outdoorstom

That was Luna enjoying her reward :-)

` 10/18/22 Luna and I went on a track this morning for a four pointer that had been shot last night. The hunter watched it leave the field hunched up. He waited a while, then wanted to find blood before backing out. He found first blood 50 yards in, then backed out. Great call on getting out, he really helped his chances of a recovery by doing that. Luna locked on and took us into the tall swamp grass and to a deep creek that she wanted to cross. It was too deep for us to cross there so we flagged it and went in search of a better crossing location. We found one not too far away where a small log was across the ditch. The hunter went first and slipped off the wet log and filled his boots. I sent Luna across next and she displayed her excellent balance. I was able to get across and stay dry due to an extended hand from the hunter. I carried Luna back to where she had wanted to cross and put her down. She immediately locked back on and took us into a very thick bedding area, checking and rejecting trails along the way. She led us straight to the dead, but still warm buck at 400 yards. He was in his first bed. We had heavy rain last night and had zero blood on the track. Luna girl rocked it!

We had a short fun one tonight! 10/17/22 Luna and I went to track a buck that was shot in a bean field tonight. The hunter said there was a total of about 30 deer in the field. When he shot the buck at 100 yards, he was sure he saw hair flying, but couldn’t find it, or any blood. He had a general direction of travel, but couldn’t tell because of so many deer running everywhere. We started at the hit site but couldn’t find anything, so I told the hunter and his two friends to keep looking in the field and I’d work Luna closer to the woods to see if we could pick anything up. We were about 50 yards away and Luna started pulling hard. She took me to the woods and went a short distance up a trail, then turned around and came out and went to the next one…nope that’s not it either. She liked the third trail and away we went. 40 yards in and I spotted blood. I hollered out to the guys to come my way as I hung a ribbon and marked it on the gps. They arrived shortly after and Luna continued up the trail. 50 yards further and there he was! Nice buck! He died 800 yards from my swamp property.

10/16/22#1Kunox and I arrive at 7:30 this morning to track a bear that was shot last night. After a thorough search, the only evidence of a hit was from the field where it was shot. This consisted of hair with skin attached. Zero blood anywhere. I believe this to be a grazing shot. They’re putting cameras out in the area to see if it shows itself.#2Kunox and I continued on to our second track. This was a confirmed gutshot from last night. The huntress was after her first deer and wanted it to be with a bow. The doe was shot in a large green field from a ground blind at 12 yards. Unfortunately it was low and the doe walked into the woods. At 11:00 last night, they went in and followed the bloodtrail about 100 yards before backing out. They did a great job of marking blood with toilet paper. Kunox took us to the doe who had gone a total of just under 1/2 a mile. Congratulations on your first deer Heather!#3Luna got the call for this one, much to Kunox’s dismay. The hunter shot this doe last night and recognized the dark blood he was seeing as liver blood. He did the smart thing and backed out after a short distance. Luna made a hunter happy after only 400 yards.#4Luna also got our last track of the day. This buck was shot this morning in a food plot at 100 yards. The hunter reported hitting it in the shoulder and a front leg wasn’t working after the shot. The best thing to do on a shoulder hit is to push immediately and keep them bleeding. The hunter and his wife (actually his wife, since he’s color blind) followed the bloodtrail for 300 yards, bumping him once. They lost blood at that point. We arrived about 6 hours after the shot. I figured we were going to have a long track in the hilly, rocky terrain before catching up with the buck. Luna locked on immediately, pulling hard the length of the track. We got to the last blood which was marked with an orange glove, and I marked it on the gps and we continued. 200 yards later we found the nice 8 point dead. It turns out the buck had not been hit in the shoulder. Looked like liver area, angling down through the guts. This really drives home the point that you can’t always believe what you thought you saw! I didn’t stay for the field dressing since I was running late for a birthday party fo

It was my turn last night. No tracking necessary :-). 3 tracks scheduled for today already. The first is for a bear.

