Cliff here (AKA Outdrzman)... I have a high-end, working bred Yellow lab who has been deer tracking for 3 years now. I bought her with tracking in mind, and have trained her to do this since she was a tiny puppy. Not sure exactly how many recoveries we have together, but it's a pretty nice list. We've had some failures too - that's the nature of helping on tracking jobs.
I live just north of Columbus, OH and have a farm in Athens county. This time of year it's tough to know for sure where I'm going to be at any given time (home/farm). That being the case, it's best just to call and see if I can make it out to you. I will usually limit my drive time to 1 hour. I do not charge for tracking, though I do ask for gas money. Some folks also throw in a "tip"... that's very much appreciated but is completely up to you.
Before you call:
1. I need you to understand this: I do this as a hobby. I have a regular day job and am not able to take off for a tracking run in the middle of a work day. It's ok if you call during the day, but I want you to know what to expect when I answer.
This may seem obvious, but I need to make another point here: I had a guy get very beligerant with me last year because I wasn't able to drive to Cininnati at 10am on a Wednesday. After the attitude, I told him "no" but he kept calling me... so I blocked his number. Then he had the nerve to have his buddies call me also! This went on for more than 48 hours, including at night. Please don't do this, it makes me not want to help. Just remember that you are asking a near stranger for free help and we'll be off to a great start. :coolgleamA:
2. I need to talk to the person who took the shot. I will ask about your hunting setup, the deer's behavior before/after the shot, what you have done to try and recover the animal, etc. Please don't call me and ask me to call someone else.
3. Time matters! The sooner we get there, the better the odds of recovery. Waiting 48-72 hrs before calling me stacks the odds against us all.
4. When you realize you need help, quietly back out of there and call me right away. Please stay out of the blood trail. Don't get 10 buddies to scour the woods *before* you call me. This just means you're likely to cross the deer's trail and then track that scent around the woods.
5. I need to have permission to go onto the land where we will be tracking. It's a firm rule of mine, not to mention being the law! I expect you to tell me when we are crossing property boundaries.
OK, so if you're still reading - you're my kind of hunter! My cell number is: 614-570-one six seven zero. **This is to be used for requesting deer tracking assistance only***