Tracking With Timber

11/18/2024

A huge congratulations to Haley Neal on her awesome KY buck!

Weapon: Modern Rifle
Caliber: .270
Deer position: broadside
Shot: low intestine
Age of track: 10 hours
Length of track: 350 yards

Haley shot this deer Saturday morning and found dark blood when she went to track. After about 75 yards she lost the blood trail and wisely backed out to call for assistance. Haley is Timber and Rip’s veterinary tech and has been taking great care of them for several years now. Either dog would have done a great job on this track, but Timber had taken the brunt of the hard work all day and had not yet had his meal break, so I felt he deserved the anticipated chew. Timber took to the line and cruised us right to Haley’s buck, showing us two additional blood spots along the way. The buck was freshly expired in his first bed. After over 13 miles on the human 🥾 alone this weekend, Haley’s buck would be the only expired one. Both dogs were more than excited to end their day with Haley! Congratulations on a great buck Haley, and thank you for letting us be part of your recovery!
Kygunco

11/14/2024

A huge congratulations to Shiloh Seymour on his awesome KY buck!

Weapon: Modern Rifle
Caliber: 300
Deer position: quartered to
Shot: low rear gut
Age of track: 17 hours
Length of track: 200 yards

Shiloh shot this buck Saturday evening and jumped the buck at about 40 yards when he went to track. The deer had initially hunched after impact and moved off slowly. Shiloh wisely called for assistance and we got the green light for property permission for late the next morning. It had rained through the night and was still raining upon our arrival. Timber wasted no time and led us through the bloodless trail 200 yards to the expired buck in just 5 minutes. Congratulations on your KY buck Shiloh and thanks for the call!

11/14/2024

https://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/local/2024/11/08/kentucky-hunters-for-the-hungry-deer-meat-donations-what-to-know/75630876007/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR3vWfxs-5XV0pBA_ZULE4wpUrFrfjPR6hyWDoMfvh5ce76eIJLdr4JEux4_aem_Zbw6kDtqI5yaGQn5rSwOTQ

Last year, Kentucky Hunters for the Hungry received roughly 3,000 deer donations, creating more than 480,000 meals for Kentuckians in need.

11/13/2024

A huge congratulations to Chris Ogle on his awesome KY buck!

Weapon: Compound Bow
Broadhead: Rage 2-blade mechanical
Deer position: Broadside
Shot: Liver/Low stomach
Age of track: 27 hours
Length of track: 1 mile

Chris shot this buck Friday morning. His arrow passed through, but did not fully clear the body cavity and his Rage blades were broken (ribs broke the blades). He waited 6 hours and carefully tracked the buck 160 yards to 2 empty beds. Chris called for assistance and we agreed to meet after my first track the next morning. Timber intercepted the line from the road and was really into it! He led us along the confirmed blood trail to the first 2 beds and initially hooked a 90 degree right turn, but there was also confirmed sign under a tree straight ahead, so I pushed him in that direction. He hugged the left side of a drainage and took us down the ridge toward the bottom where he circled in a pool and then looped us back toward the last confirmed sign. A little flustered, we decided to restart from the bed. As we approached the restart location, Timber showed me blood to the right of the bed (his original direction 😂). Chris needed to help his daughter out of the blind from her morning hunt, so I marked the discovered blood and Timber and I were off on a solo mission. Timber continued right from the bed and crossed the drainage, then turned left and took me another 1400 yards down the ridge, discovering 4 additional beds and again crossing the drainage where he circled in a scent pool and worked his way to the expired buck at the bottom of the drainage. Timber had paralleled the line on the initial run and was within 30 yards of the deer before circling to the restart. We had no phone signal and I wasn’t leaving this deer. We patiently waited and yelled until Chris found our location. Unfortunately coyotes beat us to the deer, but pupil size indicated he had been expired approximately 4 hours. Chris is a very accomplished hunter and a wealth of knowledge. It was a privilege to get to be a part of this recovery and learn from him. Thanks for including us Chris and for trusting us with this deer. My time behind this dog is all the feels 💚.

11/12/2024

A huge congratulations to Bryan Mills on his awesome KY buck!

Weapon: Crossbow
Broadhead: Muzzy 3-blade fixed
Pass through: yes
Deer position: quartered to
Shot: one lung, liver, gut
Age of track: 25 hours
Length of track: 150 yards

Bryan shot this buck Friday morning and watched the buck run a short distance and slow down, then he lost site of him over the hill. When he checked his arrow he recognized gut content and immediately backed out and called for assistance. We agreed to give the buck overnight and met the next morning. Rip was up for the first track and pulled hard on the lead at the hit site, his tell for it’s dead let’s go! We followed a bloodless line straight to the buck expired not far past where Bryan lost site. Bryan did everything right, resulting in his buck in hand in under 3 minutes. Congratulations on a great buck Bryan and thanks for letting us be part of your recovery! Thank you for the referral.

11/03/2024

A huge congratulations to Matt West on his awesome KY buck!!

