August 19 – Leashed Tracking Dog Exam; Sign-up by August 12.
Sign-up by August 12 to take the leashed tracking dog license exam on August 19 from 10 a.m. to noon at designated DEC regional offices (http://www.dec.ny.gov/about/50230.html) near you. The license allows for the use of a trained dog to track and find dead, injured, or wounded deer and bear during the Big Game Hunting Season. If interested, you must fill out and send in an application by August 12 to: DEC Special Licenses Unit, 625 Broadway, Albany , NY 12233-4752 . To get an application and find out more details of the license, visit the Leashed Tracking Dog License (http://www.dec.ny.gov/permits/25020.html) page, or contact the DEC Special Licenses Unit by phone: 518-402-8985 or by e-mail: fwslu@gw.dec.state.ny.us

Our annual picnic will be held Sunday, July 17th at the Pleasant Valley Trout and Game Club at 11 AM. There will not be any club meeting scheduled and if anyone wishes to bring their dogs, that is fine, but due to time constraints, we won’t have any dog events. The day is to socialize, meet other members and their families and enjoy good food.

Please bring a dish to share and any special drinks, food or whatever you prefer. DSI will provide hamburgers, hot dogs, soda and snacks.

Fishing is available (nice trout), and bring any games or sports equipment you want.

The place…
Pleasant Valley Trout and Game Club
1208 Salt Point Turnpike
Pleasant Valley New York 12569

Directions…
Club grounds are at 1208 Salt Point Turnpike:
Take Route 44 to the traffic light in Pleasant Valley (CVS Pharmacy on northeast corner).

Turn north on West Road and go about 1.2 miles (T-intersection with Salt Point Turnpike).

Turn right onto Salt Point Turnpike and go about 1.5 miles to the Club’s entrance on the right.

We will see you there and we’ll look forward to some nice weather and good friends and neighbors.

The first column reports all information reported to me by Deer Search Inc. Trackers including those who tracked out of state in VT, WI, NJ and Md. Those trackers are Tim Nichols, Larry Gohlke, Darren Doran, Rich Stollery and Andy Bensing. The second column reports big game animals tracked and recovered in New York State only. Those trackers who tracked out of state reported going on 120 sorties and recovering 42 big game animals.

-Two trackers, Tim Nichols (in Vt) and Mario Montana (in NY) each reported recovering one Black Bear.

-Tim Nichols went on the most sorties 66 with 25 recoveries.
-Andy Bensing went on 47 sorties with 16 recoveries.
-John Jeanneney went on 45 sorties with 14 recoveries.
-Marc Niad went on 26 sorties with 10 recoveries.
-Peter Martin went on 19 sorties with 8 recoveries (he found seven 8 pointers and one 6 pointer with a 20+” spread)

-Every tracker who submitted a tracking summary was involved in the recovery of a big game animal in the Fall of 2010/Winter 2011.

-The Fall 2010/Winter 2011 tracking season was a great success thanks to all the trackers, those who man the dispatch phone and the other members of DSI who contribute all year long. Great team effort.

This year’s competition hosted by Deer Search Finger Lakes Chapter Inc. in Campbell, NY was a huge success!. Weather conditions were brutal probably the worst tracking condition that you could have. The large amount of rain and wind, yet we still managed to get 7 dogs certified and two new blood judges.

I would like to congratulate:

1. Chester Swierk and Moby first place 92
2. Dale Clifford and Tabitha 82 2nd
3. Andy Bensing and Eibe 64 3rd
4. Dale C lifford and Cassey 50 4th

Congratulations to the certified dogs and handlers: Gary Huber and Beya 74, Darren Doran and Karl 57, Matt Griffin and Gunner 57, Daryl Kempston and Penney 50, and Laura Harrington and Braylee 67.

Congratulations to the two new judges, Daryl Kempston and Chester Swierk.

Thanks to the competition judges Gary Neal, Kevin Fisher, and John Jeanneney. Thanks to Dale Clifford, Gary Huber and Chester Swierk for judging on Sunday to help certify dogs.

As everyone there knows the conditions were unfavorable for Sunday. A rain all day Saturday, the blood was applied for Sunday. Even though there was no visible sign of blood the scent was still there 24 hours later, this was amazing.

The dogs still had enough scent to complete the lines on Sunday. A huge thanks to Dave and Veronica Seeley for the use of the land.

Thanks to all that helped mark lines, lay blood out Friday and Saturday, to Holly the photographer, to Dave Seeley our transportation coordinator(the taxi drivers), great job getting every one out and back, and to everyone that helped in any way to make it a success.

It was a fantastic education for both new and experienced handlers. Everyone’s dedication and enthusiasm was fantastic despite the weather conditions and it showed in the certification of dogs on Sunday.

Thanks again to all who work so hard to make it so successful!

Ron Hausfelder
Blood Tracking Chairman, DSI FLC

Tommy finds a ten-pointer that has been damaged by coyotes.

Read more for the full story: http://borntotracknews.blogspot.com/2010/11/tommys-ten-pointer-was-already-damaged.htm

Paul Graves, the hunter, and Jolanta Jeanneney with Tommy

John with Tommy

October 21

Tommy tracks and finds a liver shot buck in Fox Creek. To read in detail about Tommy’s find go to: http://borntotracknews.blogspot.com/2010/10/tommy-tracks-and-finds-liver-shot-buck.html

Check out the video below to see the deer being shot and Tommy tracking the deer:

Monday Oct. 1 - I received a call from a hunter that Bill Voeglin and I tracked for 3 or 4 years ago. He hit a nice 6pt. at 9:30 the previous morning. Lisa and I took up the track at 10:30 am. (25 hrs.later). Average blood trail for about 100 yards, then nothing. Lisa knew exactly where she was going the next 150 or so yards. Real nice work, right to the huge bodied wide racked deer. Happy ending for all. We are finally becoming a team of two as one. Trust your dog, know your dog.

