outdoorstom

Unfortunately, they don't all end up with a deer in the truck. The national average is about 38%. A lot of them that aren't recovered is because the deer survived. A lot of trackers decline taking the track when they hear high shoulder hair with bow. Gun, now that's a different story for high shoulder.

10/6 - I got a call this morning from a hunter that said he shot a broadside doe high in the shoulder and was unable to find any blood, or his arrow. He made the shot at 7:00 and we started tracking at 9:45. He only looked in the foodplot, then backed out and called. We started at the hit site and Luna got on it right away and took us to where the hunter saw the doe enter the woods. We found a little blood a few yards in, and an occasional drop every 75 yards or so. We were a few hundred yards into the track when Luna started pulling like crazy and opened up with her high pitched bark which is reserved for live animals. We were in the thickest, nastiest prickly ash patch I've encountered, so it was slow going for me and Luna was going nuts. She barked and we tracked for well over half a mile before Luna eased up. We tracked at a slower pace for a couple hundred more yards and Luna definitely lost the track. For curiosity's sake, we went back to where Luna first started barking and found fresh blood where the deer had stood, and also very fresh turds right next to the blood. I felt bad for Luna, she really deserved to chew on this deers leg.

Twice in the last week I've watched some light sparring between young bucks, but no chasing here yet.

Sorry to hear you're suffering through this...get better soon!!

Oct 3 - I had a call last night from a hunter that shot a 7 pointer. He said the deer moved just as he released and the arrow hit way back. The good news is the buck was quartering away. He stated the arrow was sticking out about 8 inches as it ran off, and the hunter and his friend followed good blood for a couple hundred yards, then marked where it became sparse and called me. We started at the hit site and Luna quickly covered the trail to the point of loss. We went about 400 yards with no sign and did a restart. We ended up at a dry creek bed and were walking it when Luna shut down due to the warm temps. It was at this point I realized I left the water in the truck, and Luna and I headed to a nearby waterhole. One of the guys headed to the truck to get the water and unknown to me, another guy had gone ahead. He called and said he found where the buck crossed the creek. Luna refused to drink any water, which is normal while she tracks and we headed to the crossing. Luna immediately went back to work. We followed the track for about 100 yards or so and found the buck.

the farmer should be here in a few weeks to take his beans....except for the area near my stand I flagged for him to leave. the turnips have never been hit this early. The plot is getting hammered. the egyptian wheat and sorghum screen is doing well switchgrass to the left, goldenrod and willow bushes to the right. I love how deer can materialize at any moment. i planted a few pumpkins for the first time this year. Should I break these open, or let the deer do it?

I plan on posting Luna's tracks here. A disappointing start to the season, but things will get better. Oct 1st - Luna and I went on our first track of the season this morning. We were tracking a buck that had been gutshot 48 hours earlier. The hunter backed out of the area for 24 hours after retrieving his arrow and seeing evidence of the poor hit. He spent all of yesterday grid searching the area. We started the track at the hit site and quickly advanced the 100 yards or so to the hunters point of loss. Luna appeared focused and still on track for a very short distance beyond there, then clearly looked unsure. We went back to the point of loss many times for restarts, slowly searched in circles, and went to a river a quarter mile away and searched there, all with no results. I'm at a loss, as I know that deer is dead, and since it wasn't pushed it seems like it would have bedded close and died. I can't help but think I should have found this deer. A couple other things that are noteworthy......very dry tracking conditions, and the hunter told me he and his wife 10 days ago counted over 90 deer in the alfalfa field bordering the woodlot.

Wow....they really pounded them! Anyway to expand that plot?

Those are looking good! You did a great job of not seeding too heavy.

If you can get at least 6 hours sunlight you will be fine.....

That is some great looking property and beautiful plots! I love how thick your woods are.

That first one is a moose! Good luck this season.

Definitely set up where they're coming to the beans....you'll get tons of pics!

Please know you're in my prayers.

Wounds like a good plan!

I've got a husqvarna backpack blower that I use on my trails.....been using it 5 or 6 years now and it runs great.

I sure hope to get the chance!

I was happy to get a pic of this guy.....short tines, but good width.

Great looking herd you have there!!

You're right, they like that 22 acre field. Goldenrod, 4 acres of switchgrass, 8 duck ponds with lots of cattails, and 1.5 acres of food.

These 3 are from another.......

These 3 views are from one of my blinds.

Very nice!!

That second buck has a crazy looking rack! Good luck this season!