You Need a Tracker, Now What?

There comes a point when you are following a blood trail and you realize that the animal has gone farther than a typical one that was cleanly hit. This distance can vary, but for a rifle hunter, that is usually around 100-150 yards and 150-200 yards for archers. We understand the desire to keep pushing forward after the animal, even after the point of blood loss,  but this is the point where your next decision can make or break the track. 

Spreading Blood Scent

Most of the time the "go to" response is to call a buddy, or two, and spread out all over the place with the mindset that if we cover enough ground, surely, we'll find the deer. This almost always leads to several people stepping in blood and spreading thousands of microscopic particles of blood and other scents all over the place. If this happens before a dog is requested, it can drastically reduce the chance to find your deer. Our dogs do not look for blood, they smell it. A blood tracking dog will follow these scents whether or not it was spread by the deer or hunter. What happens to the dog at that point is a matter of elimination of all of the false trails which can take the dogs hours to search. Many a dog has become exhausted and unable to continue after searching for these "fake deer". It is quite common for a dog to track these "deer" in big circles right back to their trucks only to restart the process again. If you have any intention of using a tracking dog for a recovery, avoid contaminating the site by spreading blood scent.

The longest recovery that I have been a part of was 28 hours old. This track was un-contaminated and in favorable weather conditions. I mention this to make the point that time is not as critical as disturbance. Many hunters don't want to wait an extra hour or two for a tracking team to arrive, so they continue on their own for hours and only decide to call once they have given up hope of finding the animal themselves. Most of the time an animal that has not been recovered within the usual distance may be mortally wounded but needs more time to expire. If your deer or hog is dead, it will still be dead two hours later. Time is not always as limited as we may think in recovering a game animal after the shot. Gut shot deer often take 12-24 hours to succumb to their wounds and are the most recoverable deer if allowed time. 

If an animal feels that it is out of danger it will probably lay down and wait to recover (or expire if mortally wounded). If an injured animal feels it is being pursued it will quickly enter a “full flight” state of mind. It can and will run miles away to escape the threat. Many deer that could have been recovered in a few hundred yards, were never found because they were driven completely out of the area by an over eager hunter. A pool of blood found after a stretch of drops is usually a sign that you’ve jumped a bedded animal that was willing to stay put if it had not been driven up and away. If you believe you’ve jumped a deer, stop and back out and allow enough time for it to settle down. 

The best thing to do once you realize that you need a tracking teams assistance is to mark the hit site for first blood and mark the last spot or sign to where you tracked. Once you’ve done that....be patient. I know that waiting calmly as your game is out there hidden from you is some of the longest time there is. The goal is to find the animal, not stay busy searching. A trained tracking dog has such an incredible advantage over us humans and our eyeballs that it’s no comparison in abilities. Just like you wouldn’t feel the need to start your own root canal if the dentist is still a couple of hours away, realize when it’s time to bring in a specialist and be patient until they arrive. 

There is no set fee or rate on tracking services since each team and each track poses its own unique circumstances. All trackers will be very upfront as to what requirements they have to assist you in your recovery attempt. We understand that price can be a deciding factor in requesting a tracking teams services. Most teams are more than reasonable on price and circumstances. At the very least, call a tracker to discuss the rate first hand. We once had a track request from a hunter who was 5 minutes away and we were free and wishing for a track. Other times we have had more requests than we could run in a week. It just depends. Don’t pre-judge anything before you talk to a tracker. 

Each tracking teams contact information is listed on the “Find-A-Tracker” map and you can usually reach them by phone or text.