https://www.facebook.com/262052890856754/

LaArk Game Recovery

Home
United States
Oak Grove, LA
LaArk Game Recovery

LaArk Game Recovery We track wounded game animals, mostly deer, with BGS hounds in SE Arkansas and NE Louisiana.

01/22/2025

Calls are few and far between at this point in the season. The archery Hunters are still enjoying a little hunting in Arkansas and our Louisiana Hunters still have a little bit of Muzzleloader season left but most hunters have filled their freezers and are no longer hunting it seems. This gives me time to tell one more of our tails that happened Monday night. My wife is a CPA and she is not home very much since tax season is in full swing. I had spent all afternoon preparing us a meal so that we could sit down and enjoy watching the national championship game together. Just as I was fixing to stick the chicken wings that I have been marinating all afternoon in the oven, I get a text from my son-in-law who never gets enough deer meat or enough hunting. He reminds me of myself in my younger years. He asked if I had time to come to the camp and track a doe for him. Although there was a part of me that was very disappointed there was also a part of me that could not wait to go. I put the wings in and waited for my wife to get home. We enjoyed a nice meal and I headed to the camp. Justin had arrowed a doe. He had a pass through shot. Everything on the Arrow was frozen. Honestly I had a hard time reading the evidence on the Arrow. Not sure where this deer was hit, I decided to start Ben on the track since it was his turn to represent the B Team. Ben took to the track very easily. As we followed him I thought I could see evidence of a lung hit on the Frozen Trail but since I don't see much Frozen blood I was unsure. The temperatures had the leader of the B Team confused. Also we get to track very few deer that are hit in the lungs. Ben continued the track and was getting pretty far ahead of us. It seemed as if he was heading to the camp yard. Ben has earned my trust this season. We were seeing a few drops of blood so I knew that he was on the trail but Justin questioned whether or not Ben was doing the right thing. Justin even asked one time, what is your dog doing? Surely that dear did not go to the camp yard. But I knew was doing exactly as he had been trained. If you will look at the picture you will see that this deer did everything she could do to confuse the dog but Ben did not give up. If you will look at the sketch of the track that I made you will see a search area. Ben spent about 10 minutes searching the area ahead of the track but could not find his deer. When he was certain that the deer had not gone straight ahead he circled back around and picked up the near backtrack which was actually a small circle. Again Justin said surely that deer did not do that. But guess what when we got behind Ben we found a little more blood. Ben crossed the road, found the deer bedded and the chase began. He chased the deer all the way to Cornfield Chute. Justin and I were standing on the main road. I saw Ben on my Garmin pacing The Waters Edge. We walked 350 yd to the water's edge and we could see what we thought could be a deer about 3/4 of the way across. We could not tell for sure that it was a deer so we went and got the boat. The boat dock was very close. We launched the boat about 11:00 p.m.. after a short paddle Justin had his very nice doe.
Now I was very curious to find out where this deer was hit. This deer had ran a total of $1,570 yards. Ben had found this deer bedded and could not get her to stop before she hit the water. So this deer was pretty strong. I really did not know where this deer was hit and I was very surprised to see that Justin had actually shot this deer far back through both lungs. Both lungs! This deer would have never been found without a dog and it was shot through both lungs. I'm no doctor but I think she simply drowned. She was very strong when she hit the water. Who knows? This deer may have lived a long time if Ben would not have put her in the water. We will never know. These deer are very tough and sometimes even I am very surprised. This is my 17th season and I continue to learn every track. I guess we will never see it all!

Bryan, Ben and Boone
The B Team
870-510-2657

01/21/2025

My family and I left for a skiing trip on Jan 3rd. We didn't return until January 10th. While in the airport in Denver I received a call from Conner who had a friend hunting on his place that had shot his 2nd deer of his life. They had leg bone on the trail. I usually like to get on leg hit deer soon. I asked if they wanted me to get another tracking team to come. The trust for the B Team was expressed. They would just wait on us the next morning.

