Luna and Kunox’s Tracking Journal 2019

[outdoorstom]

7 hours ago, First-light said:

I get all this. Love your posts and your dogs! So I have been hunting for almost 40 years. I was taught that when you lose blood start a grid search. I have found many deer this way. My question to you is don't you find the majority of hunters start a grid search before calling you? Wouldn't you want them to exhaust all possibilities first then call you? I have never called deer search. I would think if I did the guy would be pissed if the deer was found 50 yards from last blood. There is a great deal of hunters out there and not many that provide your service. Again what you and Luna do is amazing and I thank you for it. Just want to get it straight what not to do if you are going to call in the tracking dog.

Thanks,

FL

Nope, I don’t think you’ll find a tracker anywhere that would get pissed at finding your deer only 50 yards away. Most hunters do a grid search with buddies before calling, and it definitely makes it harder on the dog. I haven’t seen that “clean vs dirty track” video, I’ll have to watch it.

 

[outdoorstom]

9/28/19

 

#1

I received a call from a hunter last night telling me he had shot a doe way too far back. Based on the description of the shot, we decided to wait until first light this morning. Kunox took us to last blood, which was only 100 yards or so, then showed us another drop a few yards away. That was the last blood we’d see. I went into this track thinking it would be a quick slam dunk. I have no idea where that doe went, but we covered 2.08 miles searching for her. This really stinks because if the shot hit where the hunter thinks it did, that’s a dead deer. These are the kind of tracks that haunt me.

 

#2

This hunter contacted me last night at about 10:00. He shot a buck and waited a couple of hours before beginning to track. He said he had heard a much louder noise than normal when the arrow struck, and he found the arrow, but the rage broadhead and 5 or 6 inches were broken off and missing. I’m thinking this deer was hit in the shoulder. The deer was tracked 250 yards to a neighboring property they didn’t have permission to enter. I was called at that point, but after waiting for an hour and still no permission, I went to bed. We had heavy rain last night, so most of the blood was gone this morning. The hunter was able to confirm that Luna was going the right way and she took us to where they lost the trail last night. We continued on and she showed us a little blood 140 yards further, but this was the last of it. We continued for a long way (my tracking app got paused in my pocket) and came back to last blood for a restart. Luna consistently took us in the same direction. Toward the end of this track she began her high pitched bark, indicating a live deer which we followed for a distance, but never saw it or any blood. I believe this buck is still alive.

[outdoorstom]

9/29/19

 

#1

I received a call from a hunter I know, and told me he had shot a doe on the public land across the road from me. Kunox and I headed over in the ranger, leaving a clearly upset Luna watching out the window. We started at the hit site and headed into the woods from the small clearing. This was an easy track with sporadic blood with some bubbles. We were 300 yards into it when Kunox went hot. We never saw the deer, but continued for another 70 yards hoping to catch up with her, before marking last blood and backing out. We agreed to come back at 9:00. Once again, Luna thought the world is not a fair place as she got left behind. We hiked in and started Kunox on the second to last ribbon and we were off. 40 yards later and he was chewing on her leg.  Field dressing revealed she had been hit high in one lung.

 

#2

I headed out at 10:00 on a second track that I probably should have declined due to the description of a high back hit, but decided to give it a shot. Luna was more than a little excited when I opened the door and she got the call. There was very little blood to start with, then none at all for most of the track. Luna took us to the hunters point of loss, then spent 15 minutes or so circling, trying to get past the grid searched area. She eventually started pulling hard and took off, showing me she was clearly on it. 1/2 a mile later we pulled the plug. Part of the satisfaction of doing this is giving the hunter some piece of mind that he didn’t leave a dead deer in the woods. He expressed his gratitude for that.

[outdoorstom]

10/1/19

 

This morning I tracked a buck for a 12 year old hunter. He and his Dad were in a ground blind yesterday afternoon in an old apple orchard, and he shot his first deer. The deer was slightly quartering away and they thought the shot may have been a little high, but good up and down. After waiting 30 minutes they took up the trail and followed sporadic blood for 300 yards before losing it. I was called last night but I wasn’t available for tracking, so we made arrangements for this morning. We had heavy rain overnight and it continued this morning on the way to the track. The hunter, his Dad, and his Grandpa had done a good job of marking the track last night, so we were able to see that Luna was on the right trail. This was especially helpful since the rain had washed away all blood. At the point of loss the area had been grid searched, but only for a short distance. Luna worked the area, then picked a line and we were off.  Initially she was tracking confidently, but after a few hundred yards showed me she wasn’t so sure anymore. We went back to the point of loss for a restart, and this time she took a different line. 150 yards later and she was chewing on the deers leg. Congratulations on your first deer, Evan!

[Moho81]

That’s a good feeling right there!


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[grampy]

Nice work!!!  What a dream team!  These are the stories that warm the heart.

