Post by NE Track on Jan 18, 2013 9:41:28 GMT -6
On a mid-December day, I was home recuperating from several days of hard hunting. We had a solid week of rain and I was tired of getting rained on. I don’t mind the dampness and the cold in the early part of deer season but in December or towards the end it gets old. I usually have a few deer in the freezer this time of year so I pick and choose the days I freeze my butt off. My day of rest didn’t last long.
I got a call from a friend that was out hunting with his daughter. She shot a doe with her crossbow and when they went to recover the deer it jumped up and ran away. They decided to give it some more time to expire before they headed out to track it again. The weather didn’t cooperate. Within a half hour it started snowing hard and visibility was poor. Her father grabbed his shotgun and they started out on the track before it was buried in snow. Shortly after they started on the track, the doe jumped up and ran off. My friend managed to get a shot off and hit the deer. They followed the fresh blood trail over the ridge only to find out that “oops” they shot at the wrong deer. The first deer that his daughter put an arrow in was laying there dead and now they had another deer down somewhere. By the time they tagged and dressed out the first deer, four inches of snow had fallen. The blood trail on the second deer was covered in snow. That’s when they took a break for lunch and called me.
Sadie and I arrived about an hour later. My friend showed me the map of the farm and the ridge the deer was on. We headed up the ridge and when we reached the top Sadie and I zigzagged and sorted out the blood trails from the deer. They crisscrossed and were covered with snow. I restarted Sadie in the area of last deer sighting and she started to pull hard. Sadie led me down the ridge and towards a thicket on a plateau. The hair on her back raised and her tail curled. I knew instantly we had a live one. She took off like a rocket with me in tow. The deer jumped up and Sadie held it at bay. The deer’s right front leg was broken just above the first joint. I called for my friend to come forward but my voice spooked the deer and it ran off. The chase was on. Sadie and I sprinted through the hardwoods after the deer. My friend was trailing behind. We caught up to the deer at the edge of the forest just before an open field. The doe was hesitant to cross an open field. Once again Sadie held it at bay. I waived for my friend to come forward and tried to pull Sadie away. He didn’t have a clear shot and the doe took off again. Sadie yanked the lead out of my hands and I couldn’t keep up with her. I did manage to get a couple of pictures though.
Sadie in hot pursuit then baying the doe
As you can see Sadie was in hot pursuit and held the deer at bay next to the hedge row. This repeated itself a few more times. The doe tried to lose us a couple of times by running us through groups of bedded deer. Sadie stayed on track and I could easily identify the track by the drag marks. Finally, after a mile and a half the deer had enough. Sadie held it at bay and the doe bedded down for the final time. As my friend caught up with us I pulled Sadie away and he dispatched the deer.
Sadie with her well earned prize
I got a call from a friend that was out hunting with his daughter. She shot a doe with her crossbow and when they went to recover the deer it jumped up and ran away. They decided to give it some more time to expire before they headed out to track it again. The weather didn’t cooperate. Within a half hour it started snowing hard and visibility was poor. Her father grabbed his shotgun and they started out on the track before it was buried in snow. Shortly after they started on the track, the doe jumped up and ran off. My friend managed to get a shot off and hit the deer. They followed the fresh blood trail over the ridge only to find out that “oops” they shot at the wrong deer. The first deer that his daughter put an arrow in was laying there dead and now they had another deer down somewhere. By the time they tagged and dressed out the first deer, four inches of snow had fallen. The blood trail on the second deer was covered in snow. That’s when they took a break for lunch and called me.
Sadie and I arrived about an hour later. My friend showed me the map of the farm and the ridge the deer was on. We headed up the ridge and when we reached the top Sadie and I zigzagged and sorted out the blood trails from the deer. They crisscrossed and were covered with snow. I restarted Sadie in the area of last deer sighting and she started to pull hard. Sadie led me down the ridge and towards a thicket on a plateau. The hair on her back raised and her tail curled. I knew instantly we had a live one. She took off like a rocket with me in tow. The deer jumped up and Sadie held it at bay. The deer’s right front leg was broken just above the first joint. I called for my friend to come forward but my voice spooked the deer and it ran off. The chase was on. Sadie and I sprinted through the hardwoods after the deer. My friend was trailing behind. We caught up to the deer at the edge of the forest just before an open field. The doe was hesitant to cross an open field. Once again Sadie held it at bay. I waived for my friend to come forward and tried to pull Sadie away. He didn’t have a clear shot and the doe took off again. Sadie yanked the lead out of my hands and I couldn’t keep up with her. I did manage to get a couple of pictures though.
Sadie in hot pursuit then baying the doe
As you can see Sadie was in hot pursuit and held the deer at bay next to the hedge row. This repeated itself a few more times. The doe tried to lose us a couple of times by running us through groups of bedded deer. Sadie stayed on track and I could easily identify the track by the drag marks. Finally, after a mile and a half the deer had enough. Sadie held it at bay and the doe bedded down for the final time. As my friend caught up with us I pulled Sadie away and he dispatched the deer.
Sadie with her well earned prize