Unfortunately…..another live one today…… 10/11/22 This morning Kunox and I tracked an 8 pointer that the hunter knew for a fact he had hit it in the shoulder. The buck was perfectly broadside at the shot. The hunter and buddies had tracked it last night for a couple hundred yards. Kunox extended the track another 400 yards, then we lost it. Toward the end of the 400 yards, we found two blood drops that were fresh, so we knew the buck was still alive. I had the guys stay put while Kunox searched the entire area. 4.3 miles worth. Apparently nothing vital was hit as we never found a bed or the deer. Kunox enjoyed some jerky on the way home, as evidenced by his grin.

10/10/22 (continuation of 10/9/22 track) After thinking all night about last night’s track, I contacted the hunter this morning and told him I’d like to bring Luna back out for another look. He wasn’t available until noon, so we met then. We ran the entire line, and this time we saw that Luna had missed a turn toward the end of the track. We then advanced the track another 200 yards, finding the arrow along the way. It was a complete pass through of the head. We ended up at the bank of the river where fresh coyote tracks were observed right next to the doe’s tracks. We worked the area thoroughly, but it looks like she went into the river. We walked the bank in both directions, but never found her. Per gps, we went 2.3 miles.

10/9/2 I had a call tonight from an upset hunter. He and his son were in a double ladder stand when he shot a doe. To his horror, the arrow deflected and hit her in the head. She stumbled through a large field and disappeared near a hedgerow in the corner of the field. Luna and I arrived and started at the hit site. We didn’t see any blood until we reached the hedge row. Luna took us along it and into a large woodlot that was filled with gullies. Off we went, up and down through the gullies where we’d see drops of blood along the way, then better blood where the deer stopped. The arrow was fitted with a lumenock, so we’d stop occasionally and turn our lights off and scan the woods hoping to spot it. We never saw it and we never caught up with the doe after over a mile.

It’s nice to see the blood, but he doesn’t need it. He really doesn’t disturb the trail very much believe it or not!

10/8/22 I received a call from a bowhunter that had hit a deer in the ham this morning due to a deflection. I explained to him that these are recovered quickly if the femoral artery is hit, or usually not at all. He said he had followed good blood to a thick area and backed out at that point. Kunox and I hit the road and headed to the leased Amish farm to meet the hunter. We started as usual at the hit site which was on the edge of a field. We entered the woods on very good blood, then left the woods heading into an alfalfa field that was in need of cutting, following light blood at this point. We were about halfway across the field when the doe jumped up from a bed 5 feet away. There wasn’t time to get a shot off and we watched exactly where she went through a hedgerow toward a cornfield. We waited about 10 minutes, then Kunox and I hung back while the hunter snuck up to the hedgerow to see if she bedded down there. Nope, not there. Kunox went back to work and took us into the cornfield which was being harvested by the Amish at the time. There was a dog and kids running around as the man drove the horse and picker. Lots of commotion. I told the hunter that obviously I won’t be firing my handgun in the area if we see it. It was only a couple minutes later that Kunox took us right to her as we saw her running off, leaving a bloody bed behind. She headed into a woodlot and it wasn’t long before we had a property line issue. OnX showed me the landowners name, so we googled it looking for an address. Luckily the owner lived right there, so the hunter walked out and obtained permission. Having to stop for 30 minutes was our downfall as it gave the deer time to clot up. After that we would see an occasional drop, but never saw the doe again. I pulled the plug at 3.9 miles. Kunox and I ate beef jerky and Fritos on the way home.

10/6/22 I was called last night by a hunter who had shot a buck and knew he had hit it too far back. He went about thirty yards in to get a direction of travel, then backed out without pushing the buck. Nicely done!! Luna and I arrived 13 hours after the shot and she immediately locked on. This track ended up being 345 yards long and included a backtrack and 3 drops of blood. Luna nailed it and got a well deserved leg chew.

Sorry about the double post…..it was late!

