Track On Sika Stag

jamross65

Well-Known Member
I had two mates out over the last couple of days trying for a shot at a Sika stag.

With the wind swinging round to the East here it gets harder to get into some of the good bits but conversely, it also means access to other areas where a Westerly prevents access.

Anyway, Steve went and sat in a high seat right on top of the open hill against a single tree that looks onto a corner of a block of Sitka, leaving Allan to sit watching a field a lot of deer have been coming to. There are large numbers of deer and sign in this area, droppings, hefting, wallows etc...

Steve gets a shot at a stag late last night as it comes out the Sitka from about 60yds away. The strike is good and the deer is knocked over, but it gets back up and runs off into the trees. He checks the shot site and finds a piece of liver but hardly any blood whatsoever. He feels he may have pulled the shot slightly but not enough to miss the lung area completely but everything at the locus suggests its a bit far back. When I meet up with him it is now pitch dark and after discussing the circumstances decide to return in the morning to look for it for fear of pushing it further and further away.

Back 14hrs later and he takes me to where he marked the strike. We find a small piece of muscle tissue but no liver, but given the time passed that could easily have been taken by a bird or other animal.

Whisky is put on the tracking collar and lead and marks the sign well, two small drops of meaty blood. She then shows a lot of excitement and wants to track away from where Steve said he saw it run, clearly on hot scent from other deer that have been there overnight. She is brought back to the shot site and encouraged to follow it again but this time she shoots off in the other direction! A third time back at the site and this time she locks onto it when realising that this is the one she has to follow.

She tracks to an old rabbit netting fence with a large hole in it and clearly wants to go through. Other than the beginning of the track there is no other sign now. We continue into the Sitka and she is very locked into the track she is on pulling at a strong pace. Because of the thickness of the Sitka I am never upright and at times on my hands and knees which is slowing her down and making it difficult to read her speed and whether she is continuing on the correct track or distracted with a hot scent. This area of Sitka is literally covered in deer crap, deer runs and wallows. She continues for about 100m and stops and indicates a small amount of blood which is a bit worrying given the liver found earlier. Another 30m or so she stops and has a good sniff at the foot of a tree but I cannot see any sign nor does she indicate however, it is very dark under the canopy. She continues on for another 200m or so and tracks straight through two wallows.

She tracks for a total of about 600m and as I am now struggling to get through the stuff and holding her back. I begin to suspect her speed is down to her loosing the original track and now possiblyon a hot one. She actually stopped herself and looked back at me here, again suggesting her loss of the track. I had marked the blood we saw a good distance back with a rubber glove and was considering going back to it to put her on it again as I was convinced she had strayed, and without any sign found to back her up over so long a distance that sealed the decision.

I took her off the collar and began to struggle down towards the road about 30m away allowing her to range a bit. When I got to the edge of the wood I called for her. She came running towards me but stopped about 5m short just staring at me. I told her to 'come here' but she just turned and ran straight away from me. I knew she must have found something as that's not normal behaviour. She then barked a couple of times, and in front of me I see her standing next to the dead stag! Then she really went off on one, barking continually at it. It was stiff, cold and had obviously died shortly after being shot last night.

As can be seen from the photos, the exit hole is a bit far back but the entrance hole was spot on but perhaps a wee bit high. The bloo had pored out of him where he lay but just back from where he lay there was hardly any roundabout. Both lungs were badly damaged and the liver was smashed to bits. From the position of the bullet holes the blood had been pooling in the body cavity meaning none found on the track except what was mentioned earlier. Any lung material appeared to have been blown back through the diaphragm without exiting and the stomach was completely undamaged. When Steve gralloched it there was literally pints of blood in the bottom of the chest.

It's hard to believe that a deer, even one as tough as a Sika stag can run what we estimate to be at least 600m with that kind of damage and leave so little sign along the way.

The photos show the exit hole on the ribs and the damage to the organs. The entrance was good but the stag must have been standing at more of an angle than Steve originally thought.

​This is a relatively clear bit of the wood compared to where most of the track occurred but even then it was a bit dark for some of the photos.

I was pleased with what she had done but so angry with myself for beginning to doubt her as another few metres further on and she would have been straight to it. Another lesson learned.




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As we have always said they don't stop even when they are dead, but it does make them exciting to hunt.
I have always found that you have to trust the dog, after you have had them working with you for a year or two,
you get to know their mannerisms, the dog knows what it can smell, if you have trained them correctly you will be able to read what the dog is telling you and act accordingly.I remember my old GSP bitch standing on a strong point over 2 bracken fronds, I could see right through it, or so I thought, I called her off and gave the fronds a flick with my boot to be confronted by a big old cock pheasant flushing into the air.
Bye the way I am not saying you have not trained your dog properly. I am saying give her her head and follow it through, you can always go back .
 
Well done Brian and Whisky.
A track that no untrained dog/deer dog would have found.
Why?
The age combined with all the other distraction and the fresh deer runs.

Only a dog/handler trained to track would've found this stag-most would have gave up and their dog would've gone the wrong direction long before finding it.

Very well done.....we are never done learning,all of us.
 
