Luna's Tracking Journal 2016

[DanielT]

Good girl Luna...good try

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[outdoorstom]

12/3 - I received a call this morning from a local family I know that were hunting at their camp in the Adirondacks. One of the guys had shot a nice buck last night and had found a little blood, then backed out. They went back this morning and searched for a couple hours, then called me. Unfortunately things were complicated by 2" of snow overnight. We spent 3 hours following big tracks, getting downwind of thick areas, and just sweeping the entire area, to no avail. We don't have any idea where the deer was shot since we couldn't find any hair or other evidence. Luna was getting very cold after being wet for that long and was shivering pretty bad at this point, so I called it off. Not only did we not find the deer, but I got a flat tire just as I arrived at their camp. These guys were great though and dove right in and changed it for me. The big woods where they hunt are absolutely gorgeous!

There was no cell service where I was tracking and as I drove out of the mountains I got two voicemails from guys wanting me to track. I called the first one and was happy to hear they had found the buck. The second one was unable to track tonight so we made plans to meet at 7:30 in the morning. 

As I continued home I received a third call and agreed to meet the hunter and track this evening. 
He was unable to show me where the deer was standing in the middle of a big field when he shot it, but he got a second shot at it and had a good idea where it was for this one. We no longer have snow on the ground in the valley so we couldn't see tracks, and Luna was unable to pick anything up. The hunter showed me where we he watched the deer run (with it's tail up and running normally) and we walked major runways in that area. Twice Luna took us to a drainage ditch. The first time we went across we followed a runway for a couple hundred yards but never saw any sign. We went back to the field and did a restart and Luna took us back to the ditch. I carried her across again, but when I set her down she took off but wasn't using her right rear leg. I stopped her and looked and found a stick stuck up between her pads. I pulled it out but she still wouldn't put any weight on that leg, so I called off the track. I'm not even sure this deer got hit by either shot.

[outdoorstom]

12/4 - I took a track this morning I normally wouldn't due to the low probability of a recovery, and a good chance the deer survived. The only reason I agreed to try was because it was a young girls first buck. The buck was shot yesterday morning and dropped at the shot, then started dragging itself out of the field without the use of its back legs. After a few seconds it regained the use of its back legs and ran off. All signs of a classic high back hit. We started at the hit site and Luna took us exactly to the hunters point of loss, and then found some more blood a short distance beyond. We searched the area thoroughly with negative results. 

Our second track of the day was for a 78 year old hunter that had shot at a running buck that was behind 2 does. The shot was at a distance of ten yards through brush, and the buck fell to his front knees, then jumped up and ran away. The hunter had been sitting on a rock and fell off when made the shot, so was unable to get a second one off. We found white hair at the hit site, and a little blood just inside the woodlot. Luna was pulling hard as we went deeper into the woods, then started her high pitched bark reserved for live deer. I told the hunter and his neighbor that we were tracking a live deer, then a couple minutes later we saw the buck in brush at about 75 yards, sneaking away with his tail down. When we got over there we found some more white hair, but no blood. Luna was still barking and pulling hard and we continued on. We saw the buck a few minutes later running through the woods with his tail up. He crossed a swamp with deep water and we called off the track at that point, believing the deer had been grazed in the brisket.

[doebuck1234]

Unfortunate on not being able to find either deer but still a well done job getting out there and trying!

[Moho81]

Thanks for keeping at it even with the disappointment of a couple of unsuccessful tracks. 

[outdoorstom]

On 12/4/2016 at 7:39 PM, doebuck1234 said:

Unfortunate on not being able to find either deer but still a well done job getting out there and trying!

Thanks! I consider them successful if we can reasonably be assured they survived.

 

[outdoorstom]

Some of you may enjoy this interesting article written by the gentleman who started the bloodtracking dog program in NY in the 70's.

http://borntotracknews.blogspot.com/2008/12/what-is-your-success-recovery-rate.html

[DanielT]

Some of you may enjoy this interesting article written by the gentleman who started the bloodtracking dog program in NY in the 70's.
http://borntotracknews.blogspot.com/2008/12/what-is-your-success-recovery-rate.html

Interesting...and we'll stated...
Wondering what breed the larger dogs in Texas were that can keep a deer at bay...
Either way...with that point of view...
You guys are very succesful...as you seem to always stay til you know the future of that deer clearly
..great job

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[outdoorstom]

12/10 - On this 8 degree night, Luna and I tracked a doe shot with a muzzleloader this afternoon. The hunter and his friend has lost blood after a half mile track, did one circle trying to pick it back up, then backed out. Luna made short work of the half mile to the hunters point of loss, then it took a little time to move beyond there. She took off took down a trail with plenty of deer tracks, but I didn't see any blood after about 150 yards. I picked her up and carried her back to last blood and did a restart. She took off down a difference trail this time, but again no sign. Back we went for another restart, and she chose the same trail we had just tried, but this time I decided to go a lot further. 300 yards later and I spotted a tiny red dot in the snow.....good girl Luna! I called the hunter up to flag it and we took off. About 5 minutes later Luna's intensity picked up and she started barking, indicating we were close to the live deer. It became obvious from the tracks that the deer was now running, so we picked up the pace. Despite running, the deer never started bleeding anymore than the occasional drop we had been seeing. After going a mile beyond last blood, we called it off. Luna did her job, and was not at all happy with having to stop.

[outdoorstom]

Luna and I would like to thank everyone that gave us the opportunity to track for them this season. We ended up finding 12 deer and 1 bear. We'll be training hard in the off season and hope to do even better next year. Merry Christmas everyone!

[grampy]

All thanks should go to you and Luna, for the time, dedication, and talent you both have. And for helping hunters you have never met. The service you provide to hunters is worth so much more than any dollar amount. I'd like to congratulate you and Luna on a spectacular season! I have followed this thread all year, and I'm so impressed with what you two do as a team.  May you both have a warm Christmas season and a Happy tracking New Year!

[dbHunterNY]

you both make a good team.  12 deer and a bear is still a heck of a season.  even more people got piece of mind knowing their deer would make it given the tracking.  others is just tough luck and maybe should practice shooting during the off season as much as you and luna practice tracking.  Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you before the mild weather returns.

[Rebel Darling]

Thank you and Luna for all your efforts, and for sharing your stories.  This is one of my favorite threads to read, and it's usually my first click when I see a new post.

Have a great off-season, and I hope you all enjoy the holidays!

[Fletch]

Thanks for sharing your adventures with us. One of my favorite threads as well!! Great job, hope you have a great holiday season!!

[Moho81]

Thank you for posting your stories on here and thank you for the service you provide hunters. Without your help 12 deer and 1 bear would have been lost and never recovered. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! 

[doebuck1234]

Dont think can say better than above posts.thank you and love following this one!

[Zem18]

Thank you both for your selfless acts of helping others. Merry Christmas

[hunterdan44]

Merry Christmas and what they all said!


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[DanielT]

Can't wait for next year...you guys are a true example for all outdoorsmen....well done this year!!...
Happy holidays!

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[FX62]

Thank you both for your commitment to helping others and for sharing your adventures with us. I look forward to reading your updates and your account of each track. You certainly make the reader feel like they are there with you. Wishing you, Luna, and family a Merry Christmas and Happy New year!