With only a few hours sleep we left home and made the trip to the hit site. The deer was shot with a rifle east of the stand. The deer began a North Westerly track and circled the stand, crossing a shooting Lane to the north and crossed 20 yards behind the deer stand to the West. The Hunter did not see the deer either time because he was focused on some does in the shooting Lane where he shot the buck. The deer then went on a southerly trail to end up in a shooting Lane to the South at about a hundred yards. The hunter sees the deer at this point and could tell that he was having a difficult time walking. He wanted to put another round in him but the only shot he had was in the rear end of the deer and he chose not to take the shot. Boone showed us all of this since we started at the hit site. It was amazing to the tracking party to see that the deer had been so close to the stand without being noticed. Boone slowly worked his way around the stand and to the point that the hunter had last seen the deer. He continued his track as we slowly followed. At the 700 yard Mark Boone bayed the deer. This sound was music to our ears! We quickly began to make our way to the deer. The woods were fairly open and I could see that the deer was very much alive. He was fighting very hard to keep Boone in front of him and Boone was doing a very good job of holding him. As we eased our way to the deer for a shot, the deer charged Boone and pinned him to the ground. Something that had never happened . The deer held Boone on the ground a few seconds before he let go. Boone did not say a word while he was on the ground. His German vest had saved me a vet bill and maybe even saved his life. The deer released him and He immediately began to bay him again and we got a second shot in him. Boone Had put a smile on another Hunters face!

I am always thankful for my dogs and the opportunity to meet so many good people and to help find their trophy. Today I am also thankful that I still have my trusty tracking buddy Boone! He was a little sore the next morning but ready to track by that night. God has blessed me so richly!

The B Team
870-510-2657

12/30/2024

Many years ago my grandpa Whittington told me that there was a time when the big deer were on Beouff River and the numbers of deer were on the Mississippi. Today the B team got called out to the Beouff River Bottoms in West Carroll Parish. Ben was representing the B team today and we did something that we have never done. I carried Ben for 300 yards across thigh deep water to get to the point of loss. I had hip boots but no one else did. My young Hunter had shot this deer running because he could not get him to stop. The deer immediately hit the ground and began to struggle to get up. My young Hunter worked very hard to get another bullet in his single shot rifle and As the deer ran away he put another one in him. My Hunter and his dad tracked this deer across the water and jumped him a few times before calling the B Team. After I carried Ben across the water I put him down in water that was about a foot deep to begin the trail. We could see a spot of blood rubbed on the weeds occasionally. Ben had no trouble working this very wet Trail. He trailed him 500 yd to find himDOA From the very beginning I thought we had a back whack above the front shoulder. Turns out the first shot was a back whack at the back of the tenderloin. The second shot entered the right ham and went up through the gut cavity. This deer had went a total of about 900 yd before dying during the night. I am so thankful that my young Hunter put the second bullet in him or we would have never found this deer! Beth River produces another hoss!

The B Team

870-510-2657

12/28/2024

Thursday was an active day for The B Team both in Arkansas and Louisiana.
We started out the day in LA only 2 miles from home. Our hunter had backwhacked a buck 15 hours before we arrived. He shot the deer, watched him lay, climbed down to go get the tractor to haul him out. When he arrived thedeer was gone. Ben took this deer 800 yards, jumped him and got outrun. I cant say it enough. SHOOT HIM AGAIN if this ever happens.

Our second deer was in LA and was shot leaving only hair at the hitsite. Boone couldn't find a wounded deer at the hitsite but picked him up about 40 yards out. We never saw but one spot of blood but Boone carried him 350 yards and found this Liver/stomach shot deer DOA. Congratulations Patrick.

Third was a very interesting track in AR. Our hunter had shot this deer on one property, he entered another property, tracking him 800 yards to his point of loss. I called my friend CL to get permission to drive across his property to start the track. Thank you CL for allowing us to do that. Ben took this deer 800 yd to find him bedded. He momentarily held bay and broke about three times before ending up on another property. I knew the property owner so I tried calling him while Ben was Baying him in a duck hole. It was raining straight down while I was trying to make calls to his best friend Rick Somehow i lost my glasses in all the confusion. . Rick told me to go ahead and take the deer and he would contact Corey. This took about 20 minutes. He continued to break Bay but could not go far in the duck hole. Ben had him where he wanted him. I dispatched him and we had a party in the duck hole. What an exciting track. Broken front leg was enough for Ben to win. Thank you Corey and Rick for allowing us on your property! What and experience for my hunter congratulations Taylor on one fine deer. You will never forget this experience and neither will I!
Our fourth track was shot on the AR/LN line, entered LA and then circled to AR. We were trying to beat a storm. We had no idea where the deer was shot. Our hunter was sure that we would find a deer very shortly because of the amount of blood he had found. I put Boone on the deer only 2 hours after the shot which I don't like. Boone took the deer 1500 yd and caught up with him. He give him Chase but could not get him stop to stop. He come back and we went home.