[johnplav]

Great job with the last track!  Losing a wounded deer can be very tough and emotional (as it should be).  Helping that 12 year old recover his first deer will leave a lasting impression on him.  

[moog5050]

well done!

[Chef]

So awesome that you were able to help out this young man!


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[Arcade Hunter]

Out of likes... Nice deer young man!

[land 1]

great job your stories are the best keep up good work

[Fletch]

Well done, that is impressive after such a rain.

[DanielT]

Wow...after the rain...amazing job

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[Lawdwaz]

Well done!!!

[cdbing]

Nicely done Tom and Luna!....in spite of the rain...way to go! Shot looked well placed. Surprised the deer made it that far.


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[doebuck1234]

Awesome!!!!!A memory for that kid that will stick a lifetime!

[outdoorstom]

18 hours ago, cdbing said:

Nicely done Tom and Luna!....in spite of the rain...way to go! Shot looked well placed. Surprised the deer made it that far.


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He caught one lung and was pushed.

[NFA-ADK]

Awesome!!! 

[outdoorstom]

Quote

 

10/2/19

 

Received a call from a hunter reporting shooting a buck in the shoulder area at 6:30 last night. He had trailed the deer for about 50 yards, lost blood, marked it, and backed out. Kunox and I arrived and were on light blood for a couple hundred yards, then it dried up. We continued on and Kunox went hot,  but we never saw the deer or found any blood so we weren’t sure if it was our buck or another deer. After 300 yards we went back to last blood for a restart. This time, Kunox took a trail that was a few yards over from the original and showed us a spot where the buck had stood and was bleeding pretty good. We continued on and saw a drop of blood here and there for a few hundred yards before backing out and we agreed to come back in the morning. Due to work commitments, the hunter couldn’t start until 9:30. 

10/3/19

I had a conversation with the hunter about game cameras and he said he had two of them out. I told him I’d like to check them before resuming the track, but neither one of them had a picture of our buck. I took Kunox to the second to the last ribbon marking blood and he picked up where he left off last night. He would be on it, then it was obvious he wasn’t, but he’d head back to the blood on his own. We did this throughout the 120 acres for 4 hours, never finding a bed or any fresh blood. The hunter knew where the buck bedded and the area was only a couple hundreds yards from where we stopped last night, so we headed over and thoroughly searched that area, but no luck. I pulled the plug on the search at this time. GPS showed we had walked 3.96 miles circling around those woods. Shortly before this, the hunter had remembered he had a third camera out, this one in an apple orchard. We thought it would be prudent to check this camera too. Guess who was there at 5:06 this morning! The picture quality was poor so it impossible to see exactly where the deer was hit, but it did look like possibly in the shoulder area. Hopefully he gets another chance at him soon!

[Bolt action]

I love following along. Is it true that the rain is actually good for tracking? I've heard that, although it washes away the visible blood trail, it freshens up the scent making it easier for the dog to follow. Any truth to that?

[outdoorstom]

19 minutes ago, Bolt action said:

I love following along. Is it true that the rain is actually good for tracking? I've heard that, although it washes away the visible blood trail, it freshens up the scent making it easier for the dog to follow. Any truth to that?

Yep, there’s truth to that. Best of both worlds there’s still some visible blood.

 

[outdoorstom]

10/4/19

 

I was called by a hunter that shot a doe this morning and requested our assistance. The doe had dropped at the shot, got up, ran a short distance, dropped again, then got up and ran into a thicket. He and his son tracked sporadic blood for about 250 yards before losing the trail. They recovered the arrow along the way  and it showed only half of it had penetrated. Luna and I arrived 5 hours after the shot and got to work. Luna quickly took us to the hunters point of loss and continued on. We cut through a failed cornfield that was only a foot tall, then entered a thicket and Luna went hot. We never saw the doe, but did find blood. We followed, hoping to get a look at her condition to determine our next course of action. Luna led us through a field and into the woods, where we found a drop of blood. This was at the 800 yard mark and I decided at that point to back out and return in 2 hours.  The hunter had been positive on the phone that the shot hadn’t been high, but the evidence was showing otherwise.  To be continued......

At 4:00 we went back in and I had Luna run the entire track. I told the hunter if we jump the deer and it’s running strong, I’m pulling the plug. We continued past the spot where we stopped earlier, and soon started seeing steadier blood. We continued and before long I spotted the bedded deer which jumped up and struggled to run away. I called the hunter up and had him finish her with his bow. Total track was 1,355 yards. We were fortunate to catch up with her.....it was indeed a high back hit.

[doebuck1234]

Out of likes!nice work!!!

[Steve D]

1 hour ago, outdoorstom said:

Total track was 1,355 yards.

He sure don't look like he could drag one that far. Did you help with that to???

Good job!

[Fletch]

Nice
Luna has a mouth full lol


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