Jax Tracks

12/13/2023

12/01/2023

We had a track just under 400 yards to recover a young man's big buck! The track went pretty quick until we arrived at the river bank. We had to be careful to avoid the deep holes. After crossing the river Jax led us to the buck about 70 yards into the brush!

11/13/2023

We received a request shortly after lunch to track a buck. I asked some of my standard questions to help stack the deck in our favor. We met the hunter and his friend at the gate and talked more about the deer reaction after the shot while I looked at the arrow. They had tracked it approximately 630 yards before the blood had stopped. Evidence pointed to a liver hit and the shot time was at 8:30 in the morning. From experience and knowledge gained from the Oklahoma Blood Trackers Association I knew we needed to give this deer 8 hours from the time of shot before tracking it. I explained the situation and asked if we could wait until 4:30 to begin tracking.

We started Jax at the point of last blood a little before 5 and he picked up the track very quickly. He took us 650 yards in just over 10 minutes to what appeared to be where the buck first bedded (about 1300 yards from the hit site). We examined the blood and explained how we would proceed differently based on whether the blood was dry or fresh. It was almost all dry so we decided to proceed. Jax wasted no time going down the steep creek bank, across the creek and down it a short distance. He had found his prize! A real heavy framed buck!

I believe it took 3 of us longer to get the buck up the 25' briar and underbrush filled incline from creek bottom than it did for Jax to take us the 700 yards to buck!

11/13/2023

A little sneak peak of a recovery today!

11/08/2023

Carrying drinking water is important especially with the record high temps. We are taking a little break to cool down on a recent track.

11/04/2023

A hunter from early muzzle loader confirmed his buck wasn't lethally hit. It is great news to hear confirmation of our thoughts.

11/03/2023

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=173230321508920&id=158610572970895&mibextid=2JQ9oc

Ever hear a tracker say his/her recovery percentage is 95% or “we recover all of the deer we track” or “we went 28 of 31 last year”? I’m here to tell you that is likely NOT true in most cases. Let me explain.

As hunters, you will hear all kinds of things from various sources about how successful a tracking team is. The topic is complex, but here’s the absolute, honest truth about what a tracking team will do year in and year out. This information is backed up by hundreds of trackers across the country going on thousands of tracks over a period of decades. The law of averages doesn’t lie….

First, Let’s assume that we are talking about trained and experienced tracking teams that are tracking on lead (dog must be leashed at all times as required by Illinois state law).

Here is where the truth is going to hurt a few feelings - A veteran team working on lead taking nearly every call that comes to them, will recover roughly 35% - 40% + or - of the deer we track, year in and year out. That means if we go on 100 tracks, we will generally find 35-40 deer. Does this mean the remaining 60-65% of deer we track are dead and not found? The simple answer is NO.

The truth is the majority of the tracks we go on, the deer is not dead. Despite how good the dog might be, we simply aren’t going to find a deer that is healthy enough to stay ahead of us. A live deer, property lines we can’t cross, a deer goes where we can’t, etc all contribute to non-recoveries. Also, tracking, like anything else, can be streaky. Teams can go on large runs of both no-finds and hot streaks where all we track are dead deer, but over time, our averages will be roughly 40%.

With that said, experienced teams will likely recover a very high percentage of deer that are dead and that are recoverable. Very rarely will an experienced team leave a dead deer in the woods, but it happens to all of us eventually. It’s the call most of us dread the most. At the end of the day, we do our best, but eventually we will have an off day or make a mistake and we will leave one. Dogs have bad days too. Maybe scenting conditions are terrible and the dog just can’t pick up the track. Maybe the hunter and his 6 friends spread the scent around the woods while they grid searched for 6 hours before calling us. It happens and we aren’t perfect. Sometimes the deer isn’t dead on the day we track it.

