When In Doubt Send The Plott Out

01/01/2024

I've taken quite a bit of flack over my drone comments earlier this year. I've seen there are a couple other teams that are getting drones so they have the ability to offer both. Although I do think drones are another tool to aid in the recovery of deer, I will always think a well trained dog is better than any drone. I have the numbers of a few drone operators that I have either personally spoke with or are respected by other dog teams. I always encourage my clients to try anything else they feel is necessary to locate a deer they believe is dead that we were unable to locate. That being said in 7 years as a tracking team we have only been called 4 times and told the animal was located dead after diamond and I were on site . Other deer have died after we were there but only 4 were for surely dead while we were there and we couldn't find them. Below are the pics of the deer we didn't find that hunters sent me a picture of.

I fully believe handler error led to these animals not being recovered.

12/20/2023

It's been a really slow late season here in wi for calls. But we got a call tonight. It's gonna be a tough one. This track already has over 48 hrs on it. But I always like a challenge.

12/19/2023

This guy's videos have been hilarious all season. This one is good.

11/26/2023

Another set of happy hunters. Got this from the Trakr App. If you haven't used it check it out. Hunters tracked blood to a blow down area and just were let coming up with anything to advance with. Wisely they knew rather than muck up the trail to just back out and ask for help. Once we got on the trail Diamond was on a rail. Total distance from shot to recovery was about 300 yards. From start to recovery was about 8 minutes.

We will still be late season tracking as long as we can. Remember dogs should never be a last resort. Advice will always be free, please don't hesitate to call.

11/22/2023

Just dropped off my buck with Big Sky Wild Game Processing crew. Got to hang out and learn alot about what they see after the recoveries. This crew is fast, efficient, and clean. I highly recommend Robert Tenorio and his crew. I know I'm getting only my meat back, packaged to last.

11/22/2023

Pics in comments, and excuse my language usually I remove my raw comments on recoveries.

I went on to some public tonight and was just walking nice and slow. I noticed him skylined and started to put a stalk on him. Good thing for me he started coming towards me and there was a pretty solid elevation change to where I had a nice back stop. Pretty sure my first shot was a heart shot but he required a finishing shot. I lost my phone during the stalk so I had no way to mark where he was. I came back with my good buddy Mike who helped me find my phone, but then we couldn't find the buck. After doing all the things I tell hunters not to do I decided I better just go get the dog. Minutes later she had him located. I love to ground stalking deer it has become my favorite way to hunt. My first buck with a rifle in probably 10-15 years. I think he is just slightly bigger than my last public land buck.

11/20/2023

Congrats to some of our friends on opening weekend success. Story attached to each picture. Stay safe out there. We went 1 for 4 this weekend tracking and sadly we should have been 2 for 4 but the coyotes were literally on the deer when we got on site and the fact that we bumped them off spread the scent everywhere and we were not able to locate the buck because of it. What was left was located the next day and the hunter was able to see his buck.

The 2 best things I hear in the woods with clients: I don't even know where the !@$ we are (I always say now you're playing my game, I never know where I am) and How the hell did that dog just do that. I couldn't be prouder of the season diamond is having. She is in her prime this year and still just as spry as she was as a younger girl.

We do not track during legal shooting hours during the 9 day gun season but will after the day closes. Advice is always free.

11/16/2023

Got to help another hunter this am. Shot was a little back. Hunter tracked about 30 yards and very sparce blood. 20 minutes on site and we had his deer. This deer went in a creek, went down about 15' and expired about 10 yards later. Total distance traveled is around 250-300 yards. Nice way to start our day.

