outdoorstom

It really stinks that after 14 years it ended like that....not too impressive on their part. I agree though that's it's best to just walk away and look for another piece of land.

Luna gets them all the time....uncooked only.

11/23 - It Happened Again! I got a call on Monday evening from a guy telling me his 14 year old had shot a nice 8 pointer Saturday morning and wondered if there was anything we could do. I explained that with the deep snow and the length of time since the shot, we would be air scenting only and it was very unlikely we would find it. Due to the fact it was a 14 year old, I agreed to give it a try. The hunter, his mother, and I headed out this morning (Wednesday) at 9:00. While the hunter was taking us to last blood, we came across fresh blood, but it turned out a snowshoe hare had met his fate. We continued on to last blood and in the distance I could see a stand of cedars, so I carried Luna into them where the snow wasn't as deep and she could walk. We meandered through them for about 15 minutes with Luna trying to follow hot trails and me trying to just work her through the area. She had her nose stuck into a track and I said c'mon girl, we're looking for a dead deer. 15 seconds later and she's standing next to a nice dead 9 pointer! The coyotes had gotten to the rear end, but the cape was still good. His Dad said on the phone today that they were going to mount it.

This is a good video that I think should be shown at hhunter education courses. The only thing I don't like about the video is it says leg hits aren't fatal. I've seen where they can be if the deer is pushed and you keep it bleeding. You can get a chance for a follow up shot if you're persistent.

11/21 Sometimes you just get lucky!! I received a facebook message this morning from a hunter telling me had shot a buck on Saturday afternoon and can't find it. He just heard about Luna and I, and wondered if there was anything we could do. I asked him to call me to discuss the situation. He told me the buck had mule kicked when he shot it, but he couldn't find any hair or blood. He said there was a swamp and a couple areas of cedars, and he had shot the buck on the edge of the cedars. We're in the middle of a snowstorm here with 20 mph winds and 8 - 10 inches of snow on the ground, so I knew Luna could only work in the cedars where the snow wasn't as deep. The hunter only lives 20 minutes away, so I told him I'd give it a shot. When we got there we went to the hit site, but the snow was way too deep to even put Luna down. There was a narrow stretch of cedars, with a swamp on the other side, then a 50 acre area of cedars. I told the hunter I'd like to go to the big area of cedars and start there. We crossed over the top of a beaver dam and made our way into the cedars. The snow was only 4 or 5 inches deep in there so I put Luna down and said we'll just follow her around in here and see if she picks up on anything. We were in there for about 5 minutes when we both saw her lift her head and wind something. She worked her way in that direction and walked right up to the buck. We couldn't believe it! You couldn't even see the deer because of the snow, just the tip of an antler. It was amazing!

Saw a robin? Excellent, Spring is here!

I'd give it to the DEC and let them handle it.

What a great looking buck!!! I love how symmetrical he is. Congratulations!

Great buck with a great story! I'll guess 3.5 and 120"

11/19 - We went on a second track today near Massena. The hunter (a friend and former coworker) shot a buck this morning and tracked it for 200 yards. He still had pin drops of blood when he backed out and didn't grid search at all. At the hit site we had white hair and a little fat....leading us to believe brisket. It turns out we were wrong about that! Luna took us the same way the hunter had gone, and quickly beyond where he backed out. We were seeing occasional drops of blood, but nothing major for the first 2 miles. At that point, the blood started getting heavier and we picked up the pace. We were moving through power line right of ways, hard woods, thickets, pine forests, and the edge of ponds. The blood started getting even heavier yet, and Luna was getting more excited, so we actually ran through some of the more open areas. We came across two beds within a hundred yards of each other and Luna started her high pitched bark,so we knew we were very close. Another 100 yards and the hunter spotted him behind a tree 30 yards away and finished him. We ended up tracking this gutshot 6 pointer a total of 4 miles. Luna was so exhausted she laid down and used the buck as a pillow as we waited to be picked up. Of course this was after her chewing on his leg.

Permission was granted to enter the neighboring property and we went in at 9:30. We had stopped at the edge of a swamp, and Luna led me into it. It was too deep for her to track, so I carried her to higher ground and then she went to work. She showed us a bed within 50 yards, then again to a deeper area. I picked her up and carried her around, with her nose working hard. It was obvious she was reacting to one trail more than the others, so after again getting to higher ground I put her down and she was off. I saw blood within 20 yards and we continued around a beaver pond and into a very thick area. 100 yards later we found the buck dead, and the coyotes hadn't found him yet. I was wrong when I said the hunter is 80 years old, that's his hunting partners age. The hunter is 75, and I guess it doesn't matter your age...anyone can get buck fever. This largest deer he had ever seen is a 6 pointer. No matter, he will be very tasty!

