The adventures of Elkie

Just returned from a 600 mile round trip to recover this "HOSS", that we estimated at 300+ pounds!



The hunter was shooting 70# compound with a Rage Point. The shot entered the neck and exited high on the shoulder catching one lung. We had good blood for 500 yards until the buck jumped a fence into CRP. There were loads of deer in the area so several restarts were required for Elkie to lead me 200 yards without blood, to the heaviest buck I have ever laid eyes on!





Elkie is the sweetest little dog and the hunter enjoyed petting her before the track, but now this buck belongs to Elkie, so the hunter is intentionally on the opposite side of the buck from Elkie who is not happy about her deer being touched!
 
Elkie scores again. This buck had been tracked by four people and a Black Lab last night, before the hunter called. The buck was hit with a Rage, behind the last rib, with the arrow angling forward. The hunter thought he had a double lung.

I met the hunter at Sunrise, expecting a quick/easy track, but Elkie had a difficult time because of the grid search and the Lab, so we marked blood with flagging tape and restarted Elkie over and over, slowly advancing the track, from one flag to the next, until Elkie got through the area that was grid searched, and then is was off to the races! Elkie and I out distanced the hunter and his significant other. I knew that I was looking for a dead buck because I saw where blood sprayed, indicating a lung shot, but the arrow didn't pass through, and visible blood ended after about 250 yards.

Elkie was pulling hard with me running behind as fast as I could negotiate the woods while hanging onto the leash. We had covered 450 yards when we ran up on a live buck! Elkie was smart enough to stay back, until the hunter arrived and dispatched it. The arrow was still in the buck and the rage had cut guts, liver and one lung.


Happy hunters and a growling dog.

 
Aggression on deer is pretty commonplace among Most of the European teckels I have seen. As long as that is the only place the dog shows aggression, and the dog is able to be safely placed at "sit" so that the deer can be handled I advise giving them a pass. Aggression in any other venue should not be tolerated.
 
By the way...interesting "double lung" shot. Most of the hunters I get calls from claim double lung shots. My first reply is typically, "if you hit it through both lungs we wouldn't be on the phone right now." Sometimes they take offense, but experience doesn't lie...hunter's do ( or are at least overly optimistic in their shot placement). My next question is "Well, if you may have been off a little do you think it would have been too high, too low, back a little, or forward a bit?" Occasionally that gets me a more accurate assessment.
 
Flyfixer said:
Congrats to Elkie! That is a massive deer:eek:
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After it was caped, the head, antlers, and cape weighed about 80 pounds. I wanted the hooves, which were sawed off about a foot above the hoof. The four hooves weighed about 10 pounds, if not more!

Unfortunately, the meat had spoiled, and the hunter bowed his head and said a small prayer to respect a great buck, in large part because it had to be left for coyotes. The hunter honored the buck in a spiritual way, as many hunters do. Elkie was called from one corner of Missouri to the other, because the hunter felt that he owed it to the buck!
 
jlane35 said:
Was she always aggressive after finding a deer? Or is that something new for her?
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Elkie always greets hunters and seeks attention, until she finds HER deer, and then Elkie growls if anyone touches HER deer. After the deer is removed Elkie is back to being a sweet little dog. I want Elkie to be possessive, because it drives her to find her next deer.
 
outdoorstom said:
Does her aggression bother you?
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Not at all, and I don't discourage it. I want Elkie to track with a reward in mind, and she claims the reward as her own. After Elkie has done her thing and had her fun, I tie her leash to a nearby tree so she further desires what she can't have.
 
Doctorbrady said:
By the way...interesting "double lung" shot. Most of the hunters I get calls from claim double lung shots. My first reply is typically, "if you hit it through both lungs we wouldn't be on the phone right now." Sometimes they take offense, but experience doesn't lie...hunter's do ( or are at least overly optimistic in their shot placement). My next question is "Well, if you may have been off a little do you think it would have been too high, too low, back a little, or forward a bit?" Occasionally that gets me a more accurate assessment.
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Don't forget to ask if a dog has already been used, and how many people searched for the deer? After the track has been 100% adulterated, hunters typically expect to see wonders from a trained tracking dog, and are disappointed when the dog is confused. Then, when the dog finally breaks into the open on a clear track, beyond human and farm dog scent, hunters are typically searching for blood 100's of yards away, when Elkie finds the deer. Sometimes I wonder if Elkie and I have been abandoned, as hunters can barely hear me hollering when Elkie finds the deer.
 
I just got a typical Missouri tracking call (actually a text). "How much dontou cost to track a deer with your dogs?" When I asked when he shot the deer he said "4 days ago. I will let you know if we need you. We are going to look one more time."
Part of the problem here is the complete lack of understanding regarding blood tracking. It amazes me that people actually believe that we have a chance at recovering a deer 4 days later after a half dozen people run over the track 100 times.
 
Doctorbrady said:
I just got a typical Missouri tracking call (actually a text). "How much dontou cost to track a deer with your dogs?" When I asked when he shot the deer he said "4 days ago. I will let you know if we need you. We are going to look one more time."
Part of the problem here is the complete lack of understanding regarding blood tracking. It amazes me that people actually believe that we have a chance at recovering a deer 4 days later after a half dozen people run over the track 100 times.
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All my tracks have been adulterated, if I didn't take them I'd never get a track! We need to educate hunters, if that's possible. It's very seldom that hunters blame themselves, and it's normal for hunters to expect the dog to perform a miracle, or there's something wrong with the dog, and that's come to be expected!

So far this year Elkie has been on three tracks where another dog preceded her, to include a German Shorthair, a Dachshund, and a Lab. Somehow, Elkie has been able to make recoveries anyway.
 
But whoever makes a bad shot and immediately thinks they need to call in a tracker? I think the tracking calls y'all get are to be expected (ok, not the 4 day old one). Most hunters I know will search for hours before giving up...how will you know if you need a tracker if you don't get out there and try to find you own deer first?

You don't need to train hunters how to track deer....they need to be trained how to shoot better.
 
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