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J&M Whitetail Recovery, Staunton, IL (2025)

11/12/2025

Grown Men Do Shed Tears!

Tonight I was blessed with a couple super easy tracks. Scarlett recovered 2 deer that the hunters lost blood on and were 200 yards or less from their deer.

Our last track was an emotional one. It was easy and straight forward. It was a gut shot deer that went 160 yards past the hunters last blood. There wasn’t too much to brag on her working capability.

Here’s where it gets emotional.. When I got the call, they asked if I would track it in the morning. I would be working. At that time I didn’t really see the need for more lay time than it already had. Nothing lead to a gut shot. While talking with the hunter he asked my price.

I told him, “I don’t have a set fee, we work on tips and donations.”

He replied and said “well, I really don’t know much. I just know I’m new to hunting, this is my first deer, it’s Veterans Day, I’m Verteran and I’m feeling down right now..”

I said, “send me a pin or address, I’m headed that way from a track. You don’t have to worry about a dime.”

He said, “oh, I have to give you something.”

I replied “yes, you have to give me a pin or address to where I need to go to come track your deer!”

After arriving we did our normal thing. We got going and I put Scarlett on 50 yards before their last blood. She took the line quickly. About 150 yards in I yelled “blood” and they sounded surprised. We go a little ways longer and I screamed “good girl Scarlett!” I will never forget hearing how joyful that soldiers voice was behind me. I let out a few tears as I turned around to tell a man that served overseas congratulations on his first deer as I gave him a hug.

I’m truly honored to have had 3 veterans behind my dog and I as we worked to recover our last track on Veterans Day 2025.

To make the moment even better, we were all blessed to have gotten a once in a lifetime opportunity. A picture with this hunters first trophy and Scarlett’s recovery under the northern lights.

At this time, I would like to thank all of you Veterans for your service and sacrifice! To me, it means more than you know!

11/12/2025

The big red dog and I stopped for a quick photo op on our way to the next track tonight!

11/10/2025

This recovery was made by team work.

Saturday evening I got a call from a friend. He asked if I would be available first thing in the morning to help one of his friends. I told him that I wasn’t because I had a track lined up at 8 already. He asked if I would mind getting there at first light. As much as I didn’t want to set an alarm, I agreed.

I didn’t actually speak with the hunter on this. From what I knew, it was believed that guts were involved but it was a low hit. The only thing I got from the hunter was his address and confirmed it was a go at sunrise. Or so I thought I confirmed with the hunter himself.

The alarms went off and I got up and got our oldest out of bed. We got ready and loaded the dog and headed out.

Once we got there I learned I never even spoke to the hunter…. We got Scarlett all geared up and walked to the hit sight. It was in a corn stubble field with 25+ mile an hour wind ripping through it which really helped her…. (Insert sarcasm) It took a few mintues for her to lock on but when she did.. She ran the best looking run I have ever seen her run. She ran it all the way to 850 yards where we circled around to the drive way. We had a couple drops of blood on the drive confirming he was there. The only issue was right on the other side of the lane was a property line and we did not have permission and it was getting close to the time I had to leave to meet the next hunter at 8. I told them to work on getting permission and we would be back at some point today if they got it.

Fast forward to this evening, Scarlett has worked her tail off on two other tracks. We now have permission to go on to the neighboring property. Jackson and I came back and started right where we left off. Sadly, with the wind beating on this trail on a wide open field all day, she really struggled working it. We found a few drops of blood and they were going in a straight line to the northeast. After a few more mintues the sun was setting quickly and I was feeling for her. We were not making ground quick at all. I told everyone I was going to try and cut the field out of the equation and use this wind to our advantage. Looking down this straight arrow of a line there was two fingers of timber. I pulled her off and walked her to the furthest finger and began to work her along the edge of it on the down wind side. That finger did not yield anything. We worked our way to the next one. We covered 3/4 of it. As I was starting to feel sadden but then Scarlett’s tail slowly raised and curled around to her back. Then it started to wag. There was a noticeable difference in her. I looked down and seen a chunk of fur that had a straight clean cut. That don’t happen naturally. We were back on it, we successfully shaved off 600 yards of this track that was starting to seem impossible. Scarlett continued to work a few more yards and there was a speck of blood. It was 100% confirmed, it was him. A few seconds later her nose turned into the wind and she began to air scent into this finger. A few yards infront of her laid this 7 year old boys first deer.

It’s moments like this, seeing her make her way to a deer and seeing a father jumping for joy with his young son in his arms knowning that if it wasn’t for a dog they would have never seen this deer again after it covered nearly a mile.

I told my wife when I left this morning that Scarlett worked the best she ever has. When we came back this evening the boys father said “be honest, what do you feel about this?” I replied “I liked the way she worked” and that’s all. I learned real quick not to talk too much because when you’re tracking with a dog everything can turn quickly. After we recovered the deer I said “now, I’ll be honest with you, she worked too good this morning for this deer not to be dead”

11/08/2025

Wait times are more important now than ever!

