Desha (2026)

04/03/2022

Desha got a new collar today!

08/11/2021

We were on a track in Hooksett when I got the message for this track. Told the hunter I was in the middle of a track and would get back to him. On the way back home I pulled over and made the call.
This hunter had shot this buck with his crossbow. The bolt had exited the deer, but only enough for it to snap off the business end of it. The rest was believed to be in the deer. Wisely, he had waited an hour before following up on the shot. He knew this was a big deer and didn’t want to blow it. He was able to find blood and begin tracking it. But blood soon turned to drops and then nothing. He tracked for well over 100 yards before losing blood. But as it approached neighboring property, and not wanting to just blind search, he decided to call in a dog tracker. It turns out I was going to be passing right by this piece of woods on my way back home, but he was almost an hour away. We decided to give it the night and return first thing in the morning. In the meantime he was able to get permission from the landowner to track on the property as well. Perfect!
We met first thing this morning and he went over the shot with me, as well as what he had done so far. He thought it would be best to pick up the track down the line where he had lost blood. As we walked towards where last blood was, Desha suddenly became very interested in something. The hunter indicated we had at least another 50 yards or more to where he wanted to head in and head towards where he lost blood. Well, I know my dog, and I let her work. It took just a few seconds for me to find blood.
“Did you track this deer over this way”, I asked.
“Nope”, he replied, “I never made it to this driveway”.
“Well I’ve got blood right here and the dog says we follow it”, I told him.
So off we went. Desha tracked for another 100+ yards, down towards a brook. She started to cross it, but instantly came back. Then she started away from the brook and soon got “drifty”. I knew she was trying to figure this one out. There was a spot along the way where this buck had obviously paused for a bit. The blood on the ground indicated that. I told the hunter I was gonna bring her back to that spot and start her again. We made a wide swing as to not interfere with any scent, and started her again. This time she dragged me straight to the buck. It had laid down to die right in the water. We actually passed right by it initially, but the blood trail had gone further. This buck either just milled around in this area first, or completely backtracked on itself and laid down. The blood trail went past this buck at least another 30-40 yards that I was aware of. I couldn’t believe the sheer size of this buck! A true giant. Nothing more pleasing as a tracker to be able to holler over to the hunter and tell him, “we found your buck”. As always, I turn to the hunter to shake his hand and congratulate him on his deer. And what a deer it was. After watching him struggle a little while gutting with a dull knife, I offered my assistance if he wanted it. He quickly obliged. I gut it out for him, then waited with his deer as he returned to the trucks for his jet sled. So glad he had one. The landowner further helped us by allowing us the use of his 6 wheel ATV to drag the sled once we got it close enough to hook on to it. The hunter tried helping with the drag, but I quickly realized I might just make easier work of it if I wrapped the rope around my shoulders and went to work. I’ve never dragged a deer so heavy in my life. We managed to get it out to the truck, and the 3 of us, landowner included, muscled it into the back of his truck. A heavy horned 8 pointer weighing in at 228 pounds!

12/10/2021

Me and my boys were a little more than a half an hour into stacking some firewood this morning when I received a message. A hunter had shot a deer this morning, locally. He had bumped a deer as soon as they parked to go hunting, but was able to track it slowly on the wet ground and get a shot. Although he felt he got a good shot off, the deer didn’t run far, and he was able to get a second shot off. From the ground, mind you! After seeing white hair from the first shot, he decided it was best to back off for a while. He hooked up with his buddy and went back in a while later. After bumping the deer from a bed, they decided to back out again and called me. They had heard coyotes howling first thing this morning and were worried about leaving it too long, but were also worried about pushing it. We decided to get back on it almost 3 hours after his original shot and track. I figured if it was a liver shot, it would probably be dead. If it was guts, then maybe we could get close enough for another shot.
No sooner did we get to the area he had shot this deer, Desha was already air scenting. Her nose kept going back to the ground, but would always turn back up to the air. I had a good feeling this deer was close. As Desha chose her path, the hunter indicated to me that the deer had held close to the banking, over his way, as it ran. But Desha’s body language told me she already had this one pegged. Just seconds later I was on a blood trail that was quite impressive. I knew it would be just a short moment before we’d be on this deer. I was right! Just up ahead I saw that telltale white belly on the ground.
“I see your deer”, I shouted over to the hunter.
But just as I did, I saw the deer move. It wanted to get up, but it wasn’t happening.
“Hold on”, I said, as I raised my hand to motion them to stop.
“She’s still alive”.
Desha had just about made it to her at the end of her 30’ lead. She saw that deer, but her recall is stellar, and she came right back to me with a soft “come” command.
The hunter came over to me and we discussed what to do next. With an uprooted tree just in front of the deer, he was able to slowly approach and put a final shot in her to end this track.
This is another classic example of a hunter making wise choices after the shot. Knowing to back off, as hard as it is to do at times, can make all the difference sometimes. Pushing them makes it harder to find them. Backing out and giving them time can allow them to bed down and not get back up, allowing you to approach them for another shot. I was very impressed with how these two young men handled themselves in the woods today. Before I ever showed up, and after I was there to help them. I was also very impressed when his buddy decided he had enough of dragging that deer, and was just gonna carry that deer out, instead. He threw that deer over his shoulder and marched right out. Not an easy task. I tip my hat to them both today. Well done men.