Weapon: Compound Bow
Broadhead: G5 Meat Eater mechanical
Deer position: Quartered to
Shot: Liver and gut
Pass Through: yes
Age of track: 16.5 hours
Length of track: 350 yards

Matt shot this buck following a doe on Halloween night. It was also raining that night. Matt saw gut content on his arrow and there was no sign to be seen on the ground, so he wisely backed out and called for assistance. We met the next morning and while searching for the exact place the buck was standing when shot, Timber put his belly to the ground and threw a fit to get going. He confirmed the shot site and was 💯 committed to the line. Timber showed us 2 spots of blood before showing us the expired buck behind a blow down. The buck was more quartered to than Matt recalled. Matt did everything correct, which led to his buck in his hands in just 8 minutes. Congratulations on an awesome public land buck Matt! Thank you for letting us be part of your recovery!

10/31/2024

Happy Howloween!!

10/30/2024

A huge congratulations to on his awesome KY buck!

Weapon: Compound Bow
Broadhead: QAD Exodus fixed blade
Deer position: heavy quarter to
Shot: entry high behind shoulder and exit low belly on same side-one lung, liver, gut
Age of track: 13.5 hours
Length of track: 650 yards

Steven shot this buck quartered toward him and watched the buck run a short distance and bed down. About an hour later the buck got up and walked into some thick grasses out of site. Steven quietly exited his stand and waited 6 hours before attempting to track. He was only able to follow blood 40 yards and marked the end of the trail and called for assistance. We agreed to give the deer the bare minimum 12 hours and Steven spent his time securing extra property permission in case it was needed. Note the hunter doing everything right, which led to a dog locating his deer in 13 minutes. Rip was anxious to get going at the hit site and doesn’t have a great poker face at the hit site for whether a shot is lethal or not 😆. He followed the direction Steven was able to visually watch the deer and took us into the super thick grasses and back out into a cut lane, then zig zagged the field and paralleled a creek trail where he stopped at a scape and showed me some gut material. The deer had worked the scrape before his death! After we worked past the scrape, Rip’s pace became even faster as he ran straight down the trail, then hooked left through a small section of woods and back into the thick grasses where the deer’s final bed lay. Congratulations on a great archery buck Steven and thank you for letting us be part of your recovery!

10/20/2024

10/19/2024

Check out my friend Megan Hutchins awesome skull work. Give her page a follow. Maud Valley Skullz

10/16/2024

A huge congratulations to Lee Clark on his awesome KY buck!

Weapon: Compound bow
Broadhead: Black Hornet fixed blade
Deer position: slight quarter away
Entry: shoulder
Pass through: no
Age of track: 16 hours
Length of track: 211 yards

Lee shot this buck the night prior to our arrival and knew he hit forward. His arrow broke and he thought he maybe had about 8” of pe*******on. He was only able to track very minimal blood about 30 yards and decided to call for assistance. It was 3am before I could get to his message and I needed some sleep. I let him know I’d follow up after some rest. We were able to meet up with Lee late morning and the temperature and midday winds were already high. Rip took off across the side of the ridge parallel to a dry creek bed. After about 70 yards I saw him level up with the opposite ridge and stick his nose straight up in the air. I commanded him back to work! He went back to the line and progressed along the ridge, then turned left and took off like a rocket to the bottom of the creek bed where he showed us a pool of blood. We marked the spot and he pulled us up the opposite side, then took an immediate left turn and ran full speed across the ridge to the piled up deer. Although he had limited pe*******on, Lee’s shot hit the forward position of both lungs. Congratulations on a great public land deer Lee and thanks for making us part of your recovery.

10/14/2024

A huge congratulations to Phillip Bradshaw on his awesome KY buck!

Weapon: Crossbow
Broadhead: Rage
Deer position: broadside
Pass through: yes
Shot: Double lung and heart
Age of track: 13 hours
Length of track: 600 yards

Phillip called not long after his shot. He was aiming right behind the shoulder and for the heart. He was able to track blood for 200 yards before the trail went to nothing. We agreed to meet early the next am. Rip took off like a rocket at the hit site and followed the blood trail the exact same 200 yards that the hunter had. He continued down the ridge for another 325 yards and slowed, checking several directions, then headed straight down to the dry creek bed. He stopped and showed us what I call the Biden face. He was off the line. We had been a long way with no additional sign. Phillip said he didn’t think it looked good. I questioned if maybe he hit lower or the brisket, but the bolt had no signs of a brisket hit. It looked perfect. We decided to head back to last confirmed blood for a restart. As we climbed the ridge about 75 yards, Rip caught me off guard and bolted to the right toward a drainage. I went after him yelling and thinking the lead was caught because he wasn’t listening to my command to return to me. Phillip commented, “I hope he’s on my deer.” Sure enough as I fumbled the lead, I realized it was loose and the dog wasn’t moving. He was on the deer in the drainage ditch. He had missed a left turn in the last 75 yards of the line. Unbelievably, the deer was hit perfect on entry and exit. Autopsy confirmed the heart and both lungs were completely severed by the broadhead. The deer had death ran 600 yards and face planted all the way down the drainage. He quit leaving blood on the ground after 200 yards. These animals are resilient and you just never know. This deer would have been difficult to locate even with birds and potentially lost forever without a dog. Congratulations Phillip and thanks for making us part of your recovery! What a fun and eye opening track!

