Kevin Armstrong and Karma, NY
Having missed the first week of the bow season and having taken 18 trails already this season, and with my mom in the middle of a serious coronary episode, my trophy standards have been abandoned for the 2010 season. Yesterday morning in a stolen moment on stand I had a 1 horned spike stroll through my shooting lane quartering away at 15 yards. Before I knew it the sight was on his chest and the arrow was out the other side of him. The deer bolted but soon stopped and stood head down in one place for 20 minutes. As soon as he moved off I climbed down and verified what I had already suspected. Hit low in the chest just behind the diaphragm. I snuck out of the woods and spent the day at other tasks. At 4 PM Kathy and I took up the deer's trail and followed dark blood to a series of beds about 250 yards from the hit sight. The deer was laying on a bed, alive, 60 yards in front of me. He saw me too. After a 5 minute stand-off he arose and slowly walked into a thicket. He was close to property lines where I can not get permission so we left him in the thicket for the night. At 7:30 AM (24.5 hours after the hit) I put Karma on the trail where I had seen the deer bedded. She took me on a serpentine trail through the thicket to the dead buck 250 yards from the place where I had seen it bedded.
We found the deer in less than 1/2 hour and except for the part the coons had eaten we are able to use the meat. I have little doubt that the meat would have spoiled before we found the deer if we had not had Karma on the case.
Ray Holohan and Rosco, Illinois
I took this track last night (November 7), and I call it "The longest short track". The hunter had a stand right next to a dried creek bed, he had a buck and doe come down the creek. He took a high close range shot with a 2 blade Rage, the arrow hit high and there was 10" of arrow sticking out when the buck ran up the bank. The deer stopped at about 25 yards. and stood there a while before walking down the deer trail followed by the doe. The hunter waited a good hour before checking for any blood, and he found a little of blood on the trail. The trail headed to the plowed field so he gave me a call. I got there about 3-4 hours later. I started Rosco at hit site, he did his thing and finally followed trail up bank to deer trail. So we followed till we got to blood, and he continued to the plowed field where he tracked for about 1/4 mile and took it back to creek line. There was no blood in the field or even to the field. Anyway he started pulling hard and eventually kicked up a bedded doe. So I took him back to start of blood, he made his way down about a third of the blood trail, stopped and sat down, and just looked at me. I thought "now what", so I tugged and coaxed him to the end of the blood, where he sat down again. I picked him up and started him at the edge of the field to where he got on a scent and tracked something? So I restarted him again at hit site, and again when he got about a third through the blood he sat down. I did this a few more times and got the same results, I couldn't figure him out.
The hunter was getting frustrated and told me he was going to look in another spot. I got to think - did that deer backtrack, we only had about 30 yards of blood. So I picked Rosco up and started him at the end of blood trail and let him work it back toward the hit site, then at about the point where he would sit down, he took a hard right into the thickest bunch or briars and thorns you ever saw, so I followed and he went about 20 yards into a little feeder ravine and there laid the buck. I couldn't believe it! He had been trying to tell me the whole time, it was great. I yelled for the hunter and told him Rosco found his deer, when he got there he was about to cry and gave Rosco a big kiss. The deer hadn't gone maybe 60 yards took me almost 3 hours. He is still training the dope on the rope, it was a great track . The deer was hit in the lungs.
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This is the track I had this morning (November 8), I call it "First one there gets all the doe". The hunter shot last night, track was 17 hours old, had good blood for about 1/4 mile before he lost it. He said he had hit it behind shoulder. I put Rosco on the trail at hit sight, he tracked very well, took it 3/4 mile to river edge, climbed out on dead fall in river about 15' on a 3" branch and started barking, I told hunter the deer went across here. He called his buddy who hunts across river and got permission. The river was too deep to cross so we drove around. I put a ribbon at the site where we were and got across from it, and the doe was right there. The coyotes had it half eaten. It looked like it was a liver hit as far as we could tell. Anyway this was a great track for Rosco; he really did some good work.
Brian Hibbs and Scout, Iowa
I have been getting calls almost every day to help people look for deer here in Iowa. The problem is I am a bow hunter and this is the rut. I am still trying to harvest a mature Iowa Buck. As much as I enjoy tracking I also enjoy hunting. I have compiled a list of several handlers in the area that are willing to track and enjoy working their Drahthaars. I can at least offer a possible alternative tracker to people in need. I make sure and instruct the trackers to let their county DNR officer know they will be tracking until the law is in the books in Iowa next year. There is definitely a need for trackers in Iowa. I am excited the word is getting out and people are becoming interested.
I went hunting with a friend tonight (November 9) and decided to take Scout. As luck would have it my friend shot a deer and we got to use Scout and track the buck after dark. The shot placement was excellent, but the arrow stayed in the deer. The arrow was tipped with a mechanical broadhead. There was a blood trail although the bleeding was almost all internal. The deer did not go that far and it was an easy track for Scout. It was still rewarding to see Scout get excited after we found the deer. I sent a couple pictures of the hunter, his deer, and Scout.
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