Red Hot Chili Trackers & Muir's Outdoors

09/02/2026

DOE CAMP IS ON!
Doe season is just 10 days away, and my wife has already issued the official orders:
“Get as many as you legally can.”
Well, boys… when the wife gives you a mission, you’d better have your boots, gun, cooler, and tags ready.
There isn’t much better than harvesting a North American whitetail and bringing it home to turn into steaks, roasts, burger, and whatever else we can dream up. I’ve got the processing system down pretty darn good in my barn. At this point, the deer practically need to make an appointment.
Now, I do have one rule I stick to: I won’t shoot a doe that has a fawn or twins with her. I do my best to find a solo doe.
Sounds easy, right?
Not always.
During the rut, a mother doe might be in estrus and wander off from her offspring , or she might just be taking a well-deserved break from the kids during the month of September. Either way, I’m looking for one that’s truly alone before I squeeze the trigger.
The two areas I hunt are absolutely loaded with does. The number I saw during the short amount of time I hunted last year was staggering. There are simply too many deer for the available food supply to comfortably support. Mother Nature can only put so much on the dinner table.
And this is where the early antlerless season gets REALLY nice.
We’ve got a 25' x 25' walk-in cooler sitting at a chilly 38 degrees at the Fruit Haven, a 3' x 18" x 20"-deep jumbo cooler for hauling them home, and the butchering area is right next to the walk-in.
Basically, once a deer hits the ground, it’s got better accommodations than some people I know.
And people who truly appreciate venison LOVE early antlerless season.
My nephew makes OUTSTANDING brats, and he’s already offered to make a bunch for me. If all goes according to plan, I’ll harvest a couple of does, give him some prime cuts, and he can teach me how to make the brats.
And the man doesn’t waste ANYTHING.
He pickles the heart. He slow-cooks the forearms and shanks, parts most people would normally turn their noses up at and somehow turns them into an unbelievable meal.
That’s the way it should be.
Harvest it. Respect it. Use it. Eat it.
So I’ll do my best to single one out, put some meat in the freezer, and hopefully fill the coolers.
The end result?
Some of the best meat this side of purgatory.
We’ve got plenty of ammo, and practice starts next Wednesday. Then Saturday the 12th is EARLY ANTLERLESS.
The coolers are ready.
The barn is ready.
The tags are ready.
The nephew is ready for brats.
And apparently, according to my wife, I’m expected to come home with deer. 😂
I have 5 to 6 really nice, outstanding spots. I will give my Nephew his choice when we get up there. The kid is a sharpshooter.
Aim small. Miss small.
DEER CAMP IS ON.
DOE SEASON IS HERE.
P.S. Kirby & Raylyn are READY TO TRACK.
Let the freezer-filling begin!

05/22/2026

Fun little track with Raylyn this morning. 440 yards, 14 hour old. 60 yards into the track she was distracted by a critter. I didn't see it, but I knew it. Had to stop the video and get on her a lil bit. After the correction she did well, but I did notice she still had it on her mind when we came to the next lil opening right when I restarted the video. You will see her pop her head up and ears up and look back in that direction. I had made a heavy scent pool right in that area. She worked through it pretty well. Then she got pulled down into another scent pool area by the blue tarp. Pretty sure it was a scent pool or just curious about the blue tarp. None the less, she worked it out. Near the end when we cross under the white rope horse area, another scent pool and she locked in on the target and finished well.
Over shot a few of the turns and corrected herself.
Sorry about my heavy breathing. Just quit smoking and it is still affecting me.
My lil Ray, She's a fun lil dog.
Part one, started well, but went to crittering...
https://youtu.be/5ftfDeTUG1I?feature=shared
Part two
https://youtu.be/hRL_Q5Na7KI?si=LzgRRhozrwf6tc7R

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

03/30/2026

There are those who say the bigger Walleye don’t taste as good. I say hog wash.
I do this every year. I cook up a large fish (7 to 10 pounder) and several smaller fish. I cut the larger fish into smaller nugget size chunks, mainly so they will cook nice and evenly. I kept it really simple. Dip fish into an egg wash then flour. Salt and Pepper in the flour. Put it all in a baggie and shake it up really good. Nice even coating.
100%, There is no taste difference what so ever.
If it is over 15 inches and under 32 inches, this household is eating it.

03/17/2026

Ok folks. I just ate a Cornedbeef recipe that is outta this fricking world.
I will NEVER do Corned Beef any other way again.

A tracking friend of mine has a you tube page. He posted Danielle's old family Corned Beef recipe.

Now, when you get to the glaze part, you might think Ooo, But trust me, you will actually wish you made more glaze.

Hit the "Follow n Like" button. Trust me, more great recipes to come. Although, this one will be hard to beat.

Hit the share button too.

Tracker Danielle finally shares her families famous corned beef recipe!! It is sweet, it is tangy, it is delicious!!