11/16/2023

1 for 2 today but we had our work cut out for

The buck pictured below had been shot Monday at 3:30pm. The hunter watched this deer bed within 40 yards after being hit, watched the deer get up and go maybe another 20 yards and bed again. He got out of his stand and waited another 3 hours thinking the deer would be expired in that second bed. Always pay attention to how the deer reacts post shot. This deer bounded a few hops and then stood there tail down but tail flickering. Typically this is a very good indicator that it was a liver hit. Those types of hits are ones that require much longer wait times to track. It is believed that had the hunter waited until the morning to track he probably would have been dead in his bed 80 yards from him site. He unknowingly bumped this deer when he went to track. The following day he did some grid searching. With his semi wet terrain he tracked the scent everywhere. He then resorted to calling in a drone. All this was done prior to speaking with an experienced dog tracking team. The drone was unable to locate this deer in a semi open area

After the client spoke with a senior tracking team we quickly learned it was a liver hit deer and based on the way it acted he felt this deer was definitely deceased and recoverable. Unfortunately that team was unable to go run the track but told the client to get in touch with me. I agreed fully with the other tracker on shot placement. Within an hour and a half I was doing my WOOOOOOOO!!! and saying we got em! I could hear the clients disbelief in his voice when he just started saying thank you, thank you.

Before you grid search call an experienced tracking team. Even when one of us cannot make it we will put you in touch with another team we know can get the job done. Thank you Jamie Dahm of Superior Deer Tracking for putting your faith in Diamond and I. I've said it for years, all I've ever wanted in this game was to be respected by my peers. Jamie has been in this industry for 20+ yrs. If you aren't following his page you are seriously missing out.

Our 2nd deer I believe was hit high and based on the way the dog acted I'm not even sure the deer knew he had been hit. We advanced the track slightly before it went completely cold. We covered the entire property edges to ensure the deer hadn't left the property hurt. With no signs telling us we had a hurt deer we told the hunter and we both agreed this was an alive deer.

Advice is ALWAYS free. We do want you to attempt to track your animal we do not want you to over extend after your point of loss.

11/10/2023

Hunters please understand what I also have lives and I do need to sleep. You guys can be relentless. Send a text it's easier. The messenger connected to my page is not reliable enough to get in contact with me quickly. I am debating on restructuring my cost to track for a client. I will pick the first amount what I think it should cost and then multiply that by the amount of times you call me after we have established you are booked for x # on my day. I try to run as many of these that my dog and my body can. If you are booked as my 3rd for the day I'm coming... nothing has changed. You would want me to give every effort I can before leaving so why would you want me to short the other client?

Also so this clear: Youth hunters 1st deer will move your place in line. If their shot is something that doesn't require a longer wait time I will put that youth hunter ahead of you. We need to keep these kids in the woods and we will need the next generation of dog handlers. I have a feeling these dorks with the toys in the sky are gonna get outlawed quickly. I have yet to hear of a single person that used one and the guy actually followed the laws the DNR has in place for them.

As always advice will always be free, choosing not to follow the plan we have come up with on your track will either automatically double the cost or in many other cases just cause me to cancel your track. I'm not perfect but I know how to best utilize the dogs talents.

Rant over

11/08/2023

Not one of my typical posts but anyways. I met Tyler Engel last week Tuesday to track a deer while on track we chatted about how I have coyotes on my lease I rarely get to hunt. Tonight I got a pic of the yote and put it out on my snapchat. Tyler immediately responded, he said let's get after em. Tyler met me on site and this time it was like I was the client and he was performing the service. His knowledge of how to best setup along with asking the right questions to make a solid plan paid off fully. And for anyone who thinks hunting these scare off your deer. There was literally deer down in my land before, during, and after we harvested this fawn killer. He was showing me how the molars and k9 teeth were ground down and he figures he is a very old dog. If you have a yote problem look him up. He got it done quickly, and safely. My land owner didn't even wake up.

11/05/2023

I love what I do, and I have made alot of great friends thru what I do. Today we went 1 for 2 in the daylight.