These four tracks were all very exciting we found four deer but only put two on the tailgate. It was very exciting. We never get tired of our job. Some days are more exciting than others. The B team had a great day!

12/23/2024

The B Team will not be tracking Tuesday Dec 24th and Wed Dec 25th. Yall enjoy your Families. Merry Christmas. Dont forget that this season is all about Christ!!

12/19/2024

Last week I got another call from a gentleman who was hunting Overflow Refuge. He had arrowed a deer and he and his two hunting friends track the deer for a couple hundred yards on bright red spotty blood, a couple small chunks of meat. No bone. It was Ben's time to represent the B Team. The deer had crossed the trail that we walked in on so we decided to start where he crossed instead of the hit site. This is something that I normally do not do but seemed appropriate on this track. Ben took to the track immediately. The description sounded like a non fatal shot. But I have learned that the only way to be 100% is to let the dog decide. Ben had no trouble tracking this deer 4 hours after the shot. He got a couple hundred yards ahead of us and sounded the alarm. He had found the deer and the deer was alive. They Hunting Party said what's that and I informed them that we had a live deer. Ben held him at Bay until we could get there to put this hunt to I close and put another smile on a hunter's face!

There are many people that do not really realize the suffering that can be eliminated with the help of a good tracking team. This Hunter did not mean to break this deer's leg. I exclusively bow hunted for many years and I surely understand how the Arrow does not always hit where it is planned. In fact it was bow hunting that made me become a Tracker and tracking that made me quit bow hunting! In this case a very good Hunter had an arrow go astray leaving a deer very vulnerable to the coyotes and certainly a lot of pain. Ben and many other tracking dogs are able to stop this pain and possible suffering from the coyotes. Praise the Lord that he give us a hound! What a blessing they are to our hunting community!

The B Team
870-510-2657

12/18/2024

Good Morning followers. We get behind on our adventures. Here is one from last week.

Mr Evan was sitting with his rifle when just before shooting hours expired this nice buck stepped out into his shooting lane. He was able to put the crosshairs on him and pull the trigger. He told me where he was aiming but as you all know if we always hit that spot there would never be a need to call the B Team. After his shot the deer stumbled across the lane then continued to come South towards Evan. He laid in the lane where Evan decided to take another shot. After the second shot the deer exited West into the woods.
If we have ever tracked for you, you know i always give my dogs opportunity to p*e and p**p before we track. Since we had parked close to the hitsite, i decided to let them take care of business North of the hitsite. We had already looked at the hitsite and the second hitsite for sign of a hit and found none. To my surprise while North of the hitsite i look down to see one drop of watery blood. Ben got this track. He is trained not to track until told to so i decided to sit him down, go through our pretrack ritual and get him started. He immediately went to work. Behind him we were noticing that it seemed like the deer was pushing up leaves s if hus front legs were not working. In a few short minutes Ben had him bayed and was letting me know he needed my 1911 .45 . We crossed the muddy field and found Ben and buck under the bank of the Macon river. Ben had done an outstanding job locating this buck that had Both front legs broken. What stamina and desire to escape he must have had to push himself over 400 yards. Now we had 2 bad shots but with Ben's help we had one happy hunter.

