Well I had another swing and a miss tonight. Got a call around lunch today from a fella that found my name on here. Shot a doe around 8:30 this morning and he thought he got 1 lung. Blood had some bubbles in it that he had found. This deer went almost straight up a DEEP holler. He took me to where the deer had crossed the road so we wouldn't have to walk all the way to the bottom where it was shot. He had tracked past this spot about 100 yards and lost the trail. I put Spark on it and she immediately shot up the bank the way the deer went and dug in and was working it alot slower than normal but still not as slow as I would expect for a 9 hour old track. She stayed right on the blood and when the deer turned a hard left, she made the check and kept going. The hunter had lost blood about half way up that last hill. She stayed on it all the way to the top and kept going. Pulling hard but slower than usual. I felt like she was on it. Top of the hill is a new cutover and she tracked right into it. She made it about 100 yards in and cut hard left, which put us headed back to where we had walked in. I had not seen any blood at all once we got in the cutover and I felt like she had cut a fresh deer track and was on it as she was pulling really hard and building speed.

I took her back to where the last blood was where the deer made the hard left and we went a different direction this time. I believe she got on another fresh track as she was trying to run and barking a little which she only usually does when she bays.

By this time, its dark and the thermals are coming off the hill so I thought I'd walk her back around toward the blood and either she'd cut the track or maybe wind scent the hill side. She struck on something hard and went in to the cutover again. I followed her about 200 yards into it this time and never seen any blood.

The hunter had told me that after he shot the deer there was a group of 8 does come thru and went the same direction the shot deer went. There was deer running every where on this place and I think it may have been to much for her to handle being a novice and all.

I'm gonna keep working her on the old mock lines and try to slow her down more. I'm ordering the collar this weekend so maybe that'll help some to.