09/10/2021

Got a call from a buddy as soon as I got home from hunting tonight. He said he had shot a big doe. Had a great broadside shot with good blood, but after 150 yards or so, and more than an hour gone by, he decided to back out. He had tracked this doe to the back of a nearby farm. Backing off seemed to make sense. I told him we could easily assume 2 things by what he had told me. He didn’t get a double lung shot, and, he didn’t get a heart shot. Both of those scenarios would have killed the deer by now. What he would have to hope for now was a liver hit, and/or a gut shot. His arrow didn’t show signs of a gut shot, so the liver shot was on the table. I told him we should give her a little time. That would also allow me to get something to eat, and, to wash off the hen of the woods mushrooms I just brought home. We met up about an hour and a half later and I followed him to that farm. He had already checked in with them and got permission to continue the track.
I got Desha ready and we headed in to where he backed out. He pointed out a spot where the deer had obviously stopped for a moment before continuing on.
“This is where I decided to back out”, he told me.
“Yep, she definitely stopped here for a bit, then kept going”, I told him.
“You didn’t track past this point”, I asked him to confirm.
“Nope, not at all”, he answered.
“Perfect”, I thought to myself. This is where us trackers love to get started. Fresh ground where no one else had yet walked. I gave Desha the “find it” command, although she was already tracking. I swapped up my headlamp for my tracking light and started on. Well we went maybe 20 yards and Desha had that deer. Neither of us could believe it. The way the deer was laying against a fence had us wondering if she was still alive, but she was dead. Probably had been for more than an hour I would guess. Considering all that had transpired to this point, I understand his decision to back off. An hour had passed since the shot and he’d tracked over 150 yards to the back of a farm. No need to push it any further. Best to give the deer a little time. It was either that, or Doug just wanted to see Desha again. 😂 You see, Doug Whitcomb is the guy I got Desha from as a puppy! And to be able to track a deer for him with her was great! Even if it was a short one, and probably our shortest ever. I got a great dog from a great guy and this track brought it all full circle.
* Doug took the deer off the farm to gut it and called me after gutting the deer to confirm our suspicions. His shot destroyed the liver, and, clipped one of her lungs.

02/10/2021

This morning the plan was to let the sun come up, then hit the woods to still hunt to a couple cameras. I wanted to move a couple of them around as action has been slow. I brought my chair with me to do a few sits along the way. But, as luck would have it, just like last time, I got a call for a track. The hunter shot this buck at 6:30 this morning and believed he had a liver shot. He tracked for a bit and came across a couple wound beds. It was now 8:30am. I told him to mark last blood and back out. No need to push this deer any further. We needed to let this deer lay down and die. I told him that I was moving some cameras, and when I got done I would get back ahold of him and put the dog on it. It was 10:30 when I finally got back to my house. 4 hours after the shot. It would be another half hour or so to get over to him. We’d be looking at nearly 5 hours after the shot for a suspected liver shot. Perfect!
When we reached the hunter, he told me now he believed he hit guts. His arrow seemed to indicate the same. We headed in to his tree stand location to begin the track. Desha dragged us right to his stand and was tracking this deer right away. She dragged us past the first wound bed and was pulling hard. I felt real good about this one. We got past the hunters last blood he marked and then Desha brought us down to a wet, swampy area and dragged me through water for a little ways, then came right out of the water as the track hooked around. I had a feeling this deer wouldn’t be far and I was right. I was looking ahead as we went and spotted the buck laying on the ground.
“Found your deer”, I hollered back to the hunter. Him and his buddy were elated as they made their way over to me. As I turned back around to the deer I realized it was still alive. It managed to get back to it’s feet, very wobbly, and charge Desha with it’s antlers! It drove her to the ground as the buck tried to fend off the dog. I called Desha off and the buck just stood there. I told the hunter I was going to dispatch, as I pulled my pistol from my pack and shot the buck. It was clear the hunter had gotten a gut shot on this deer. Total track was probably 350 yards.