Our recovery today is for one of those great friends that I got to meet thru doing this. Check out last year's post "Diamond set the marsh on fire" that track is still one of my favorites. Anyways I met Chad thru the track for Mike. 2 guys who have been best friend's since they were young. Chad called yesterday, he knew his shot was back he felt confident just behind the diaphram but he knew he had a long wait. He did everything post shot perfectly for what a tracker wants. We talked yesterday and put a plan together for this am. I was thinking gut hit untouched track should be a slam dunk, hi five and away I go on my day. Boy was I wrong. Diamond never really locked hard to this deer and even about half way is was thinking man I just don't know here.. kinda seeing things I normally see from a yote chased buck I told Chad man this is getting tough buddy. But the best tracks are the ones you work the hardest for and the pay off is like no other. With Chad behind Diamond and I we just kept grinding, all of a sudden Chad says Graham I think I see him, he says yea thats him. Do u want Diamond to get there first I said no bid you get there but don't alert the rest of our friends yet. If you've ever watched me track you know I am not quite with Diamond nor am I when we find the deer. Once Diamond got closer I hammered the woods with my command for blood to alert the rest of the group we had new blood and then let out the sound we all knows we got em. Everyone in that group felt what Chad and I did at that moment. You cannot recreate moments like those. I got so wiped from the emotional dump I almost puked. Congrats buddy, thanks for that moment. I'll never forget it.

11/03/2023

Got a nice slice of humble pie tonight. I've tracked for 7 yrs now and I don't think I'll ever stop learning. Read last paragraph for details

1 for 3 on the day.

#1 We returned to a track from last night and this deer had up and vanished on us. The will to rut is amazing in these animals. Sadly I believe in time this deer will expire.

#2 was for a good friend Mr. Kevin (shot a giant last year) he shot a deer Wednesday and felt his shot was back. We determined it was best to give this deer time. We stuck to the plan and had a straight forward liver gut hit recovery less than 250 yards away. This was made easy by Kevin knowing to not push the deer, wait until dark and leave the site alone exiting out of the deers Windstream. No blood was found from hit site to recovery.

#3 single lung buck that we had a chance on but due to handler error at the start we had no chance.

Deer fat pretty much only has 1 use. After a day and night of tracking she gets a nice treat and goes to bed. The following morning she gets a chunk of deer fat and you would never know how hard she worked the day before. It essentially acts like a dog redbull. My mistake was giving her a small piece prior to starting track 3. You would think I shot her up with liquid crack. Ultimately a deer we had a chance to recover quickly became me knowing I made a mistake and we were in for a long night. Upon noticing her behavior I pulled her off site and reset her back in the truck. She did reset and come back being the dog I am used to seeing. Sadly we were never able to lock onto this buck again. A mistake is simply just an opportunity to learn. No one is perfect, I am sorry to my hunter, I know she is a far better dog than what you witnessed tonight. This was purely handler error.

10/30/2023

What a weekend!

Friday we went 1 for 2. Sawyer got the great buck close to home.

Saturday we went 2 for 3. Both of our recoveries came for previous clients that Diamond had recoveries for in past. Mike and Adam couldn't have been happier.

Sunday morning I ended up in the ER. Anyone who saw me this weekend knew that I was hurting but kept pushing forward. I have a viral infection and colitis. If you know anything about that it is extremely painful.

I am sorry to the people who I had to cancel on and for all the calls and texts I missed. I love chasing these deer with ol diamond girl but I have been told I have to rest myself. I am hoping I am only down for a few days but I do not know how long it's gonna take for this pain to go away. I am very weak and at home resting.

10/28/2023

Hunters please remember to have respect for these animals you are hunting. They do not care what your schedule is when it comes to how quickly you want them to expire. Had to pick up your kids 2 hours later.. don't take the shot. Gotta go somewhere right away just give em a pass and just enjoy being in nature. They didn't plan on giving their life for you today. Don't think you can make them die any quicker than what your shot says they will. Anything behind the lungs is 8-12 hours. A vast majority of the reasons I am out running from one property to the next is because these deer are pushed. Unless you see them fall or have a 100% leg shot 4-6 hours before you start to track them. If it's dead in an hour it's still dead then. But when it's not that's where you end up in trouble. It's like we are forgetting the ethics that we owe them.