10/5/22 I received a call from a hunter this morning asking for assistance in tracking a doe he shot. He wasn’t doe hunting, but saw that she had a severe limp so he did the humane thing. Good job! Unfortunately, the shot was far back, so I told him I’d be there at 7:00 tonight. After the paperwork and call to the DEC were completed, into the side by side we went. We were able to drive to within about 200 yards from the stand. As we were walking to the hit site, a lit luminock was observed nearby. There happened to be a dead doe there too. We continued to the hit site to let Kunox run the track, which he did, and happily got his chew as the reward. While wrapping up the track, a second call came in. This one was on the way home, so Kunox lucked out with back to back tracks. The 3 pointer was shot in an alfalfa field from a ladder stand and was quickly out of the hunters view. Kunox had a false start where I let him go about 300 yards before taking him back to the field for a restart. The hunter said there had been about 20 deer in the field, so there was a ton of scent. This time Kunox stayed in the field instead of going directly into the woods like he had done. We stayed in the field for 400 yards, first finding the back half of the arrow, then not far away we found the front half. We then crossed the road into the thickest stuff I’ve been through in a while. Crawling on hands and knees thick….with Kunox occasionally looking back and laughing. We ended up on the bank of the Grasse River and Kunox jumped right in, then climbed back out. I told the hunter I believe his buck had gone into the water, so he waded in and got on top of a rock to look around with his flashlight. Kunox jumped back in and joined him on the rock. After a couple minutes, Kunox swam back to shore and started working a trail along the bank. He decided he didn’t like it and turned around and started working the other direction. The next thing I knew, Kunox was getting a leg chew. Good boy Kunox! I didn’t have time to stay for the autopsy, but the shot was a touch far back and high. The track was 800 yards long.

10/5/22 I received a call from a hunter this morning asking for assistance in tracking a doe he shot. He wasn’t doe hunting, but saw that she had a severe limp so he did the humane thing. Good job! Unfortunately, the shot was far back, so I told him I’d be there at 7:00 tonight. After the paperwork and call to the DEC were completed, into the side by side we went. We were able to drive to within about 200 yards from the stand. As we were walking to the hit site, a lit luminock was observed nearby. There happened to be a dead doe there too. We continued to the hit site to let Kunox run the track, which he did, and happily got his chew as the reward. While wrapping up the track, a second call came in. This one was on the way home, so Kunox lucked out with back to back tracks. The 3 pointer was shot in an alfalfa field from a ladder stand and was quickly out of the hunters view. Kunox had a false start where I let him go about 300 yards before taking him back to the field for a restart. The hunter said there had been about 20 deer in the field, so there was a ton of scent. This time Kunox stayed in the field instead of going directly into the woods like he had done. We stayed in the field for 400 yards, first finding the back half of the arrow, then not far away we found the front half. We then crossed the road into the thickest stuff I’ve been through in a while. Crawling on hands and knees thick….with Kunox occasionally looking back and laughing. We ended up on the bank of the Grasse River and Kunox jumped right in, then climbed back out. I told the hunter I believe his buck had gone into the water, so he waded in and got on top of a rock to look around with his flashlight. Kunox jumped back in and joined him on the rock. After a couple minutes, Kunox swam back to shore and started working a trail along the bank. He decided he didn’t like it and turned around and started working the other direction. The next thing I knew, Kunox was getting a leg chew. Good boy Kunox! I didn’t have time to stay for the autopsy, but the shot was a touch far back and high. The track was 800 yards long.

This afternoon Luna and I tracked an 8 pointer that was shot last night. The hunter believed he had a one lung hit, and Luna confirmed that for us. The hunter did a nice job of not grid searching and that made Luna’s job easier. She made short work of getting to the hunters point of loss at 400 yards, then took us well beyond. We crossed a paved road and she picked up the track again on the other side where we found a little blood. This was clearly lung blood. Luna showed me one bed, but there was no blood in it. We ended up in the middle of a large beaver swamp at a distance of 1230 yards when I called the track. Clearly only one lung had been hit. The short video clip shows Luna working an area, then picking a line and away we go. The hunter and his Dad were blown away with her performance. Almost forgot….the hunter is a member here :-)

10/3/22 Kunox and I went to track a buck for a young man tonight. We found his first buck a few years back and I’ve since become friends with the family. He made a nice shot on this buck and it only went 230 yards. Kunox worked this track slow and methodical, unlike his hyper performance last track. He did a couple restarts on his own. The scent pool was large where the buck went down and we had actually marked blood ten feet away and never saw the buck. We spotted it when Kunox brought us back there after his restart. Congratulations Evan!

