Luna and Kunox's Tracking Journal 2018

[outdoorstom]

5 minutes ago, LET EM GROW said:

I know 2 people who have both lost two deer already this bow season. It makes me sick to even talk to them or answer them when they ask me related questions yet not give a crap.. etc.. And they'll just keep hunting and forcing shots and then mush in with a team of terds through the woods in attempt to find poorly hit deer.. 

One quote I hate the most “it’s only a doe”.....really pisses me off.

[LET EM GROW]

Yes sir, Totally agree. Ive lost a few very good bucks due to not knowing how to track properly for deer hit not so perfectly.. that would have succumbed if left alone etc.. Hate to say it but i learned the hard way. But at least I know now, and give all due respect to the game i pursue..  

I Used a tracking dog and his owner once before myself. 

[nodeerhere]

6 minutes ago, LET EM GROW said:

I know 2 people who have both lost two deer already this bow season. It makes me sick to even talk to them or answer them when they ask me related questions yet not give a crap.. etc.. And they'll just keep hunting and forcing shots and then mush in with a team of terds through the woods in attempt to find poorly hit deer.. 

I agree with this totally! I get it. Once in a while u put a bad shot on an animal! But these animals aren't target practice! They are living creatures! We as hunters owe them a quick death. And if u make a poor shot! (We all have) give it 110% percent! I still to this day have a few deer that haunt me! And 2 of them were doe. I felt I put a good shot on that animal and tracked it for ever. And when ran out of blood grid searched the whole next day. Take ur time guys! Breath (sometimes hard to do) make the shot count. We owe it to the animals! And u and Luna are the best! Thank u for your service! Great job! 

[outdoorstom]

10/9/2018

 

Well, Kunox redeemed himself tonight after yesterday’s squirrel fiasco. I was called at 6:00 tonight by a bowhunter that had gutshot a doe. He had tracked it and pushed it out of a bed and wanted me to come right out. I told him we needed to wait a minimum of 8 hours, but he said he had to leave for work at 5:00 am, so he couldn’t wait that long. I suggested he line up a friend to join me at first light, but nobody was available. I had my doubts about our odds, but I told him I’d be there around 10:00 tonight. 

We started the track at the hit site and Kunox quickly took us beyond the hunters point of loss. We had gone 400 yards and found ourselves in thick tag alders. Kunox was 15’ ahead of me when I saw the deer bedded down right in front of him. I called the hunter and his friend to move up, while I reeled Kunox in. I was going to give them the leash while I got in position for a shot, but she took off before that could happen. We took off after her and caught up 100 yards later. Again, in a very thick area and it was impossible to get a shot. Off we go again. I had Kunox 5’ in front of me now, and he was on  the doe before I could see her. That gives you an idea of how thick this area was. He bit her on the rear haunch and she bolted, taking him with her.  He was completely off the ground as I was pulling back on the leash, and he finally released his bite. 150 yards later and we were at the edge of a swamp. As we started wading in, I saw the doe bedded in the water 20 yards ahead. I had the guys take the leash and I was able to dispatch her there. We had quite the drag out through the swamp, walking mostly in beaver runs.  This was one to remember!

[Robhuntandfish]

wow!  now thats a determined dog!  great story !  

[doebuck1234]

Love it!

[biggamefish]

That made for an exciting night. Great job Kunox and Outdoostom.

[G-Man]

wow.

[crappyice]

Amazing adventure...not cool that the hunter put that kind of pressure on you and your process. If I ever need this service I will be sure to defer to whatever the handler says. Some people just don’t seem to get it that you and your team have seen almost everything (certainly more Than the typical hunter) when it comes to recovery.


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[DanielT]

What a team!!!
Awesome job

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[outdoorstom]

10/13/18

 

#1

I was called last night by a bowhunter that told me he had made a high shot on a 6 pointer. He and a friend had tracked for approximately 200 yards, marking the blood with ribbons as they went. They had backed out for fear of pushing him in the dark, and told me they were going back in the morning. They further said they would call me and let me know in the morning if they need us or not.  I was called this morning shortly after daybreak and told they had tracked to the edge of a swamp, but weren’t sure where he had gone in there. I put both dogs in the truck and headed out, anticipating a possible second track this opening morning of muzzleloader.

