Aldeer.com Forums Alabama Deer Talk Serious Deer Talk Forum Couldn’t find buck even with a dog, thoughts?

All solid advice. I say do all of the above.

I agree……He likely clotted up while he was bedded and just didn’t leave much scent afterwards…..If the dog isn’t able to pick up the scent then you start running an “S” pattern with him in the direction the deer was headed to see if the dog eventually picks back up on it……Its tough sometimes after they bed and sometimes you just never pick back up on it. You gotta consider that the deer is likely bounding off at a pretty fast clip with a clotted up wound…..You kinda expect though that he will slow back down to a walk after 100-200 yards and that’s what you’re hoping to hit with gridding the dog in a “S” pattern.....You never know in these situation, he could have ran 750 yards or more after you jumped him but he very well could have just gone a couple hundred and bedded back down. Keep an eye out for fresh coyote tracks or scat as well...they can help give you a clue you're in the right area

Well that went pretty poorly. Retraced the last area we tracked him to and started combing it over for a bit until I heard what I thought was someone entering the property back by the road. Headed back to where I parked to see if I could greet anyone but I didn’t see anybody. I figured now I would circle back to the first bed and near sank the fourwheeler on the way there. Walked around that bed for a bit and then limped it back home in first gear to start Christmas. With all that said and leaving for a trip tomorrow, this one may not be in the cards for me. Not sure what else to do unless I can get a buddy or something to meet a tracker out there. Man this bites.

So do you have permission to be tracking it where it is. Just looking out for my dogs is only reason I'm asking. You are about 50 miles away from me but I can be their in around a hour

Wait 24 hours from time of shot or a little more until daylight, you can see better. I would go back Sunday morning around 7:00 with dog to site last site with good blood, good starting point to track. Mark along behind tracking dogs trail as he goes with toilet paper. Have 2 or 3 people about 25 to fifty yards off to the side of track. Look in creek, pond, or low spots near track. By putting the toilet paper within seeing distance of the last piece you can figure out areas near track to check, sometimes they will double back, hide in a gully, or low. If you still don't find him wait about 2 or 3 days and go to last good track points and make grid patterns around that position. Big bucks tend to run straight and hard sometimes if pushed, does like to make circles, or do with dogs running them more than likely. A buck will sometimes leave the area if pushed, but return in 24 hours or a couple of days if left alone. With dogs I have seen them run a certain trail out of area. People seem to get a lot of trail camera pictures, so put some out right off trail or feeding area now close to original shot. I went back a week later one time and the deer I had shot doubled back to spot I shot and died.

Hope he turns up for you

One thing I noticed a couple weeks ago when I gut shot a yote and was having trouble finding blood, was to look for flies. They get on that mess quick.

Good luck!!

x2

I’m going to try and contact the guys with the lease over there to keep an eye out while I’m out of town this week in case they happen upon him.

Is there anything I could’ve done to prevent bumping him? By my judgment of the shot placement at the time and the color of the blood trail, I figured we would have been OK by waiting an hour, but even so that bump I believe is what has caused us to lose him. I believe he most likely was not wounded enough at that point and like some of you have suggested he probably took off for another 700 or more yards. Just had no way of knowing that at the time I guess.

My brother shot one in Texas the other day that went over a half a mile. He was barely quartering to him so he hit him right behind the shoulder. They found really good blood and lungs until they jumped him. 8 hours later the neighbors called and said they have found a big buck that was dead in there rd and it was my brothers. They put dogs on the trail but the dogs never barked or stayed where the deer was they came back acting like they couldn’t find him. He got real lucky it died where it did or they would have never found that deer after jumping him

The white hair and reaction of the deer was an indicator that he was low gut hit.....Also when you started tracking him and didnt find him within the first 200 yards that was another indicator that he was hit marginally......The part that likely led you to jumping him was the good blood trail....Low gut shots in the white hair region of the belly usually bleed well and was also another indicator of the shot type you were dealing with. I'm not saying this to criticize but just to answer your question.

I once had a deer stolen. I shot the buck about 0710 am and waited about an hour or so to start blood trailing. The deer ran approximately 150 yards stumbled across a county dirt road in front of a fellow who happened to be driving down the road. The buck fell in the ditch and couldn't get on its feet. The fellow then cut the deers throat and was attempting to load the deer up when my neighbor most graciously stopped and helped him load the deer. I learned about it like two weeks later

So how was the deer “stolen”?

I killed that deer with a knife fair and square

my dad killed a deer last year, another hunter was set up right on main trail as I drug it out. Stands up and says,"that deer have a hole in him when you killed him? I shot that deer."

I watched the deer come by before my dad shot, not a scratch on him. Cracked me up.

Any of you remember the buck killed at Holly Hills golf course in Bay Minette around 30 years ago? Story made Paul Harvey news and comment. Guy was playing golf and a dog drive was taking place. A good buck with dogs in tow ran by the guy and he wacked in the head with a golf club. True story.

Put 308 in classifieds!
Anyway don't give up. If it was near any vitals he probably went to water. Worse case scenario look for buzzards in the next week and at least you can get the rack

Nah man that's great thank you, that's pretty well what I am learning too as the days go on. I will always remember that.

Got back from being out of town today and went back to looking. Checked the area where he bedded the first time up and down the finger until it played out on both sides and nothing. Another issue is that we've had about 3 inches of rain here in the past few days and it's a swamp back there right now. Couldn't even get across the creek where we last tracked it.

Buddies told me they saw buzzards a few days ago way back south of the shot opposite of the blood trail direction and they couldn't find anything, but I haven't personally checked that area yet. Adding to that, I have one very remarkable picture on my camera of a large buck coming back south from about where the shot was in front of my stand the next evening... a crappy camera (been stolen once) so the quality isn't good enough to make any conclusions.

Debating on waiting until the season is over here in a few weeks to pick it back up. Thank you again for all the replies.

What part of Swan Creek you hunting on?