10/3/22 Luna and I headed out this morning to look for another buck that had been hit high. The hunter suspected a high single lung hit. He had been on the ground and the deer was above him on a small knoll and jumped the string at the shot. The buck took the arrow with him and the hunter found it broken off a short distance away in the woods. The rage broadhead and arrow left in the deer totaled about 8”. Luna quickly took us the 250 yards onto a beaver dam where the hunter had lost blood last night. Halfway across she wanted to go into the pond. I hung a ribbon there, looked the pond over good but didn’t see him, then walked around it. We were able to pick up blood where he came out. We advanced the track another 50 yards, then the blood stopped. With restarts, we ended up walking 3.9 miles and never found any more blood or any sign of him. I believe he will be seen again.

No, it was intestine. He was still warm when we found him and we were lucky he was dead.

No, all intestine. He was still very warm when we found him. Intestine hits can actually live for a couple days sometimes.

9/30/22 I received a call from an experienced hunter this morning and we arrived a little over 12 hours later. He realized he shot a buck too far back and was able to watch him stand in one place for 20 minutes. He then slowly walked away while hunched up. The hunter was unable to see what trail he took into the woods, but knew the general area. After the deer was out of sight, the hunter snuck away in the opposite direction without even looking for blood. Well done!! Kunox was not on his game tonight for some reason. He initially seemed unable to focus, but after numerous restarts, he finally buckled down and went to work. There was very little blood on this 200 yard track. The buck was found in its first bed due to the hunter not pushing it.

9/30/22 Luna had a turn this morning. This 7 pointer was gutshot from the ground last night. We went in 12 hours later this morning and he was still alive and had to be dispatched. He went a very short distance and stopped and bedded down when we jumped him. The buck had only gone 100 yards from where the hunter and his brother backed out last night. These guys did things right. They didn’t realize he was gutshot, but were smart enough to back out when they jumped him. They also had ribbon with them and marked the blood as they tracked last night. Way to go guys! We were more than a mile deep, so I was glad the hunter brought his jet sled this morning as it made our drag out much easier. Great morning workout and it gave Luna plenty of time to chew on a leg as we dragged him out.

9/29/22 Luna and I tracked a buck last night for a young bowhunter. Unfortunately it was a lost cause from the start. Only 4” - 5” of penetration would not get the job done. An occasional small drop of blood was nice to show the father and son that Luna was on his buck on this 1.1 mile track through lots of prickly ash. This 8 or 9 point buck will be seen again.

He worked REALLY hard this morning. Sleeping now.

9-27-22 #1 An 18 year old huntress shot a 7 pointer last night, then the skies opened up with a 2.5 hour deluge. She and her Dad were able to check out the arrow before the blood got washed off and saw substantial blood, but there was the smell of guts. We arrived at 8:30 this morning and learned that her Dad went out looking this morning, then her cousin. Luckily, they were looking in the wrong direction. This buck only went 275 yards, but there was zero blood on the track. Kunox is a good boy! #2 While on the way to the first track, I received a call for help on a big 8 pointer that’s was shot last night. Rather than drive all the way home to swap dogs, Kunox lucked out and got two in a row. The hunter shot the buck at 28 yards from a 16 foot height, and could clearly see that he hit him high. The hope was that he hit the top of the lungs. Kunox worked his tail off on this one, covering 2.7 miles. It became obvious that coyotes were involved as Kunox kept stopping to mark, something he doesn’t do unless that’s the case. We were working most of the time in tall thick grasses, where often Kunox would totally disappear. More that once he stopped and asked me for a lift when it became impassable. As the crow flies, the track was 990 yards. The track ended at a property line we couldn’t enter.