22/09/2021

With the day off from work I decided I’d do some still hunting with my recurve, along with some scouting, as I poked along checking some game cameras. I had one camera I knew needed new batteries. Well, I was just about to reach my first camera when a call came in for a track. This hunter had shot a buck last night, at last light, as he was exiting the woods. He felt pretty certain he heard his arrow hit a branch after the shot. After finding his arrow he believed he had a gut shot and decided to back out immediately. He did return later that evening to see what other sign he could find. Other than a few drops of blood near where the arrow was found, he had nothing to go on. A friend of his advised him he may want to call in a dog tracker. I told the hunter I was in the woods hunting but would pull out to give him a hand. We met up a little while later and he went over the shot again with me in the woods. With no blood to be found, all we had to go on was the initial direction he believed the deer went. Desha took up the track, but began to pull off to the side immediately. The hunter felt pretty certain the deer had continued down a certain trail, so I pulled Desha off and restarted her from where the arrow was found. Without a hitch, Desha took the same route she did when we began and led us off to the left once again. Her nose was in the air right away on this one and I felt certain this deer was close by. As I looked up I could see the class VI road we drove in on, and as I started to think, “This deer hooked around and crossed the road”, I saw the buck laying on the ground just this side of the stonewall.
“We found him”, I hollered to the hunter and he couldn’t believe it. We drove right past this deer on the way in. This deer had expired some time in the early morning as it was just starting to stiffen up. This is another perfect example of backing out on a gut shot deer and giving it time to die, rather than pushing it all over the place. We never found a drop of blood on this one, and the direction this deer decided to take was not the direction it appeared to have taken off in. Actually, it was the complete opposite.

19/09/2021

So much goes into a hunt. But what you do after the shot just may be more important than everything else.

Got a call last night for a track. The hunter had shot this deer just before dark. He recovered his arrow right away. It was soaked in blood, but also has evidence of an absolute gut shot. He decided to back off immediately and return more than an hour later. He then tracked blood through a short section of woods (less than 100 yards) which led to a field, bordered by more woods and power lines straight across, and a swamp/bog off to one side. Again, he decided it was best to back out and not attempt to track any further in the dark. Very wise choice.
Desha took up the track at 8am this morning. She immediately led us to the field edge. She searched a small mound of brush in the field but led us out of it. She began her search in the grass going back and forth, but went right back to that mound. It was clear this deer had went here first. Again Desha led us out of it. She knew she had scent in there and wanted to start herself over. This time she led us back to the field edge, confirming the track as she went. When she picked her spot to leave the field and towards the bog, I just knew we were on the right track. She went down a hill and into a thick, brushy swamp. Lots of water in there with all the rain we have gotten. 50-60 yards in she found the buck laying on a hummock. The deer had eventually passed away over the evening and we were able to find it in short time. If this hunter had pushed this deer last night, who knows how far into that swamp/bog this deer may have gone. We started this track at 8am and I was back in my truck headed home by 8:30.
This track serves as a perfect example of what should be done after a shot like this. As hard as it may feel to pull out of the woods instead of continuing to track, it is always the best decision you can make if you want to find your deer. He never would have found it last night, and without a dog, this one very well may have never been found and gone to waste.

06/09/2021

And the season starts once again!

Soaked but stoked!!!

Got a message last night for a track. Hunter had shot a bear with his bow on a bait site. I was hunting with my son at the moment, so I told him I’d be back in touch when we got out of the woods.

After speaking with the hunter, and a couple other guys involved with this hunt, we decided it was best to take the track up in the morning. They had waited 45 minutes before pursuing the bear. After following blood, and marking the trail, for about 100 yards, they decided to pull off the track and call for a dog tracker. The rain had started and darkness was setting in. This bear headed straight into one of the thickest, wettest, muckiest swamps we’ve ever been in. It turned out to be a very wise choice.

