking or exhaust all other options first…..I’m used to it all at this point……But to make it out to be like exhausting all other options first is the right thing to do is not really correct in my opinion. When I hear this I hear….”I’ve swung this eastwing hammer until my arm hurts and I realize now I’ll never finish this house with it…..Can you bring in a nail gun??”…..There’s no reason why someone should have to exhaust all other options first. Hell, if I shoot one and smoke it…..I’m still going back to the house to get my dogs….Why wouldn’t I? It’d be like riding a bike to town and leaving my truck in the driveway….It makes no sense. Why should other hunters do the same if they have the option of calling someone with a better tool for the job? This doesn’t have to be about who’s a woodsman and who ain’t just because they call for a dog.

I agree with CNC. If I have a good shot opportunity, and take it, and the deer disappears into the thicket, and I can't find a trail, I'm backing out and calling a dog, if one is available. With all the money I spend on deer hunting, $100 to find the fruits of my labor seems like a small price to pay.

we get it. you are supporting tracking with a dog. but maybe the guy making money off it shouldn't have to be the main proponent. kind of like an auto shop guy trying to convince some if us that not knowing how to change a tire or work on the engine isn't a big deal. just give him a call. I support tracking with a dog, but I also think part of hunting is becoming a woodsman in ways that includes learning how to ethically find game.

….or maybe he should be since he probably understands more about it than most any other mthr fckr in the conversation……


Sorry..... but to insinuate that any of what I've said has anything to do with me making beer money off of something I just enjoy doing rubs me the wrong way a little....

So....out of curiosity, what is the average "going rate" to have someone bring a tracking dog out? I'm not talking about Billy Bob that lives in a trailer down the road getting his flea-infested mutt to go sniff around, but an actual, trained tracking dog?

Processing your own deer and knowing how to track a wounded animal aren't the same thing. Sorry Bro.....

I’m just gonna post a short reply so hopefully not to derail the original topic but…

There’s really no “going rate”…..Different folks do it different ways. I used to charge $50 to come and $50 if we found the deer. Now I’ve just went to a straight $100 fee for any call. Lets say I go on 75 tracks this year. That’s a grand total of $7500 dollars minus expenses. I just filled up my truck twice this past week to go on those tracks in the dog forum at $45 a pop. I’m not even gonna go into listing all the expenses but how much do you think vet bills and dog food and all that add up to for two dogs??? So yeah….I’m not getting rich off this gig by any means….Getting paid just helps take the sting out of all the costs involved and buys a little beer and pork skins at the end of the day.

About the most I’ve heard of folks charging is $125-$150….Other folks track “for free” or for tips….but there’s a catch to that in most cases. Not all, but a lot folks who track for free heavily screen their calls and are only gonna take the ones that sound really promising. The ones with a lot of blood or the gut shots, etc….They’ll turn the others down. That’s because “free” turns into “big tips” when you find peoples’ deer. Just don’t be fooled and think free trackers are doing it out of the goodness of their heart and because their just good guys. That chit crawls all over me when it gets made out to be like that. I mean they enjoy tracking too just like I do but they're getting paid just the same. It's just a different approach. Call them up and tell them you can’t find any blood or hair but your feel confident you hit the deer and see how many free trackers come to help you. The evil guy charging a fee though will likely be on his way. I'm really not hating on them even though it may sound that way....I just want everyone to understand how it actually works.

Anyways…..chit, I’m off on a tangent now…..

my point wasn't that you are somehow corrupt. it is just that you are heavily invested (not necessarily about $) in tracking other people's deer.

I have guys that have me sight in their rifles before season and just like ones that can't track I do believe they are less than ideal hunters. I still like them and they are great guys...but I'm not judging if they are going to hell just that they ain't the best hunters.

I'm sure you are a good guy even if you like to pull out the MFer line pretty quick.

Actually, I’m usually pretty measured in my use of mthr fckrs and sich…..You have to push special buttons on me for me to start slinging those around.

I get it….my point though is that most everyone else is just making assumptions with their opinions while I’m basing mine off of actually meeting the hunters, seeing all the different situations that occur, hearing the stories, and tracking the deer.

I am a mthr fckr and proud of it. Matter of fact I am every chance I get!

I’ll add this to conversation too……I go on some easy tracks that some very experienced blood trackers might have otherwise recovered without the use of a dog…..But the vast majority of the ones I go on….even the best human trackers out there wouldn’t have stood snowballs chance in hell of finding the deer or better yet….giving the situation some closure.

I remember a track from a couple of years ago on a brisket bow shot where the buck ran about 300 yards through a stand of young pines right down a worn out deer trail until it came to an interior hunting club road. The worn out trail went straight across and kept going. The deer however decided to hang a left and run straight down the middle of the hunting club road for about 300 yards…..into a green field and out the other side and on down the road some before deciding to hang another left onto just some random trail that took him back toward his bedding area. We found him about 200 more yards down that trail in the young pine stand. Good luck tracking that one by looking for broke sticks, branches, and tracks.

