Blood Tracking Log - 2014
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2014

A Confidence Track

A received a frantic call at work from my wife, Diane, when I answered the phone all she said was “Come!”, “help”
To that I replied “Did you get one” and she said yes “come, help, coyotes on the way”

I set land speed records to get home up on the mountain, and when I arrived in the driveway, Diane and Bella were ready to go.

Diane was chattering away telling me what happened and we gathered our gear and set off. From the sound of her careful deliberation of the shot, I did not think we'd have very far for Bella to track. The only thing that bothered me was that Diane said there was no visible blood at all. I was praying it was not going to be a total let down and turn out to be a miss.

As she furthered described what happened after the shot, me who was interrogating my own wife, was fairly sure this deer was hard hit but where was the blood. As we made our way down to the edge of the food plot Bella started wind scenting and excited. I told Diane to go to where the deer was standing and I'd bring Bella to the area. We attached Bella's tracking line and without hesitation she got right on the track immediately and from her reaction there was in fact microscopic blood present.

Bella confidently tracked exactly where Diane had seen the deer run, she over shot a 90 degree corner but instantly self corrected and was exactly on the track again. Bella exited the food plot and left the main trail into an area the deer stage in before coming into the food plot and took a hard right turn  through this area heading towards an area we call “White rock”

Before we could reach the next deer trail coming into the radish and oats we found the fat 5 pointer laying in a depression which is why Diane had not seen him on her quick recon of the area.

He had only traveled about 50-65 yards total as she had made a perfect double lung shot and also took the arteries off the top of the heart. It was a great confidence track for Bella.

After the obligatory as found photos of Diane and Bella, we were deciding if we should gut the deer on the spot or drag away from the food plot area the decision got made for us by the coyotes closing in fast howling- so we prepared to drag the buck out whole. While we were making this decision Bella decided to play with a stick and roll all over near the deer all pleased with herself.

Proud of both dog and wife

Tracking In The Rain

I came in from filming a morning Muzzleloader hunt for my buddy James and the phone rang. The call was from a hunter at the far edge of our travel range who had shoulder shot a buck and needed help. He had lost the blood trail and promised that they had only circled a couple times and then backed right out. He then asked “Can the dog track in the rain?” (it was dry here at home at the time) To which I confidently replied “Yes as long as it is not pouring”. He confirmed that it was NOT pouring just drizzle and spitting snow. I agreed to take the track but needed to try to be home by 3 to hunt again. So we gathered up the gear and headed out.

As we neared the meeting spot I jokingly pointed to a mountain and said we are going to have to climb that to get this deer. Once we met up with the hunter and his friend, I asked where we needed to go and he pointed up to that same mountain.

After getting the dog and wife geared up we headed out to start the accent... ¼ mile straight up. Some of the steepest terrain we have been on since last season.

We started Bella at last blood on a bench of a side hill. At first she started ok but then got awry with the hunter's tracked blood and wind drift. So I restarted her at the actual shot site and she acquired a solid hard tracking posture and trucked on down a side hill deer trail into the hemlocks. We skirted the sidehill for about 1/8 mile finding small blood spots along the way. There was also leg drag marks but to the non tracker eye it would have been hard to spot with all the deer and turkey acorn foraging sign.

Bella then veered sharply down a steep incline to a brook. And instead of doing her normal sidetrack following drift down the brook she charged straight across and immediately found a bloody bed. I called the hunter up to show him and make sure he was prepared in case we jumped the deer and then restarted to find another bed only 10' away. The buck then took a side hill trail and labored up to the top of a nob.

Upon reaching the top Bella and I jumped the buck. He got up swiftly and took a bound and then started hobbling and walked slowly over the other side off the top of the nob. I called the hunter to come up and sent him over to where the deer had been while we waited a good distance back. I told him that if he could not see the deer to call us forward to restart the track.