10/10/2024

Congratulations to Liza Ann on her first buck! She’s worked really hard during her fall break and it finally paid off. Thank you .wallace for getting us setup for success.

10/03/2024

Happy 2nd Birthday to our little spitfire!

10/01/2024

A huge congratulations to Liza Ann Spalding on her first deer!!

Weapon: Crossbow
Broadhead: G5 Mega Meat
Deer position: Broadside
Shot: Rear lung, stomach, liver
Age of track: 4.5 hours
Length of track: 250 yards

Liza Ann has decided she’d like to deer hunt. She wished to use her compound bow, but at age 6, her mini Genesis doesn’t produce quite enough energy, so she settled to learn the crossbow. Fall break just began, so it was the perfect time to get a sit in. Within minutes of setup and before we could even get the snacks ready, a doe appeared within 25 yards. She was feeding facing us and Liza Ann waited for what seemed like forever for her to turn perfectly broadside. Once she got the pins lined up I told her it was okay to squeeze the trigger. We watched the doe run about 35-40 yards and enter the woods. We could see the bolt in the ground and knew she got a pass through. I checked the bolt and initially thought maybe liver, but it was covered in so much dirt it was truly hard to tell. We sat until dark hoping to maybe get a shot at a buck too. When we looked in the field we didn’t locate blood. We walked to the edge of the woods and didn’t see the deer, so we went home to get Rip. Rip is Liza Ann’s dog and she was excited about him tracking her deer. He took off like a rocket and entered the woods, zig zagging back and forth, then reentered the field further down. I doubted him and opted for a restart. We still hadn’t seen any blood after 100 yards. We restarted and he went the same way, then before she reentered the woods he showed us a spray of bright red blood. Now I was not feeling so hot about her shot. Once we were back in the woods, he took us to a pool of blood where I noticed some gritty material in bright red blood. Now I was nervous with a 6 year old on one hand and a crazy puppy on a lead in the other. I feared she may be still alive and the terrain was becoming more challenging. I stopped and tried to get Liza Ann to return to stay back with an adult while I finished the track. She wasn’t having it and didn’t want to hold my hand anymore. She could walk by herself 😂. We proceeded with caution and a short and tight lead. Luckily Rip showed us the expired doe in a blow down at the 250 yard mark. Liza Ann didn’t hesitate to dive right in and check out her harvest. She even held her legs while I field dressed. She also demanded a photo of her and her dog ALONE 😆. She was highly upset when we opted to place the doe in a cooler for the night until we can make it to the processor today. She expected we’d take it home and put it on the wall NOW. We’ll work on getting her buck tag filled next. She’s super excited and ready to do it all again! What a feeling!

Thanks to Kygunco for getting us all setup for this experience. Bryce WallaceDaniel Switzer
Scott Spalding

09/30/2024

Final closure for a track we ran 17 days ago!! These deer are tough.

We teamed up with Charlie Lowther on this track 17 days ago. The hunter shot the deer quartered to and facing uphill of him with his compound bow and the beast broadhead (spring loaded mechanical 2.3 inch cut). He hit the deer mid body and waited until the following am to take up the blood trail. When he ran out of blood he called for assistance. Charlie used a special wipe and confirmed gut material on the arrow. We entered around the 29 hour mark to assist on the track. Timber took the line to the 0.5 mile mark and showed us a large place of blood. He hit a scent pool in the steep bottom and circled frequently. Little did we know the deer was bedded in a cedar thicket on top of the hill above us 0.7 miles from the shot site. Once Timber began searching, we returned to the located blood and restarted. This time he took a hard left and led us uphill, then took a right into a thick overgrown field and approached a cedar thicket when my headlamp caught his eyes. He slowly got up and walked off. We located the bed where he laid in the thicket and confirmed it was him with two golf ball size pools of blood. We marked the spot and backed out. We returned 24 hours later and tried to pick up his trail. Timber did a ton of searching but never took a line. I felt the deer would expire with time and advised to monitor cameras and watch for birds. The hunter watched for birds daily and returned to the woods 9 days later to retrieve his hat he left while we were originally tracking. To his surprise, he jumped the deer again near our original line and was able to catch a photo of him as he slowly walked away. See photo with entry wound highlighted. Today, 17 days post shot, the birds gave him up. The entry hole was low behind the rear of the ribs and exit was unable to be determined due to coyote damage on the exit side. We’ve been in touch with the hunter several times trying to close the story on this buck. It’s not the outcome we wished for, but this buck still had a lot of life in him when tracked. It’s amazing how resilient these animals are. We’re happy the hunter now has closure and his buck.