So what does this mean to you as a hunter? It means that you should be VERY leery of anyone who tells you that their recovery rate is higher than what was mentioned above. Now, a team can screen their calls and only go on the higher percentage calls (gut, liver hits only, for example) and have a higher recovery rate. Some teams screen their calls, some don’t and there isn’t anything wrong with either way. Screening calls only works to some extent anyway because, by no fault of their own, hunters generally don’t get every detail correct about what happens after the shot (topic for another discussion). There are many tracks we go on that we think we are going to find the deer and we don’t and other tracks where we think we probably won’t find it and we do.

The IDTN is dedicated to being as open and honest as we can be about what it means to track deer with a dog and what you can expect from us. An educated hunter will make better choices and be more successful.

11/02/2023

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=829634069164639&id=100063541602463&sfnsn=mo&mibextid=6aamW6

Oklahoma Blood Trackers Association teams have been stacking up the deer into truck beds throughout October! Congratulations to all of these hunters and teams in today's Tail's from the tracking scene!

Want to read their stories? Join our Facebook group at this link!
https://www.facebook.com/groups/186890161946636

Need a tracker? Visit our map link for contact information below!
https://www.zeemaps.com/mobile?group=2992951&fbclid=IwAR0cZIEDBm671Yjwo-3Thy0nBQfDQNRvKLOtcmRD6NKuUHyPiQTLXxUv8wo

10/26/2023

We don't always recover the deer. Sometimes the deer isn't mortally wounded and shows back up in a few days or sometimes takes awhile. Sometimes it is pushed before it is dead and may cover a mile or more.

Recently we went on a track about 36 hours after the archer shot it. The hunter was straight forward and said that he had another dog out to look but the sandburrs were to big of a hinderance and he felt like it was worth trying another dog. I know the team that attempted it first and know they are a very accomplished team. We didn't take the track to try and show up the other team. We went to challenge ourselves and to hopefully give some peace of mind to the hunter.

We had just over a 2 hour drive to get there. When we arrived the wind was gusting 40mph and the sandburrs were knee deep. I put boots on Jax and we led him to the hit site. Jax tracked along and the hunter confirmed he was tracking right along where they had found sparse blood the day before. Jax made a turn to the north with the wind at our back and the hunter acknowledged that is where the other team had stopped. I could see why as the sandburrs were relentless! Jax continued along until the river and we crossed it but he never seemed to pick up the trail on the other side. We circled back to where he had previously looked confident and he led us back to the river but turned down the river before crossing. After about 150 yards down the river he seemed to not be focused and was head up searching around. This shows me that he isn't on the track anymore. I visited with the hunter and told him that I felt like with as much time has passed and how many other critters had crossed the creek (cows, coyotes, deer etc) that it is likely why Jax is struggling. I told him that we could walk along the big wheat field with the wind blowing 90 degrees to our path so that if the buck had bedded in any of the cover along the river that Jax would pick up the scent and we would be able to work our way to it. Our attempt came up empty handed. With all of the coyote sign it is likely that coyotes jumped the deer and chased it a long way.

Jax's heavy coat didn't let the stickers bother him to much. I had to clean the stickers out of his boots a couple times.

10/25/2023

This explains how a dog follows the correct deer when several are near the deer when shot.

How does the dog track the “correct” deer, even when there is no visible blood?:

When a deer is shot, the stress level causes the interdigital gland to secrete large doses of hormone/scent. This scent is unique to each deer, similar to our fingerprints. The higher the level of stress (mortally wounded) the stronger the scent. Our dogs have been trained to track SCENT- Not just blood. HOWEVER, if the deer is Not mortally wounded, as it calms down, the hormone excreted will be reduced. After a lot of exposure to tracking, an experienced dog will usually be able to tell the difference between tracking a “dead” deer and one you’ll never catch up to. Hence CALL us so that we can gain more experience! Lol Please!

Whitetail have numerous scent glands but we only concern ourselves with one.
Interdigital gland: Forty-six volatile compounds are secreted by this gland, and the varying evaporation rates mean the smell changes over time.
Location: Between the toes.

10/25/2023

Here is a good example of a hunter recognizing the bad shot and the needed wait time. The deer was quartered to the hunter and the entry was a little far back. It was treated as a liver hit and given about 7 hours before tracking. Because of the hunter waiting long enough the buck passed in its first bed and didn't run several hundred yards.