Pete Martin with Lisa and the buck she recovered.

Next recovery – Oct. 20:
This hunter shot his deer just before sunset on Oct. 20. The 7 pointer left a lot of blood on the ground as he headed towards a big beaver pond. The arrow entered midway back in the middle of the deer quartering to hunter and exited low through stomach and into rear leg, (I have to take the hunters word on this for lack of evidence) almost severing it. We took track the following morning at 10:00. Not soon enough. Lisa did an outstanding job going straight into the beaver pond, swimming around and exiting exactly where the deer did. After 150 yards through woods into a large knee high field, then another grass field, with a nose to the ground dead pull, this is what we found. I think even Lisa was a bit bewildered. There was absolutely NOTHING left of this deer but skin & bones. Not even a gut pile. Coyotes even devoured the rear hoof and tail. Plenty of scat left behind.

Pete with Lisa and the deer that was devoured by coyotes

Next recovery – Oct. 22:

This track sounded easy but before Lisa could find the deer the hunter and tracker had to unravel what was wrong.

Eighteen hours after a good hit with arrow recovered we started tracking from hit site for about 250 yards with decent blood trail going uphill in open hardwoods. The trail was marked by hunter the night before. After an hour and a half and several restarts we advanced the bloodline only 75 yards or so. Lisa was pulling hard in every direction, but I could tell something wasn’t right with her. Upon closer inspection of all the blood we marked, we realized this deer was traveling downhill. We also saw the blood getting somewhat heavier going uphill but again the “fingers” pointed down. This couldn’t be the hunter’s deer. It must have been shot on top of the mountain.

Walking the road back to blood we knew was from the right deer, we noticed a heavy trail of blood across the road exiting the woods where the deer was shot to a whole different section. This was the deer we wanted. A heavy line for 150 yards, a right turn downhill towards wet creek bottom. Another 200 yards and across a stream lay a nice big bodied typical 8 pointer.

Pete with Lisa

Next recovery – Oct. 23:

There seems to be an abundance of 8 pointers in my area this year. Either that or the hunters are being more selective. Oct. 23 at 7:20 a.m. this deer took an arrow from a fellow I successfully tracked for last year. There was good blood for 220 yards through hardwoods into an open grassy field. He made a hard left towards a large shallow pond surrounded by thick brush, swamp grass and saplings. He bedded down for who knows how long before leaving and making a dash to the edge of the pond where Lisa found him. A pretty easy track for her even after 27 hour old trail. Completed in about 30 minutes. Scenting conditions were good.

Pete with Lisa and the 8 pointer

Next recovery – Oct. 24:

This is by far the largest racked big bodied deer Lisa and I had the pleasure to find. Interesting story. On October 24th at 5:15 p.m. the hunter shot this deer from his tree stand, broadside at 36 yards in open field.

Deer trots off into a very thick old moist swamp 75 yards away. He knew he had a front shoulder hit and  didn’t like the deers’ non-chalant reaction as he watched him meander through the thick stuff. The hunter finds 19″ of back half of arrow about 5 yards away. First smear of blood was found 25 yards. From there the blood was hard to come by but the hunter marked it for another 30 – 40 yards and that was it. After thinking the crashes he heard ahead of him was his deer he backed off for the night.

Next day at 12 noon we took up track and track we 72 degree weather for 3 1/2 hours. Nothing. With hope fading and making our way back towards our vehicles Lisa nearly yanked the lead out of my hand when she took a quick sharp left into an over growth of mixed weeds and grasses. 30 yards away lay one of the biggest 8 pointers I ever saw. He wound up about 700 yards from hit site. We walked right past him on the way out. If it wasn’t for Lisa’s nose we would have kept right on going. The deer was indeed hit right in the shoulder bone but the broad-head clipped arteries and front part of one lung before lodging into the far side shoulder. This deer was shot 2 days prior by the hunters buddy right through the “dead area” between the spine and top of ribs midway along the length of his body. When we found him, he wasn’t stiffened up.

Pete with Lisa and the large 8 pointer

The first doe was shot in Mt. Kisco Saturday on opening day 5:30 p.m. The doe was gut shot. Dakota tracked the doe the next day 18 1/2 hours later. She tracked 300 yards after hunters last blood.

Marc Niad and Dakota - 10-17-10

The second doe shot in Yorktown at 7:20 a.m. was gut shot. Dakota tracked it 7 1/2 hours later. She tracked 320 yards after hunters last blood. She recovered both deer in the same day.

Marc Niad and Dakota - 10-17-10

Mike Garrity and Wolfie

It took all of 10 minutes for Wolfie to air scent this large 9 point buck, shot on Saturday October second, the second day of the Long Island bow season. Unfortunately they had to call in the dogs 4 days later due to a gut shot. The hunter Howie Habberstad, and partner Kate are seen pictured with Mike Garrity and his dachshund Wolfie.  Expectations were low for a blood line search due to a substantial rain storm the day before. Apparently the deer made his way back, close to where he was shot near a corn field some time after the initial search. The horns were salvaged and a cape will be provided by taxidermist Dave at Fish and Wildlife Unlimited in Bohemia. It will be another in a long line of impressive trophies for Howie. Also present was Louie Dibiase and his terrier Hunter.

Mike Garrity with Wolfie and Louie Dibiase with Hunter