Met the hunter and a couple friends this morning and headed in to the bait site. Once we got on the toilet paper trail they had left while tracking, and she got a good whiff of the scent we were after, Desha never wavered. She pulled hard from the get go with determination, and even though the majority of the time I could not see her (yes, it was that thick!), I was liking what I was seeing. This bear headed west initially, but soon hooked to the south. I had a good feeling about everything when this happened. A bear hit well doesn’t go far before hooking around. Desha found this bear less than 150 yards from where the hunter pulled out last night. The bear was still alive, but unable to move away when I approached. I dispatched the animal and congratulated the hunter on his first filled tag ever. Having extra hands on scene to help get this bear out of this mess was a blessing. Perfect way to start the tracking season. A tough track, but a successful one, and definitely one where a dog was possibly the only hope in finding, and not wasting , this bear.

16/10/2020

Opening day I left my tree stand to take a track. Hunter felt good about the shot, but was having no luck with the recovery. Upon arriving at the hit site, Desha immediately wanted to take us in the opposite direction the hunter believed his deer went. We entertained his theory, but it yielded no blood or any other confirmation. I told the hunter we should let Desha take her initial track. We found blood shortly after. We took the track a short ways, but I had a feeling this buck wasn’t hit fatality, and a recovery wouldn’t be likely. Weeks after this track I received a trail camera photo confirming our suspicions. Doesn’t happen often, but always a bonus when it does.

20/09/2020

Very special!

My morning began in a treestand on the side of a mountain. I had 4 does come through my set up early on, but as the last doe made her way past me, my phone rang. Once I knew the doe had moved on I checked my phone. I had a voice mail from NH Fish & Game CO Nick Masucci. He was with 2 other hunters who were trying to recover a deer that had been shot last night. He wasn't going to be able to help much longer and was wondering if I could be available. He left me the hunter's name and number, so I gave them a call.
After a conversation with them it was determined that this man's son had shot a deer last night with a crossbow. His son seemed certain he had hit it, but they never found the arrow, or any blood. They looked last night until dark, then again this morning, but still had found nothing. I asked if they were hunting from a treestand (thinking the arrow might be in the deer because the angle of the shot from the tree usually produces an arrow), but the father replied, "No. My son is disabled. No getting up in a tree for him". The father knew I was out hunting and told me he was gonna look some more then get back ahold of me. Well, I knew right away there was no way I was staying in that tree. So, I packed up my things, descended the tree, and made my way back to my truck, which was more than a mile away. When I got to the truck I called the father back to tell him I was on my way.
I met them roadside, called in the track, then headed into the woods to the hit site. On the way they told me how they had brought the crossbow over to Morse's to have it sighted in. It wasn't shooting right. But after Randy got ahold of it, this thing was firing darts they said. When we got to the hit site they gave me a very detailed, play by play, of the entire hunt. Perfect! This young hunter knew exactly where the deer was standing when he shot at it, and again, was very determined that he knew he hit it. He told me where the deer ran to and the last place they saw it. I brought Desha over and she went right to work, only she began to lead me off to the left from where they believed the deer went.
"Is she on it", the father asked as we headed away from where he instructed us.
"She's got wind of something", I told him. "We can always come back and start her over if we need to".
By the way Desha was tracking I felt pretty good about letting her take this route. She had already locked on to the scent she likes. I offered a little resistance to her leash to test her, but she was having no part of it. That's when I knew it was on. Desha tracked for maybe another 50 yards or so when I spotted the deer. The smile that formed on my face must have been big! It almost hurt to smile that hard, but it felt good.
"Hey Dylan", I hollered over my shoulder. "Why don’t you come over here and get your deer, son".
Neither of them could believe it!
"Really?", Dylan exclaimed, "You found her?"
He rushed over, along with his father, and the look of excitement on their faces was priceless. Pure hunting gold! This young hunter, 13 years old, with challenges he faces every day, had just shot his first deer, and we were standing over it. It's hard to explain what a moment like this must have felt like for them, but it was obvious. The father has never shot a deer himself, but here he was with his son who had just shot his first. I talked him through the gutting process and he did a fine job. Dylan was such a polite, well-mannered, very appreciative young man, who, thanked me over and over.
"Thank you sir for coming out to help us".
"Thank you sir for finding my deer".
If he didn't thank me more than 20 times, he didn't thank me once.
I'm not one for being called sir. Never have been. But I have never felt more respected, and appreciated, by such a fine young man as I did today.
While we gutted the deer I noticed it wasn't a doe afterall, but rather a button buck. Dylan's excitement started up all over again knowing he had just shot a buck! He asked if he could drag his deer out. He really wanted to. So his father said sure and allowed him to start. He dragged it as far as he could, then his dad took over.
This was such a feel-good moment for everyone this morning and I felt very blessed to be a part of it. Very special, indeed!

