10/27/2026
"River Buck"
I'll start by saying, I know many of you enjoy the stories. I lack in posting longer stories like I used to due to being much busier but this one deserves a read.
Get the call, shot the night before, pretty much broadside, deer runs off about 60 yards then stops and proceeds to slowly walk off. Hunter, Jesse's account is the buck appeared to be hunched up. He watched the arrow hit and when the buck took a step it looked further back. Hunter and buddy begin to track that night, find arrow which is broke nearly in half, missing the broadhead end. They track roughly 150ish yards and when it hits thicker cover they back out.
Willow and I arrive the next day around noon. Conditions are very tough with lack of rainfall and sunny/windy. The river bottom is dry and the tag alters the buck goes in are thick. We pick up the track and she slowly progresses the line. It wasn't pretty in fact it was pretty ugly but she made it to last blood. Once there we move at a snail speed in a direction I was very certain was the bucks path. It's so warm that Willow is over heating. She normally won't take water in a track but I've stopped 3 times just for water. She also is laying down on her own in the shaded areas. This is grueling....tough to watch.
It was mentally and physically draining. Not only me as the handler, but the hunter to was slowly loosing confidence in us, in the fact that he would recover his deer. As we took our 4th break I sat on a log, I looked at the map, trying to piece together a better game plan. Something that didn't involve Willow struggling in the thick nasty brush. I noticed about 70 yards ahead of us the tag alters quite and it opened up. The boat driver Steve knows this place in and out. He says it's possible to get in there and I tell them if we can use the wind to our advantage being on the down side we may be able to make this happen.
We make our way back to the boat, I throw Willow in the river to cool her down and we sit and relax for a bit. This calms her and definitely puts her back in a tracking status. We venture around the bend in the river and make our way to the opposite side. As we pile out of the boat I take a look at the map one more time and have a good idea where I wanna be. We begin our trek in.
As I get to the tag alters it's 5 foot tall grass and Willow can't even walk through it. At this point I'm carrying her till I get where I wanna be. Jeese has all but given up hope and kinda takes off on his own. That's ok I totally understand at this point his frustration. When I get to where I believe we have the best chance of picking this up I set Willow down. We kind just walk for a moment then we move 20 yards then another 20 yards and she goes bonkers. She jams her nose in the grass and begins frantically sniffing, then licking. I know this means she found blood, I rush over pick up grass and it blood soaks my hand, a wound bed!
Jesse is who knows where, Steve is walking back to the boat and Willow peels off into the jungle grass. I hurry and follow she stops again, another wound bed. As I'm trying to get my phone to call and tell them we are back on it I look up and the leash is slack, BINGO BABY WE GOT HIM!!
It was a wild and grueling track. Not the prettiest, not picture perfect, but in the end the buck got a ride on a boat.
Huge congrats to Jeese on his awesome public land dandy measuring 20 inches on the inside spread!
