Aldeer.com Forums Alabama Deer Talk Serious Deer Talk Forum Longest tracking job

It’s really a little bit apples and oranges to compare dog versus human in this discussion. Not every track…..but with a good scent line and good conditions a dog could follow one as far as you want to go. Me and another hunter jumped a leg shot deer last year at the 400 yard mark and followed it in circles for close to 5 miles until it finally went over onto the neighbors. Given the room though, you could have taken that one 10 miles if that’s what you wanted to do…..or until either you, the dog, or the deer finally wear out.

Many hunters are doing the same thing. They just don’t know the deer is right out in front of them and they’re pushing the deer along like a beagle would. This is not meant to call anyone here out cause I hear it all the time when I go to track for folks. You’ll hear…..”But I gave it PLENTY of time before I tracked it. It was close to 2 hrs later!”…..Two hours is not long at all in these type situations. Assuming here that any of the deer we’re talking about on this thread weren’t smoked.....marginally hit deer......in which case, 2 hours ain’t much different than 2 minutes.

One of the last tracks I went on last year was a prime example of what deer often do on marginal shots. The hunter gut shot the buck really low with a bow and instead of tracking it…..he immediately backed out and called me for advice on how to proceed. I told him to give it until the next day and we’d go find it. When we tracked the deer we found where he bedded up at only 100 yards from the hit site and likely laid there for several hours at a minimum. It was long enough to leave a well-defined bed impression. From there the buck got up and moved another 200 yards before bedding again where we found him. That deer went a total of 300 yards but it could have very well been one that went 2 miles. The difference between the two is in the hunter’s approach to recovery.