As the hunter reached the bed I saw him shoulder the muzzleloader and then lower it, then he shouldered it again and vanished over the edge too. What was probably only a minute seemed like an hour and we heard a shot.  After the shot we made our way towards the hunter who called to us “He's down”, and at the bottom of the ravine was a beautiful large bodied 5 point buck. We paused a few minutes to make sure the deer had expired and then let Bella be the first down to see “her” deer and we stood a moment to admire the results of her work. Bella made a hunter very happy today. GOOD DOG Bella!
Track was 3 1/2 hours old and about 350 yards total 

Youth Hunting Weekend Kickoff- but not with a youth

Youth weekend started off with a bang Friday night. While getting supper ready for the Youth team staying at our house we received a call from a disabled hunter needing a dog to track a wounded deer. After some debate the Youth hunting team decided to accompany us on the track instead of watching TV and eating while we were gone.

We arrived at the location just before 8:30 pm and took a short uphill trek to the site of “last blood” which was a moderate puddle. This was a feat in itself as the hunter was disabled and he had brought his young son along as well. After getting another quick runthrough of what had occurred and arriving at “last blood” I knew this was going to be a difficult track.

The deer had run along a side-hill trail which went along the edge of a bowl that fed into a swampy brook area. The wind was coming from the top down the bowl into this wet area. As is common in many tracks, reality was a good bit different than the phone narration had been. The other hunter who accompanied the disabled one as well as another individual had done an extensive grid search after the blood sign was lost, spreading the scent in all directions.

Bella started at the next to last blood and followed strong to the last known blood, then raised her head and started trailing and air scenting instead and headed to the wet area. She kept searching the brush and blowdowns, not tracking and there was no deer sign down there just human. Bella kept working very hard to sort this mess out. She was also greatly concerned about the very young child being in the woods and wanted to keep checking on him.

I took her out of the low area and up to a somewhat higher edge to circle the wet area and see if we could cross an exit track. She did find blood but it was just the trail leading in. We circled the entire bowl and never found any indication the deer had ever been in the direction that the hunter had thought he heard a crash. Coming back to the last blood yet again, I was nearly ready to call the track because it was such a mess. I decided to take my hunter friend, Sgt. Brian Jillson, and look one last time and go even higher up on the shelf in a line with the last blood to try to get out of the contamination zone and the “scent suck” of the bowl, brook and wet area.

About 20 yards straight uphill we found more blood and Bella immediately started tracking strong. Blood sign was obvious and it was bright red muscle type blood. We tracked steeply uphill for about 1/8 mile and the terrain started to flatten first to a gentle slope and then flatter still. Once the ground leveled, the blood sign slowed. The deer stayed on an obvious deer trail the whole time and it's fresh tracks in the mud were clear, regular and without any indication of a limp, stumble or stagger.

The blood totally stopped again after about ½ mile but Bella kept tracking strongly for about another ¼ mile. We came through a hardwood section, then onto a power line where the deer veered sharply straight up a steep incline at which point I called the track because the lack of blood, the deer's physical movements and actions and it's mountain climbing ease (without any signs of weakness at all) indicated to me that the “head on center chest, exit through the gut” cross bow shot was in fact far more likely to be a low brisket shot instead.

Track was about 3 hours old at the start, we worked nearly 3 hours and traveled more than a mile in total. This was a very difficult track but Bella worked exceptionally hard to overcome both the human contamination and the worry for the small child's well being and she managed to conquer both!

UPDATE: Hunter tells us they ran in to this doe again during Bucks only season and she was hit as we had told him we thought she was! Healing wound on the front of her brisket and a shaved stripe most of the length of her underside, completely alive and well!

The Long Shot

After a couple weeks of zero calls, we received a call on a Tues afternoon about a possible abdomen arrowed doe. We decided to take the call because it was close to home, even though we had planned to cut up the doe I had taken on Sunday.

The hunter seemed competent and experienced which was another plus. After a quick rendezvous at a nearby boat launch we drove to the hunter's property. We then proceeded to walk down a logging road to the trail to the stand site. At this point we were 23 hours post shot plus more than 1/2” of hard rain, and the hunter had searched extensively not knowing about the availability of tracking dogs at the time.

This looked to be a 35 yard shot and described as behind the rib cage. The hunter showed us the trail the doe had left the scene on and he had well marked blood sign locations, even though we could no longer see any blood. Bella immediately picked up the trail and went accurately to the place of last blood, at this point that Bella made a sharp left even though the hunter felt the doe had gone up and right. The terrain was very challenging for both dog and human. There were endless blowdowns, thick spruce and balsam fir, dying/dead ferns, hills and hollows as well as running water. 