12/16/2024

Last night was a special night for Boone and the B Team. We got a call from Wesley McConnell . He had a friend named Zeke who had shot a very nice Ten Point in which they could find no hair, no blood or any other evidence that the deer was hit. The only evidence they had was the film that they were shooting. The film led them to believe that the deer was hit just in front of the left rear ham and also revealed that something was wrong with the left rear leg. We found that the entrance was in the hip and had broken the back leg with no exit.They thought the deer entered the woods out of the shooting Lane onto a major Trail coming to a feeder. Boone searched for about 10 minutes looking for the exit. He did what he does best and circled the area on his own finally coming across the exit Trail. He found the deer bedded in roughly 150 yd and then the chase was on. The deer stopped to fight at about 500 yd where Boone surely enjoyed himself, stopping the deer and letting us know he had things under control. When we arrived the deer was almost expired. Boone is getting that gray face of wisdom but is still very good at doing his job. Zeke was very happy and continually said we would never have found this deer without that dog! I had to agree! There is nothing better than good friends and good dogs!

12/03/2024

Last week i traveled to Trusten Holder at Pendleton to travk a buck. He sent me these two pictures to examine. As you can see on the arrow the blood is streaked on the fletching. It had a small piece of meat on it and felt greasy with a white hair.. This all seams to indicate a brisket shot. But the broadhead seemed to say something different. It had two blades broken off which usually indicates it hit something hard like bone. If you look hard at the picture of the tree you will see ech side of the split sapling has a blade from the broadhead in it and the top of the tree had been cut off.
To add to the story our Hunters friend had this deer stop in front of him at 23 yards but would not present a shot. He could see nothing wrong with the deer. But there was a small puddle of blood where he stood and ended up being the last Blood we would see.
Ben was representing th BTeam. He was telling me from the beginning of the track this deer wasn't hurt very badly. Hey tracked it for 175 yards before he could not track it any longer.
This is I very interesting track to me. I have never seen a sapling cut in half by an arrow. I have never seen a sapling split by an arrow and I have certainly never seen a Broadhead blade in each side of the sapling. How in the world did this Arrow still have enough energy to cut the deer at all. But it did and we have this story to tell. You never know what you will find when you accept a track. We don't find them all but we always give it our all and do our best to give Glory to our Creator! It was in his plan for us to make the one and a half hour drive to see this and meet some great people!

12/02/2024

Saturday was a good day.
Boone took a nonfatal archery, shoulder shot buck with 1.5 inches of pe*******on 250 yards before he could rack it no more.
Ben then was able to track for Bob Brown, a long time friend. His buck was arrowed without a pass through. We thought it was bad but ended up fatal in 450 yards. Sometimes weird deflections happen in archery. The arrow hit high back lung and deflected into the gut cavity. Only 8.5 inches of pe*******on. I saw nothing that told me we had a fatal hit but we were glad to be wrong. Congratulations Bob on a great deer.
Boone then was used to locate a nice buck for Mr Richad Livingston in which i forgot to get a picture.
Ben then tried to track a buck behind a .257 mag. Tis deer was back on camera before we got home. Clean miss.

Eliza is learning how to be a tracker. The B Team had a great day

11/28/2024

The B Team is off til Friday.
Happy Thanksgiving
Enjoy your families and thank our Creator for His Grace, Mercy and other blessings we do not deserve.

11/27/2024

Some people think that us trackers find every deer we go after. Truth is we cannot do our part unless the hunter does their part which is to make a good enough shot for us to find their deer.

On Monday night I got a call from a very nice Hunter whose son arrowed his first deer. We took this call and I am glad I did. I met one of the nicest families I have ever met in the woods. It was Boone's turn to represent the B Team. We walked in to the hit site and put Boone on the track. Boone took straight to the track. A few yards into the track the deer had lost the arrow. I examined the arrow and it had a little meat in the Fletching. It was not covered in blood and felt a little greasy. This generally means that we have a very high or a very low shot. Boone took this track like he was on a line for the first 650 yards. He then went into search mode and had to work very hard to continue but he did. He did this very thing three more times to cover another 150 yards. The deer was still bleeding a little even though it was bright red and coagulating on the ground every time it would stop. At the 800 yd mark Boone searched and searched and searched but could not find the exit. He had done an extremely good job but his wounded deer was not wounded any longer thus we could not follow it anymore. The Hunter and I decided that it was time to go back to the truck. He and I were both convinced that we had a brisket shot that was non fatal. When we turned around to leave the deer that must have been bedded downwind of our last search. It got up and run in front of us. Boone took this deer another 400 yards. As luck would have it the deer ran right over another deer that had been shot and already eaten by the coyotes and buzzards. Boone got a little snack and we left for the truck.
We got to see some great dog work and I got to meet a wonderful family but we did not have a deer to drag out. All shots are not fatal. But we still enjoyed our time in this great creation that God has given us to enjoy!

