UKDTR call out details and shot site information.

cookingfat

Well-Known Member

The vast majority of deer that are shot are killed humanely and quickly recovered. Occasionally an animal is wounded or cannot be found and all conscientious deer stalkers would want to maximise their chances of finding it. One of the most efficient ways of doing this is to use a dog/handler team who can efficiently track an injured but mobile beast, or follow an overnight or older trail.


Until recent times there have not been many such teams available in the UK but more people are training their dogs, using a distillation of tracking skills from home and abroad, and achieving a very high standard of success.


Partly because of a lack of reliable tracking teams in the past there has been a reluctance to call for assistance when an animal is thought or known to be wounded. While the deer tracking skills base develops it may still be hard to locate an experienced team but we hope that as the pool of proven tracking teams grows, it will become more common to seek help and easier to find someone locally.

Increase the number of proven (trained and experienced) tracking teams, linking with other known groups where possible. In order to do this we will provide training events for both novice and developing dog/handler teams. Training will be open to anyone with no compunction to join our voluntary scheme.
To place as many teams as possible on a voluntary basis, at the disposal of estate managers, deer managers and stalkers in as many parts of the UK as possible. Such teams (usually one handler and one dog) will have demonstrated a recognised level of practical knowledge and ability.



Stalkers shot site information ~ please read!


Every stalker wants to achieve a clean, humane kill. Occasionally though, the animal is wounded or cannot be found immediately. In these situations there is a lot you can do to give the best chance of the animal being recovered:


Immediately after the shot, reload. If there is no immediate need for action (e.g. a second shot) wait, watch and listen. While waiting, recall the animal’s reaction to the shot and make a mental note of exactly where the animal was standing when the shot was fired. Even if you only suspect that the animal is wounded wait for 20-30 minutes before moving.

Mark where the shot was fired from, if possible mark where the rifle muzzle was.
Look for the place where the animal was standing (the “Strike” or “Shot site”). If possible approach along the bullet path and begin looking for signs well before you get to the strike, it is often closer (or further) than you think.
The strike site is a fragile combination of signs. When you find it, look very carefully for signs. Any blood, hair, bone fragment, organ fragment, or gut content is valuable for building a picture of how the animal was hit and may influence how the animal is subsequently tracked. Try your best not to disturb the scene too much in case a tacking team is required. See the Best Practice guide at http://www.thedeerinitiative.co.uk/uploads/guides/128.pdf for more information on strike signs.
Mark the strike area clearly, preferably placing a marker so that it doesn’t interfere with than attempt to track in the dark.
If you find no signs or if the signs indicate a wounded but still mobile deer, halt the search and contact an experienced tracking team who will advise you. There is a good chance that if you conduct an immediate random search you will succeed only in moving a wounded animal further away and make it less inclined to stop, make tracking more difficult and prolonging the animal’s suffering.
Always investigate the strike, even if you think that the animal was missed, a surprisingly high number of “missed” deer are subsequently retrieved.
It is natural to want to search for a lost deer or even try using a dog to find it but bear in mind that the longer and more intensive your search is the harder you may make it for a tracking team later, nonetheless call them anyway.
If you do decide to call a tracking team, when you speak with the dog handler, be prepared to answer a number of questions:
Time/date of shot
Species/sex of injured animal
Have you marked where you took the shot from?
Have you marked the strike/shot site?
Have you made an intensive search for the animal and/or has a dog already been used to try to find it?
Can you confirm that you have permission to track deer on the land and would you be able to gain permission on neighbouring land if that became necessary?
Should the dog handler bring a rifle? Many handlers will prefer to bring their own firearm for dispatch. If permission cannot be granted for that, the handler will rely on whoever is available but, for everyone’s safety, and that of the dog, the handler will expect to be the one to decide when the firearm is loaded and when the shot is fired.
On site the handler will need to carefully inspect the strike/shot site. The dog will be brought forward only when the handler has the clearest possible picture of what has happened. The handler may insist on waiting before tracking if the incident is very recent. Typical situations where a delay in tracking is recommended are with gut shots (a few hours), and broken limbs/jaws (a minimum of a few hours, 12 or more would not be excessive). Some will be concerned that a wounded animal might not be followed as soon as possible, but rest assured that it is often more humane to wait, sometimes for a few hours or overnight to lessen the chance of the animal still being mobile enough to evade recovery, thus prolonging its suffering. Well trained dogs are more than capable of following a track the next day.
It will help the handler if there are the minimum of people present. Any bystanders should keep well out of the way and stay off of the trail, the handler may need to bring the dog back to a confirmed section of the trail if the trail is lost.


