Got the first call for the year this evening. 25 yard shot, mechanical broadhead at a pretty steep angle. Hunter tracked for 175 yards and lost blood. Called us in I turned my puppy out on it and she took it to last blood and couldn't quite work it out. I went back to the truck and brought out my old dog and he took us to the same place she did and advanced the track about another 150 yards to the deer. Shot ended up in and out down through the side of the neck. Track was about 5 hrs old when we turned loose on it and about 325 total. Good way to start the year off

Good deal! Details and Pics? What kind of terrain? Creeks crossed? Thick cutover?

Nah pass on the pics. Started out on a logging on top a ridge went out into a cutover and down into a steep holler. No creek crossing on this one I'll be swimming in one I'm sure when it's about 25 one nigjt

Whew Saturday was a day.
Track no 2 was a deer I shot on Friday evening. Which I felt like was dead. I looked a lil Friday nite decided to back out go back Saturday morning which I did turned my puppy out on it and she trailed around a lil bit found a lil blood but very spotty. Decided to call it off. Low and behold Saturday night the deer showed back up on camera.

Track 3 was for a crossbow shot with a rage. Hunters had tracked almost 300 yards and lost blood. We started out at that point and took it another 350 yards into the most gosh awful briar patch I have ever seen. After some machete work and blood loss we finally drug her out. It was a good shot but the arrow lodged in the off side shoulder.


Track 4 was a doe for a young man on his first bow kill. Fixed blade head comete pass thru they tracked for about 200 yards and lost blood. Got in there and looked around and trailer around dogs weren't real interested in doing much I'm fairly sure it's a back whack.

Track 6 was for a doe. 35 yards expandable broadhead hunter said when he shot the deer flopped around and got up and took off. Arrow had very lil sign on it. Very lil blood in the field. Hunter said he heard the deer go down in the second gosh awful briar patch I have ever been in. Dog tracked to the briar patch this time I took the dog around it and found 2 drops of blood where the deer came. Not sure if the blood was from the arrow or the briars. His ended up no recovery i am certain he hit the shoulder or high shoulder and nerves the deer and it is alive and well.

Track 7 was a doe for a hunter that just basically called the shot as to what happened and wanted verification that deer wasn't dead. He said the deer dropped a lil on the shot and and said he hit high. Tracked for 200 yds lost blood and called me asked my opinion I told him what I thought but of he wanted us in there I was willing to try it. Deer is still alive and this ended up being a back whack as well.

We rolled out about 730 Saturday morning I got home 2 Sunday with a box full of tired dogs. It was hot and dry as it is it's making tracking tough right now. Hoping we get a lil rain and it cool off just a tad. Resting and charging light and collars and getting ready to get afterem again. Oh and add to to it my dang truck charger for my light burnt up luckily I didn't have to walk out without a light it's the second one that done this I'm gone be on the phone tommorrow with the company and hope they get this straightened out or I'll be headed to get another light

I'm fixin to brag just a lil.
Got a call tonite from a hunter I tracked for over the weekend. For a gut shot. Got there sure enough it was. Hunter was good with me running my puppy on the track. I suited her up and started her on it and she took it about 200 yds to one looking at us and bayed up. This was her first recovery and she handled it like a pro. I'm super proud of this lil gal. She is gone be a jam up dog by the end of season.

I love these stories. I hope to add a Zorro story soon! keep up the good work, guys!

Thanks Jack I talked to a buddy in Florida today that tracks and they stacking them up. Don't know what part you in he's in perry

Just got back in from a doozy.
Hunter shot the deer this on choccolocco wma with a rifle at 20 yds. Waited he said for 1.5 hours to go track it. Deer was bedded about 200 yds from him and yes you guessed it they jumped it. Callede about dinner, I get there talk to the hunter and his buddy get a hold of the game warden and get cleared to take the dog in. Get to the hit site find some chunks of meat and long whit hair. Get the dog started and takes me to the bed and goes off down the side of mountain. Down into a pretty hardwood bottom. We tracked back up a lil ridge and the dog just lost interest. I fairly sure this deer was grazed low and is alive and will be fine. I'm not sure if yuns have hunted choccolocco any but when I said we off down a mountain that meant I had to come back up it. That's some.of the worst country I have ever seen and been in and I have hunted out west in the Rockies and don't think it was that.wr covered almost 5 miles according to the Garmin and I'm fairly sure it lost service several times.
We all shoot our rifles at distance but it don't hurt to cut one loose up close just to know what your point of aim needs to be if you get one in your lap

They called me around 11 or so for that track but it was to far for me. Glad he found some good help anyways

Had a call from last night to go see about this morning. Crossbow with a mechanical head 40 yards. Fairly sure it's hit in the shoulder blade or a complete miss. No arrow no hair no blood no deer. Did a pretty big grid search of the area out to about 800 yds with the dog and he didn't hit on anything. Nor did we find anything to make us wanna keep going. I hate these tracks like this. But I do believe this deer is in the undead category