Luna quickly got on the track and took us past every ribbon that marked blood, taking us to the swamp. I told the hunter to start flagging blood as we see it, and I followed Luna in. I was surprised and happy to see the buck laying dead, just 20 yards in. Field dressing revealed the the broadhead had clipped the liver. 

These guys did everything right, from not pushing the deer, to doing a great job of flagging the bloodtrail. Things could have turned out differently if they pushed this deer. The total length of this track was 318 yards.

 

#2

I received a second call this morning just as we found the first buck. The hunter, on public land, shot a 6 pointer with his muzzleloader and had lost blood after 75 yards. Kunox got on the track and moved beyond the point of loss, but we never saw another drop blood. We did a restart after a couple hundred yards and we ended up at a property line...again, not one drop of blood.  I decided to try Luna and see what she could show us. She took us right to the same spot at the property line, but this time the buck jumped up 100 yards in front of us and ran off on 3 legs. We were not able to pursue on the private property, so unfortunately the track ended there. 

[outdoorstom]

10/13/18

 

#3

I was called by a hunters’ son this evening, telling me his Dad had shot a buck, it fell over, thrashed around, got up and went into the woods. They found a few drops of blood in the field, then looked briefly in the woods and backed out after not finding any more.  I told him this sounded like a high back hit with a low chance of a recovery, but I guess we wont know for sure unless we try.  I should have listened to my inner voice....this one was a bust.  Luna started at the blood in the field and picked a trail lead into the woods. Within 25 yards she started barking, indicating a live deer. We followed, but never saw any indication it was our buck. I did a restart and she picked the same trail heading into the woods, but took me in a different direction.  Again, nothing after hundreds of yards. I decided to give it one more try. This time when I took her back to the field she looked at me like “really?  It’s still alive!”  To the same trail we go, with the same negative results. I called it after we got a little more free exercise.

[nyslowhand]

There just aren't the right words to express how great a job you & your 4-legged team do!!!!! Your enthusiasm and perseverance are inspiring!

[doebuck1234]

1 hour ago, nyslowhand said:

There just aren't the right words to express how great a job you & your 4-legged team do!!!!! Your enthusiasm and perseverance are inspiring!

Couldn't have said it better!

[outdoorstom]

10/14/18

 

Today we tracked 3 live deer and put 1 of them on the tailgate.

 

#1

I was called this morning by a hunter that had shot a buck last night. The buck was walking straight at him at 60 yards, and it was thought he had been hit in the chest. No sign of a hit was found last night, but this morning a little white hair and a few drops of blood were located. I was called when the direction of travel couldn’t be determined. Kunox did not hesitate and quickly showed us which trail to take. We began seeing decent, bright red blood as we went into a thicket, and Kunox took us to a 5’ tall fence and wanted to get on the other side. I had the hunter and his friend stay there with Kunox while I took a quick look to see if it had been possible for the deer to go around it, but I didn’t see an opening. I went back and climbed the fence, then lifted up the bottom of it so Kunox could get through. We hadn’t gone 30 yards when I saw fresh blood and Kunox started barking, alerting me to the fact the deer was alive. I called the hunter up and told him to stick close, and off we went. We went about 100 yards and went around the fence, and at this point I could see ribbon where we had marked blood and realized we had circled back close to where we started. We were on a trail and just entering a thicket when I saw the 8 pointer, 15 yards in front of us. I pulled Kunox back and told the hunter to take a shot. His muzzleloader finished him there. It turns out the chest had not been hit. The leg front leg had been clipped but was still usable, but the back leg had been shattered. It’s amazing to me that the buck had been able to jump that fence. The hunter admitted to me later that he had serious doubts when I told him we needed to go over the fence. This track was 400 yards long.

 

#2

A bowhunter called around noon and told me he had shot a doe this morning. He believed his shot had been high. He waited 2.5 hours before taking up the track with 2 friends, and they had tracked light blood for 300 yards, then lost the trail. At this point they backed out and called me. Kunox took up the track and made short work of the 300 yards. He continued past their point of loss, showing us occasional blood. We left the woods and started working some thickets under power lines, and here Kunox started barking. We found fresh blood and followed Kunox as he took us through extremely thick areas, but we never caught up to her. This track was 0.93 miles long.