Tracking dogs are usually worked on a leash and are trained to ignore game and other wildlife.
UKDTR trackers are discreet and will not criticise, their only interest is to help find the injured animal. No charge is made for tracking.

UKDTR tracking teams that maybe able to help are listed below.


For Lincolnshire, East Nottingham and some of Leicester: call Brian Gilbert on 07968 084 312


For North Lincolnshire: call Rob (Sarbjit Marwaha) on 07989 46 77 21
For High Wycombe and within one hour's radius thereof: call Neil Gatward on 07787 523 420
For Coventry and within one and a half hours thereof: call Richard Evans on 07989 538 350
For Newbury, North Hampshire and West Berkshire: call Tony Lowry on 07787 15 88 88


For Winchester and within one hour's radius: call Jamie Cordery on 01962 715 107 or 01962 679 699


For Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire: call Rob Eames on 07790 075473

If we can't cover your area please ring Tony Lowry 07787 15 88 88 (see above) as we will put you in touch with handlers from other tracking organisations that can help. Time is of no importance in fact it will probably help aid and recovery, please phone and we will do our best to help you.
 
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Just a few pics from what the UKDTR has been upto


Newark stalking fair by kind invite from Brian & Steve





A recovery of a muntjac





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on a recent UKDTR team training day


shot site inspection with a difference











the white backing paper showing flesh from the shot 8m's approx from the deer still 5 foot high at that distance





some of the guys on training tracks during the day


Brian








winding Henry up at the end of the track





Rob





working out the corner





free run to end of track





Neil





ross enjoying his rag at the find

Myself and Storm on a track
First 3/4 of the track was an overnight track
and the last 1/4 was laid the next morning to try and replicate a moved deer with a shot and free track to finish

MOV006 - YouTube


Some of the UKDTR tracking teams...





A few recoveries


One from Rob as he left the training day early to find this one





And a few others








 






Thank you for your support and calls
 
I haven't posted anything on the SD dog pages for a while for fear of getting a back lash or nasty comments,
I see Richard has put up some of the things we at UKDTR have been up to over the last couple of months, so I thought I would let you know about a recovery I had yesterday.
All our UKDTR teams have had call outs over the part two months, some more than others and I believe Richard is going to post some more pics and a story at some point.

i received a call yesterday morning from a deer manager who had shot two fallow out of a group of 30+

the he first doe shot ran 30 yards out into a field and dropped, he then took a bead on a second one which dropped on the spot, he went and picked up the second doe first only to see the first one get up and run into the wood,
he was very aware of our shot site guidance given on UKDTR's web site so after a very brief look inside the wood he left it a few hours and called me,
on arrival I had a look at both shot site and the place where the doe had fallen both sites had little blood but what was there look like lung blood, so suspected I short track.
hooked up the dog to the line and after a couple of hundred yards we found the dead doe.

thank you for all your support in the way of phone calls and messages I have had for the work all at UKDTR are doing, I would just like to say that all our call outs are free of charge and we just do it for the love of working our dogs.
 

