Archy Tracks

12/07/2025

Archy and I took a track in Mercersburg the last day of archery season. The buck was hit a little high on a quarter away shot. Another hunter saw the buck from his stand about 600 yards from the shot stand. We went in about 9 hours later. After a few back tracks, Archy was able to figure out the right direction. We had no blood for about 300 yards, then two small drops in some briars. After about another 300 yards we saw the deer stand up and slowly walk off. We backed out, the hunter would be bear hunting the next day and look for him then.

Yesterday I got a text that the buck was shot by his buddy in rifle season. The crossbow shot was forward and high. Hit a vertebrae and went down into far shoulder. Never hit the chest cavity.

11/09/2025

My boy.
Today we had to track for my son. Levi hit a buck at 6:55 this morning. I knew it was back. I thought maybe liver, definitely stomach. We waited 9 hours. I should have waited until tomorrow.
Archy took the track and struggled. Many circles, restarts, very little blood and dry leaves. He finally works into a big thicket where I think the buck should have gone. He then takes off pulling all 30 feet of cord and barking. Typically meaning we are running a live deer. We go to an open pasture and I decided to go back and restart. After that I decided to call it and go back in the morning hoping the dew will help.

Before we started we had told all the neighbors we may be on there property tracking, the one who owns the before mentioned pasture calls my wife and says your buck is in the pasture and is hurt bad. By the time we got there, he was bedded up and we were able to slip in and get another bolt into his buck.

Honestly during the track it was hard to read the dog and believe he was on the deer, but it is obvious now he was on him.

The shot was stomach and broke the back leg on exit. We did get a pass through but there was not one speck of blood on the bolt. Just fat

10/18/2025

Our biggest recovery so far. Even better it was for a 12 year old hunter.

Took a call last night, Dad thought it was a double lung, but he did not have more than a drop of blood, but the bolt was covered. They did the right thing and backed out.

Archy and I were on the track 7:30 this morning. He took us to the edge of a steep bank. Archy took us down to the creek, which makes sense and he acted like he was on track. After going up the creek about 30 yards, he started wind checking. I told the guys typically he does this and the deer is laying close by. We couldn't find it. I decided to go back up totje top and start over. We headed straight up the hill. When we got to the top the buck was laying there in the brush, 20 yards from where we went down the hill.

I concluded that the thermals were messing Archy up and I should have worked the top a little more knowing the conditions.

The deer was not double lunged. Maybe one lung, liver and exit through guts.

Extremly happy for this young hunter.

09/02/2025

Quick little training run
He had a little trouble in the dry leaves on the side hill, but he worked it out

11/05/2024

We took a track today in Mt. Airy Maryland, for our friend. Buck was shot last night, slight quarter to. Bolt went in above the front shoulder and out in front of the hind quarter on the opposite side. Mike called me when he lost blood. The track was 870 yards. When we got to an electric fence, I pulled Archy and carried him around to the other side of pasture. He then ran the fence line until he found where the deer left the pasture. Back on the line the buck was laying about 30 yards down hill.

11/04/2024

Today we took a 30 hour old track on a gut shot. Dry leaves, hunter grid searching and mountain laurels made it tough. I know we were still on the right line until about 1.3 miles (finding blood specs) Then I thought we could smell the deer. We just couldn't find it. Team is whooped tonight.

10/29/2024

Just got a text from a hunter we tracked for two weeks ago. Archy did not act like the buck was dead. We thought low hit/shaved briquet or belly. He saw the buck last night, doing fine.

Send a message to learn more

10/26/2024

We went 1 for 2 today on the same farm. The hunters hit this buck 30 hours prior. Straight down, one lung and stomach. It was a difficult dry leaf track. Archy worked slow and was on it. When we came out to the field at the bottom of the map I could see a belly in the cut corn on the next hill. It was his buck. Unfortunately the corn wasn't picked when he shot it. Combine actually hit the deer
We then took up a 6 hour old track for the hunters dad. We tracked that deer probably a half mile. Spots of blood here and there. It was determined the hit was high.
Pup is tired. Levi and I are now in the blind

10/23/2024

It has been a rough start to our season. We have taken 3 tracks. I believe all three deer are still alive. 2 are for sure.

10/12/2024

We are at our camp this weekend. Put down an all timber training run. Lots of ferns and dry leaves. I used very little blood. He did great

08/31/2024

Final stages of Archy's first official recovery
See previous post for more details.