This is all assuming that the deer hasn’t been pushed by an initial search. From my standpoint as a dog tracker, I may or may not know that from the info the hunter gives me. If someone has done very much searching, then its highly likely that a deer would be pushed at least once if it were inside that 500 yard mark while the searching was taking place. This would take that 300 yard gut shot out to 500-800 yards. In reality, were probably talking about a realistic search zone out to 800-900 yards maybe unless the hunter just got down and backed out before any extensive searching. In that situation, our 500 yard estimate may be more accurate.

I think once I pass 800 yards then I’m going to switch gears and assume that I’m no longer dealing with a dead deer and that its more likely to be a live deer situation. I think once I reach 1500+ yards then there should be real consideration given to calling off the search. Yes, there’s still a small chance that the deer might be able to be wore down by the dog past that point and bayed up…..but when you start talking about going on multiple tracks per week for the general public, then chasing those deer for 2-3 miles with a very low probability of recovering them becomes a lot of unnecessary wear and tear on the dog for no good reason. I have to start thinking about the next track and not wearing out or injuring my ace pitcher.