As we have always said they don't stop even when they are dead, but it does make them exciting to hunt.
I have always found that you have to trust the dog, after you have had them working with you for a year or two,
you get to know their mannerisms, the dog knows what it can smell, if you have trained them correctly you will be able to read what the dog is telling you and act accordingly.I remember my old GSP bitch standing on a strong point over 2 bracken fronds, I could see right through it, or so I thought, I called her off and gave the fronds a flick with my boot to be confronted by a big old cock pheasant flushing into the air.
Bye the way I am not saying you have not trained your dog properly. I am saying give her her head and follow it through, you can always go back .

You are right Robin.

Ill tell you what the problem was here, because of the cover I was struggling to keep up with her therefore I was actually holding her back and occasionally pulling on the lead. This meant that any change in her speed or direction could not be properly read as some of it was down to me. What was good though was that she was determined enough to ignore any pullings this time on the lead, because when she was younger a pull was enough to put her off as she read it as a corrrection, being a bit insecure in what she was doing due to lack of experience.
 
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Firstly,what an enjoyable read, Jamross,can I just say that these posts on tracking,not only from yourself ,but the contribution as a whole,are an exeptional and excellent resource for novices like me,and I'm sure for most here and trully worth their weight when it comes to an experienced third eye on things.

Hopefully next year I will have a dog to start traininig/tracking on deer,and I'm following these posts religiously
.
Secondly, please,please all of you,keep these posts coming,you have no idea of their value to people like me who have so many questions on tracking.


Thanks again,and of course well done to the dog.
 
Firstly,what an enjoyable read, Jamross,can I just say that these posts on tracking,not only from yourself ,but the contribution as a whole,are an exeptional and excellent resource for novices like me,and I'm sure for most here and trully worth their weight when it comes to an experienced third eye on things.

Hopefully next year I will have a dog to start traininig/tracking on deer,and I'm following these posts religiously
.
Secondly, please,please all of you,keep these posts coming,you have no idea of their value to people like me who have so many questions on tracking.


Thanks again,and of course well done to the dog.

Thats very nice of you to say so gelert.

I promise you, I am still learning with her as well.

Dont misread passion and love of dog work as elitism as has been suggested occasionally....

There is a science to tracking and I'm lucky to have guidance from a few guys very experienced in it. The dog is teaching me well though.

I have stalked Sika for a long time but this has to be one of the most ridiculous runs I have ever seen from one with that injury, 6.5x55 as well!
 
Thats very nice of you to say so gelert. I promise you, I am still learning with her as well. Dont misread passion and love of dog work as elitism as has been suggested occasionally.... There is a science to tracking and I'm lucky to have guidance from a few guys very experienced in it. The dog is teaching me well though. I have stalked Sika for a long time but this has to be one of the most ridiculous runs I have ever seen from one with that injury, 6.5x55 as well!
Why do I use that calibre;)
 
Thats very nice of you to say so gelert. I promise you, I am still learning with her as well. Dont misread passion and love of dog work as elitism as has been suggested occasionally.... There is a science to tracking and I'm lucky to have guidance from a few guys very experienced in it. The dog is teaching me well though. I have stalked Sika for a long time but this has to be one of the most ridiculous runs I have ever seen from one with that injury, 6.5x55 as well!
well done to both I witnessed a very capable and determined dog opened my eyes on the sheer stamina of an injured sika ! And secondly it was a pleasure to witness this track and find ! After years of gwps I must say I was very impressed with both dog and handler, I have watched many dogs work and can honestly say because of the terrain I had doubts and I'm not sure whether my experienced ten year old dog which was left in the vehicle would've of achieved what whiskey did and showing class with it !
 
I would like to say I had the pleasure of witnessing what happened this morning and can only say after years gwps I'm nothing but impressed, I have been involved in many tracking situations but the terrain in which this beast was lost had to be seen to be believed, the dog showed class for a young bitch the makings are obvious for a very capable partnership, I have witnessed many easier finds made made hard because of dogs nowhere near the ability whiskey showed with more experience ! Not blowing smoke bit I'm not sure it could've of been done any better! Can't wait for end of month Brian Steve hasn't stopped smiling yet flying down the m6
 
I enjoyed reading that, well done to both you and the dog.
I was starting to wonder if I was the only person in the country who's deer
didnt always just drop on the spot.


The sika must be made of strong stuff to cover that distance whilst suffering
that sort of damage. A nice stag, top job.
 
well done to both I witnessed a very capable and determined dog opened my eyes on the sheer stamina of an injured sika ! And secondly it was a pleasure to witness this track and find ! After years of gwps I must say I was very impressed with both dog and handler, I have watched many dogs work and can honestly say because of the terrain I had doubts and I'm not sure whether my experienced ten year old dog which was left in the vehicle would've of achieved what whiskey did and showing class with it !

You spell Whisky again with a Whisk'e'y and you'll no get back....:doh:
 
Well done Brian, great read and a really good stag to recover, it would have been a real shame it it was not seen again. Well don Whisky.
ATB
Richard
 
well done to both I witnessed a very capable and determined dog opened my eyes on the sheer stamina of an injured sika ! And secondly it was a pleasure to witness this track and find ! After years of gwps I must say I was very impressed with both dog and handler, I have watched many dogs work and can honestly say because of the terrain I had doubts and I'm not sure whether my experienced ten year old dog which was left in the vehicle would've of achieved what whiskey did and showing class with it !
wow
Age of the crocodile has past it usage... Lol
i am sure if you had given your old dog a go it would of surprised you...

well done Brian
again you have prooved it is not just about the dog
but also about the handler being part of a team
​good find with a touch of luck to boot... Future looks looks good
 
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