Luna and Kunox's Tracking Journal 2018

[DanielT]

Best thread goin...
Glad your back!!

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[outdoorstom]

9/20/2018

 

I received a call from a hunter shortly before dusk last night, asking for help tracking a bear he had just shot. He and his brother had tracked for a couple hundred yards, then lost blood in a swamp grass/tag alder area. Luna and I met them in Potsdam this morning, then were led to the hunting property in Parishville.  

The hunter had shot the bear behind the shoulder with a 300 Savage, at 40 yards.  The bear had rolled, then got up and ran off. 

Luna led us right to their point of loss, then down one of the many trails crisscrossing the small swamp. 300 yards into it, we found 2 piles of bear scat, 1 very fresh. We also found a bed, with no blood in it. We left the swamp and went into some woods. At this point I decided to take Luna back to last blood and do a restart to ensure we were on the correct bear. She took us back to the same spot, showing us one drop of blood we hadn't seen the first time. We continued on, working through fairly open wooded areas, swampy areas with lots of blow downs, and areas so thick you couldn't see 3 feet in front of you. We were in one of these thick areas when I heard something moving 10 or 15 yards in front of us. We stopped and listened and the hunter heard it. I had the hunter's brother stay put with Luna, and I went to the right and the hunter went to the left.  I heard the hunter holler that he saw him, then a minute later I heard two shots. Unfortunately he missed the lumbering bear at 50 yards with his .40 caliber handgun. Lesson learned.....I will never again allow a hunter to go on a bear track with me during the day without a rifle.

We started the track on private property, went on to County land, then came to private property and had to stop to obtain permission to enter. Many thanks to the owner of Parishville Sand and Gravel for allowing us to proceed. 

Per gps, we made a 2 mile circle and ended up back almost exactly where we started. We never saw the bear again, but Luna was locked on and definitely upheld her end of the deal.  This bear will survive his experience, obviously no vitals were hit. Remember the aiming point on a bear is "the middle of the middle".

[grampy]

Great work from dog and handler Tom!  Not so much for the hunter on this one.

[wolc123]

17 hours ago, DanielT said:

 

It looks to me ...the replaceable core is in the stomach area...no lungs or heart...

Wth....smh

 

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If that  ^^  was a black bear, instead of a deer, the yellow arrow would be just about in the perfect spot to aim, don't you think ?   It looks a little far back for a deer though.

[outdoorstom]

3 minutes ago, wolc123 said:

If that  ^^  was a black bear, instead of a deer, the yellow arrow would be just about in the perfect spot to aim, don't you think ?   It looks a little far back for a deer though.

I totally agree!

[outdoorstom]

http://www.bear-hunting.com/2014/5/middle-of-the-middle-redefining-shot-placement

[DanielT]

Thanks..guys...
A buddy is headed out tonight and I just went over center of center with him...he had never heard that...

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[outdoorstom]

2 hours ago, DanielT said:

Thanks..guys...
A buddy is headed out tonight and I just went over center of center with him...he had never heard that...

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Hope you didn't tell him center of the center. It's middle of the middle:-) Huge difference there.

 

[DanielT]

Hope you didn't tell him center of the center. It's middle of the middle:-) Huge difference there.
 

I did better I forward in the link you posted and he totally understands now
thank you again

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[outdoorstom]

11 minutes ago, DanielT said:

I did better I forward in the link you posted and he totally understands now
thank you again

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I hope you know I was being a smart ass there. It's my nature :-)

[DanielT]

Lmao

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[land 1]

Nice job Luna, cant do nothing if its a poor shot,

[outdoorstom]

9/27/2018

 

I received a call this evening from the father of a young hunter. His son had shot a doe in a field at 28 yards, and they had lost the very light, sporadic blood trail after 60 or 70 yards into the woods.  Kunox and I met them and we went to the hit site. We were unable to locate any sign there, but Kunox took us across the field and into the woods where they had marked the little blood there was.  The hit was described as being high and loud, like bone. They believed the opposite shoulder had stopped a pass through shot. Kunox took us past their ribbons, and into very thick prickly ash, where we worked in a circle, eventually ending up back at the field. I told them I believed the arrow had hit the close shoulder, not the opposite, and we were tracking a live deer.  In the field as we walked back to our trucks, the son found the arrow. It showed 3"-4" of penetration. This doe will live to see another day.

Luna was not happy about being left at home and my wife said she sat on the arm of the couch watching out the window the entire time I was gone.

[outdoorstom]

9/28/2018

 

Luna and I went on a track this morning for a mature double drop ten pointer that was shot yesterday evening. The hunter (his first bowshot deer) and 2 others searched for a couple hours last night and followed very light blood for 300 yards before losing the trail.  Luna wasn't able to pick up anything at the hit site, probably due to windy conditions in the field, so we headed in the direction the buck had run. The blood started at about the 100 yard mark, a small drop here and there.  Luna took us past the last of the flagged blood, then into a very thick bedding area. In the bedding area, she started her pitched bark, indicating a live deer. We saw several beds while in there, none with blood. I let Luna take me 400 yards into a swampy area without seeing any blood, then picked her up and carried her back to flagged blood and did a restart.  She took exactly the same route, so I let her continue this time and we ended this 1000 yard track at the edge of a large, deep swamp. 