Yesterday I took a call from a hunter. The hit didn’t sound all that great if I’m being honest. I don’t know if I misunderstood some of the details or what. I thought “well it was a pass through. I guess I’ll take it”

After meeting with the hunter we walked to the hit sight. Once we got there, I quickly learned that it was not what I originally thought. The blood was dark and rich. After looking around I saw some blood with gut matter in it. The hunter stated on the phone that he didn’t smell the unforgettable smell. After I told him that, he asked “what do we do now?” I explained that I believed liver was involved due to the fact of the dark rich blood and that I would track the deer being we were closing in on the 12 hour post shot mark.

Scarlett ran this line. It was roughly 80 to 100 yards from the hit sight to the hunters last blood. Once Scarlett locked on she took me past a small spec of blood 100 yards past the POL. She continued to work without missing a beat. At about the 300 yard mark we saw a deer get up and take off. I tied her up and went to examine the bed to see if this was the deer we were tracking. It wasn’t so we made our way back to Scarlett and we noticed a wound bed. All the blood was dry and the bed was cold which meant he got up long before we got there.

I restarted Scarlett where she was tied off. She quickly got back to work. She tracked to the bed and then figured out his direction of travel and took off. We went a little ways further when I happened to look down in the hollow she was dropping into. I saw a set of eyes looking at us and she was headed straight for them. Before I could stop her, the buck got up and slowly walked up the hill across from us. I confirmed with the hunter that it was the deer he shot. Which it was. I slowly made my way to the general area the buck was bedded. I hung toilet paper to mark that area and then laid some on the ground to indicate the direction of travel. I went back to the hunter and explained what I did. I told him to come back out this morning and go up on top the the ridge and look to see if he could see him. If he couldn’t, I would work on a plan to come back out.

This morning I got a text saying he found him and that he was up there. He said the deer was quartering more than he thought or there was some deflection. He learned after field dressing that he clipped a single lung and got liver and gut.

With all the testosterone running in these animals, they can and will live longer on marginal shots. 2 weeks ago, I highly doubt this deer would have lived past 8 hours much less well over 12. As hard as it is to wait, remember, dead deer goes no where.

11/03/2025

Last night I received a call from a hunter and soon learned his arrow smelt like it made it into the guts. I told him I would be there just after 8:30. Only 5 hours post shot. But why?…

Normally, I would never recommend tracking a gut shot deer anywhere near the 5 hour mark. This time this was a little different. We talked a little bit and he sent me pictures of blood sprayed on a tree the deer had passed by. The blood did in fact have stomach grit in it. The blood looked to have come from the liver. Me personally, I would think a gut wound would spray out blood so that had my gears turning.

The shot was a 12 yard shot so it and a good angle. The deer was quartering away slightly. The hunters arrow broke and only had 6 inches of the broadhead side in the deer.

After talking a little more, he told me the reaction of the deer and did not fit a gut/liver shot deer. I told him that I believe either the deer was quartering harder than he thought or there was big arrow deflection. I was banking that that arrow made it through the stomach and liver then made it to at least one lung.

I told him that I wanted to track it that night incase that’s what happened because I didn’t want to let it sit in the woods for 24 hours or more letting the meat spoil. I told him we would go slow and be cautious
in case we jumped him and if we did, I’d be back today after work. He agreed and wanted to try.

I came out and we started the track right at 8:30. Scarlett took to the line well in the beginning but at the half way mark she needed a couple restarts. With so much fresh strong scent, damp heavy air and running a bottom along a creek I fully expected that. After 300 short yards, she had us to the deer.

The deer was stiff and fairly cool so I felt my thoughts were correct. Today the hunter texted me and told me that the other half of the arrow managed to get both lung, nicked the heart and the broadhead was stuck in the opposite shoulder.

11/02/2025

This year the call volume has been extremely low and the few calls I have gotten haven’t sounded too promising. Yesterday when the call came in about an arrow that was nicely coated in dark rich blood…. I drooled a little bit.

After talking with the hunter, we knew guts were involved but I want to be 100% certain liver was too. After seeing pictures of the arrow and some of the blood I felt comfortable going in at the 12-14hour mark.

Being I felt this would be a fairly easy track, I planed to run Bella in hopes of her putting her nose on her first recovery. I started Bella and she worked decent, it did take a couple restarts at the hunters point of loss. Once she was locked on and was heading in the right direction we made our way into a grass field. Bella took the line 150 yards across the field. We came to a little valley that funneled its way down into a bottom. This was a scent pool and Bella couldn’t seem to figure it out. She seemed to want to follow the air scent down through the funnel which lead to her crittering. Sadly, she could not work her way out of it.

Knowing this was a liver shot deer, I was pretty confident it was dead at the time we tracked and also felt it was with in our reach to recover. I took Bella to the truck and loaded her in the box and then got Scarlett out who I ran on a challenging track just before this one.

I started her close to he hunters point of loss and she took the line immediately. She followed Bella’s tracks through the timber and across the field. Ultimately, she did the same as Bell did in the valley. At that point I felt she was just trying to follow our tracks into the woods. I was very concerned at this point. I told the hunter that I was going to take her and walk her around the perimeter of the grass field and see if she could pick up on the deer where it entered and skip past this valley area.