19/09/2020

Got up at 4am for a morning hunt, but also to a message from a hunter who had shot a buck at 6:30 last night. He found his arrow and knew he had a gut shot, so he backed out. He returned after midnight to find blood, which led to a wound bed, but the buck was not there. Being a wise hunter, he decided to back out again and message me.
I responded to the message immediately upon reading it. I let him know I had a morning hunt planned, but would pull out of the woods around 8am if he would like me to. He replied, "Absolutely". So, after my brief morning hunt I called him and we put a plan together to meet up.
Once again, we headed straight to the hit site, and once again, Desha was on the track without hesitation. She covered what took the hunter 2 hours to track in a mere 2 minutes. Once we got past the wound bed, (the last place the hunter had searched to), we were on "fresh ground", meaning no one had tracked beyond this point. Always something we as trackers like to know because there is no cross contamination of scent dispersed from those who have been searching. (Hunters pick up a lot more scent than they realize and spread it around). From here Desha never faltered. She pulled hard and led us another 150 yards or so. I soon realized we were approaching the back yards of a couple of houses. I had a feeling we would find this deer soon, especially by the way Desha's nose came off the ground and was now air-scenting this track. Sure enough, as we went up this banking and into a back yard, there was the buck laying beside a man made pond behind someone's house.
This was a textbook track, largely due to the hunter doing everything right after the shot. He read the sign on his arrow right, he backed out and returned several hours later. Then, after realizing he bumped it from a wound bed, marked the spot and backed out again.

17/09/2020

A Successful Track

Got a call today from a hunter who had shot a buck at 6:40pm last night. He felt the shot was high, and wasn’t too confident about the outcome. He tracked blood for a short while and found the front half of his arrow. It didn’t look good and he decided to back out for the evening. He returned in the morning to discover a wound bed less than 100 yards from where the buck was shot. He also discovered dry blood leading away from the bed, indicating the buck had gotten up last night and moved on. He was able to track just a short while longer before losing blood. It appeared the animal had crossed a tar road and the hunter had no idea where it went from there. This is when the hunter decided to call in a dog.
I was at work when I received the call, and after a conversation with the hunter about what happened, I told him I’d be back in touch when I got off from work. I got out at 1pm and we made arrangements to meet up. We went to the hit site and Desha immediately took to the track. This track is now 20 hours old, mind you. She led us past the wound bed and to the road. A 3-way intersection. This would be our first challenge. I led Desha down one side of the road, hoping she’d pick up the track on the other side. No dice in that direction. I decided to bring her back to the wound bed and start over. This time she really focused on the track and led us to the other side of the intersection. She checked the side of the road down a ways, then turned around and came up the other side of the road. I could tell she knew the deer had gone this way, she was just trying to figure it out. Then she hit it, and she dragged us up this steep banking and into an overgrown cut. This is where the intensity really picked up. I felt certain the buck had gone this way just by the way she was tracking. Desha intensely began a grid search of sort as she went back and forth, and all around, desperately trying to work this one out. Her nose was “clicking” and if any of you have a working lab, you know exactly what I’m talking about. After searching this area hard she eventually nailed it and off we went. She dragged us down into this thick cover. It was all I could do to keep up. Eventually she led us out of that mess and back into the cut about 70 yards further up. The way she was pulling I knew we were on it, but what I didn’t expect to see was fresh blood. Remember, this deer was shot 20 hours ago. Blood leading out of the wound bed this morning was dry. This blood was as fresh as it gets. I relayed this to the hunter and we decided to take a break and think this over. We were definitely tracking a live deer now. A hot track as I call it. We had yet to see or hear the buck take off. After a 10 minute break, we decided to continue on, in hopes of laying eyes on him to better judge the injury. With the command “find it”, Desha was right back at it. We tracked this buck for several hundred more yards, with drops of blood confirming the track, but never once saw it. We stopped again after a while. This buck was definitely highly mobile, and considering the path it was taking, was easily staying ahead of us and moving further away. We decided this buck was not fatally hit and would most likely recover from this shot. I called the track off.
A successful track is not decided by the recovery of the animal necessarily, but rather by what you learned as a result of the track. It appears this buck will live to see another day, and knowing that can help the hunter have some closure. Pulling the dog off a track such as this is not an easy thing to do. I hate having to do it because it’s confusing to the dog. She did not want to stop tracking, and I’m certain she couldn’t figure out why we did. She’ll be ready for the next one.

Desha