Boone is on the board!
The start of our tracking season has been predictably slow with our warm weather. 90 degree temps are not ideal for hunting or tracking. We have gotten a couple of calls, but after interviewing the hunters, we haven't had a track that sounded the least bit promising.
I have gotten a few sits in the treestand with my recurve, but have only had immature bucks and does offer me a clear shot within range. Needless to say, I have passed on all those deer. This evening I was fortunate to have 3 does feeding close to me. The largest doe was within 10-12 yards by the time she turned to give me a broadside shot. I focused behind the shoulder, and let the arrow fly. The shot looked great, and I thought I heard the doe crash at a distance. However, with 2 other deer also running off the scene, it was hard to be certain.
After an hour, I climbed down to examine the area. I found the broadhead end of the arrow lying a few yards from the hit site. A quick smell of the arrow gave off the aroma of a gut shot. I was somewhat surprised, but was still convinced that I had penetrated at least one of the animal's lungs. After a search of the immediate area, I had not found any blood, hair or guts. Again, I was surprised and a bit concerned, but I still knew in my gut that my arrow had flown true.
Normally, I like to wait several hours before putting a dog on any trail. Additionally, with the smell of guts on the arrow, I would typically recommend waiting at least 8 hours before beginning the search. All that said, occasionally you have to break your own rules. I was hunting about an hour from my house. I had to work the following day, and temps were still a bit warm. I only gave it an hour before I headed out to get Boone. Like always, I had brought him along with the hopes of getting him on a track.
He was full of anticipation and excitement when I loaded him back up into the truck. When we arrived at the hit site, he was a bundle of energy because of all the deer scent in the area. I calmed him down, and had him sit while I put on his leash and examined the broken arrow. Once I called him over, he took a smell of the arrow, and worked around the area. Rarely does he take right off on the trail, but rather he works a small circle around the starting point. Once he was satisfied with the direction of the trail, he was off to the races. He worked deliberately down the trail, and had no trouble working through the area where the other deer were feeding. After 40 yards, he entered the woods along a well used deer trail. I thought that the deer had exited the area on that trail, but wasn't certain. There was still no evidence that we were on the right trail.
Another 20 yards into the trail, and he stopped to smell the ground more closely. It was then that I noticed he was standing over the other portion of the arrow. Good dog! He still seemed very certain, and worked down the deer trail a bit further before taking a hard turn to the right. We continued down the trail for about 125-150 yards to the downed doe. Lung blood became apparent the last 15 yards of the trail. An examination of the doe confirmed that my shot was well placed, but that the exit hole was occluded by a small piece of gut.
Unlike the other dogs that I have trained, Boone showed no caution or concern as he approached his first deer. You would have thought that he had done this many times in the past. He walked right up to the downed doe, and began examining her, taking some time to lick the wounds and tug at her ears. He was very happy to eat a few scraps of meat off her belly after she was field dressed. He continued to follow along and tug on her hide as I dragged her from the woods. Hopefully we will get some more challenging tracks in the near future.