11/25/2024

The B team had a busy day on Saturday. Its that time of the year. 4 tracks and 3 recoveries and 1 clean miss.

Track #1 was at my club. A friends granddaughter had shot a doe. Virginia had shot het in one shooting lane and one hour later she showed up in the next shooting lane to bed down, bleeding from her mouth. Grandpa shot at her 4 times to no avail. The doe got up and ran off. Ben had a hard time finding a wounded deer to track at the hit site but once he found her track 40 yards out he straightened it out and quickly traveled the 450 yards to find a dead doe. Funny thing is she was barely scratched at the base of the neck. Didnt hit jugular or windpipe. I have no idea why she died. But as you can see i had quite a large following of young and happy trackers with me. They enjoyed the track.

Track #2 was a clean miss accto Boone.

#3 was for Ava who lost a deer last week and was pretty bummed out when she couldn't find any blood at the hitsite or on the exit trail. Boone quickly found her doe to put a smile on her face and Daddy Clay's face. Good job Ava!!

#4 was thought to be a leg shot since a piece of bone was found at the hitsite. But it turned out to be a piece of shoulder blade. The hunter had looked down the blood trail and thought he heard his deer crashing in the opposite direction tgan the deer went. Ben quickly found a dead deer in a Supprise direction. This hunter isn't young but it was his first deer. Congratulations.

We then got home just in time to see LSU finally win another game and get some much needed rest in preparationfor the Lord'sDay! Geaux Tigers and thank you God for a great day in the woods!! We are so Blessed!

11/21/2024

Well you know tracking for the public is not all glory. We got to call late yesterday from a client with whom I had tracked for his son last season. I guess we had a pretty good review.

Nick had arrowed this deer on Trusten Holder WMA near Tichnor AR. That is 2 hours 25 minutes from my house. I try really hard not to cross the Arkansas River but once in awhile I just can't say no. Nick was hunting yesterday afternoon when around 2:00 he had a doe come in and he shot her. He made a good shot and he watched her fall. Shortly afterwards he heard a buck grunting coming in after the doe he had already shot. He got another arrow ready. Then he let the arrow Sail. He made a nice nearly broadside shot and watch the deer walk just out of range and stand for 20 or 30 minutes. This was most certainly a gut shot deer. I made plans to drive up this morning leaving at 4:50 a.m.. When we track on public ground I always know that we have a long walk ahead of us. I'm not sure why it seems to never be close to the road. I guess these public land deer are Roadshy LOL . This walk was 1.5 Mi one way. It was Ben's turn to represent the B Team. We started him at the point of loss and he had no trouble carrying this deer 535 yards to find him DOA. Good job Ben. The good thing is that this deer did not take himself farther away from the truck. He actually was going towards the truck. This shot ended up being one lung, stomach, liver and gut. When you add the 160 yards they had already tracked this deer ended up going roughly 700 yd. They never cease to amaze me with their will and ability to live. Especially during the rut.
Congratulations Nick on a very nice public land buck.

Now on to the next track!

The B Team
870-510-2657

11/18/2024

We have had a string of calls that turned out to be clean misses lately. I hate to see the look on the faces of the Kids and the Dads when The B TEAM can't find an injured deer to track. But we are still finding a few.

We were called out on this SE Arkansas Bruiser. It was shot at about 40 yards quartering to the hunter low in the shoulder. It was Boone's turn to represent the B Team. When I give him his instructions to begin the track as i always do, he slowly eased down a trail and out of sight. I heard Charles, the hunter, say "that buck didnt go down that trail". Of course i didn't stop Boone. No offence to Charles but i have learned that Ben and Boone usually ask for my help if they need my help. I am usually the weakest link on our team. So i watched Boone ease off into the thicket while i said "We will just see what he finds over there". In just a few minutes, as we eased down the trail behind Boone looking for the blood we never saw, I saw Boone treed on the ole Garmin. I continued down the trail until i saw Boones Blinking night Lights and called Charles up to see his trophy. A very nice, mature 9 point that appeared to be 6.5 years old and around 250 lbs. What a stud.
When Charles reached his trophy he said "I aint never seen nothing like that. I just knew my deer went the other way".
Congratulations Charles. I sure am thankful that ole Boone knows what he is doing inspite of those grey hairs!

