WoodsWise Wounded Game Recovery

12/07/2025

11/16/2025

I've made a post similar to this in years past, but ethical shots needs to be discussed again.

Please know:
• IT'S NEVER "A DO OR DIE SHOT," OR "IT WAS THE ONLY SHOT I HAD TO TAKE, SO I DID!" If a deer does not present itself for a quick clean kill, PASS! Believe it or not, you might actually see the deer later in a much better position/situation to shoot.

• Shots to avoid are the quartered to shots, frontal shots, and those directly underneath shots are all MARGINAL shots with archery equipment. Yes occasionally those type of shots can kill, but a lot of times they don't. Team Jewel networks with many other trackers and we all agree that deer shot with those type of shots very rarely get recovered, even with a trained tracking dog. These type of shots leave the deer suffering with a nasty wound, in which the deer might slowly die days, weeks, or months later.

• Hunters please take OPTIMAL shots. Deer are hard enough to kill any time, but during the rut they are EXTRA HARD to kill. A double lung shot/heart shot are "usually" quick clean kills. Try your best to wait and take those broadside or quartering away shots.

• Also please do not shoot at deer that are at longer ranges that you're not absolutely/consistently capable of making and do not shoot in low-light situations where you can barely see the deer. Think about it, if you can't clearly see what you're aiming at DON'T shoot. Please be ETHICAL in your shot choices, don't make an animal suffer due to your poor decision.

As always, Fred Bear said it best: Be sure of your shot. Nothing is more expensive than regret. I've spoken to many hunters sick to their stomachs after they've taken risky/marginal shots at a deer. This sickening feeling (regret) may have been because of the hunters poor choice, however sometimes it sometimes can be the last second movement of the deer after the trigger has been pulled. Good luck hunters and please be ethical in your shot choices, respect the game we are given to hunt.

10/14/2025

Here’s one that came full circle today, putting an end to this awesome story!! This buck was shot on the evening of September 11th, and from the video, you can see what appears to be a high shot across the top of the back. We tracked this deer on September 12th and bumped him from a bed at about the 850 yard mark. Once Lovec took us to the place where we jumped him, we decided to call the track for two reasons, for fear of pushing him into oblivion and clear out of the country and also because once we reached where he was bedded, Lovec seemed to lose interest in the pursuit, like he wasn’t giving off that “wounded deer scent” any longer.

Fast forward to September 21…,, the buck shows back up on the hunter’s game camera!! Confirmation that he’s still alive!!!

Fast forward again till today….,, the hunter calls me to report that he got a second chance at him this morning and sealed the deal on him!!!

Congrats man on an absolute toad of a buck!! Glad to have been a part of the story on this giant!!

10/04/2025

We put a doe on the tailgate this evening!!!!

10/03/2025

Short 200 yard track this evening on this liver/gut shot from last night. Drove 1 hour 20 minutes, found it in 9 minutes! Gotta love these kind!!

09/30/2025

The first post of the ETHICS countdown is something we trackers sometimes hear a hunter say to us and is a huge pet peeve to many of us, that is "it was the only shot I had."

BE SURE OF YOUR SHOT. If a shot is marginal the scales are drastically tipped toward risk! Please don’t rush or hastily take a shot if a deer doesn’t present itself for an optimal shot placement. It's entirely possible that the deer you are contemplating taking a risky shot on just might present itself for a better opportunity later in your hunt, or on another day.

Finally, please don’t use a tracker or their dog for a crutch. In the past I’ve had a couple hunters say, they wouldn’t have taken the shot if they didn’t know a guy with a good dog. Maybe at the time those words were intended as a form of compliment, but it simply doesn’t work that way. Please respect the animal you are trying to harvest by making ethical choices. NOTHING IS MORE EXPENSIVE THAN REGRET.

09/24/2025

Another proof of life pic we just received!!

We tracked this deer the evening of 9/21 after being shot that morning. We were on this buck for approximately 6/10 of a mile when Lovec made an abrupt turn out of an open field into a thicket. Once in the thicket, her demeanor changed to let me know we were trailing a deer that was not dead yet! We called the track for fear of pushing the deer further into the abiss. The hunter just reached out to me and said this was him that showed back up on camera today!!

09/24/2025

Confirmation of life photo!!

We tracked this buck on 9/12 after being shot on the evening of 9/11. The hunter had a tactacam video clip of the shot and we were skeptical after reviewing the footage that this was a lethal shot. The dog confirmed just that. We actually jumped a buck at about 850 yards into the track that we thought could possibly be the wounded deer but were not sure. After jumping that particular deer, Lovec took us to that particular point and lost interest in this track, signaling that the deer wasn’t dead. We called the track at that point. On 9/21, the hunter gets his first game camera picture of his well being. Note the wound high across his back. These shots are almost always non-lethal. This shot is ABOVE the spine and no vital organs were touched.

09/20/2025

Can’t wait to try these puppies out!! Been on the waiting list for almost 3 years!! Shoutout to Ray at BuckBrade Tracking Shoes for getting these to me!!

09/20/2025

Most up to date list of current trackers in Kentucky. Give it a share.

09/19/2025

Just getting this page started. Give us a like and a follow and stay tuned for this year’s exciting tracking adventures.