09/04/2026
HOW DO YOU CHOOSE THE RIGHT DEER TRACKER?
Tracking dogs are becoming more popular every year, and that's a great thing for hunters and for wounded-deer recovery.
But with that growth comes something hunters need to understand:
Not all tracking experience is the same.
A page, a tracking vest, a GPS collar, and a few successful recoveries don't necessarily equal years of experience.
There are a lot of good new trackers getting started, and every experienced tracker was new once. We certainly were.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with being new.
The problem is when hunters aren't being told that a handler or dog is new and inexperienced.
When you're standing at last blood after shooting the biggest buck of your life—or when it's your child's first deer—you deserve to know the experience level of the person and dog you're trusting with that recovery.
So don't be afraid to ask questions.
Before choosing a tracker, ask:
• How many years have you been tracking?
• How many real tracks have you and this dog worked?
• How many tracks do you average each season?
• How many recoveries have you made?
• What's your recovery rate?
• Have you and your dog passed a recognized tracking test through United Blood Trackers or American Blood Trackers? What level?
Years alone don't tell the whole story.
Someone tracking 20 deer a year for 10 years has around 200 tracks. Someone going into their third year doing 100+ tracks a season may already have hundreds of real-world tracks.
Those repetitions matter. You see bad hits, grid searches, pushed deer, contaminated tracks, no-blood tracks, bad weather and strange deer behavior. Most importantly, you learn to read your dog. That relationship is built one track at a time.
And remember, a GPS collar doesn't equal experience. It's a great tool that tells you where your dog is. It doesn't teach you how to read that dog or solve a difficult wounded-deer track.
Be careful with extremely high recovery rates too. If you're taking all legitimate calls, sometimes the deer simply isn't dead. A dog can't recover a deer that wasn't fatally hit. Ask what kind of tracks they're actually taking—not just how many deer they're finding.
Check their page and reviews. Look beyond the professional advertisements. How long have they actually been tracking? Are you seeing years of difficult tracks and real experience, or just a handful of easy recoveries?
And when you see advertisements like “FREE TRACKING — YOUTH HUNT WEEKEND,” ask questions. Most trackers, including us, offer free youth tracking. That's a great thing, but free doesn't automatically mean experienced, and charging doesn't automatically mean experienced either.
We were new once too. When Oakley and I started, I made sure hunters knew we were learning. We didn't charge. How could I charge someone while I was learning my own skill?
Now, 10 years and more than 1,500 real tracks later, I understand how much experience matters.
This isn't about putting down new trackers. We need them. Every experienced tracker and every finished dog started at the beginning.
It's about being honest with hunters about where you and your dog are in that journey.
One last piece of advice: Don't wait until you need a tracker to find one.
Reach out now. Talk to them. Ask questions. Save their number and let them save yours. Ask who they recommend if they're unavailable.
Because when you're standing at last blood, that's not the time you want to start figuring out who has experience.
A professional-looking Facebook ad can be created overnight.
Experience can't.
When in doubt, call the hounds out!
989-992-9799