So, if you didn't use the dogs for tracking you wouldn't maintain their health via a vet or feed them?

As I read the op's post I think there are maybe three deer over the years I sure would like to have put a dog on the tack. They where no big trophies, but just would like to had a good dog and handler to have to track for about 500 yards to prove they may have been recovered within the hour. Would have been worth paying them for their trouble if they were located nearby. I feel like all three deer were hit just not much if any sign of blood. I know by going back two were found later the other just had no idea for sure. All three were near dark shot scenarios with no tracks that could be seen due to thickness of cover and hard to find jump or foot tracks. Sometimes it is just hard for me to get an exact location of the after deer shot on moving deer in thick cover with no sign visible. Now on a green field or in the sand tracks and jumping marks are usually easily found and blood more obvious creating a starting point and direction, but thick woods with little blood is more difficult to find the starting point and everything changes after dark! With an experienced dog, trainer, and gps why would you not want to increase your recovery? An ethical hunting would want to always do whatever possible to recover their game. Add into the equation the time and energy people spend on growing rack deer they definitetly want to find the trophy they just spent thousands possibly to grow. Don't know the percentage, but I would say at least 30% more deer could be found by those who think they are good trackers using a dog.

I most definitely would…..But if they’re gonna be used as a tool to travel around and search for other people’s deer then I have no problem asking those other people to help with some of the cost for their upkeep. There’s a lot of risk associated in me bringing MY dog out and trying to find YOUR deer. Had Shelby gotten bit by that rattle snake she stepped right over Saturday….it would have cost me around $400 probably. That’s assuming it didn’t kill her before I got to the vet’s office.

For what it worth.

CNC I have your number saved in my phone.

CNC - If you don't mind, please PM me your contact info. I don't hunt your part of the world a lot, but would like to be able to find you if I need your services.

I have tracked all my deer and buddies without a dog until last year. I consider myself very thorough and proficient when tracking, and the first time I called a dog in last year was the only reason why we found the thing. I put a liver shot on a deer with my bow that we tracked for hours that night on miniscule drops of blood, and we ended up jumping it the next am after picking up a trail that am. No more blood once he got up and ran. Then only reason we found the buck was with the dog. I agree that way too many people are lazy nowadays when it comes to tracking a deer, but I also will say that the only reason I knew about a dog was this sight so I can also attest that people are just more aware nowadays of the potential to call a dog in. I am all about trying to track on your own, but def not against pulling out of there and calling a dog in if the situation calls for it.

I have used a dog one time, it was a big buck biggest I ever killed. I can track a deer pretty good have tracked quite a few. If a deer stops bleeding or bleeding very very little and still traveling pretty fast they are almost impossible to find. Without the dog I would not have ever found that buck. Sometimes you can't find them without a dog.

Personally, I think a lot of folks are just lazy and don't want to do the work to track their kill. I am a 61 year old lady who taught her 15 year old grandson how to track/trail a deer through some of the thickest brush on our property. He knew NOTHING about tracking, finding a blood trail, looking for drag signs, disturbed leaves, broken branches etcetera. I had to grab him by the arm when we entered the woods to keep him from ruining the trail. Granted, he was young but his dad, who had been taking him hunting before, taught him absolutely nothing.

Not only did we find the buck but I helped him drag it out of the woods and got a skull mount commerating his nana teaching him how to trail a deer. It was a great evening and cold as hell.

Unclehuck....My phone number is in my tag line. Give me a call if you ever need help. If you're out of my area then I'll try to get you in contact with a good tracker closer to you.

Here's my number. I noticed my tag line doesn't show up on my phone

334-421-1811

I shot a deer about 60 yards away on power line one morning and it did not run after the shot. I could see a half mile down the line, so I know the deer did not cross back over. After walking a semi-circle area between 50 to 100 yards across one way and the other I could not find the deer. After an hour or two getting tore up in those vines and briars from head to toe I gave up. I was almost 100% sure I hit that deer. Wore myself out both mentally and physically and could not understand why it was not laying 10 yards off the clearing.
Long story short decided a couple of weeks later to try and find the carcass. Went back and the deer was laying about 15 yards from where I shot it. Only thing I can figure is it eventually came back and bedded down near where I shot it hours or days later. Area did not look like a well used bedding area, so really strange to me why it came back there. Bet a dog would have found that deer which may have been right out of my view 110 yards away. Like you are trying to tell folks hard to fool an experienced tracker and good dog.

I like to keep my tracking dog close

She’s resting up just in case we get a track.

