Coon Creek Deer Tracking

11/20/2025

Jumping your buck while tracking it after the shot can be a good thing however, what you do next determines if you recover the buck or not. This hunter did everything correctly, which set him up for success. After the shot he waited an hour to start tracking because the buck didn’t drop in sight. While tracking he had good blood. Within less than 100 yards he jumped the buck. He watched the buck bound off but he didn’t see if it ran across the field into the hardwoods of if it fell in the thick brush. The hunter backed out and called me to discuss his options. He shared some photos of the blood on the track line. I immediately identified lots of muscle blood but more importantly I also identified liver blood pooled in with the muscle blood. I explained to the hunter that a liver shot buck during the gun season might be dead within a short time or it may need some more time to expire. It was an afternoon hunt and already dark outside so the hunter decided to let the buck lay for the night. We arrived in the morning and Daisy was standing over the buck in no time. What we learned after the recovery was that the buck was in his second wound bed and he laid there and bleed for some amount of time. My guess is he died in that second wound bed within an hour or so but there’s no way of really knowing for sure how long it took to expire. There are a couple important decisions that the hunter made to set himself up for success. He stopped pursuing the buck at the first wound bed and backed out. He called me to discuss his situation which allowed me to identify a liver shot in the blood on the ground. He gave the buck time to expire. If the hunter continued to pursue the buck after he found the first wound bed we can only speculate the buck would have ran off decreasing the odds of recovery. Congrats to the hunter for a great buck.

11/13/2025

You can run but you can’t hide. The nose knows.

11/11/2025

Daisy put a good track on this buck. An experienced dog with a tracker who can read his dog properly can often provide a piece of mind. We initially tracked this buck on 10/01 in the heat and drought. When we walked to the hit sight in the hardwoods the hunter stated he tracked small amounts of blood out of the hardwoods across a been field and lost the blood in the fence row that splits another cut bean field. Daisy started the track in the hardwoods and I was a bit nervous when she approached the cut bean field. We had a long period of drought and heat and I thought if she was gunna track across the field it may take her a while. Well she hit the bean field and marched across the field like it was November. I thought to myself how well she did and how grateful I am to be her partner. I figured all the training in the short cut fields in July and August must have helped her cross those bean fields. Anyways, she continues from last blood in the fence row and crosses the second bean field diagonally to a corner of the field along some more hardwoods. Then just inside the woods she came to a deer bed and didn’t take a line out of it. When Daisy stops for a deer bed it’s usually the buck we are tracking. After the bed she completely lost interest in tracking the buck. I shared with the hunter that the buck must have healed while laying in the bed and he later walked off. We still spent another hour or so searching but Daisy never took a line. I asked the hunter to follow up with me if he sees the buck again. Three weeks later he sent me a trail camera photo confirming the buck was alive and today a picture of the buck with him standing over it. The point is an experienced tracking team can often offer a piece of mind to put your mind at ease when your buck isn’t recovered. I think we have about 12 proof of life confirmations so far this season. Congrats to the hunter on a great buck and thanks for the feedback.

11/09/2025

11/08/2025

Some tracks are simply a great experience behind a dog. Myself, the hunter and his buddies witness a great performance. Every hunter should get to experience a good dog work some tracking magic at least once in their lifetime.

11/07/2025

Liver shot deer need time. Be patient like this hunter and set yourself up for success.

11/06/2025

Hard to believe but this is the first buck raveged by coyotes that we have recovered this season. 1530 yard track for Daisy Mae. During the track I told the hunter the buck appears to have been chased by coyotes because he traveled through some gnarly thickets in a zig zag pattern.

11/06/2025

You can set yourself up for success or gamble and fail. This hunter is a previous client. He learned the hard way a couple years ago. He called from his blind after he shot his buck and waited an 1 1/2 hours. He said Glenn I don’t see any blood. Well he didn’t check the hit sight yet so I encouraged him to check the hit sight and if it’s an obvious track look for the buck and keep me posted. A couple minutes later he calls back and said I’m at the hit sight no blood no arrow. After discussing it further with him I recommended that he go look at the last point he saw the buck run off in the distance. He called back again and found the arrow where he last saw the buck. But he still didnt have a blood trail. He sent me a picture of his broad head. It was obvious the buck was hit good so I recommended he back out and we will be there in a couple hours. He took my advice and didn’t search any more and backed out. Me and Daisy arrived and were standing over that buck in no time. A classic example of setting yourself up for success. Congrats to the hunter on a great buck and thanks for trusting us with the recovery.

11/06/2025

Sometimes it’s just simply the hunters reaction to finding his buck that motivates us.

11/02/2025

What is the most common mistake a new hunter can make? We track in an urban county and I get a lot of calls from young hunters just starting out in their bow hunting careers. The most common mistake I have experienced with new hunter’s is starting to track their buck way too soon. It’s very common for these hunters to tell me they started tracking 10 or 20 minutes after the shot. Then they say we had good blood and a wound bed and we tracked 200 to 300 yards and now we can’t find the buck. Hence the call for a dog. I’m sure there are lots of theories on when to start tracking your buck during the archery season. I can only share with you what has worked for me. If you shoot a buck and watch him drop this doesn’t apply to you. When I shoot a buck with a bow and he runs or walks off I will remain seated in my tree stand for a minimum of an hour. No phone calls to friends and family. Just be silent and patient for an hour. Then I quietly get out of my stand and check the hit sight and arrow. Regardless of what you see take photos of the arrow, especially the fletching in case you find yourself calling a tracker while searching. It’s also important to know what you are looking at but that’s a topic for another day. While checking out the hit sight if you can stand up and see an obvious blood trail leading away from the hit sight you are in good shape. Me personally, I may still back out for another hour or two and get a cup of coffee, get a bite to eat and change clothes. Why? Because compound bows and cross bows arent as devastating as guns and if you didnt see your buck fall you really cant be 💯 sure what is going on with your deer. I know you have a Mathews or a Ravin and they are killing machines but yet here you are unable to find your deer. A lot of hunters are unknowingly tracking a liver or gut shot deer immediately after the shot because they are inticed by the sight of blood. When that happens you’re pushing your buck because the sepsis hasnt weakend him yet and he may just run for a couple miles.

When you start your track and the blood trail is not so obvious you have some tough choices to make. Remember time is on your side. Dont be afraid to delay your track if needed. Be patient. Call a tracker for advice and don’t be embarrassed to call for a dog. Every hunter should get to experience a dog track a buck at least once in their lifetime. It’s pretty amazing to watch. Good luck hunters.