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Best Effort Recovery and Bloodhounds, Flat Rock, IL (2026)

03/16/2026

Super excited to receive this message this morning.

01/15/2026

Hunter: Hey, I shot a buck and hit him in the leg. I saw it swinging as he ran off. He has good blood trail for a while but then we lost it. Also my buddy shot a doe and hit her a bit too far back. We didnt realize she was hit till we started tracking the buck the evening after the doe was shot in the morning.

I figured the doe was probably dead and needed to be recovered before morning. The buck however would need a follow up shot and should be tracked in day light. I agreed to come track the doe then determine if it's worth coming back to track the buck in the morning.

The doe didn't take long to recover but we found her in a massive scent pool with blood evidence in places that just didn't make sense to me. She had found a final testing place in a fallen treetop and was hard to see.

Having recovered the doe we started tracking the buck. At last blood Pixie made a left turn and headed along the ridge toward where we had found the doe. She continued till we were right back in that large scent pool with blood going every which way. As we tried to solve the puzzle every path led us back to the doe. Finally after having tried everything else I decided to make a large circle around the area. I didn't take long before Pixie locked onto a track and showed me fresh blood headed south into fresh territory. A few minutes later I saw the buck get up and continue his course to the south. We got permission to track on that neighbor's ground after he was done hunting the following day and made arrangements to continue the track.

The next day we met again and talked with the hunting neighbor as he was leaving. He told us he had found the blood trail on his way out of the woods and told us where we could find it if we wanted to. I opted to continue from the last known spot just to be sure we are on the correct deer. There was still some snow on the ground that weekend so we could see that the neighbor had walked on the blood trail on his way back from his stand and didnt even realize it till he was almost back to the truck and noticed some heavier bleeding. This thankfully didn't pose a problem and we located the buck only 50 ish yards from the blood we had been told about. My hunter was right next to me as I had instructed him to be and got another bullet into the deer as he tried to slip away from us. Another buck in the truck and more meat in the freezer.

12/29/2025

This hunter saw some bucks fighting and took the opportunity to put a stalk on them. They were in a field of waist high grasses and the deer that was shot disappeared immediately. The hunter expected to find him in the area he had shot him but couldn't find a thing when he investigated. Upon our arrival we made our way to the shot sight. Pixie sniffed around a bit then found the edges of the war zone and worked it till she found an exit and a dead deer a short distance away. I didn't see a drop of blood on this track but it doesn't always take blood to be successful.

12/10/2025

We've finally told all the successful stories before firearm season.

The first track for Firearm season was a success. The deer was shot with a 350 Legand. The blood trail was ok but we were having a light rain and the deer decided to cross a cut corn field. Blood was mostly washed away. Pixie locked onto a track quickly and headed across the corn field showing me one drop of blood. At the other side we crossed a drainage ditch and found him tucked into the underbrush. This was the first deer for this young lady. Im glad we were able to end her first experience positively.

12/09/2025

Rain and a shot just as the deer took a step required a tracking dog. We were busy all night and I decided to get this one before showing up at work. Pixie caught his wind on the way in and had us to him in just a few minutes. The easy ones are a treat.

12/02/2025

I'll remember this deer as The Grudge Match Deer.