Rant over best of luck. Watch for our next post we put a mega on the gate last night and are headed to what I've been told is another stud right now.

10/24/2023

²1 for 2 on today. Thanks to another tracker who had already booked himself at another location he decided to send Paul to me so that we both could try to help a hunter out. Paul told us he thought he hit low we were coming in around the 14 hour mark. Paul tracked a little ways and as his son showed up to assist. He actually intersected the deer who was bedded and he heard him take off. Wisely the guys backed out and the call landed its way with me a few hours later. I was told that it sounded like the deer had run thru the the corn. Many times when we meet an uncut corn field I will just go around the edge and have the dog find where it exited. This deer did approximately 500 yards of corn. Diamond was on a rail and there was decent blood for me to see on the corn so I just hung on as we took off. We then hit a road. Upon meeting the hunter in the morning he gave me the layout and the properties we were allowed to track on. Remembering diamond and I did not have to mess around at all at the road. There was no blood for the last 150 of the corn or crossing the road. On the other side was a large open hay field. After another full throttle pull for approx 300 acres of no blood seen hayfield we hit a small patch of woods filled with farm trash. Right on the corner we found a wound bed. It wasn't long until what I call rik Flair of the woods happened. A very distinct WOOOOOOOO and a very heavy GOOD GIRL are typically the first two things I say on a recovery. And then I look back for my hunters. Paul and his long time friend from the firehouse house were ecstatic. This deer went an approx .94 of a mile in all. Diamond took him from hit sight to 1st jump to final rest and maybe only had a flutter for a few minutes at point of loss and 1 little stumble in the corn. Luckily we had just a slight drizzle of rain today while on site or i think both fields could have been a very different game and with the lack off visual sign I think the corn and wide open hay field could have presented more of a challenge.

As trackers we tell people all the time don't worry about the little bit of rain forecasted it's good for the dogs. (Really bad in my experience if you smash the heck out of the track during or after the rain) but left alone "where I come from, rain is a good thing"

There is no way this deer is recovered solely by man tracking it. I haven't had the pleasure of either being followed by a drone or showing up after one yet but the only thing I think that would have ever helped one of those guys find that deer was that Paul told me while we were talking in the am "they like to expire over there" and he pointed at the small patch of woods we ultimately recovered the buck in. I hear things like that all the time from clients. And I always think well then why am I here and laugh a little.

Our #2 today was another guy who was a pleasure to be in the woods with. His name was Vinny and he has that Boston east coast voice and swagger. Vinny thought he hit brisket area but wasn't sure. He wanted to make sure, I always applaud a person's ethics and when I can I make every effort to help a hunter even if I know my likelihood of a recovery is lower. We talked about how I felt the track was gonna go as far as blood and visual things we wanted to see if I felt we might convert or what diamond starts to show me when it's not a recovery.

10/22/2023

Been meaning to get this post out since last night. We are looking for 100% guaranteed win short tracks to get OnX on. These will be free to any hunter. Welcome OnX to the family and we hope to have many successful seasons together. She is a 9mnth-1yr old plott. She really loves hooves and has done very well on the 2 training tracks that have been set up for her so far. As always Diamond is here for our unsure tracks but if you have a short track that you know for sure your deer is expired at the end of we would love to come out and get this little girl on some live action. Thank you in advance best of luck to everyone and as always advice is always free we are just a call away. The season is starting to heat up so please don't wait to call I will book tracks in the order I take the call.

10/16/2023

Congrats to Chase on this buck. He called us last night. Due to the signs the deer was showing him we both agreed we felt it was liver hit and to just stay off it until the am. I was booked for another track first and spent alot of time on a deer I feel confident wasn't expired while we were on site. I do think ultimately it's injuries will be fatal we just going catch up to it.