10/29/2025

Hunter calls, I do a short phone interview. I send him a hit chart. I ask, "where do you think you hit the deer ?" "I aimed for C-6.
I thought WTF. This is the 3rd call I have received where the hunter said they actually aimed for the HIGH SHOULDER.
Hunters, please learn the anatomy of the Great American Whitetail. Learn about shot placement, the VITALS. A little bit back is better than a forward shot.
Then, when practicing with your archery equipment, you should be shooting your arrows within a 2 to 3 inch group. About the size of a baseball, if not smaller, CONSISTANTLY.
Two days ago, guy calls. I asked where he hit the deer. First thing he says "I should have waited, but it was the only shot I had" '
Shot it in the neck. Deer stumbled half way to the ground for twenty yards and then took off. He tracked it through a huge bean field, then a wood line and into standing corn, GONE. Be patient and wait for a GOOD shot.
I've been driving close to two hours for a completely trampled and contaminated track on high muscle hits. I truly believe that hunters should not only take a hunter safety course, they need to take a hunter EDUCATION course for proper shot placement and wait times.
They think if they just hit it, it is going to die. They do not understand how incredibly resilient and tough these animal are.
Trackers do not perform miracles. We give it our all, but I think the biggest thing is, when we talk with the hunters at the tailgate so to speak. We try and help them understand the importance of shot placement and proper wait times, well, to those that will listen.
Do I run the track that is on the Ohio border and is hit in the neck or a liver lung that is 8 miles away.
There, Rant is over.
Gotta get ready to go run the C-6 hit this morning.

10/28/2025

Raylyn put one on the tailgate this afternoon, well, in the Kubota bucket.

10/25/2025

Kirby is out of the mix for a couple weeks. He has a bad lower jaw infection. The swelling has caused his left eye to be be swollen shut. He had a temp of 104 and was in pain. He is sitting at my feet right now and seems to be doing a lil better.

So, my my younger dog, Raylyn will be doing the bulk of the work. She just turned two. She had several finds last year and one so far this year. She has a good nose, athletic lil girl, independent and she loves to track.

You will hear trackers say "it's all about the dog, reading the dog".
Training this past summer with Raylyn was a joy. I could see the light bulb turn on. I have a pretty good read on her as to when she is on the line or not.

Don't let her size fool ya, she has a lot of heart and grit.

I have confidence in our "Sweet Baby Ray"

Once again, I do not have a flat rate, we go off donations or a tip. If times are tough, I get it, no biggie. We just want to find your deer.

10/19/2025

As trackers, we want to find every deer. But, that simply is not the case. In fact, only 30 to 40 % of are found with a tracking dog.
Our first two season I thought we did pretty darn well. We were right in that 30 to 35% recovery rate. Going into our third season, with all the training we did, I was really confident and excited. Dogs were staying on task and tracking well on our training lines.
Well, the season started well, Raylyn found a guys nice 10 point and Kirby’s tracking was spot on but a couple of non-recoveries, but tracked well.
We have had two proofs of life photos from hunters, one recovery, 3 property stops and several deer that I believe to still be alive. Even called in a veteran back-up team on our last track to verify the track, no recovery.
We have taken some tough calls. High back Wacks, muscle hits, a neck hit, heavily grid searched (trampled) tracks, property stops etc.
So, I am doing a little reset. Heading north to do a little bow hunting myself. We will be out of the mix till mid-week, home Wednesday and back at it.
If you need help tracking or need a lil game plan advise, shoot me a text. If your tracking blood, great. If your searching for blood, back out and shoot me a text. Proper wait times are CRITICAL.
248 770 3747

Tom, Kirby & Raylyn.

10/04/2025

Need help finding your deer.
Shoot me a text or give me a call.
I do not have a set fee. We go purely off donations/tip.
I just love watching my dogs figure out a track.

Lets get a dog in there before you grid search.

Tom

248 770 3747

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10/03/2025

HUNTERS, PLEASE READ...

Received a call today, gut shot this morning at 7:30 a.m.. Hunched up and walked away and bedded down. They waited 20 minutes and walked out and started tracking and bumped the deer laying down 75 yards away. To make matters worse, it went onto a property where she can not get permission, says they are anti-hunters.

When a hunter pressures a deer with a paunch (gut) shot, the deer can run for a mile or more and becomes extremely difficult to recover. In contrast, if the animal is left alone, it will typically bed down within 100 to 200 yards and expire, allowing for a successful retrieval.
Why pressured paunch-shot deer run so far
Adrenaline and survival instinct: A wounded deer that senses a predator, such as a hunter, will override its pain and keep moving to escape danger. Adrenaline can give the animal a temporary burst of energy, pushing it to cover significant distance even with a fatal injury.
Minimal blood trail: A shot to the intestines or paunch often results in a poor or nonexistent blood trail. The stomach and intestinal lining tend to plug the exit wound, preventing significant external bleeding. With no easy-to-follow sign on the ground, tracking the deer becomes far more challenging, visually.

Deer's behavior: A paunch-hit deer will hunch its back and walk or trot away slowly, but this behavior will change if it feels pursued. A pressured deer will abandon its natural tendency to bed down and will instead travel much further until it feels secure.
Risk of bumping: If you start tracking too early, you risk "bumping" the deer, or startling it from its bed. A deer that is bumped will get its adrenaline pumping and is much more likely to continue running.

For a suspected paunch or liver hit, the most critical step is to back out and wait. This gives the animal time to calm down and succumb to its injuries.
Wait times: Trackers recommend waiting at least 8 to 12 hours for a paunch shot (minimum), If during the rut, wait times double or even longer if conditions allow. For a liver hit, a wait of 9 hours is advised.
Ideal result: The goal is to let the deer find a safe, thick cover to bed down and expire undisturbed. If left alone, the deer is very likely to be found dead in its first bed.

If you suspect a paunch or liver hit and further more, you see evidence of a paunch hit, green matter, runny green fluids, browse from what they were eating, back out and do not attempt to track until the proper wait times have been reached.

In my experiences, the deer will be laying dead within 300 yards in the first bed. It is mush easier to find a dead deer then one that can get up and run.

Had a similar call yesterday too.

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