10/25/2023

Jax tracked down a doe (1st deer) for a youth hunter. It was a good shot but didn't bleed due to no exit. The vegetation blocked the view to see where it ran to.

10/15/2023

Here is another example where a hunter did everything right after the shot to increase odds in her favor. Recognized less than ideal hit and WAITED!

The arrow hit a little far back and they waited until the next day to give it time to expire. If they hadn't waited they would have likely pushed it off their property.

We have tracked and recovered gut shot deer that were pushed and traveled a mile.

Great buck Tess and great recovery Wendi!

The rest of the story: Hunters strive to be the best. We practice our shots, we put in the time and work to scout and set up… then we wait for THE moment and pray it goes the way we’ve practiced and played out in our minds. That doesn’t always happen. We’re human and humans make mistakes.

In this case as some people probably noticed, I let the arrow fly a little too far back. As soon as it hit, I knew. I was sick and angry with myself and hated having to call my husband to explain what happened. I knew the shot was fatal, but that we needed to wait. We did not attempt to track. With a questionable shot, trying to track is the absolute worst move to make. So, we left. I was devastated, my stomach was in knots, but I was certain our track the next day would end in a recovery. I had added confidence because I’d called in back up, Wendi and Jake Barnes who have certified blood tracking dogs, including Miss Revee… a 2-year-old lab in training. While Reeve got us where we needed to be, we probably would have been OK on our own because the buck was only about 30 yards from where I’d last seen him. And most importantly the meat was still good.

It was bittersweet. My heart was heavy knowing what his last hours were like... and for that I am so sorry. But I'm also grateful... in fact, grateful doesn’t even come close to describing my feelings when I walked up to him. We will process all the meat ourselves and it will give us many meals. That's why we hunt.

If we had attempted to track right after the shot, we might not have had the same outcome. Giving it time is miserable and makes for a sleepless night… but is worth the wait.

Wendi told me, you don’t have to share what happened, “I know you could get a lot of heat over it,” she said.

It’s sad that folks can’t be real without fearing backlash. No, it’s not the most fun story to tell, but I’m not ashamed of being an imperfect person. And while I have put in countless hours hunting over 11 years, I’m far from an expert and it’s important to me that I’m always open and honest about my experiences in the outdoors, even if it comes with hateful responses. It’s why I didn’t photoshop the original photo to hide the shot (like other pages have done with it). I imagine there are a lot of hunters who can relate and understand the heartache of things not going as planned. It’s going to happen, even to the most seasoned outdoorsman. And it sucks.

On the 8th day of the season, Wendi had already been on 20 tracks… plus the calls she got that she couldn’t help with. Wendi, Jake, Revee and Zeus (their other tracking dog) are not who you want to have to call… but you’re certainly glad you can. These blood tracking teams are invaluable to deer hunters who are human. They’re your best shot in a worst case scenario.

Thank you to Team Barnes… for your knowledge, support, encouragement and track! I think you’re the best.!

If anyone is ever in need of a blood tracking dog, be sure to reach out to certified trackers… you can find them through the Oklahoma Blood Trackers Association page and the link below:

https://www.zeemaps.com/mobile?group=2992951&fbclid=IwAR2F5xXYCumJQtg7BzrcUWZkEK5KTmcztCDuV_FRvajlSGfq5ABwq1BSxe4_aem_AaZkoJiadzM0VNhYGV2W7SBGaM5lAR4QxX4SmwX3yIuivePeKqYGNe1Lx6kvKzqMWBY

KOTV - News On 6

10/07/2023

We got a call last night from a hunter that asked for help to find his buck. He waited 3 hours to track/look for it and found an empty bed without any indication where it went from there.