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As Tony has mentioned
a few more pics of what the UKDTR teams have been upto

February has been an interesting month tracking wise for UKDTR


with all teams involved in tracks and a few of us also involved as back up tracking teams on movement days


Brian was called out to this shot site



but after a good track on some heavy going ground covered with deer and slots decided he may need another trackers opinion .... doing the right thing called on Rob , who went across but after a further 2.5k track put up a fallow that looked pretty healthy with no sign of injury....decided to call the track off at that point


Robert with another recovery from a movement day



he also had a 1.5 mile track approx before the boundary issue came into play once more





boundary fence



 


3 more teams were involved in a more intense movement day where succesful tracks were made and deer recovered


few pics and short write ups of some of the tracks from one of the days


first track was a combined effort


An injured Deer was spotted trying to cross a road before the day really got started... quick check over the radio confirmed we were good to go.... I blocked the road and held the traffic up whilst Tony grabbed his rifle (designated rifle for this track) and Neil with his dog Ross commenced the track... after a short distance across a field and into a coppice, Neil & Tony had caught up with the deer but getting a shot was prooving difficult , shots were fired at a very mobile deer moving away from them dropping the deer but it was still very lively


Ross was released who quickly secured the deer untill Neil arrived and despatched the animal



as the day went on a call over the radio for a buck that was on 3 legs came through and heading our way


as it crossed our path a rushed shot at the moving deer never hit the mark..so we marked where it entered the trees leaving it to settle and come back to.. as the cover was thick and such a mobile deer may settle in there


as the movement came to an end, we were told of another deer that needed looking for


i took the next track ,unfortunately i lost the go pro footage


as this was an interesting track


pic of shot site



as i followed the track it soon took a twist , as the track now followed the same route as the 3 legged buck did into the trees


I thought to myself ,


this could be testing for my young dog


about 100+ metres into the trees ... Storm who had been tracking well started to show signs that some thing was not quite right ... at this point blood was also spotted... bringing Storm back to the blood several times, untill he took a more definate track with the same vigour he had originaly started with , after a further several hundred metres... Storm stopped at a large mass of blood which was then confirmed as a fallow deer that had been shot and recovered by a rifle that was waiting near by...my track concluded but no deer for the dog to get excited over


the same rifle had also suspected he had a miss that he wanted us to confirm .. his thoughts were confirmed


now 3 tracks in , 2 followed to a succesful outcome and a miss confirmed...






The afternoon movement in a different area was very quiet untill a call came in at the end


the rifle had shot and thought he heard a strike..could not find a shot site but marked where he thought the deer were stood when shot taken.... following the deer to a fence line found lots of pins along the fence in several places but nothing else


on investigation myself and Tony worked out the deer had been trying to go through the fence in several places before it jumped it and disappeared


we went to the marked spot and searched for further clues... brit found this


bullet strike 10 yards infront of marked spot and we recovered the bullet head





another sucessful conclusion.. a clean miss


time now getting on.. we went back to look for the 3 legged buck we had left to lie up


decision made for Neil & Ross to try this track and i was the designated rifle to follow them incase a shot was needed .. as mine had already worked part of this track ... so Neil started from where the buck had entered the trees .. tracked upto the same spot as mine did... but then took a different route going left along side the laurels


Ross then started to enter the Laurels... seconds later the fallow buck stood up and started to crash through the laurels.. no shot available


neil released Ross...as i exited the laurels looking for a safe shot


Ross caught and dragged the buck down yards in front of me


Neil still stuck in the laurels.. i moved forward to finish the buck off


another combined effort by us, that secured another recovery safely



no deer were lost on the day


what the day showed us, that all the effort we had put into training and how we have bonded as a group , with the trust we also have in each other is working and working well


something the UKDTR has always been keen to uphold
 
Incredible work guys. No half measures here!

The very best of luck to you all in UKDTR

Regards,
Glendine.
 
Good work guys.

Its a horrible gut wrenching feeling of loosing a wounded deer.
Hopefully in the near future I will get a fresh dog for this work.

In the meantime keep up the good work guys.

ATB

Jon
 
Thanks for all your comments,
We have had a very busy start to the year with a lot of call outs all ready as you can see by Richards post,

Today I have been at Spartsholt collage with another member of our team by kind invitation of there game & wildlife department, talking to the next generation of stalkers and gamekeepers telling them what UKDTR are doing and our plans for the future.
we did a power point presentation and a small tracking demo,
we have been invited back in the spring to do more work with the students.
thank you to all the team at Sparsholt for there support and we are looking forward to the time.