Chase patiently waited for us to get there, and his patience paid dividens for him. It room 9 min and 26 seconds to cover just under 300 yards in some nasty thick redbrush swampy stuff. Diamond got on him and was on a rail all the way to this deer. Last night while searching one of the men in the search party climbed up a tower stand and tried to use a thermal monocular. If he had only angled alot more downward than outward he may have seen this deer then. I cannot thank Chase and his camp enough for being patient with me and knowing not to over extend the night before. It's always a pleasure when a hunter helps the tracker and put their faith in us to say yea I'll stick to the plan. Best of luck friends, Diamond and I may have some big news coming soon. As always advice is always free. We are here to help.

10/13/2023

Sorry it's been a little while since we shared any updates. Attached are some pics of recoveries. We are 6 of 14 on the season. Diamond has been on absolute fire this year with her reads. Some of our recent non recoveries have really been impressive to watch.

Some would say 6 of 14 isnt great I would say I can't control if the deer is expired or not. I feel every non recovery the deer was fully alive while we were on site. Enjoy and best of luck out there. Remember advice is always free.

10/13/2023

I was sent this and told official regulations on the use of drones in wi. I'd say have a warden present before you even turn on the battery to your toy. And oh yea if it's your deer it can't be your toy.

10/05/2023

Hunters: just because there is rain coming does not mean a deer needs any less time to expire. Please don't go chasing after these deer just because your blood trail is gonna get rained on. Remember a dog's nose works on moisture, also none of us can see scent so you won't know when you step in that deers track and carry that scent with you to places that deer never went. Advice is always free please feel free to call with any and all questions.

09/28/2023

Diamond will be at a minimum getting tonight off. I am not sure if it was a stinging neddle or this other green rope type plant that has little balls that stick to you and her which is causing some swelling around her eye. I have already flushed it, given her some allergy type eye drops, and she is now resting on a benadryl. We did do a track today after I noticed her eye and it isn't seeming to slow her down but she also has had quite a quick and busy start to the season and deserves a rest day. Me too. My legs alone have 12.5 miles on them in the last 3 days. I'm sure hers are double. As always I will take calls and give advice. Please feel free to also contact any of the trackers on the list provided below. All of these teams are great teams and I have the utmost confidence in any and all of them. We will be back to tracking as quickly as we can.

09/27/2023

4 for 5 on the season.

This is a story of how over extending and grid searching can make what I believe should have been a 1 hour track turn into a much longer day.

Deer was shot the night before. With rain coming and after a few hour wait our hunter started to track. They had actually cut the track a little bit which unknowing to them made them miss the 1st bed. But it happens and they jumped this bedded buck from his second bed. They backed out that night. On the next morning during more rain he and a few friends went out and grid searched. We typically ask hunters not to do this prior to us getting on site but we have dealt with it in the past and told our hunter "you don't know if you don't go". With the track being rained on pretty heavy we started Diamond at the hit site. She locked onto this buck pretty quick and took me to what we now know is his first bed. Shortly after we hit the 2nd bed and she was having a very difficult time working out of that bed. She just couldn't seem to locate where he had went after a small water crossing. We worked her and worked her and even thought maybe that first bed was a 2nd bed. By the way Diamond was acting she was telling me she felt this deer was dead. I felt it was best just to take a break and bring her back in after I got some much needed food into me.
We came back and again she just couldn't extend out of that second bed. I started to lose hope. I always offer our hunters a chance to check areas they think the deer might have gone. He suggested an area that had some really thick bedding much deeper into the swamp. As we started to make our way down towards where the hunter wanted to check Diamond must have cut either a track or winded him because she told me we are going this way and just started dragging me. Less than 100 yards later I was giving my typically Rick Flair WOOOOOOOO!!! in the woods. If we have ever recovered a deer for you, you know how excited I get when I see them. My hunter and his friend were a little ways behind me and in true disbelief. High fives, hugs, and WOOO'S started as the 2 men approached this buck. I think we all lost hope a decent time before that but Diamond never gave up. From minute one to standing over this buck she knew he was dead.

Sometimes it's better to be lucky than good. This deer was only another 200 yards from the last bed but since he had crossed a small water crossing and so did the grid search team they took all of the scents we use and spread it everywhere. This deer was well upwind of us at all times we were on site until we found him. As the crow flies this deers total track was around 700 yards.