At this point with no visible blood or sign of where the doe had gone, all I could do was trust the dog. After about 200 yards beyond last blood we came to another well used logging road. It became apparent that most likely Bella was air scenting the drift coming down the brook valley from an upstream location where the doe had crossed.

We decided to then follow the logging road up and around more in the direction the hunter had thought the doe went to attempt to locate if and where she had crossed. Bella immediately dismissed two places where the hunter himself had crossed in his attempt at a grid search. After about 75 yards along the top of this ridge Bella took an abrupt left down towards a VAST swamp. Before dropping down into the swamp Bella took an abrupt left and headed back along another trail paralleling to road we had just come up on. After many stops and retrys along the ridge  riddled with hollows and hummucks, Bella stopped tracking which indicates a loss of scent and possibly the edge of the scent drift area.

 At this point we decided to go back towards the logging road and for the hunter's peace of mind cover the area he thought the doe had originally gone. After restarting at last blood Bella went up and right in the direction the hunter had felt the doe had gone. When we reached the top of the knoll Bella went about 75 yards along the flat top and again acting as if she had run out of scent and stopped.

We concluded that between our search and the hunter's, the doe was not at all in this vicinity and the wind, humidity and rain had caused the scent to diffuse but linger in scent pools in the terrain and thick cover. Overall it would seem that the hit was high enough in the abdomen cavity for blood or fluid to fail to exit the wounds and also not be immediately fatal. There were ZERO visible beds anywhere in the vicinity nor any fresh deer sign. The combination of time, rain, terrain and hunter search efforts conspired to make for an exceptionally challenging track. We searched 2+ hours without encountering a single sign of the doe or any fresh scent of live or dead deer. 

City Buck

Got a call from the son of a co-worker for a track outside our area for an unlikely location. Hunting area is just at the edge of a bustling city in a place the Appalachian Trail crosses. Not only that but tons of people walk there daily and there is a person who lives next door to it that takes her dog for a walk there daily to chase deer. These deer are so human habituated that they rarely spook when you walk past them, they usually just hold tight and let you pass. Even dogs worry them little, they just run a big circle, lose the dog and go back to where they were eating in the beginning!

Upon arriving at after 11 pm, the hunter saw a coyote run across the parking area and I just knew this would be a strange track.

After trekking some 300 yards to the shot location and talking to the hunter along the way, we re confirmed the info we had gotten on the phone. They had found NO hair at all and not a drop of blood anywhere but the spike buck had run away with the arrow in his shoulder.

With the hunter standing where he had shot from, he directed me by flashlight to the area slightly up-slope from him that the buck had been when shot. We found no hair or blood either.

The hunter and friend had done a good job of only searching a somewhat small area looking for sign before calling. He is a very experienced hunter and this was a new scenario for him too.

Bella small circled this area a bit getting the bucks scent and then headed out ½ tracking and ½ air scenting.  This was a slight slope so the scent was drifting down a bit. She continued on, stopping at depressions where the scent had pooled and then continuing on. I still saw no obvious blood but Bella was following this buck's travel path and sorting him from the high deer density residual scents.

We crossed a narrow trail and then Bella whipped around and back tracked a bit before heading up slope head down at a good tracking pace. I could see a deer had very recently ran uphill here. We continued on about 75 yards sidehilling. As we came to a flatter area the track turned left UP a STEEP incline. Still no visible blood but the turned leaves spoke of a running deer. Bella insisted this was right. After many tracks I have learned to trust the dog as she has always been proven right in the end, so I followed along behind on what seemed to be a forever straight up climb.

We finally came to a level area and I stopped a minute to let the others catch up and for us all to catch our breath. Bella did not want to stop but did so alertly looking forward tail up. As the others approached, all of a sudden the buck jumped up from just 20 yards in front of us and ran full speed down the hill without flagging.

The dog went to the bed and there was still no blood, hair or arrow. I decided to follow the deer a bit more to see if he bled from the downhill run. The deer crossed our our incoming trail and headed towards the road and had crossed it heading into a protected wildlife area that we could not enter.

With no visible blood and with the deer seemingly unimpaired, I decided this was not likely a mortal wound and when we hit the road I called the track.