We made plans to meet him this morning. We arrived and the hunter showed us where the buck was at when shot and Jax started off. The hunter confirmed that is the direction the deer went. About 160 yards and we were standing at the first bed. The very slight north breeze was to our face and Jax was indicating that he could smell it. I confirmed with the hunter that he had permission on the other side of the fence and then followed Jax. We were in the bottom of a draw and I felt like Jax was struggling in a scent pool that settled in the low area. I took him back out the bed and he led is through the fence almost immediately and we could see evidence the buck had passed under the fence there. Another 175 yards and we found 2 beds about 10 yards apart with a very small amount of blood in them. I made a waypoint on the tracking app and continued to follow Jax but I noticed he was searching toward the draw several times before coming back out to the grass and continuing north. I decided that he missed a turn and took him back to the last 2 beds. I studied the map with our route visible and noticed that we worked around the perimeter of a thicket before going back to the first bed. The thicket was almoat straight east of the 2 beds but it was down in the bottom of the draw. I told the hunter we were going back to that thicket. Jax entered the thicket and was nose down and acted like he was hot on the trail. He was about 10 feet in front of me when he busted the buck like a covey of quail. I could see antlers and a streak of brown and the stench of guts. The thicket was so thick that I couldn't see anything besides my orange lead rope stretched tight and the blur of vegetation as I ran to try and see where the buck went. I exited the thicket and the buck was not in sight but Jax was looking back at me like we don't have all day! I held up until the hunter caught up and we took a little breather and discussed options. I said the buck wasn't very healthy or it would have never let us get that close to it and it likely didn't go far. The corner of this quarter had a large feed pen with woven wire fence and a an old working lot inside that. I took Jax to the stock tank to let him get a good drink and then put Jax back on the track. A few yards shy of 142 yards from where we jumped the buck and I could see rack sticking up out of the grass. Jax did it again!
Oklahoma Blood Trackers Association Oklahoma Blood Trackers Association

10/07/2023

Some important information for hunters who may need some help finding a deer!

USING A TRACKER FAQ'S! 🤔

As we inch closer to opening morning please remember:

♦️IF you are in need of a tracking team make them your first option rather than a last ditch effort. Resist the urge to grid search before a dog team arrives.

♦️ Use our map to contact teams. We don't want to see any hunters get taken advantage of or end up in the woods with someone with ill intentions. Posts seeking a tracker are privately forwarded on to our teams and are not published to the public. Posts seeking a tracker do take significantly longer to reach our teams! If you insist on posting at least include a phone number to help us, help you. But seriously, save yourself some time and call/text our teams yourself. Many teams do travel!!

MAP LINK 👇
https://www.zeemaps.com/mobile?group=2992951&fbclid=IwAR3piBgkuK9tnLbortQbGjr7cQFqTVGODKNlMvCZ_gBcVnqfI5ehAu1dQpU

♦️We have only 1 page and group on Facebook. If the group is not Oklahoma Blood Trackers Association YOU ARE NOT DEALING WITH US!

♦️If you have trailed blood over 150 yards or 500’ it’s likely you have not heart/lung shot that animal.

♦️Hunters-be completely transparent with your tracking team. You hold a huge piece of the puzzle we are trying to put back together for you. What happens post shot up to our arrival is critical, your wait time before pursuing, how many buddies helped you search, did you bump your deer etc.

♦️A dog on a fresh undisturbed track is roughly 90% on recovery. A track that’s been grid searched for hours can drop down to 10%.

♦️There are two reasons why hunters don’t want to call in a tracking dog; pride or price.

♦️If you hunt long enough you’re going to lose a deer. It’s not a reflection on your skill as a hunter. Fred Bear, Fred Eichler, and Howard Hill are Hall of Fame hunters and they have all lost deer, it just happens.

♦️As for cost, most of us charge gas plus tip - we set our own price and distance willing to travel. So please check the map for your nearest team to see what their costs are, remember the call is free.

♦️Please don’t lose an animal you don’t have to. The average tracking team tracks more deer in one season than a hunter will in their entire life.

♦️”A dead deer goes nowhere but a bumped deer goes somewhere”! -RS

♦️Almost every tracker in this group has a 9-5 and families, it’s hard to get to everyone but we try. Several different reasons led us into the tracking world, but we all have one thing in common, we enjoy helping fellow outdoorsmen.