Dogs are amazing tools and we always suggest on non recoveries people go and grid search after we are gone. Dogs can only work with what scent you leave them. Dogs noses work on moisture so please don't think because it's going to rain or raining you need to get after these deer right away. Over extending on a rainy track in an already moist area like a swamp can take all the subtle things a dog can use to find these deer quickly and turn it into a very long day.

I can't thank our hunter enough for the call and trusting in me when I asked to remove her from the site, give her a break, and allowing us to return. I'll never forget hearing his disbelief as he was coming towards Diamond and I to see his buck. Congrats bud this buck was an old brute with a monster of a body on him.

09/20/2023

3 for 3 on the year. Diamond sure is loving the start of this season.

I do not vette my tracks based on whether or not I think the deer is dead or not. I did not think we were going to find this deer today at all

Sadly the coyotes got on Emma's deer before we could recover it this morning. I highly applaud Emma's ethics and her love for the sport. She is an avid bow hunter and very comfortable shooting her compound bow. Unfortunately sometimes things happen in the woods we don't plan for. I'm glad we could help Emma recover this deer.

Sept 30th we will be tracking full time.

As always you can call, text, or message us if you need a tracker. We are also on Shane Simpsons new app TrackR. If I am unavailable or you are outside of my range I can help put you in touch with a quality team in your area. Best of luck out there hunters. Advice is always free.

09/20/2023

It was a pretty night to be in the field. Got an hour nap in. Hunting is fun but just being in the outdoors of sconnie is good for your health and mind.

09/18/2023

2 for 2, and a little redemption for Diamond and I. Short track, great shot. Nick was a client last year and also one of 2 deer Diamond and I left on property. Thanks again Nick for your patience and giving us a shot at redemption.

09/17/2023

Al and Val out there just doing what they do best. Finding critters and taking pictures

Full disclosure.
I almost never track anything 2 hours after the shot.
When I heard that 9 year old Clovie Jeremiason had shot her first Bear, and we were right there 90 miles from the house, and they were gonna look anyway, I decided Val and I should help. I told them if we jumped the Bear and couldn’t get him to quit, we’d commit to coming back the next morning.
We did jump the Bear. Three times. He finally quit at just under a mile.
Just like that we were 3 for 3 on Bear today. Lots of good people got to see Val do his best work. I’m very tired, but as Grandpa Walton used to say: “ it’s a good kinda tired.”😊
Congrats Miss Clovie.

09/17/2023

Well 1 for 1 on the year and we had to work for it. Being so green still our hunter spotted it before the dog and I. I got to pay a fellow hunter and his family back tonight, last year I left my dad's shooting sticks in a parking lot on public land. Luckily for me our shooter today and his dad ran down to that parking area and grabbed them for me. He told me he had recently lost his grandmother and his grandfather who taught him how to hunt had passed before her. He wanted to pay respects in his own way and was able to put a doe on the ground. He had a quartering away shot he knew was a little high but entry looked great for a nice exit. It downpoured on shortly after. He did the smart thing and called. We had no 100% starting point and being our 1st real track this year diamond was excited to say the least. Once she calmed down a little she picked our path and away we went. Thanks again for the call and glad we could help.

09/14/2023

Just 2 more moons until opener. A couple things to remember- 1. Advice is always free. 2. Don't double book trackers, we don't like it and we talk to each other often enough, leave a vm or send a text if we don't answer. 3. Please mark the last of your blood trail with something very easily visible. Walk out the same way you walked in, on the track.

We are on Shane Simpsons app TrackR. Hopefully this will help in double booking and keep trackers from running an hour 1 way to drive 2 back the other. The more we can get to in a night the better.

This year once the season heats up diamond and I will be running full time (weather permitting) My employer has agreed to let me take a leave this year. I had 197 miles on my legs last year and wanted more.

Cool pic below from one of my cams this year, his velvet had only been gone for a little over 2 days.