The hunter had left the arrow in his Dad's vehicle, but sent me some pictures of the fletching.  I see a couple white hairs and a little meat, and he said the rage broadhead had fat on it.  I believe this may have been a brisket shot.

[doebuck1234]

Ouch tough loss for the hunter but great stories as always!

[land 1]

yeah fat is normally very high very low or brisket ,,,,great thread

[TreeGuy]

The dream team is back in the woods ! I'm just catching up on all your action already and like everybody else says, can't wait to read more !

 

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[outdoorstom]

9/29/2018

 

Off to a slow, frustrating start this year. 

 

#1

Luna and I were called to track a bow shot buck after the hunter lost blood after 100 yards. We slogged through a swamp for 9/10 of a mile as per gps. After following a decent amount of blood, it tapered off to very small, sporadic drops. The last blood we found was very fresh, so I flagged it and marked it on the gps and we backed out. I told the hunter I'd come back in the morning, but he declined and said he go look himself.

 

#2

I was called while on the first track by a hunter we've tracked for in the past. He and his sons were on good blood, but wondered if I wanted to bring a dog for a training track. I told him I was tracking now and to continue on their own. I called him back when I finished to see how they made out and was surprised to hear they were still on blood and tracking. He requested I come out, so Luna and I headed over, arriving at 9:00. They had tracked half a mile and based on the blood they were seeing, couldn't believe they hadn't recovered it yet. Due to the fact they were still on blood and Luna was tired, I started where they were, rather than running the whole track. They had just come out of the woods to the edge of a field and Luna picked up the line. We worked through several large fields and at one point Luna started her high pitched bark. We never saw the deer so I don't know if it was ours or not. One of the hunters sons and his friend were tired and had gone back to the truck when I started. They called us right after Luna started barking and said there were a couple men at the truck who were upset and wanted us to come out and talk to them. When we got there, one of the neighbors said we should have called them to let them know what we were doing. Very weird, we weren't even on their land.  I'm heading back this morning once the hunter gets a call back from a nearby landowner who's swamp we may have to enter. 

To be continued......

 

[TreeGuy]

I see your frustration ...

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[grampy]

Early season tracking can be very hit or miss, as I'm sure you know Tom. The next few calls can be totally different!  Wishing you and the deam team safety and success! Love this thread!

Let me know the next time you visit John and Jolanta, coffee's on me!

Edited September 30, 2018 by grampy

[outdoorstom]

11 hours ago, grampy said:

Early season tracking can be very hit or miss, as I'm sure you know Tom. The next few calls can be totally different!  Wishing you and the deam team safety and success! Love this thread!

Let me know the next time you visit John and Jolanta, coffee's on me!

I'll certainly let you know!

 

[outdoorstom]

9/30/2018

 

#1

We went back to yesterday's second track this morning. This time I started Luna at the hit site and quickly worked the 1/2 mile to where we started last night. Luna took the same route as last night, but we weren't able to advance the track beyond that point.

 

#2

I received 2 more calls shortly before starting the first track this morning. The second track was for a 14 year old that shot a buck this morning.  I had high hopes for this one, good blood and he had bedded twice in the first 150 yards or so. I was in for a let down. For reasons I can't explain, we were not able to advance the track beyond the second bed.  We checked all trails leading away from there, and I even ran both dogs on it (separately). I felt horrible. This youngster spends a LOT of time in the outdoors with his Dad and Grandpa and his woodsmanship really showed.

 

#3

Our day didn't get any better on this track. The hunter shot a big racked buck this morning at 23 yards, quartering away. He and his son tracked for 200 yards with no beds, then ran out of blood. Luna and I tracked to the hunters point of loss, then another couple hundred yards before losing the trail. Again, we worked every trail out of the area, and worked a circle around the point of loss.  A river borders the property, so we walked the riverbank hoping to find him floating in the water. No such luck.  We went back to the truck and I dropped Luna off and grabbed Kunox.  He ran the line to the point of loss and was also stumped. We ran circles and checked trails again, with the same negative results. At this point I told the hunter I was going to have to stop, my legs were exhausted after 11 hours walking in the woods.

 

This may sound odd, but this tracking game is streaky. I've never started the season on a losing streak, but occasionally had them at some point in the season. A winning streak is due!

[Lawdwaz]

Tomorrow is a new day.......

[bartman9]

Hang in there!  Thanks for all the reports.  It is great to read the non-favorable results too, as we can all learn from them.  

 

Dave

[outdoorstom]

14 minutes ago, bartman9 said:

Hang in there!  Thanks for all the reports.  It is great to read the non-favorable results too, as we can all learn from them.  

 

Dave

These are the ones I seriously consider not writing!