The arrow shot was most likely in the shoulder blade at a slight up angle and it is possible the broadhead did not deploy.

Track was about 300 yards long, 5 hours old. Got to bed at 2 AM, work in the morning!

The Never Ending Corn Field

We met the hunter on a LARGE expanse of agricultural property to attempt to help him sort out a 24.5 hour old track on a doe hit somewhere behind the rib cage.  We reviewed his photographs of the original blood sign and it was not as dark as you would expect on an organ hit animal. The hunter had done a great job marking out the path of the deer but Bella showed little interest at the hit site. Her attention was peaked at the edge of the field where there was some blood sign, we followed it through some thick brush to the edge of a creek which looked to be about chest deep on me. Bella indicated the deer had crossed here which confirmed what the hunter had told us.

After considering wading, we decided to cross at a beaver dam about 75 yards down stream. We worked back up to the crossing and Bella immediately picked up the track, went about 30 yards and turned down another trail back to the brook. To cover all possibilities and make sure that she was not just following scent suck towards the brook we made a perimeter search around this section of corn field and head high grass. After Bella did not indicate any blood sign or body, she insisted on crossing the brook. So we went back and RE crossed the beaver dam to the original side.

We walked beyond the original hit site and went into a narrow  band of woods separating the corn fields directly across the brook from where Bella indicated a crossing. Bella slowly worked the edge of a small ridge air scenting until she finally found this doe's trail coming up, her tail came up immediately and she got right to work on the track. With no visible blood, I trusted the dog and went with her.  Bella strongly indicated it was the right deer and headed South deeper into the woods. Crossed another brook and up another steep bank in a heavily used deer area (all the tracks were heading towards the corn and clover except the tracks Bella was following).  After about 300 yards we were approaching a trailer park and we decided to call the track as we had seen no more visible blood or a bed of any kind.

After further discussion we surmised the hit was actually a high back loin hit through muscle above or below the spine and had most likely not hit any internal organs (arrow showed no such signs either).

On the return trip back to the vehicles we realized that corn fields don't have to have a maze to become lost in! The corn field we thought we were skirting turned out to be a different one, and at 12 FEET tall there was no seeing over it. While we would have eventually made it out because of the highway sounds, it would have made for a longer night. Luckily the hunter had his GPS and after much more corn and lots more walking we hit the road about ½ mile from the vehicles. 

Total deer track length at the point we called it was approximately 400 yards.

Short & Sweet

After a full day of hunting starting with a 3 am wake up, I did a night track for my friend and neighbor, Steve. 

We had done a no recovery track for him in the past, but this call sounded more promising. He had thought the buck had been hit a bit too far back as the arrow showed signs of a paunch hit. After further interrogation, I determined the shot was likely a liver shot that angled back into the stomach area. The blood trail had weakened after the deer exited the hit site and with night falling fast, Steve had decided to call us. While on the phone with Diane he re discovered blood sign but because of the abdominal involvement he decided to back out to allow the buck time to perish and wait for us, a wise choice (and one we wish other hunters chose) as it was still only 2 hours post shot.

Upon arriving to the area where Steve had re-acquired blood sign, the blood color and consistency confirmed my liver shot theory.

After Bella's harrowing experience last year we were not sure how she'd react to tracking in the dark, but in pure Bella form she jumped onto the track and set off with full confidence. Following the dog we started to pick up more and heavier blood. The deer had gone through some VERY thick and heavy spruce, almost impassible. After negotiating two thick walls of spruce Bella stopped with head up and cast first left and then right. This was on a slight downhill slope and she acted like she had hit the edge of a large scent pool, we thought perhaps the buck or a bloody bed must be close and I encouraged Bella to figure out the source. She finished her assessment and came back to the trail and shoved though another jumble of brush and spruce and there was the dead buck! Bella jumped right on top of him wagging her tail.

The shot was actually a good one entering at the heart area but somehow missing iit and then angled back through the stomach and liver before exiting.

The track was approximately 100 yards in total from the original shot site, Bella's portion of the track was about 40 yards. By Steve backing out when he did likely kept the buck from pushing farther on before dying, a very good decision, and calling us was another good decision because it rained all night erasing the blood entirely which would have made the odds of finding the buck quickly in that crap quite remote.