He was shot on a Saturday morning, quartered to and as he ran off the young hunter and his dad saw the belly had been slit open. It wasn't terribly far from home and these usually expire fairly quickly so I decided to attempt a recovery late Saturday evening. Well, I never found a bed but it soon became obvious we were on the track of a live deer. He left the thicket he was in and crossed some mowed grass and a gravelled road before entering a woods. I marked the spot and made arrangements to come back Sunday evening. Now 36 hours after the shot Pixie took to the track and followed it with authority. Through the woods, down an atv trail, up a hill into some treetops where I thought for sure we would find a bed. No such luck. He kept right on going till he crossed a tilled field and entered the third section of woods. In this section we finally found his bedding spot right next to the creek, but again he had just vacated the area. Pixie was at the end of her lead barking to let me know our target was on the move. We had fresh blood headed up the creek toward a shallow pond. I decided to retreat and tack up the track on Monday evening.This deer was showing way more life than he should have been. Monday evening we headed up the creek. As I passed a water hole I noticed it was very bloody more than he would have left as he ran by the evening before. Sure enough he headed straight to the pond and bedded on the far side. Pixie started acting confused at this point and made several checks around the whole pond. As I followed her i noticed the second bed on the near side and eventually noticed blood going left and right at the point of entrance. Now I remembered the waterhole, the deer had obviously back tracked. I slowly worked Pixie back down the creek till we found an exit, the third bed, and finally his route out of the maze. With very little blood to confirm our track we traveled across a hayfield, followed a dry creek, wound through some thick cover and ended up in an old farm junk yard. Here I found myself standing on some stock panels looking at a wound bed right next to them as I was waiting on Pixie to advance deeper into the bush honeysuckle ahead of us. The rope didn't get tight and she was out of sight so I advanced to see what the issue was. Well Duh! She had him! A total of 2 3/8 miles and 60 hours of waiting to get this young man his first deer.

11/28/2025

Jay Wilson shot this nice buck. He allowed himself to be talked into tracking sooner than he wanted to and ended up bumping the deer out of his bed. I was fairly confident it was a liver hit from what he told me so this made sense and I was more than happy to help him out. Pixie made short work of the track and found him across the field and down in the thick stuff beyond. Congratulations Jay. Thanks for the call.

11/26/2025

After a string of non recoveries and miles of tracking this track was a breeze. This liver hit deer made a couple beds then headed off in an unknown direction. The hunters decided to call me and let Pixie solve the problem. After a short walk to the blood trail, I harnessed Pixie and started my tracker. Pixie got to work and I was just settling in expecting an 800 yard to a mile long track. To my relief it was over almost as soon as it started and we found him 188 yards from where we started.. Any time in November a quick track is welcome. That translates to a few more moments of sleep.

11/24/2025

Interesting observation over the weekend.

I tracked 8 deer for the first firearm season here in Illinois. We recovered two, jumped two and the rest didnt seem to be hurt enough to slow them down a whole lot. They were all shot with either a 350 legend or a 20 gauge. Very little visible blood on the track on any of them. Coincidence? Perhaps. Again just an interesting observation.

11/22/2025

This track was close to home so I decided to do it on my way to work. Straight forward track for about 3/4 mile. We found him dead in his second bed.

11/21/2025

Public Service announcement!

If your deer drops like a sack of potatoes tomorrow, shoot him again as soon as possible. Don't risk him recovering from spine shock, and leaving you broken hearted.

11/20/2025

Allen Evans took a shot atvthis fine deer and hit him low in the chest. The blood trail was massive but confusing when the buck decided to fiddle around in a 25 yard circle. Allen and his hunting partner were unable to determine the deers direction of travel and decided to call me. I didn't have high expectations of recovering the deer going in. Given the location of the shot and the massive blood lose I knew there was a chance. Pixie figured out the puzzle and tracked to a distant field. Here she seemed to loose the track with the bare dirt, wind, and snow we were dealing with that morning. I decided to walk the edge of the woods to the road and then the road followed another edge of timber back toward the truck. I figured Pixie would be able to recognize his scent trail if we crossed it. As we were walking down the road Pixie kept showing interest in the tall grass between us and the timber. At one point I saw 2 fawns jump out and leave. Perhaps that what was catching her attention. A short distance later Allen smelled a buck. Shortly after that Pixie committed to a line and I noticed fresh hoofprints in the snow, paired with a couple drops of blood. In no time Pixie was at the end of her rope yelping and begging me to let her go faster. I knew with the substantial blood lose we had a chance of wearing this deer down if we stayed with him. Sure enough just over a mile later we were able to seal the deal. Total track length was 2.1 miles. Fortunately he looped back and died close to the treestand he was shot from so the drag out was not bad at all. Congratulations Allen. Good girl Pixie.

Best Effort Recovery and Bloodhounds

03/16/2026

01/15/2026

12/29/2025

12/10/2025

12/09/2025

12/02/2025

11/28/2025

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11/20/2025

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