Amazingly so, I think so too. Basically admitting you made a bad shot and have no tracking skills.

your story brings back great memories for me. my grandmother taught me a lot about hunting. We spent endless hours squirrel hunting and just learning about animals and growing food. She was known as one of the best hunters in the county and even though she has been gone now for about 15 years is still has a lasting presence every year at deer camp. wish I could shoot that model 12 Winchester like she could, then there would be no need for all these tracking conversations.

Its pathetic is what it is I've seen several on that nose to the ground that didn't even attempt to track it either learn how to shoot or if they can't do that learn how to track if neither give it up

of course not; my point was related to the availability of getting someone else to do something for you vs. you doing it yourself ...

All of the above. Plus they get to let everyone on social media know they may have killed a deer. Humble brag if you will.

Hey...while we are on the subject.... I've got 4 big does out in front of me right now. Before I sling an arrow, does anyone know if there is a tracking dog close to north Madison Co?

make sure to check their nipples first!..............wait, I think that was a different thread...

I think hunting videos have had a lot to do with it over the years. If you get on that big swamp donkey in your hex suit while shooting your 300fps Waddell endorsed bow you don't need to do anything but go get in the stand over your corn pile covered in swamp donkey apple butter. Forget about practice or learning some woodsmanship. Who needs it!

Year before last….Mr. Randy Vick (goes by trackncur on here) received a call from a man in south Georgia who said he’d just shot the biggest buck he’d even shot in his life. It’s one they had been after for a while and he was a giant. He said that he felt like he made a good shot but he didn’t want to take any chances so he slipped out of his stand without even walking to the hit site and came straight back home to get Mr. Randy on his way with the dog. When they got there and started searching, they quickly found the buck at only around 100 yards. It turned out to be the biggest deer killed in the state of GA that year. Was he pathetic for backing out and calling in the dog to make sure he recovered that buck?

This conversation is really just silly and a lot like the ones that were had when crossbows were legalized. Let me ask y’all this…..There’s a fairly new product for helping blood track deer call Luminol. Its some tablets you dissolve in water that when sprayed across the blood trail causes it to glow neon blue at night. Do any of you have an issue with hunters backing out and going to get some luminol to help find their deer?

This is almost as bad as some of the tractor threads. "If you don't do it the way I do, then you MUST be wrong!"

Same guys use a chainsaw, though, instead of felling with an axe and bucking up the firewood with a misery whip.

Any legal method to take and/or recover a game animal should be treated with equal respect. You hunt your way, and let everyone else hunt their way. If you don't want to use a tracking dog, then feel free to abstain, but there is no criticism needed for the ones who chose to do that.

Not everyone grew up in a hunting family with expert tracking abilities, and not everyone has the same skillset. Why demean others without knowing their background?

Luminol has been around for many years.

Stop using sharpened sticks or 243's and get a bigger gun and you don't need no tracking dog.

you just highlighted one reason why I have a problem with your thinking in general. The fact is that the guy got all into bringing in the dogs for his "antlers." if he needed that dog so bad to find his trophy buck I hope he calls every time he shoots a doe.

but seriously, who are you trying to convince at this point. most say that dogs have there place. heck I wish I had one about 5 years ago on a track that went cold. however, some of us believe that if you have no idea of how to track a deer (and no interest in learning) maybe you shouldn't be pulling the trigger in the 1st place.

I’m not trying to convince anyone…..I’m just representing one side of the debate and telling the things I see as a tracker. There are very few of us here to represent how we see things unfolding….and like I said before…we aren’t just basing our opinions off of assumptions.

Yes, people call just almost exclusively on bucks….Do I condone it as being right? No…….But it just is what it is….I get it…..Also, I’ve found that a lot of folks who like to stand up and talk real righteous on the internet tend to do no different than others when the actual situation falls on their doorstep. They just like to talk a big game in front of others. If 99% of all calls are bucks and no one is calling on a doe then that tells me that very, very few hunters take your righteous approach to it. Is it necessarily right? Ehhhh…..no…….But if I’m honest about it…..I’m not paying $100 to find a doe either. That’s the difference in someone just telling it like it is versus trying to look self-righteous.

I’ve been shooting deer for 32 years. I was taught early on how to track. Up to this point in life I’ve never called in a dog but you can bet your rear end I’ll call one if needed. I won’t push a wounded deer but I’ll always go to the impact site and take a look. You can usually tell a lot about a hit by the blood you find. I do think “tracking” without a dog is a dieing skill

This thread has gotten way off track like lots of threads we have but your comment was the point I was trying to make.

Was there ever really a point where hunting was full of great trackers? I'm talking about real trackers like you're describing. I'm guessing if there was it was a looooong time ago and it died well before any dog came on the scene. I'm 40 and I don't know if I've ever seen any real trackers. What y'all are talking about has always been a rare breed....or at least it has been for quite a while

you are right that hunters haven't changed. when the seasons opened back up in the mid 1940's in parts of the Midwest you had people shooting donkeys (and trying to check them in) and crazy stuff like that. most hunters in the current era are leisure hunters and rarely have skills. My grandparents (who guided from the 1st season in 1944- to the late 70's had all kinds of guys (10-15 a year) coming in and most had no clue. times haven't changed.

