On The Trail Deer Recovery

Merry Christmas from all of us On The Trail Deer Recovery. Wishing you a holiday filled with joy, laughter, and time well spent with family and friends. Stay safe and enjoy the season.

Happy Thanksgiving 🦃

We hope everyone enjoys a wonderful holiday filled with good food, great company, and safe travels. We’re truly grateful for the support and friendships we’ve built throughout the years Wishing you all a blessed and memorable day.

~Heavy rain after the shot~

I got a call this morning from a gentleman I’ve known my whole life. His grandson had taken a shot at a buck just after sunrise for youth day.

Right after the shot, the skies opened up and heavy rain moved in, making it almost impossible for them to advance the blood trail. They walked several runs looking for sign or the buck itself but came up empty.

Arrow and I arrived around 11 a.m. I started her at the hit site where a chunk of fat lay on the ground. She took one quick second to lock in… and then she was off.

Arrow never hesitated, never needed a self-check just nose down, tail up, and working with purpose.

A short distance ahead, I could see the buck laying there. Arrow closed out this 252 yard track in just 2 minutes and 38 seconds.

Huge congratulations to this young hunter on his Youth Day buck! Here’s to many more years of success in the woods.

“Starving Coyotes One Recovery At A Time”

Side note: If you reached out over the last two weeks and we weren’t able to personally assist, we truly apologize. We still made sure every hunter was connected with a tracker in their area so they had the best chance at recovering their deer.

If you find your self in need of help don’t hesitate to call or text us On The Trail Deer Recovery ☎️6094575904 anytime and we will do our best to put your deer on the tailgate.

🦌 ~ Welcome To The RUT ~ 🦌

I had a hunter reach out after making what he felt was a solid shot on a buck that was slightly quartering away at around 20 yards. After the shot, the hunter got down to inspect his blood-soaked arrow.

When his tracking team was available—about 3 hours later—they began following the trail and managed to advance roughly 150–160 yards before blood started to thin out. The hunter and his father made the smart call to back out.

After reviewing photos of the arrow and hit site, I advised the hunter to let the buck lay overnight.

Arrow and I arrived 17 hours post shot. I started her at the hit site, and she took her time before locking onto the line. Wasn’t long, and were following the ribbons the tracking team had left behind. Once we passed their point of loss, Arrow continued at a steady, confident pace.

As we moved through a small bowl, Arrow circled left about 10 yards wide — her classic “double-check.” (She’s a lefty, so when she loses and refinds the line, she always peels left.)

We pressed on through waist-high brush along the edge of pines and oaks, spotting the occasional drip of blood. Arrow went under a low holly tree — I thought it might’ve been a bed, but she cruised right through.

Roughly 850 yards in, I found what looked like a bed, though not one he stayed in long — minimal blood. We were now skirting swampy ground when Arrow began working more cautiously, circling twice before making a hard 90° right turn back toward higher ground. There, I found another bed — not much sign, but clear he’d laid there a while.

About 60 yards farther, we found another bed beside a scrape, this one with much more blood. As we discussed the sign and what kind of hit it might’ve been, Arrow suddenly made a sharp left, her excitement spiking. Her body language told me everything — she was close.

Just as I said, “Hey guys, we might want to back out,” Arrow dove toward the edge of some oak brush — and the buck exploded out of his bed! Arrow gave him the ol’ bloodhound bay while I reeled her in. The buck was hurt but still had some gas left. At that point, he was 1,320 yards from the hit site. We immediately backed out the opposite direction.

Seven hours later, we regrouped. The hunter mentioned we could access the area by a woods road, so we decided that would be best. As we pulled up in the truck, Arrow started getting excited before I even took her out of the truck. Once on the ground she went nuts nose working hard.

We walked a short distance to where the buck jumped in the morning. Arrow locked on immediately. Within no time she led us straight back to the front bumper of the truck I laughed as I spotted blood just two feet into the woods. “Arrow knew it the second we parked!” 🤣

She continued the line, leading us through a swamp along a creek. Soon she made a hard left, and into the creek we went. Everything was soaked, so I couldn’t see blood etc. I had to rely on her body language completely.

Just as we started breaking back into higher ground, she made a hard right turn and brought me straight to the buck, sprawled out in his final bed. He was still limber and warm.

This warrior traveled just shy of 1.1 miles (1,848 yards) from the hit site. Incredible how tough they are when the rut is on!

Huge congratulations to the hunter on a great buck — and I’m thrilled Arrow and I could help put him on the tailgate today.

“ Starving Coyotes One Recovery At A Time”

If you find your self in need of help don’t hesitate to reach out to us On The Trail Deer Recovery ☎️6094575904 call or text anytime.

We got one on the tailgate. 🦌

~ Jacked up on Testosterone ~

I was contacted by a hunter who had taken a 30 yard shot on a buck. The buck’s reaction confirmed to the hunter that the shot had connected.