 

#3

Luna and I headed out for track number three this afternoon. A shot had been taken at a 6 pointer, and it was thought the shot was forward and low. Small amounts of blood were followed into a dry swamp, then the trail had been lost. We started at the hit site and slowly worked through this nasty, bur filled swamp. Some areas were too thick for Luna to get through and I had to carry her. We spent a couple hours walking through the swamp, thick, brier filled clear cuts, and back into the swamp. We had been going hundreds of yards between seeing blood, when Luna started barking. I called the hunter up and told him to put a primer on his muzzleloader and stay close. We picked up the pace and eventually saw a doe and a spike take off. It would be unusual for Luna to switch deer, especially after being locked on for so long, but was a possibility I had to consider. We continued on and she led us in the direction the deer had been. I decided to take her back to last blood and do a restart. We headed back, and part way there came across fresh blood. Luna got on it, but didn’t start barking so I knew we weren’t close. We ended up tracking over a mile, but never even caught a glimpse of the buck.

 

[outdoorstom]

10/15/18

 

I was called by a hunter last night who shot a buck and said it hunched up when hit. He found 1 drop of blood 30 yards from the hit site. He and a friend grid searched but were unable to locate any further sign. Kunox and I met the hunter 30 minutes before daybreak and headed in as the sun came up. We started at the hit site, but Kunox went in a different direction than where the blood drop was marked. Looking at the trails, there are a lot of deer in this area and I’m sure he was picking up on one of them. I took him to the blood (which was no longer visible) and worked every trail through the area. Twice he took us to a nearby shallow pond, but after carefully working the area, we found no evidence of our buck. Eventually, this 3 hour track turned into a grid search. The hunter and I were a couple hundred yards apart when Kunox started his high pitched bark. I never saw the deer he was barking at, but a minute later my phone rang and the hunter told me a racked buck had run by in heavy cover. I headed over to him and a few minutes later he found what he thought was a drop of blood. He had touched it, so it was no longer on the root where he had seen it, but was on his finger and thumb. I pulled out my spray bottle of hydrogen peroxide and it bubbled, indicating it was indeed blood. This was 830 yards from the hit site. We followed the running tracks for a while and determined the deer was moving strong, and called the track after a total of 2.4 miles. Of course I have know way of knowing unless he gets shot or shows up on camera, but I suspect a low non fatal grazing shot since he had hunched, but was still alive 15 hours later.

[outdoorstom]

10/16/18

 

A husband and wife hunting team went out at 12:30 today to check game cameras. They decided to take the muzzleloader “because you never know”.  As they approached some wild apple trees, they saw a deer under one of them. The husband put the scope on it and saw that it was a 7 or 8 point buck. He then handed the muzzleloader to his wife and she shot it, quartering away, at 30 yards. The buck went down for about 5 seconds, then got up and stumbled off. They waited 30 minutes, then started tracking him. They found good blood, some of it with bubbles. The blood stopped after 75 yards, so they grid searched a small area with negative results. They called me at this point. 

Luna and I arrived an hour later, and she quickly took us beyond last blood. 400 yards later as we approached a creek, I was hopeful we would find him there, but it wasn’t to be. Luna without hesitation splashed across the creek and continued on, showing us the occasional drop or smear of blood.  0.61 miles into the track, we had a property line issue. We were unable to reach the landowner by phone, so the husband walked out to go to the owner’s house. The whole time he was gone, Luna expressed her unhappiness with the delay by taking turns barking at me, then at the wife.....nonstop.  We received a call from the husband saying we had a green light. so under the barbed wire we went. We went into a field that had been worked up. The fact it had been worked up, plus the strong wind blowing across it gave Luna a hard time for a few minutes. She ended up picking a trail and we went into some tall swamp grass where we found a bed with a little blood in it. We continued on and Luna took us to a stone wall next to a road. She spent several minutes here, then decided the deer had gone over the wall and crossed the road. We followed her into the woods on the other side of the road for a long way, not seeing any blood. I eventually decided to take her back for a restart. She again insisted on crossing the road, but took a different trail this time. Once again after not seeing any sign, I decided to do a third and final restart. Luna crossed the road again and took the trail she had taken the first time. I let her go a lot further this time, and she eventually lost interest. We called the track at 1.91 miles.  A high 1 lung hit? Maybe.......