I have kind of been messing in this thread (playing devil's advocate), but I do really think some deep ethical considerations are at play. It is right that as a general group "hunters" can be a term used that doesn't signify skill level. I'm sure dog tracking actually improves the ethics of using resources to locate game. However, the hunter does bare that some responsibility to learn how to improve his odds of retrieval.

hell, I've never sat in a shooting house either. so don't get me started on that. haha

Dude, calm down.

Here’s the short of it.

People get on Facebook, while still in the stand, they ask if anyone knows a dog guy because they shot a doe, buck, Sasquatch, painter, etc prior to ever getting out of the phucking tree. They don’t go look at their arrow, they don’t go look for blood, they just call a dog in.

Are you realty ok with that?

Like I said; I may have to call you this weekend but it will be AFTER I go look at my arrow to confirm that I hit the damn deer.

I’m actually very calm…..I’m a pretty even keeled person….I’m just persistent as hell.

To answer your question though…..Yes, I’m great with that……Why?.....Because WAY more deer would probably be recovered if folks did just that. The fact is that most hunters out there don’t really know how to track and never have. What y’all are calling “Do everything possible by traditional means first”…..usually equates to…..”Do everything possible to phuck it up first before calling for a tracking dog”……The reason why I know that there are very few folks taking bad shots with a tracking dog in mind is because the majority of the calls I get sound like this…..

“We gave him at least 30 minutes before tracking but jumped him up out of bed at 200 yards….We backed out for another 30 min to an hour and went back in to look again but lost blood about 100-200 yards past where we jumped him…..or my favorite….we tracked him for 800 more yards before finally running out of blood…..(They might as well have said we pushed him for another 800 yards)……Me and 2 other guys walked the area out pretty well but I just can’t find him anywhere…..You think the dog might be able to find him now???”

This is the reality of it……If most of these folks would call an experienced tracker before doing anything then they would at least get some sound advice on how to proceed and it would likely turn the above story into….”We found him in his bed 200 yards from the hit site!”. I just had one such track a few days ago. I was already at the hunting club tracking when a lady shot a nice buck about an hour before dark. You could tell they were amped up to go find him that evening but I convinced them to give it time. As a result the buck was 180 yards from the hit site with an arrow in his guts instead of two properties over sunk in a river or pond, etc….

So yeah….I don't mind at all if folks call before doing anything.

What you are calling a tracker I call a dog handler. Tomato....Tomato.

Simple question for you and I no way am I questioning “your” abilities. (Not your dog)

Can you find a wounded deer?

I’m decent at it but I wouldn’t call myself a great tracker by any means. I don’t have stellar 20/20 vision….I’m “far sided” and I think that’s what hinders me the most. People tend to spot blood before I do. I’ve killed somewhere in the neighborhood of 150 ish deer though so I’ve had a good amount of practice doing it on my own without a dog. I've lost a few over the years but not too too many. One of the reasons I got a tracking dog to begin with was because I lost a really nice one that I straight up gut shot and couldn't find. There just wasn't anything to follow...only a big wad of hair.

Now as far as “finding deer” is concerned…..I consider myself to be far more than just a dog handler. After you’ve tracked for a few seasons you start learning that there’s far more to it than just turning the dog loose and following him. It’s a team effort and you learn to use all the tools that are available at your disposal. I use my GPS, my phone for aerials, the dogs, the hunter and friends…..and most importantly I use my experience of having tracked four or five hundred deer now. I have a good idea of where they typically like to go and how they typically react to certain shot. I can tell you with pretty good accuracy where most folks have hit a deer just by what they tell me they found at the hit site and how the deer reacted, etc. I'm using a whole different approach to finding them than getting down on your hands and knees looking for broke sticks. I feel like I’m getting pretty dang good at it now but I still have room for improvement definitely.

Good deal. I Was hoping that would be your response.

In my hunting bunch, we can all track. I’ve personally tracked 50+. When I was first starting to really hunt Dad had me to track any deer that was shot, from the easy ones with a great blood trail to the gut shot deer you had to get on your hands and knees and look for stomach contents. Years ago I started shooting bucks with a high shoulder shot as it typically anchors them with 15’. I don’t shoot many deer anymore but shot 4 last year (1 buck-high shoulder-15 yard recovery and 3 does all with headshots off a Caldwell front rest and rear sand bag).

What I see as the biggest issue are hunters taking unethical shots (bad angles, wrong bullets, too far for capabilities, etc) and justifying it because they can call in a dog.

All that being said I might need a dog the next time I hunt but I will not take a marginal shot.