After climbing down, he checked his bolt and was surprised to see very little blood just a faint, thin coating. He began tracking the buck but only made it a short distance before deciding to back out.

The next morning, he advanced the line about 125 yards from the hit site, where he found what looked like a bed. After that, he lost the trail completely.

Arrow and I arrived 22 hours post shot. She worked the line slowly, bringing us to the hunter’s point of loss. As she moved out of that area, we came to a small, overgrown woods road. There, I found a single dry speck of blood.

A short distance down the road, Arrow turned left back into the woods, heading toward a cedar swamp. Every now and then, I’d see a drip of blood on the ground just enough to confirm she was still on the buck.

As we followed the swamp’s edge, I found a spot where the buck had clearly stopped for a a brief minute, A small pool of blood right in the center of the trail. At this point, we were 632 yards from the hit site. Up until now, there hadn’t been any signs of heavy blood loss; this buck was just walking.

Ahead was a small oak flat with a low ridge running through it. Arrow began side-hilling the ridge, a South Jersey ridge (so not a big one 😄). Arrow worked the side hill until we got to the top where we found a scrape. When I looked closer, there was blood in the scrape and on the leaves. He had been standing there working it.

At that point, I thought, Man… where is this buck hit? and Do we even have a chance at recovering a buck that’s still making scrapes? 🤯

Arrow worked out of the scrape and back down the opposite ridge side. The hunter and I were talking as she worked through the laurels. I thought I heard Arrow whine, but when I looked up, she was calm and stead just doing her thing.

As I rounded a laurel bush about 25’ behind arrow. I could see the buck’s hind end. Arrow was only about 10 feet away when that joker jumped up, and Arrow gave him the ole deep Bloodhound bay.

He took off, and the lead was burning through my hand as I tried to lock it off. I pulled her back and told the hunter, “We’re out of here.”

There’s no way a buck that wasn’t wounded bad would just lay there and let us get that close. He just wasn’t ready to give up.

I told the hunter I’d be back at 8 a.m. the next morning, and he agreed.

The following morning, we were now around the 38 hour mark post shot. When the buck had jumped the day before, I hadn’t seen any obvious signs of where he was hit, and the bed didn’t have much blood either.

I brought Arrow back to that scrape and started her at a 90° angle. She immediately picked up the line and headed to the last known bed, which was 789 yards. When she hit that area, I watched her transition from a 38 hour old line to now only 16hrs old line. ( From the hit site to that bed the scent profile stayed the same. Now it’s a lot fresher ).

Her pace quickened but still steady, As we worked along the path the buck took the blood started to appear more frequently. The buck was walking again.

We came to a large blown down pine tree and Arrow went up to it, then circled back slightly before making a hard right turn.

Just ahead, I saw the buck lying in his bed this time, he didn’t get up.

He had covered 1,055 yards in total. The shot revealed a low, forward hit.

This time of year, bucks become absolute machines. When the rut’s in full swing, even a fatal hit may take longer to catch up with them.

If you shoot a buck during this time of year give it extra time unless you see him crash. Sometimes, he won’t even realize he’s fatally wounded until he just can’t go any farther.

Congratulations to the hunter on a great New Jersey buck!

If you find yourself in need of help don’t hesitate to call us at On The Trail Deer Recovery ☎️ 6094575904

“Starving Coyotes One Recovery at a Time”

on a side note the wife an kids had to come rescue arrow and me when the timing chain blew in the ranger in the morning. Good morning turned sh*tty real quick.

~ scent pooling ~

Last night, a hunter reached out after being referred to us by a fellow tracker. He explained that he was hunting public land when a buck came down the scrape line. When the buck presented a quartering-away shot, he took it.

The buck took off with the arrow, which appeared to be buried to the fletching. After getting down, the hunter searched the hit site for blood and hair but wasn’t able to find anything. He walked in the direction the deer ran and found a little blood before losing the trail.

Arrow and I arrived at first light, about 14 hours post-shot. I put her to work at the hit site. She led us to the hunter’s last blood, then continued on before making a hard turn down into a swale in the woods.

After the turn, I noticed a smear of blood on a small tree. As Arrow continued to work, we approached a patch of laurels. Just as we entered, she threw her nose in the air. I told the hunter to stay put, as I believed we were close and she was trapped in the scent pool. Which can happen on calm days in low ground.

Arrow backtracked slightly, sorted out the line, and tracked into the laurels. The buck had bedded inside the laurels. The shot placement was exactly as the hunter had described.

Congratulations to the hunter on his fall bow buck!

Don’t hesitate to reach out to us On The Trail Deer Recovery ☎️ 609 457 5904 if you need help tracking or have a question.