Bryan, Ben and Boone
The B Team
870-510-2657

11/13/2024

Tonight we were called out on a buck that had been hit with a 35 Whelen at 160 yards. At the hit site was a little blood and a big chunk of meat according to the hunter. When I investigated the hit site I found the meat as well as a very small piece of bone. Definitely a leg shot. It was Boone's turn to represent the B Team. I'll let him check the hit site and off he went. He had no trouble tracking this deer only 3 hours after the shot. Boone bayed him up but he broke bay before i could get hrough this sawbriar thickett. He went another 160 yrds and bayed again in a ditch. This time we were able to finish this one up. Back leg was broken. 800 yards to his final resting place. Good job Boone. You still represent us well.

The B Team
870-510-2657

11/11/2024

We were able to get out this morning and make a hunter happy. Garrett was super thankful to gather up this leg shot deer for his daughter Kimberly who shot it Sunday afternoon. Boone is getting grey but he still knows how to stop them. The Buck broke bay twice but finally stopped.

We love our job. Kimberly is actually a great granddaughters of one of my old customers from my Livestock auction days long ago. Continually making new friends from my old friends. Life is good.

The B team
870-510-2657

11/04/2024

I feel so blessed to follow these dogs and meet good people! The B Team was on the prowl again this morning and Ben was representing us. It was a short $270 yard track that was about 15 hours old.

Address

1141 Hill Church Road
Oak Grove, LA
71263

Telephone

(870) 510-2657

Website

facebook.com

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when LaArk Game Recovery posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to LaArk Game Recovery:

Videos

The B Team has been quite busy lately. I do not have enough time to tell all of my stories. Here's one that I think will interest you. Last Thursday afternoon I had no tracking calls so I decided to keep my youngest granddaughter for Justin so that he could go hunting at our deer camp. It was a fun afternoon with Lillian. Grandpa kind of enjoys these afternoons . While we were enjoying ourselves Justin was trying to put some meat in the freezer. Late that afternoon he was able to draw back his bow and put an arrow through a nice Doe. The problem was that he had shot her dead center off the gut cavity. This deer bowed up and went about 20 yards and bedded down. He watched her lay there until a buck came and got her up. He wanted a girlfriend even though she was hurt. He chased her around a little and then she bedded again. Then she got up and went her way again. After supper Justin told me about it and I told him we needed to wait a minimum of 6 to 8 hours before we tried to find her. You may not know this but sometimes if you jump a gutshot deer too early they can run a mile before they stop again. That's too much work for an old man I'm getting too old to be up after midnight when it's not necessary so we waited till the next morning. It was cold so we waited for the frost to burn off and we headed out about 8:30. It was Ben's turn to represent the B Team. He was very excited, sit down to wait his turn and then was called in to find the deer. He worked very slowly to the open field where the deer had bedded the second time. The wind was blowing across the field about 15 miles per hour. He was in the area that the buck had run the doe in circles. Once he worked this out he went in a straight line to find his Doe. Approximately 350 yd total track. But here is where it gets interesting. I heard Ben bark. That is not unusual because if a deer is still alive he will bay the deer up or if the deer gets up and runs he will Yelp a few times early in the chase. But this i

What a beautiful sound!!

Night music! Better than sleep!

Team Hero went 0-3 this weekend. The first of the three hunters has already reported his buck back on camera. Hero tracked him a pretty good distance showing us blood past the hunters point of loss before losing interest. The second, video below was a typical back wack. What you don’t get to see is the buck dragging himself off the shooting lane and out of site. Being a 9 year old shooter we made the hour and fifteen minute drive just to double check. Our third was shot last nite before all the storms and rain moved in, we checked it out this evening. Hero worked very hard to track this one about 1,800 yards before giving me THE look. I guess that’s the way it goes sometimes. We have one lined up for in the morning maybe we’ll have better luck on that one.