Hello again sportsmen! Isn’t technology incredible? If you are like me, there is almost nothing as bad as not being able to successfully track a mortally wounded deer. There have been times that I’ve searched half the night, only to return in the morning with no success (right Ewbank?). There have been times I’ve bumped into deer that had yet to expire, only to never see them again. There have been many hours sitting and fretting about whether a shot was properly placed. I’ve also had a dog recover a couple for me (thanks Marley!), which is tremendously fun to watch.
I remember as a youngster how difficult it was to not immediately get out of your stand and go look for blood. Last year, my oldest shot a good deer that ran onto an adjacent property. I didn’t know who owned it, but before getting out the onX app, I saw orange out in the field. We saw the buck do down about 10 yards into the tall grass, but we weren’t going to trespass. We saw the hunter’s vehicle, so we sat in my pickup for almost three hours until he exited the field. He was a young man from Tulsa who had leased the place, and he was more than happy to let us get the deer. He actually stood in the back of his truck with binoculars to watch just in case he ran off. Good fella he was (like most outdoorsmen).
Using a thermal drone at night or under cloudy skies seems to be the new craze to find dead deer. While I’ve not had to do it yet, I’ve seen several videos online, and it is quite incredible. I read that unless there is tremendous cover, then there is over an 80% recovery rate in Oklahoma. While I personally would rather track or watch a dog track (just because it’s fun), I’d certainly not hesitate to call in a drone, even for a doe. I’m not too keen on wasting animals. Just like trail cameras and crossbows, the new technology has been criticized by some, but it appears to be here to stay. While I don’t know any of them personally, I know there are drone trackers you can find online for Garfield and neighboring counties. Hopefully you’ll make a good shot and won’t ever need to hire a drone operator, but the option is there for when you are torn up about not locating that monster buck. As always, get the kids outdoors and away from the gaming systems. You’ll find out it’s some of the best bonding experiences a family can have. Happy Hunting!