♦️Thank you for your time and most importantly - good luck this season!🏹🦌♥️

♦️♦️REGULATION REMINDER♦️♦️
Tracking wounded game with the use of dogs 🐾🦌 Hunters/Trackers make sure you understand and follow these regulations.👇🏼

👉🏻1) Dog must be leashed while tracking wounded game.

👉🏻2) No means of take on any person(s), No Bow or Gun.

👉🏻3) Game Warden (for county tracking in) must be notified by text or call.
Warden Numbers may be found in your Go Outdoors app, ODWC website or Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation (ODWC) regulation books.

09/23/2023

INTRODUCING OUR UBT-1 CERTIFIED TRACKING TEAM FROM CUSTER COUNTY 📢
Do you know of someone who hunts in or near this county? Be sure to tag them below or share this post!

🐶What is your name and your tracking dog's name? Dusty Rhoads and Jax!

☎️Contact Information is: (580)774-8689 TEXT PREFERRED

🚘How far will you travel for a track? It depends on how busy I am each day. I track in most western central counties. Custer, Canadian, Caddo, Blaine, Beckham, Dewey, Wash*ta, Kingfisher, Grady, Kiowa, Greer, Roger Mills, Ellis, Woodward, and Major counties.

🐶What breed do you track with? Labrador

📌What county do you live in? Custer County

🤔Why did you start tracking? I enjoy watching Jax work. It is great to be able to recover deer that would have been lost.

⏰What hours are you typically available to track? I am pretty flexible on hours.

⏳How long have you been tracking with your current dog? This will be our 5th season.

🦌How many tracks do you typically take a season? 45+

💭 What's a favorite memory from tracking so far? Seeing a young hunter grinning ear to ear when we found his buck.

💬What is one piece of advice you would give to hunters? If there is any doubt about the shot, give it plenty of time before looking for a sign at the hit site. Mark the hit site and try to get a couple of pictures of the blood or other evidence. Back out and contact an experienced tracker if you don't have a good blood trail.

💬What are some words of advice you would give to those interested in tracking? If you are looking to purchase a dog for tracking, don't get caught up in a breed for "tracking" or "hunting ."Look for a dog that fits your family first. Tracking season is only 3 months of the year.

To find your nearest tracker, visit our map at;
https://www.zeemaps.com/mobile?group=2992951

09/22/2023

Very informative video about archery shots on deer with head up vs head down.

09/21/2023

We tracked one similar last year! We were pumped to help an archer recover his stud buck!

I’ve shared this pic in the past, but it once again validates how tough deer can be. The hunter was positive about his shot, he knew he had shot the deer low in the chest cavity. He called us about assisting him on tracking this deer, but he wanted to WAIT 12 hrs before we began! I was shocked the hunter actually was the one to mention this first!

When we started this track 12 hrs later it was dark. We started the track on dry blood at the hit site, then eventually the blood petered out. We then came to some wet blood. I knew now we had kicked the buck up somewhere in the darkness! Slowly tho we began gaining on the deer after a grueling chase in the dark throughout the woods. Chasing the deer made his heart pump faster thus bleeding more. The deer finally went down for good to get tagged by the hunter.

Knowing your shot placement FOR SURE is very important as it was in this case. Also the fact the hunter was willing to WAIT helped contribute to the recovery of this buck.

Feel free to share and along on our new page if you haven't yet. Season is getting close! https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61550596515965&mibextid=LQQJ4d

09/20/2023

Great info to have when requesting a tracking dog!
Please share with your hunter friends.