[crappyice]

Uggg...I thought for sure there were hero pictures coming with this one


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[wolc123]

That sounds like a hit in the thick area of the backstraps, behind the shoulder and above the spine.  I am 90 % sure that my buddy hit one there on opening day of gun season last year.  It had the identical reaction after taking the slug.  If only he had used his finger on his trigger for a follow-up shot,  rather than on his smart-phone to text me that he "had one down"   I used the last of my "bloodglow" around midnight following that blood trail, which really petered out after about 100 yards.   If one lung was hit, it is unlikely that the deer would have gone more than 300 yards.  I bet she got nothing but meat. 

An arrow striking that area does not have the "shock" power, to cause temporary paralysis and put them down, but a ML or shotgun slug certainly does.  I think that deer has a decent chance of healing up.    

[Taylormike]

Outdoorstom, you and your dogs are so enjoyable, I just love reading the stories.  I read these as you post them and I just don't understand why hunters continually push deer, especially with questionable hits, it makes no sense and extremely difficult for your team.  Keep up the great work and stories.  I was wondering about how many miles do you track/year?

[outdoorstom]

8 hours ago, wolc123 said:

That sounds like a hit in the thick area of the backstraps, behind the shoulder and above the spine.  I am 90 % sure that my buddy hit one there on opening day of gun season last year.  It had the identical reaction after taking the slug.  If only he had used his finger on his trigger for a follow-up shot,  rather than on his smart-phone to text me that he "had one down"   I used the last of my "bloodglow" around midnight following that blood trail, which really petered out after about 100 yards.   If one lung was hit, it is unlikely that the deer would have gone more than 300 yards.  I bet she got nothing but meat. 

An arrow striking that area does not have the "shock" power, to cause temporary paralysis and put them down, but a ML or shotgun slug certainly does.  I think that deer has a decent chance of healing up.    

Not to argue, but 1 lung hit deer can go miles, and they sometimes survive the hit...especially if it’s high on the lung.

 

[outdoorstom]

8 hours ago, Taylormike said:

Outdoorstom, you and your dogs are so enjoyable, I just love reading the stories.  I read these as you post them and I just don't understand why hunters continually push deer, especially with questionable hits, it makes no sense and extremely difficult for your team.  Keep up the great work and stories.  I was wondering about how many miles do you track/year?

They saw bubbles, so naturally assumed they were tracking a dead deer. I really don’t know how many miles I track a year...never added them up.  Let’s just say I’m in good shape at the end :-)

 

[outdoorstom]

10/17/18

 

#1

 

Kunox and I tracked a buck this morning that was shot with a crossbow last night. The hunter and his father searched until 11:30 last night, grid searching after last blood.  I observed brown hair and dark blood on the bolt, leading me to think it was liver shot. We started at the hit site and worked 550 yards to the hunters point of loss, then went another 100 yards into a swampy area. Kunox took a left and took me into a briar filled clearcut, where he went hot on a live deer that we never saw.  I let him continue for awhile, but didn’t believe we were tracking a live deer so I went back to last blood. We started walking the trails into the swamp,  looking for sign, with no luck. I began working circles around last blood, and a little over 100 yards in the clearcut, Kunox showed me some. We continued on and found the 4 pointer 50 yards further on. Unfortunately, coyotes had worked his rear end over pretty good.

 

#2

 

We went on a second track this morning on a big doe that had been shot last night with a muzzleloader. She had been tracked and pushed out of a bed last night, and then tracked some more until the blood disappeared. Luna got the call on this one and made record time on the 369 yard track. This gutshot button buck had also been found by coyotes.

 

[outdoorstom]

10/17/18

 

#3

 

Luna and I tracked a muzzleloader shot buck this evening, 3 hours after the shot. The blood trail started about 75 yards from the hit site, but was never heavy. A couple hundred yards further, Luna went hot but I was unsure if she was on our buck or not until I saw a little blood. I decided at that point to see if it was possible to catch up and dispatch the buck. After it ran across a field and entered another section of woods after .52 miles, I told the hunter to mark the spot and come back in the morning. Luna rocked this track. I was amazed at the speed she went across the windswept field and nailed the correct trail on the other side, confirmed by a small drop of blood. My wife has an appt in Burlington tomorrow, so I’m not going to be able to finish this one. I hope it isn’t found by coyotes tonight.

[Four Season Whitetail's]

Shows how many of those useless vermin are around. Just a few hours and its a wasted deer.