Major Deer Tracking

Nick’s Doe

Nick and his buddies were some of my very first customers when I started tracking deer for the public. The fact that they still call me for help all these years later is something I genuinely cherish and appreciate.

Back then, I knew nothing. And honestly… we were bad. 😂

A lot has changed since those early days. I’ve learned an awful lot as a handler, changed dogs, gained experience, and Zirc and I have grown tremendously as a team. Looking back at some of those early tracks, it’s honestly a miracle anyone trusted us enough to call again. 😂

Fast forward to today…

Nick originally called me about a buck he had shot. I showed up, started getting the details, and then Nick casually drops the news:

“Yeah… we actually have two deer to track.”

Of course we do. 😂

His buck was the original assignment, and the second deer was a doe he had shot while tracking his buck. Because apparently one tracking job wasn’t enough entertainment for the evening.

We started on the buck, but Zirc really wasn’t showing much interest. We worked our way toward the end of a fence row when Zirc suddenly threw his nose up and started working the air.

We crossed a large gravel pad and entered the woods.

Blood!

Well, there we go! He’s on it!

Or so I thought. 😂

Zirc continued working, then eventually we realized he had tracked to the hit site of the doe.

Apparently Zirc had already decided which deer we were actually supposed to be looking for. I was just a little slow to get the memo.

So, I let him finish what he started, and we followed the trail to recover Nick’s doe.

The doe was gut shot with a Mega Meat, and she had made it roughly 200 yards before expiring. Zirc put it all together and got us right to her.

As for the buck, he gets to live another day. Hopefully Nick, or one of his buddies, gets another opportunity at him down the road.

It’s pretty cool to look back at where this all started with these guys and see how far we’ve come. From being some of my first customers to still trusting me and my hounds years later, that means more than I can really put into words.

Congratulations again, Nick, on your doe!

And thank you for being a loyal client and continuing to trust us year after year. It’s always a pleasure working with you guys.

Justin’s Buck

As a tracker, I always get excited when I get a text from a tracking friend that reads something along the lines of, “Can you track? Got a dead one for ya.”

As soon as I saw the text, I called Justin, got the details, and headed his way.

Justin had a pretty hard quartering-away shot, and there was some gut content found during their initial tracking. We started Zirc and simply walked to last blood. He tracked some along the way, but for the most part, Zirc was just enjoying the scenery—taking in the scents and everything else the woods had to offer.

Once we reached last blood, the hound went to work.

Zirc made one big circle, then threw his head way up and started working the air. We made our way down to the corner, up a mowed alley, and eventually back into the woods.

Once we entered the woods, you could really see how difficult the scenting conditions were. Bright blue skies, sunshine, 75 degrees, and barely a breeze to work with.

One minute Zirc was nose-down, clicking along the ground. The next, he was jumping up on his back legs, trying to get his nose as high into the trees as he could.

It was obvious to me that he was working through some tough conditions, and this track was simply going to take some patience.

We worked our way toward a swamp, and Zirc dove into the thick stuff. About 30 feet in, he suddenly stopped moving.

He was standing over the buck, chomping on some rear end.

Just like that, we had our deer.

All in all, the track was roughly 250 yards and took about 25 minutes.

Justin, thank you for having us out. Congratulations again on an absolute Michigan stud!

Another tough track, another deer recovered, and another reminder of why I love doing what we do.

Trust the nose. Honor the hunt.

Thank you Miller Deer Tracking. For sending me that track.

Sneak peek at one of the two deer we recovered yesterday. 🩸🐾

The full story is coming later today.

By midday, the scent conditions were brutal. What was already a difficult track became even more challenging as the heat and shifting scent worked against us. But Zirc stayed patient, slowed down, and methodically sorted through every piece of the trail until he found his way forward.

Days like yesterday are a powerful reminder of why I trust this dog when the track gets tough.

Stay tuned for the full story.

Proof of life photos mean so much to us trackers. This is a deer we tracked last weekend and I am very grateful to see he’s still alive and back on our hunters property. While we can’t tell where the hit is we know it’s 100% the correct deer.

Here is the video from Zirc’s 60th recovery. I sped up the video to save time. This track took a while and would have been a much longer video.

Zirc's 60th Recovery This was a liver shot buck that was jumped by the hunter's tracking...

The Fence Jumper / Zirc's 60th Recovery

Yesterday morning I got a call from Justin letting me know his buddy Anthony had shot a nice buck and was having trouble finding him.

