West Michigan Whitetail Tracking

West Michigan Whitetail Tracking Bavarian Mountain Hounds named "Picabo" and “Ketchum” and “Challis a Stabyhoun that track wounded or lost big game for hunters.

Michigans youth season had me get 9 calls to track whitetails back home. A lot texts and phone calls to help hunters ge...
09/15/2026

Michigans youth season had me get 9 calls to track whitetails back home. A lot texts and phone calls to help hunters get tracking teams was done. Thank you to Richter's Deer Tracking, Dainton Deer Tracking, Hunt's K9 Game Recovery - Deer Tracking, The NEXT STEP Deer Tracking & Recovery, and Oakley Tracks Deer Recovery for tracking, and giving closure. Posted pics are some of the finds of calls I took making happy kids ❤️
Sunday ended up a day off. Janice and I went into Steamboat and I took another call to track a bear. Recurve hunter had no blood but was confident he had made a good quartering away shot. Since it’s illegal to track with a dog here I talked him through the basics and we hat I would do. About an hour later I got pics and text he found it. Only other call at 1 pm was for a track that was a 2 hour drive, 5 mile hike to hit site. I easily passed on that one.
Yesterday we were lucky to be able to get 2 bull tracks in. The first was muzzleloader , rained heavy overnight, heavy grid search…. Blood was confirmed beyond the grid but no recovery. 2nd sounded like possible dead bull but we never could confirm a single drop of blood in terrain that would show it easily.
The string of no recoveries continues. Its not only physically wearing but emotionally. As always I will be very transparent when it comes to tracking. I tell all. The finds are celebrated, the no finds are almost always explained, and if you follow my page the worst, when a hunter finds the animal we left in the woods.
Again, today is a new day in God’s amazing creation.

So proud of this team !! Mindy and Risley will be driving east again and tracking Michigan’s rut in Oct/Nov. with us aga...
09/13/2026

So proud of this team !! Mindy and Risley will be driving east again and tracking Michigan’s rut in Oct/Nov. with us again.

09/13/2026

And another no recovery 😩.
Yesterday’s track was for a bull elk and according to the outfitter was carrying arrow , quartering away, shot behind shoulder, maybe a little high. They found blood but did not track.
The track started ( green line) in a sagebrush meadow and started up a steep hill with oak brush. From there it got to top and weaved to a fence line where it walked down the other side and jumped the fence. Blood was on barbed wire and some on vegetation where he landed. This was private property and it took an hour for the outfitter to get permission from the landowner who was on New Zeeland. We restart with a super frustrated Picabo who doesn’t understand why we have to wait. From there we start the up mountain trail going through thick sage, oak brush, aspen with a lot of climbing through deadfall. Picabo pulls me to a ranch road and starts circling. I reset her and do a rest/water break and she pulls us on same line. We head up the road going elevation with areas of circling and then continuing the up hill climb. A rest is needed as we were in total sun and temps in 80s. We gain enough elevation where “dark forest” begins. The head guide look to the left and sees a pond where we take the dog too to cool off. A rest break and we go back to line were we continue and do a steep climb heading up mountain. A lot of deadfall showing us blood with jumps leads us to finally see a limb 10” off ground painted with blood on the front of branch only giving us evidence that blood is going down the front leg and is most likely hit too far forward. From there guide decides to call track. I tell him we are going to go another 2-300 yards to be sure.
On the way down the mountain my phone explodes with 5 requests to track deer at home and 4 elk track requests.
This is a true GRIND that can be very frustrating. This is the reality of tracking.

09/12/2026

This so true. We have tracked 3 non recovery bulls this season where the arrow was right behind shoulder in the crease. All quartering away making them almost surely 1 lung at best.

Recieved a call for a youth hunt whitetail track back home this morning. Thank you to Dainton Deer Tracking for picking ...
09/12/2026

Recieved a call for a youth hunt whitetail track back home this morning. Thank you to Dainton Deer Tracking for picking it up and helping the hunter.
As I ate breakfast we get lined up to track a bull 38 miles away. Meeting at noon with fingers crossed.
Picabo and Ketchum have heard the interview lingo and are on alert.

If you are looking for a tracking team back home in Michigan feel free to reach out to me for advise or look at the 2 li...
09/12/2026

If you are looking for a tracking team back home in Michigan feel free to reach out to me for advise or look at the 2 lists for the nearest team near you.

09/11/2026

2 more bull elk tracks run today without a recovery. Started the morning with almost everything against Ketchum having a chance to track. 9500’ elevation in mainly pines. Hunter had a tough time and we searched all over to find the hit site, and blood. To make it harder there was a 6 man 2 hour grid search done at night. We did track with some blood found but ….. ????
Ended the day close to base camp running Picabo on a thought to be good hit, but ended looking like it could be a backwack. All sagebrush, grass, and a scrub oak at 7500’ elevation. First blood was at 60 yards and seen very occasionally to 300 where she spun a circle to go under a barbed wire fence. A few calls and a pretty long wait had Pic’ besides herself. The outfitter that leased the property gave us permission and we continued across a grass field as she showed less and less interest and circling. Eventually track called off.
Exhausted and beat up. Good night !

It’s 10:49 pm the alarm is set for 5:30 am. This afternoon I recieved a call from a Kansas hunter that took a 20 yard fu...
09/10/2026

It’s 10:49 pm the alarm is set for 5:30 am. This afternoon I recieved a call from a Kansas hunter that took a 20 yard full frontal on a bull. His group had tracked it 1/2 mile to a dirt road and lost blood. After interviewing I told the hunter that this shot is almost always dead at very short distance if the target vitals are hit. In talking I could hear in his voice a true sportsman that had to do everything he could to know it was dead , not or do everything he could. I agreed to come and had pretty much a zero chance of recovery. Picabo started at last blood and we were going up the mountain gaining almost 800’ of elevation. From there we sidehilled and got near top and then we went down to springs and wallows losing 120’.
Track was called. Blood was occasionally found throughout entire track and was thinning sometimes going 75 yards or more without visual confirmation.
This is what we do. While I want the recovery so bad, watching the dog work the line so well and letting the hunter feel all we could do has been achieved.
Had a bonus on the drive out with a big bull moose 7’ from the truck.
Tomorrow is another day and I head Sw to meet another hunter in need at 7:30.
Expectations ? To be in nature, doing what I love and fellowship with another sportsman.

I guess I should have checked the radar before putting out a training track for a new area tracker that’s getting ready ...
06/10/2026

I guess I should have checked the radar before putting out a training track for a new area tracker that’s getting ready for a started dog test.
Oh well, there’s a nice line and hide out to run tomorrow after a good thunderstorm and hot weather for tomorrow around the 26-28 hour mark. I’m thinking Ketchum right now.
Also will be putting out a new 3 hour old training line too.

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Rockford, MI

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