linden michigan

Local track in my home town of Linden (Southern Genesee county) 

  Last day of the youth hunt my young client had this buck quartering away with his head down feeding while he was hiding in a ground blind and the crossbow on a shooting sticks. What should have been a clean ethical kill turned into any hunters nightmare! The shot hit high rear rump with minimal penetration. At the time they had no idea the shot wasn't great until they replayed the video and that's when they realized the bolt hit a tiny twig redirecting the bolt. They sat quietly in the blind for over an hour before sneaking out. The blind is located in a cattail marsh so they cleared a lane for access. After several hours the figured the buck is dead or non-lethal. Their wasn't any blood at the shot site and multiple runs to check and it took some searching to find the first drop of blood and after that the blood trail was extremely easy to follow. At some point they had blood crossing over there original path and things got very confusing. So much blood it actually made it difficult to learn how the buck doubled backed on himself. This family has used my services in the past so they knew their best chances was to call me. Well the got online and pulled up facebook and made the call. Unfortunately my number is no longer listed on this facebook page and the tracker that answered was booked up and gave them advice that they must be close to the deer because of the high volume of blood and to go look in the morning during daylight and never gave out my number knowing we both lived in the same town! 

The following morning they searched and still couldn't figure out where the buck was so once again they got online and eventually found my contact info. It's Monday and I'm at work, hunter is in school and the dad is at work so it's a family friend that's trying to track this deer and find my number. Well after some time my info was found an arrangements were made and I showed up with Sypris. The blood trail was very impressive and I could tell by the pattern that an artery was hit. Sypris took us in a big loop through the cattail marsh and ended up back at the shot site! The buck must have passed by when they were sitting quietly in the blind or when they were tracking he got pushed back by the blind. Then the buck used the mowed access lane to leave the marsh crossing their back yard and going through the neighbor's yards! We eventually found the buck dead on a brushy hillside. I promise you no one would have ever thought to look in this spot, the neighbor wasn't a hunter so they never would have looked on this hillside and this young hunters buck would never been recovered!!! Unfortunately my young hunter was in school so we couldn't get pictures together. This buck ran 600 yards shot in the femoral artery. I can't help hunters if they don't have my number! 

If you know hunters in Genesee, Livingston, Shiawasse,Oakland, Lapeer,Tuscola counties please share my info with them. These are my local counties and ones I need to build a relationship with. I will travel wherever I'm needed and I have great relationship with other trackers that will help cover me when I'm unavailable. This is why the Michigan deer tracking network was built to ensure hunters can easily find help! 

Howell Michigan. Blood tracking dog.

12 gauge slug and the buck was 50 yards away and the slug destroyed the liver,1 lung and the paunch. Another tracking team tried the evening of the buck being shot with minimal success. 

  I was lined up to track in Byron and Sypris made quick work of a short track as the buck died in a swamp when my client thought the buck ran a slightly different direction. It's easy to do especially with other deer running away. 

 This morning was super high winds however there was moisture on the ground and that was the key for Sypris to be able to track. I was almost home when I got the call needing help in Howell. After a lengthy phone conversation I wasn't feeling confident especially when another dog had previously tried. I'm thinking if that dog didn't find the deer before last night storm and today excessive winds and this deer may not be dead! In most cases we never know where the slug hits the deer especially when the hunter isn't using a scope. I've helped a friend of a friend as I was referred to this client so I made it clear I can't promise anything and let's all hope for the best! 

 As always we start at the shot site and Sypris quickly takes the scent trail going the known hundred yards in just a few minutes and in the woods their still some residual blood. We get to the area where the previous dog struggled and I see Sypris go into search mode! She is circle and circle this area for over a half hour and indicating blood from time to time and I quickly learn this buck was trying bed down in this area and just couldn't find a safe spot. This is when a seasoned dog shines as she back tracked the scent trail and figured out where the buck double backed on his own trail and exited out of the woods heading north. Not the question is did the buck do this on his own or was he pressured by the trackers? Knowing the area I'm confident that the buck was pushed because the route he took was across cut fields with ZERO COVER! 

Is this typically of a dying deer or just a crippled deer is what I'm asking myself. 

 The only thing I can understand is it was his only option being pressured so he is in survival mode and when that happens his adrenaline is pumping. We go across a short grass field (100 yards) and she actually finds a nickel size spot of blood and I can tell my it's color that we are tracking a dying deer!! Now I'm getting very excited and confident that Sypris figured out what the other dog couldn't. Up ahead is a couple small field pot holes that contains farm equipment and brush so I'm praying he is laid up in one of them. Well he wasn't so now we cross two more cut cornfields and I'm watching Sypris nose hit in a faint track one for one and the wind is whipping 40+ mph and if I'm being honest it was probably 50+!

    I'm in disbelief and super impressed watching her do what she loves. When the come to a road and we cross it and now it's thick cover along with a power lines that been brush hog. We have gone a long ways and at this point I'm feeling very confident he will be dead in this area. Sypris enters the power lines and indicated blood and turns right and heads to another cut cornfield and started crossing it. I've spent years watching a dachshund "TRACK" and for the most part I know when she is locked on and when she is searching for scent. 

As we head across this field the wind is hitting her left side pushing scent away from her nose and she is struggling! I then start helping by following the same hoof prints she entered the field indicating on. We make it several hundred more yards to a creek we find blood along the creek and the deer then exited back to the field edge and now I'm getting frustrated. I'm thinking how in the hell has a deer shot in the liver, stomach by a 12 gauge slug gone this far and has yet to lay down. The field edge turns to the north and some tall yellow grass separates the cut cornfield and the creek and there lays my clients buck. What a warrior and what a performance by a 20 pound wiener dog and now my client is elated and overly thankful for our services.