Tracking Dogs Found My Deer

Brian Palmiter, a veteran bowhunter of 45 seasons, was hunting from his tree stand on a Wednesday evening in Bradford County, Pennsylvania's "big woods" mountain country, when a 10-point whitetail buck sauntered into view

-  Palmiter, Jack Wentzel

It was a dandy buck, among the better of the other 57 deer Palmiter had taken in his lifetime, most with a bow. But the end of legal shooting light was approaching, and an early fall snow squall was descending upon the area. Palmiter had a choice to make, send the arrow or let this buck walk.

He sent the arrow.

It reached his mark what seemed a mortal shot and Palmiter watched the buck until it vanished from his sight.

Sensibly, Palmiter waited before attempting to take up the blood trail. While waiting, he revisited his actions prior to and after the shot. He remained confident he'd made a killing shot.

Because of the storm, he only waited 30 minutes before trying to track the buck. Climbing down from his tree stand, he began looking for evidence of a hit in the falling snow. After taking several steps in the direction the buck headed and seeing no sign of blood or tracks in what was now 3 inches of snow, he began to worry.

That's a situation he'd never faced with other deer he'd taken. He also wasn't sure which way the buck might have gone after he lost sight of it.

A feeling of desperation set in as Palmiter walked back to his cabin on the 120 acres he owns. His daughter, Gina, was hunting with him that day. She'd returned to the cabin before him.

"I need to call those dog trackers I read about," Palmiter, sick with worry, told Gina. He'd read about the trackers the previous hunting season, found contact information for his area on their website, and scribbled the number on a note tacked to his cabin wall.

Palmiter had some trepidation since he had no experience with dogs tracking downed game. However, using the phone number he'd jotted down, he wisely decided to contact Jack Wentzel, a member of United Blood Trackers.