“ Starving Coyotes One Recovery At A Time “

We are tailgate bound. 🦌

~ The Grassy patch ~

This morning I got a call about a buck that had been shot the night before. The hunter took a 35 yard broadside shot and said the buck jumped up and took off after the shot. When he found his arrow, there was only a small drip of blood just outside the hit site, so he decided to back out.

At first light, the hunter and his buddy went back in to look. They found a blood trail and were able to follow it for roughly 75 yards before losing it. They admitted to doing some searching around before calling for help.

I told the hunter I could come out after finishing my first track of the day, and we agreed to meet around 2:30 p.m. Arrow and I arrived about 20 hours after the shot.

I put Arrow to work at the hit site, and she took the line out perfectly passing the hunters’ point of loss and showing me some blood. When we got down into a thick edge of swamp, I found what looked like a bed with very minimal blood, about 355 yards from the hit site.

This is where it got interesting. Arrow had been working flawlessly, her body language strong and focused. But after leaving that area, I noticed her tail was curled, showing real intent. About 100 yards later, her tail dropped straight, which made me pause. I thought maybe she missed a turn, so I marked the spot with a ribbon and brought her back.

After a short water break, I gave her the command to work again. She took the same line, tail tight until we hit the ribbon, and then it dropped again. It was warm out, so I made sure to keep her hydrated, even soaking her head to help the scent molecules stick better.

As she worked slowly, her tail stayed low, and I started thinking maybe the heat was burning off scent leaving a very faint trail, but I still trusted her. About 50 yards later, we hit some low ground with moisture under the moss her tail curled tight again and she picked up speed.

We were now 663 yards from the hit site, moving into higher ground when her tail dropped once more. It was clear she was working through sections of weak scent, but every so often her body language told me she was still on it.

At 740 yards, she made a hard left turn into low ground and I spotted a tiny speck of blood. That’s the confirmation we always hope for, Arrow was 💯 on it. Just ahead was a grassy dried up beaver fly.

She started working into chest high grass when she suddenly stopped, head up, nose into the wind. Normally, I don’t like seeing that, but the grass was so thick she was using the wind to her advantage. She worked the scent carefully, turning slightly across the wind, then back into it steady, calm, and confident.

Then her tail started going a mile a minute, beating the grass. She had found the buck. The deer had covered 811 yards from the hit site.

The rut is starting, and bucks are showing increased levels of testosterone. That means they’ll often travel farther before realizing they’re fatally wounded.

Congratulations to the hunter.

Don’t hesitate to call us On The Trail Deer Recovery ☎️ 609 457 5904 you find yourself in need of a tracker.

“starving Coyotes One Recovery At A Time”

~ Hammer Down ~

This morning, I took a track for a hunter who had shot a buck the night before with his crossbow using a large expandable broadhead. The hunter felt confident in his shot based on the deer’s reaction.

After getting down from the stand and not finding his arrow, he decided to back out and wait for his buddy to help. Together, they found blood just beyond the hit site and believed it was on both sides of the trail. As they advanced the line, they continued to find small drips mixed with some good blood.

They followed the trail for roughly 150–200 yards before losing it at a junction in the woods. After searching left and right with no luck finding more blood, they made the smart choice to back out.

Arrow and I arrived this morning, almost 16 hours after the shot. We started her at the hit site, and she quickly picked up their blood line, bringing us to their last known point of loss. From there, Arrow wanted to go left, taking us down the trail a short distance before peeling off to the right.

As we crossed a small log, I noticed blood on the front side of it. Arrow continued on the line, leading us right through a scrape. About 100 yards later another scrape 25 yards later, I saw another drop of blood. Arrow spun around back toward the scrape and then veered off to left definitely a backtrack. When I looked at the blood where she veered off I could see the fingers on the blood splatter indicating she was correct. ( fingers on the blood point in the direction )

Her tail curled tight her signal that she was locked in. We continued through the laurels, 709 yards from the hit site, when we came to the edge of a briar patch. She carefully picked her way through before making a hard left, then another, now heading back toward our original line.

Just before reconnecting with our track line, I spotted blood on the side of an oak tree the buck had looped back over his own line. We worked back into the laurels and soon found a bed at 895 yards. It was matted down with a good amount of cold blood pooled in the back and center of the bed.

Arrow moved on to another bed just 25 yards ahead same situation. This continued bed after bed, each one holding more sign that we were closing in.

Pushing back into the briars, Arrow made a hard left under a holly tree where I found blood. As I was scanning the area, the lead suddenly went limp 942 yards from the hit site, to this Jersey hammer’s final bed.

When field dressing the buck the entire bolt was inside of the deer.

Congratulations to the hunter on a great buck!

If you find your self in need of a tracker don’t hesitate to reach out to us On The Trail Deer Recovery ☎️ 609 457 5904

“ Starving Coyotes One Recovery At A Time “