Went on this afternoon that was shot this morning chasing a doe. Pretty sure it was a leg shot.deer bled good for about 350 yards blood quit, and we pushed on about another 500 and the deer got into a big site prep area that was burned in the past recent weeks. Dogs lost it in the burn area. Dogs just kinda give up once we got in there I'm guessing the scent from the burn overwhelmed there noses and the gland scent

Been afterem about all day today.
First came in bout 730 this morning for one shot last night it was a confirmed leg shot at about 400 yards with a 30-378. We confirmed the leg hit as tracked to the leg a lil ways past where he shot it. We pushed on a good ways and never did find anything I'm guessing he laid and coyotes bumped him.
Next up was a back whack on a doe that got into a property where we couldn't get permission to get on pretty sure she is still alive 308 150gr bullet
Next a young man's first deer. Shot with a 243 at about 175 yards. Found first blood about 50 yards in and stayed on it for about 150. Then nothing for the rest of the trip. I'm thinking it's a non lethal hit. But crawled through thickets and waded a couple creeks trying to get it. I fairly sure they jumped it looking for him. Put a ton of effort in trying to get it but we can't get what ain't there to get.
Seems like I get on a run bout this time every year where it's all leg and brisket and back whacks. Need us a good ole gut shot to get after.

Finally the weather broke and the phone went to ringing.
Had call today from a shot last night. From the conversation it sounded like a classic backwhack but the hunter wanted to try it. Went over there and found a bed where they jumped the deer last night that had a little blood in it. Ran my ole dog on it for several reasons. Anyway I started him at the bed and he took us 500 yds into a growed up clear cut To a coyote kil. We didn't find the skeleton only a back leg and a bunch of hair. I am assuming that this was the deer the hunter shot and the coyotes beat us to it and drug the skeleton off somewhere close by. It is also possible in the area we were in that a bear could've drug it off aswell.

Turned them out on one of my own this evening. Shot a doe a lil before dark about 100 yards. She was slightly quartered and I liver shot her. Very lil blood in the plot to where she run out of the field then no blood from to the recovery. 280ai with a 140 ballistic tip did it's job, but fat plugged the hole. Total deal was about a 100 yards. I ran my puppy on it and she handled pretty well got a lil confused in one place. Not exactly sure why the scent pooled in that particular spot but she worked it out.

Got after one today down around lake martin. Felt like it was a grazing wound with a 6.5. tracked almost a 1000 yds. No blood past 250 and pretty sure the deer worked 3 scrapes going back home. Almost certain he's alive and well. Surprised we wasn't swimming after this one. They have him on camera I'm hoping they send me a pic in a few days of him

Went on another for a repeat offender from last year...shot a spike around 730 this morning he called about 10. He had tracked the deer about 250 to a property line and backed out The owner was nice enough to allow on his property and we got across the fence and got on it tracked about 100 out in a fairly fresh cutover to a wound bed. Dogs didn't really take it beyond that spot. I feel like the shot was low either in the leg or brisket I'm thinking more brisket. Fairly sure the deer bedded up and clotted off and went on his merry way

"Repeat offender"........

That boy still ain't learned to shoot

Sounds like my neighbor. He’s shot at 4 deer this year got blood on one and nothing on the others. I had to look for a spike his uncle shot off his back porch yesterday afternoon with buck shot. Riggs never really did much with it and only found a few drops of blood.

Are these long shots we are talking about or 150 yards and less?

My neighbor killed one this afternoon finally 60# doe fawn hit her in the neck. All shots are under 100 yds he’s told me about.

Surprisingly no most of these leg shots have been under 50 yard. Seems folks don't shoot up close folks don't understand that up close they likely to hit low and even lower 20 ft up a tree

Went and checked one this morning turned out to be a complete miss.

Well I'm afraid I may have goofed up.
Had a call last night for possible gut shot with a 338 win mag and poss. Property line issue.i told the guy we needed to wait cause if it was guts we didn't need to bump it onto that the other property if he didn't think we could get permission. But I was also thinking it was a 338 and anything from it inside the body cavity was dead. Hunter also reported 3 small drops of blood at the hit sight and no blood trail. Well we decided on wait till this morning we pulled up to the shooting house and there it laid 30 yard away dead and swelled up.

You never know for sure in those situations when you dont have more information to go off of.......

No but dang it almost tried to talk him into us getting it last night.

