Aldeer.com Forums Alabama Deer Talk Al Dogs The Tales of Otis and Shelby Lou

Ill prolly jinx myself on this but I just cant see how this many people make poor shots. I would have never guess it was this likely but following along on this thread has opened my eyes. Folks best be practicing.

This morning’s hunter was a very proficient shooter. It was someone in law enforcement who had actually been through some sniper training. Again, I’m not trying to take away from the fact that many folks could practice more but that’s just not all there is to these situations. It’s the heat of the moment. Also, to be fair to the hunters….some of these are just tough shots that have to be made quickly. Situations like crossing a lane or chasing a doe, etc….I’ve been there and done that myself.

By the way…….you’re definitely jinxed now.

Haha prolly so heck id just be tickled at the opportunity man. Guy at the hunting land shot the buck I was after this week while ive had to work so not much hope but who could know. I do know one thing. Ill tote a big enough gun where I wont have to worry about no pass through lol.

Here is one more reference pic to show the general area of where that long white hair comes from. If you ever have a big wad of hair like that at the hit site, then back out and give the deer plenty of time. If it’s a morning shot then at a minimum wait until that evening…..If it’s an afternoon shot, then go back home and come back the next morning.

If he hit him at G11 or 12 that boy won't be ruttin any time soon. Definitely give him a good shave.

They are awesome WHEN the deer drop right there, however the ones that don't drop run and you won't find blood until where the deer is laying dead (if you find them).

It took me losing 2 does but only 1 buck to realize they are junk. I went back to shooting Core Lokt's and haven't looked back.

Enjoying the stories CNC, I have a lab that could pass at Shelby's twin. She is a very good blood dog but very high strung doing so

Thanks man!......

Yep, Shelby has that same high strung gene too. I’m hoping she settles down a lot between now and next season. I’m gonna spend a lot of time working with her this summer on training tracks. We’ll probably do a lot of on lead training so I can hold her back and force her to slow down. Otis is pretty well finished now from a training standpoint.

On the bullet discussion…….

I think with both bullets and bows and arras, we have a tendency to want to flock to what’s new and fancy. We want precision bow shooting equipment that can group in the same hole at 50 yards…..all the while sacrificing the other things, like arra weight, that it takes to inflict raw damage on a deer....even though that one inch grouping falls apart for most folks in the heat of the moment and becomes more like six.

Use a forgiving setup. Use something that’s gonna penetrate hard and inflict lethal damage even if your shot is off. I’ve shot a chitload of deer with a 30-30 using a plain ol’ 170 grain snubbed nosed bullet and from the standpoint of inflicting damage and leaving a good blood trail……it preformed time after time. I tried switching to silver tips for a while and fancier never proved to be better. I found myself searching the “thicket” looking for the deer I’d smoked because the bullet fragmented and there was only a small entry hole. The exit hole that’s blown out of the other side is your best friend from a tracking perspective. JMO but my advice would be to leave the ballistic tips on the shelf and choose a different round.

I agree CNC however not all ballistic tips fragment. The SST's for example to not and expand just like the core lokts. I for one reload for most of my hunting guns and long range guns and do not use the ballistic tips however I have used the SST and found two bullets on the big 11pt I shot three years ago and they were perfect mushrooms.

I do hold your opinion with value. You do see the good bad and the ugly and seem to be very unbiased.

Heavy storms rolling through the area this morning. Honestly, I’m happy to see a lull in action for a few days to allow us to completely get our legs back in under us before this next cold snap hits just in time for the peak of the rut. Otis and Shelby would usually be rasslin and fightin constantly…. but for the last few days Otis hasn’t wanted any part of it. I think that soreness is finally gone though because they’re back at it again today.

Y’all get ready to get into the woods when all of this stormy weather passes and that colder weather starts moving back in. If you scheduled vacation for next week then I think you’re likely gonna hit it just right.


One more big push to the end of the season........

Call just came in from the morning hunt. It sounds like a classic back slap but we're gonna check it to be sure. Deer laid there until hunter got down and then it took off.

To be continued.......

Back slap confirmed. The hunter pretty well knew what he had done but it was a really nice buck pushing 140” that he had been hunting and getting pics of. He just wanted to do everything to make sure. We tracked it for 700-800 yards before calling it off as a heavy band of rain started moving in on us. You could see the bucks tracks in the mud going across a clear cut and he was already back up and running within just a couple hundred yards of where the hunter shot him.

Josh Johnson is saying a tornado just touched down exactly where I just came from. Whew, that was close!

U could have had a wizard of Oz type of experience with you and toedo, I mean otis.

We just dang near about did. I didn’t think the next round of bad weather was supposed to hit until later in the day. I just barely out run it on the way home. The sun is shining now and I’m starting to see blue skies. Wind is still howling though.

The weather still sucks here. Rainy and windy again this morning. Good luck if you’re out there in it.

For you guys out there who are working with your dogs on tracking…..now is the time to stop by your local processor and get some training supplies. I’ve got approx. 50 legs put back for the off season as well as about a dozen livers. This year I’m gonna go ahead and process up my blood all at one time and bottle it up for individual tracks. That way all I have to do is grab a bottle of blood and a leg and I’m ready to go.



If you’re gonna really get into this type of training then you’re just about gonna have to get an extra freezer to store supplies in if you don’t already have an additional deep freeze. The side unit of the fridge just won’t be enough space unless you completely take it over. I wouldn’t suggest that though because your wife is already gonna likely be frowning at you. I've also saved the whole hide and head off of the two deer I’ve killed this year. I’ll take those out to replicate the deer at the end of the trail. I may also use them to work some more on grid searching and “winding” with Otis over the offseason.

I’ve even got a couple defanged snakes in the freezer to work on snake aversion training. I had completely forgotten about putting them in there and I was moving things around to make room for my legs when I came across them and was like “Hmmm, I wonder what’s in this bag??”

Oh, I scared the tee total chit out of my own self. I had to laugh though. I damn near threw the bag across the room when I opened it up.

That's a mighty bad trick to play on yourself, Harold! LOL

Man I squealed like a little girl at first and then just started dying laughing at myself.

If only there could have been video... that would have been AlDeer GOLD!!!