11/18 - I received a call from a friend asking if we could track for his brother who is visiting from Georgia. We found one for him last year too....he's a great guy. This 80 year old reported shooting the biggest deer he's ever seen. Long white hair and no blood was observed at the hit site, but the hunter had found and marked blood at the edge of the woods. He and 2 friends had followed the blood for about 100 yards, then grid searched before calling me. Luna nailed this track. She only took a couple minutes to get past the point of loss, then took us 400 yards further following sporadic blood until we had a property line issue. The hunting party thought it was too late to be knocking on a strangers door, so they're going back first thing in the morning and will call me when permission is obtained. One possibly major fact was reported to me mid track.....they heard a nearby gunshot and vehicle doors slamming about 30 minutes after shooting the buck. If it turns out that someone else shot and recovered the deer we're tracking, hopefully we can get to that point and give the hunter some answers.

Thank you for your kind words! Tracking is SO much fun!!

I highly recommend pick up "Tracking Dogs For Finding Wounded Deer", written by John Jeanneney.

11/17 - Today was a good day. My brother in law drove in from Michigan last night to do some hunting at the farm. We had an 8 pointer at 40 yards, 30 minutes before legal shooting light, so of course let him walk. He was nice enough to come back at 1:30 this afternoon, and Tom shot him at 225 yards. He went 100 yards and dropped in the field. I took Luna up for a training track and she did great. At 4:00 we went on a track for a buck that was shot last night. Luna quickly took us the couple hundred yards to the hunters point of loss, then lost the track where the area had been grid searched. We did multiple restarts and she eventually took us into a swamp that was loaded with deer. One crashed off close to us, then I heard another blowing at us. I was concerned that Luna was on a hot track and it may not have been our buck, but she proved me wrong. A short distance later I found some dried blood high on some swamp grass, and Luna was pulling hard. She made multiple turns on different trails and we found some hair and a deer tail laying there. We continued on and and within a few yards found the 5 point buck. He had been dead awhile and the coyotes had just started on his rear end...I believe we pushed them off him. This is the hunters first buck which made it an even more rewarding track!

11/15 - On the 1.5 hour drive home from a track today, a hunter called and reported shooting a buck at last legal light last night. He was not sure where he hit it. He and a friend were in the woods tracking when he called, and said they were having a hard time advancing the track. I asked him to mark last blood and back out, which they did. Luna made quick work of the trail to last blood, which was only 100 yards. Luna had a hard time in this area, and I restarted her 4 times due to her acting uncertain. Finally she went in a different direction and was acting more confident and we found a drop of blood 150 yards further on. We came to a narrow deep stream and Luna dove in and swam across, which I was happy to see because in the past she's been reluctant to do that. I had the hunter hold her leash while I walked a short distance to a log which I crossed over on. Luna impatiently waited for me, then off went. A short distance later in this thick area, I found a drop of very fresh blood. Luna was pulling hard, but never opened up so we weren't right on top of it. We hustled through the area hoping to catch up with him, but never did. After 1.5 miles we pulled the plug, but I'm calling this a successful track.

Done

I bought a 30.06 Weatherby Vanguard 6 years ago. I find it to be very accurate. I consider it to be my lucky gun. After sighting it in, the first time I squeezed the trigger I dropped my biggest buck ever. As mentioned though, it is heavy.

I would be shocked if Trump pardoned them. Also, I agree....stand by for riots and social chaos.

The hunter had that app and marked locations we hit, then totaled the difference. I just downloaded an app on my phone called GPS Kit that im going to use. Thanks for the well wishes for Luna!

Get out there!!

Luna and I had an unsuccessful track yesterday where we covered a fair amount of ground. Later on in the day, Luna developed a serious limp where she would put very little weight on a front Leg. Today, the limp was gone but I took her into the vet anyway. It turns out she's got a fungal infection on a couple paws. Pain meds, antibiotic, fungal cream for ten days, and no tracking for a week.

Great looking buck.....hope you get a crack at him!

Good luck!