Okie's East Kansas Deer Recovery

09/28/2026

Here's a fun hunting video where a tracking dog comes to the rescue!
https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1KCDHaS2ui/

09/22/2026

We got a call to track the other day that we were too busy to take. I went ahead and did an interview, and recommend another tracker.

The hunter described what he thought was the deer's position when shot, and the entry location. He also sent a picture of the arrow which he described as covered in white grease, very minimal blood, and no smell.

Based on all the evidence, the experienced hunter, a few of his trusted hunting friends, and I all agreed that although it was worth getting a dog on it, chances were good that it was a non-fatal brisket hit.

Before the other tracker could make it to the site, the buzzards found the buck.

As it turns out, the deer was quartered harder than thought, and the shot was further back than thought. The arrow (crossbow bolt) sign was deceptive.

The purpose of the post is simply to reinforce a very experienced tracker, Al Sherman's quote, "You don't know until you go".

Congrats to the hunter, and thanks for putting the effort into the recovery.

09/22/2026

Last week we took 3 tracks. We recovered two, but one is an unknown.

The hunter encountered a bedded buck while walking into his stand on the edge a some very good beans - tall and thick. The buck was only 40 yards out, but the vitals were covered by beans. After a long stare down, the hunter fired through beans towards the bucks vitals. The buck ran into the woods. We could not find any sign at all that evening or the next morning.

The hunter was using a modern, custom muzzle-loader using smokeless powder and high ballistic coefficient bullets.

I did some research and learned that this set-up produces excellent accuracy and knock down power at very long ranges, but is very susceptible to severe deflection if the bullet hits something before the intended target.

I joined the AI band wagon and asked for an image of this scenario with probable outcomes. I don't know how accurate this is, but it's cool!

So, I guess the possibilities still range from we a left a dead deer in the woods to a complete miss, but it was a fun research project!

09/21/2026

We enjoy sharing our tracking adventures with you. Thank you all so much for following along, and participating with us!

09/21/2026

On a track, and after!

09/18/2026

Last night, John made a nice ML lung shot on this buck at last legal light. The buck managed get out of the hunters line-of-sight running across a bean field and getting into some brush. Once we found the hit sight, Okie had tail in his mouth in a matter of minutes!

John had 4 evening encounters with this buck including a couple passes. When he decided to take him, he had a gun malfunction! He finished it last night and has a great buck with a cool story. Congrats John.

09/17/2026

Last nights details; Gary made an excellent 150 yard ML shot on this deer, hitting both lungs and passing thru. Even so, the buck was able to go farther than you would think possible with no lungs into the thick woods, leaving limited sign at the start of the track. Congrats on a great buck Gary.

09/17/2026

We're on the board and having a ball. Details later - I'm tired!

09/10/2026

It's worth sharing again. Good luck this season!

A well-placed shot on a deer leads to a quick and easy recovery. But like most things in life and art, bowhunting doesn’t always go as planned, and arrows do...

09/07/2026