While gathering the details about the shot, one of their other buddies apparently decided the deer needed a little entertainment and thought it would be a great idea to play peekaboo with Anthony’s buck.

The buck was less than impressed with the game.

He jumped out of his first bed and took off, so at that point I convinced the guys to back out and give him some time to expire. We returned around the 12–14 hour mark and put Zirc on the track.

Zirc’s tracking style immediately confirmed what I was thinking about the hit. Lots of swaying, circles, searching and working the scent out. Classic liver-hit behavior.

I could tell the guys were still looking for that reassuring puddle of blood, and I’m pretty sure they were starting to wonder if the crazy guy with the bloodhound actually knew what he was doing. 😂

Then we came to a roughly 4-foot hog-wire-style fence.

Zirc decided this fence was obviously no longer part of the property and needed to be conquered immediately. He was losing his mind trying to get over it, so I picked him up, carefully placed him on the other side, and then climbed over myself.

Apparently, this buck really enjoyed jumping this fence.

On the second crossing, something changed.

Zirc’s body position shifted. His nose started popping harder and louder than it had the entire track.

And then…

BOOM.

He was off to the races.

About 100 yards later, Zirc had Anthony’s buck after another fence crossing.

Of course, I couldn’t resist telling Anthony that there was just one problem…

We had to cross that darn fence one more time to go get his deer. 😂

Anthony and Justin, thank you for having us out last night. You guys were an absolute blast to spend the evening with, and I really enjoyed the conversations and laughs along the way.

Congratulations on a beautiful Michigan buck, Anthony!

Another successful track, another happy hunter, and apparently another fence that Zirc has decided belongs on his resume.

Every day behind a hound is an adventure.

Raven asking for some pets and appreciation after a tough no find Saturday morning.

Steve’s Buck

Steve called me this morning knowing the shot on his buck was back. Steve and his son had tracked it for a while the evening before before deciding to back out and give the deer some time. When he called, it was time to bring in the hounds.

Upon arrival, I inspected the arrow and quickly confirmed what we were dealing with—a gut shot.

Zirc made quick work of the track. He took us from the open woods into an area filled with blown-down trees and continued straight to Steve’s buck.

Unfortunately, the coyotes had beaten us to him. There wasn’t much left to salvage, but Steve was able to recover his rack and, more importantly, have the peace of mind knowing the deer was no longer out there suffering.

We were also joined by Steve’s son and young daughter for the track. His daughter was quite the trooper out in the woods and got to experience a little bit of what these hounds can do.

Congratulations on your buck, Steve. I’m glad we could help bring some closure to the hunt.

Every day behind a hound is another opportunity to honor the hunt.

Took some creative photo editing to make the deer presentable for Facebook.

Always fun when your wife texts you, “I got him!” Even better when you have the video of him crashing. 😂

After a quick review of the video, I decided to toss Raven on the trail just for fun. She only had about 30 yards to work, and it didn’t take her long to make it to her buck.

Raven got to chew on some deer, work her nose, and do what she loves. Even better, our daughters got to be there and experience the excitement right alongside us.

Congratulations, Maddy, on your beautiful Michigan buck! 🦌

Every day behind a hound is a blessing. Getting to share those days with our family makes the memories that much better.

Family. Hounds. Deer season. Doesn’t get much better than that.

Chris’s Doe

Not every recovery comes with a wild story, and honestly, this one was pretty straightforward — but it’s still worth sharing.

After talking with Chris over the phone, I wasn’t completely sure what we were dealing with. The sound of his arrow hitting the deer had me leaning toward a gut shot, while the pictures he sent made me think it could have been a clean, well-placed shot. Either way, Chris and his buddy did a great job tracking the doe through some thick, nasty cover before eventually grid searching the area and deciding it was time to call in the hounds.

I very rarely choose to start anywhere other than the original hit site. Today, however, I decided we could save some time and start at the last known blood.

Before we even reached that spot, I could already see Zirc had his head up and was air scenting. Once we got to the last blood, it didn’t take long at all. Zirc picked it up and took us roughly 30 yards to Chris’s doe.

Sometimes the best recoveries are the simple ones. This deer should not have made it this far based on the hit location.

Congratulations again on your doe harvest, Chris, and thank you for giving us the opportunity to help.

And a special thank you for calling us on a doe. We don’t get nearly as many doe tracks as we do bucks, and we truly appreciate every hunter who believes that their doe is worth recovering.

Thank you for continuing to put your trust in me and my hounds. It means more than you know.

Major Deer Tracking
📞 248-310-2829
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