🐾🩸🦌🐾🩸🦌🐾🩸🦌🐾🩸🦌🐾
There seem to be a lot of hunters having a difficult time locating tracking teams. I’m here to say it’s only going to get harder as Youth season, Black powder and Rifle open up. There are only a handful, at best, who are active trackers, that means those teams who are actually willing to take outside calls (non friends and family). It’s hard when you answer your phone to “do you have a dog”, or “how much do you cost”…”I just shot a big buck, I need a dog NOW” or simply hanging up when you don’t get what you want. Instead let’s try, “Hello! I’m hunting in Tipton and hear you have a tracking dog, if you have a min I’d like to tell you about my situation and see if you can help”. If a tracker can’t get to you, most are hopefully willing to steer you in a direction where you can get help. We all know each other, the ones in tracker groups, so be nice not hateful this isn’t our job we just try to help fellow outdoorsmen. We enjoy doing it also, and want nothing more than to reconnect you with your deer. FYI every deer is not recoverable mostly due to the shot and what you do post shot.

I’m going to say it again, I cannot stress how important it is for you to call/text your nearest tracker 👉🏻 before you need one. You can get an idea on how much it’s going to cost and what they expect from you…ie don’t stomp it up actually mark where the trail got tough to eye track for you. Or better yet, carry toilet paper with you (it’s good for multiple reasons) one being it’s biodegradable and is perfect for marking blood. Resist calling your buddies to give it that one last look…”because it would be a shame to have a dog out for nothing”, be kind and remember…poor planning on your part doesn’t constitute an emergency on our part. Check the map and make contact now, save numbers to your phone.

A knowledgeable team will make a plan with suggested wait times, a novice team may not. It’s always wise to err on the side of caution and wait longer, especially for gut/liver shots. A dead deer goes nowhere, but a bumped deer goes somewhere. Do your homework and interview your tracker. Most seasoned teams will see more trouble tracks in one season than a hunter will over their lifetime.

Below are some helpful things to leave on text or message.👇🏼

09/08/2023

Ron has some great information about how much blood loss it takes to be fatal to a deer without a hit to an organ.

BLOOD FACTS:

A 150 lb. whitetail has almost 8 pints, which is 4 quarts, or 1 gallon of blood. A 150 lb. has to lose more than 1/3 of that amount (2 3/4 pints) or 44 oz. to go into irreversible shock and die. For you beer drinkers that is the equivalent of 3 1/2 12 oz. beers 🍺 I can make one very long bloodtrail with 44 oz., just saying.

I've heard in many times the in the past, "there's tons of blood the deer has to be dead!" That is usually not the case in those situations.

Keep that in mind when seeing a lot of blood, it does not mean the deer is dead. A lot of blood simply means a deer is bleeding a lot! Some muscle/brisket type wounds (shown in pic) combined with a large mechanical broadhead will bleed profusely making you think that the deer is dead, in actuality nothing vital is hit to kill the deer. I will be talking more about blood in upcoming post stay tuned.

Again feel free to share this post among friends and fellow hunters.

09/08/2023

A little pre season excercise before deer season!

08/25/2023

Oh great! Hogs are taking over our waterways! Just kidding it is a fish. Lol

Dive in and say hello! Beyond our state's familiar bass, crappie, and sunfish, Oklahoma waters are swimming with schools of incredibly diverse but little-known fish. Meet three fish families in our Outdoor Oklahoma Journal: https://tinyurl.com/3xsps3pc

📷 Northern hog sucker by Andrew Zimmerman Photography

08/24/2023

ROLL CALL TIME! WE NEED YOUR HELP!📢
Help us get our page back out into the algorithm for the season, and don't miss a thing from OBTA!

Are you seeing this post?
👍LIKE this post if you are!
🗣️ Even better COMMENT telling us what county you hunt in!

We will soon be rolling out our trackers for the 2023 season, and you will not want to miss their introductions should you need someone to help you out in the most crucial moments of your hunt!

08/21/2023

All UBT members are eligible to be listed on the Find-A-Tracker map.A listing on the map does not represent The UBT’s endorsement of a tracker’s ability or business practices.Dog and handler teams will have varying levels of experience and training. OR Or, do a more general search by state: (sel...

08/14/2023

08/13/2023

https://fb.watch/moW3TNDtA-/?mibextid=HpYaac

08/13/2023

Jax is ready for 2023 deer season! Here are a few recoveries from the 2022 season!