 
Looks like things are moving on well, and some good dogs working. Hope you may still have room for a German wire crocodile? I hope she will be up to speed later this year. At least for the first test.
 
Looks like things are moving on well, and some good dogs working. Hope you may still have room for a German wire crocodile? I hope she will be up to speed later this year. At least for the first test.
looking forward to seeing your maybe not so little German crocodile again.

Tony
 
As Always .. what a fantastic service by dedicated people and priceless dogs. :tiphat:
 
Well done to you all and really good to see you now have the best practice tag. I did worry that the best practice steering group would take a long time. So Tony what's next boundary crossing legally would be my aim.
 
UKDTR did a fantastic job today; educating people at the grassroots level is essential to help preserve peoples livelihoods and our 'sport' for future generations. We look forward to working with UKDTR more in the future.
 
Great post and great service your providing guys . As Glendine said , certainly no half measures ! Obviously a really skilled & dedicated team who enjoy their work .
 
thank you for all your kind comments guys
It has not been an easy journey with lots hardships along the way
but it has been worth it
Well Done Tony on a good day helping to educate future stalkers on what we do :thumb:

Another good track for one of our tracking teams
called out to a Fallow deer.... stalker seen it had run
so marked the shot site and waited for the UKDTR tracking team to arrive
leaving the track untouched
shot site



after a short track a recovery was made


well done Brian & Henry......
 
UKDTR did a fantastic job today; educating people at the grassroots level is essential to help preserve peoples livelihoods and our 'sport' for future generations. We look forward to working with UKDTR more in the future.
Thank you WB for your kind words,
the pleasure was all ours, not just telling the students what we do but promoting tracking here in the Uk with all the tracking groups.
thanks for your pics,
heres a few more
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I have just received this report from one of UKDTR's members today,
We don't normally put up pictures of the stalker or his client but he was more than happy to have his pic taken with the recovered muntjac and the handlers dog.
by showing this pic and story he hoped it would encourage more to call UKDTR should they ever need our free and discreet service.

with two tracks in one day for this handler things are getting busy,
the report that fallows is the account of events as the handler saw it.



First Call out :-

Was called by a stalker last night to advise a big muntjac buck shot in that evening had run on with apparent damage to the front left leg. On arrival, this morning ( approx 15 hours ) the stalker guided me to the shot site, where there was very little sign. No blood, and a few pale pins only. Working the dog from the shot site we tracked up a bank in to the wood, and then in to a area full of hollies, this was approx 90 yards from the shot site. The dog was tracking well, but the tracking lead tangled around a tree, so we stopped, but the dog then went on point, and a muntjac buck appeared from under a holly approx 50 yards ahead. Identified as the buck due to the size of the animal, and it limping, the stalker was unable to get a shot, so the dog was loosed. However, while it was identified as the buck shot, the deer was extremely mobile and ran over a boundary on to neighbouring land. The deer was watched running for approx 80 yards, and while there were signs of a limp, the speed the buck ran at, and evaded the dog, indicated that any wound was superficial.

So no animal recovered, but considered a good result as the track followed, was to the deer indentified by the stalker as the target animal, which then proved itself fit enough to avoid the dog, and will more than likely recover.

Second call out :-

Short notice call out this morning on the way back home from the first, to a muntjac buck, gut shot, and lying up in very thick Blackthorns. The stalker had visually tracked the buck in to the cover, but not approached. On arrival there was a noticeable smell of the animal, but the cover was too thick to track - or to try a shot in to, however, the dog was visibly listening to / smelling the deer in cover, and was released to hetz. Although wounded, the buck was still very mobile, and was able to evade the dog initially, however, the dog used the cover well, and outmanouvered the buck to a position where he was able to pin the animal, for me to despatch.

No track involved, but highlighted the benefit of a trained dog, which worked very well inside the cover, to chase, and hold the animal, which would not have been possible for the handler, or stalker to do.



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