Sounds like he goofed up not you

Got after what I believe was the bo Jackson of deer last night.
This was a call from a guy that shot about 1130 in the morning and waited a hour and started looking for it. Deer was shot at head on 150 yards 7mm rem mag 162gr sst. Long white and gray hair at the shot sight with small drops of blood they tracked up the mountain about 200 yard into a pine thicket and lost blood. they called me about 330 and I was hunting with the wife Soni called my tracking partner he was loading up off another track and was heading that way. Got a call from his wife that his dog was bad sick so cancelled out to deal with that. I ended up going up there got there about 7 last night walked the dog into the shot sight. Choose to run my puppy which was t a bad decision but she did start off real sure of what we was doing. Finally got her dialed in and up the mountain we went. Through the line thicket out the other side and still going straight up. Got a huge dead fall white oak I was hoping he was in but he wasn't. She turned and we went around the side of the mountain across 2 hollers. Total we got to a 1000 yards the last 400 was no blood before we called it. I don't think there is a bullet in the body cavity or we would have never made itto the top of the mountain. Or they jumped him in the initial search and he left the country.i feel like he's alive and well.

He was killed next day not to far from where he was missed

Got on one last night for a 6 yo young man. Deer was shot through both front knees with a 300 black out. We started out at the hit sight and the struggle began dog was not a whole lot interested in it.
We tracked for about 450 yards and kept finding decent blood and a wound bed every so often. We are in big year old clear cut headed into a swamp. We get to the edge of the clear cut I heard him get up and you could tell he wasn't doin good. I jumped him three times in the swamp I heard him crossing a creek. (Steep banks, pretty deep and cold). Dog took me to the creek. everybody caught up to us and I we saw laying on the bank on the other side in a cane patch looking at us. It was dang sure a group effort from everybody on the track. That lil feller and the whole camp was aho nuff proud for him. I was sho nuff glad we put it on the tailgate for him . Total distance was about 800 yards which was crazy with him running on nubs

Just got backed from checking on what I'm fairly sure was a low shot and got the back of the front leg found some longer white and brown hair. Couple chunks of meat. Found the first drop of blood at about 250 stayed on that for about 150 more and then dogs just kinda give it up. So pretty sure hes alive and well

I'm fixin to rant a lil this is for all hunters. If you call a tracker and they agree to bring in a dog don't keep calling other trackers and then call the one you already got lined up that cut his family time short to come help your no shooting ass out and tell him you don't need him after he has got his gear on dogs loaded and halfway to you cause somebody else said they 10 mins closer

Add their number to a black list in your phone.......List them as "Asshole #1"

Actually they won't be no 1 it's already taken they will be about no 5

Or the ones that call you to come and help and then just go silent while you have turned down another track and wasted your evening. You never hear from them again to later find out they kept looking and found the deer or just decided not to even look. Happened more than once this season, last night actually...

I had that happen earlier in the year. Guy text we text back and forth told I was hunting and would come out after I come out of the woods and he said that would be fine and we left it as I would call him on the way home to get loaded up and head out. He went dark on me and I ain't heard from him since. Never saw a post on either Facebook group about any ody else taking or what the outcome was. even in the text something just seemed off and kinda sketchy I kinda wonder if it wasn't a set up either by the game warden or if they had something else in mind

Turned both off mine out on the 6 point I killed this morning. First time to run them off lead and together. I figured I would have a dog fight when they found it. But they got along wasn't much to.it about 50-60 yards and it was a one lung liver slight quartered 2 shot

Buddy of mine called me and dogs in this evening on a if it's the deer he showed me the pics of is a giant for Alabama. He was in a shooting house deer comes out in field I'm gone say close to 250 yards rifle was a 308 with a 150 gr. First 2 shots he said the deer just stood there third shot said the deer broke and run. He got down to look for blood and didn't find anything but wanted me to come in and confirm it was a miss. Well it wasn't a miss. He just wasn't looking in the right place. he had walked around in the woods a lil bit trying to find any sign I'm afraid he may have jumped him accidentally. Anyway we find the where he hit the deer and take off on the blood go up a hill across a old logging road and we're finding blood and places where he stood and bled I don't think he ever laid down. Go down in a holler to a creek blood goes up the creek for a 100 yards or so. We think he crossed it there. The dog is struggling with the track they get hot for a bit and cool off and work it out a lil further. At the creek crossing we lost sign no more blood nothing and the dog kinda gave up on it. We tracked on the blood for 900 yards. I'm fairly sure this is a brisket hit. We never jumped him out of a bed. Or heard him get up. I don't feel like were pushing him cause if so I think he would have gave up and we could have handled business. I fairly certain he just skint up pretty good.
Had another call while I was on that one waiting on him to call back

Just got back from checking on one that was grazed with a 223.

Stats for 22-23
Total tracks 26
Recovered 10
Avg distance on recovery 596 yds
Avg distance on non recovery 1237 yds
Unrecovered confirmed still alive either killed at a later date or bag on camera 11
Unrecovered and unconfirmed alive 5 (3 of these had to be called due to property line issues)
Tracks by weapon
Bow 6
Muzzleloader 1
Rifle 19
Most common weapons used
Bow was 50/50 between mechanical and fixed blade
3-308 150gr
1-300 black out
1-223
2-243
2-6.5 prc
2-30-06
1-30-378
1-270
1-6.5 creedmore
1-350 legend
1-338 win mag
This is most of the stuff I keep up with throughout the year thought some of y'all mite find it interesting