I began walking her right around the edge and it was long before Scarlett flipped a switch and started examining. After a few small circles working what she may have found she slowly left the field and entered the timber. It wasn’t long before we seen a spec of blood. My heart was racing. I was relieved that we were back on it. About 50 yards in the timber we came to our first bed on the track and it was at the 600 yard mark and boy, did it look good. Scarlett worked it and found the way he went after the bed. Approaching the 775 yard mark she lead us right to a big white butt.

As I sit in my stand this morning thinking back on it, I feel I should have walked Bella around the perimeter as well and gave her that shot. But, at that time my patience was wearing thin as it was approaching midnight and she knew it. I felt it was a recipe for disaster at that point.

10/12/2025

They say to throw a party for them! If anyone heard screaming this morning, I was throwing that party!

10/12/2025

This morning I was on the porch having coffee and talking with my bride when my phone rang. I answered it quickly. It was not a spam call, it was a hunter!

After discussing the shot, I felt bad that I was going to be taking Clyde on this track. He has worked hit tail off on a his first couple of tracks of his career and completely blew my expectations for him but they were not mortally wounded deer.

As far as details go, there wasn’t much. The hunter was a young boy out for youth season. The point of loss was less than 10 yards from the hit sight. Heres what I didnt like. There was no blood. A few yards after the hit sight laid a chunk of meat. At the point of loss there was a chunk of bone. In my mind, thinking back to every call I habe taken like this, it ends up being a non recovery.

We arrive and get to the hit sight. I sit and switch Clyde from his walking lead and clip his long tracking lead to his harness then gave him the command. Clyde began to work. We went past the point of loss and entered the timber in which they thought the deer had went. I was not confident in Clyde but allowed him to work just a little further. I thought he was most likely tracking where the hunters had searched for any other signs. I call Clyde off and took him back to the hit sight and restarted him. This time Clyde locked on and took at different path into the timber. Though I wasn’t seeing blood, I was confident in him. Once we hit the 80 yard mark I saw our first blood. I ripped some toilet paper off to mark it and kept following Clyde. In another 15 yards I saw a little more blood. He started to curve to the left and I looked up and saw a brown and lump with a with butt. My heart was racing for Clyde. I turned around to the hunters father and asked “would you mind taking a video, we got it. He’s right ahead.”

Here we are 4 hours later and my throat still hurts from screaming in excitement for Clyde and his first deer. I would be lying if I said I didn’t have tears as I watched my little man take his last steps before realizing what we have been training for.

Though this was a short line just over the 100 yard mark, the hunters said they most likely would have not found him being they assumed the deer had good a complete opposite direction to begin with

I could not be thankful enough to witness the a father and son hunting together. And to top it off, Clyde earned his adult collar which I put on him at first forst recovery and added his puppy collar to my pack with Scarlett’s puppy collar.

“You could find a lover boy on every damn corner in town. It don’t make a damn to them whether you’re waitin’ on tables or pickin’ cotton, but it does make a damn to me.” – Clyde Barrow

10/12/2025

I was saving Clyde’s big dog collar for a special moment! 😎😎

10/10/2025

Youth season is here!

This is one of the reasons why I choose to track. Finding a deer for a child and seeing the reaction and excitement in both the young hunters and their parents is absolutely priceless.

As we head into the weekend, my phone will be on all day and all night. If you need help or have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out. I will not accept a dime for any work I do to help a kid.

If you’re close to the Staunton area and see or are confident your child’s deer went down and would like to add another element to a very special moment, give us a call. If available, I’ll bring Clyde out, harness him up, and put the lead in your little one’s hand, and they can handle Clyde to recover their deer.

Who knows! Maybe your childs first deer could be this young pups first recovery!

Lastly, I wish everyone good luck this weekend! I hope you make a great weekend of memories for your child to look back on one day! Be safe, everyone!

10/05/2025

Well, today Big Guy Clyde got the bandaid ripped off.

This morning I had gotten a call that was a quartering to shot and sounded to be a bit too far forward. Not the most exciting thing I hear. However, several close handlers have had good outcomes with this scenario here lately I thought I could possibly reach my hand in that same good luck pot.

Here is our picture of this track. No, it’s not a recovery. Would it have been nice to find it but I truly feel this deer still on the hoof and wasn’t meant to be found. But, this track was a win for me.

As handler, it is hard to “lower my expectations” from a dog that’s had 5 season on her to a puppy on their first track. Clyde killed my expectations even with it being hot, dry and miserable. Clyde took his time locking on but once he was sure, he ran a tight clean line all the way to the POL where some grid searching had been done where the blood was lost. Clyde kept his nose to the ground worked confidently straight through it. The hunter seemed excited once we got out of the area. To be honest, I was throwing a party on the inside for him. Still tracking confidently, Clyde showed us our first speck of blood in a couple hundred yards which confirmed there was a reason for such a positive attitude in him. Clyde continues with great posture taking the line close to 800 yards to our last tiny pin drop of blood. Shortly after, his confidence level seemed to drop. I restarted him at last blood a few times and he went to the same place 25 yards away perfectly but then his body language slowly would change and he would not commit to one particular way more than once.

I feared that this was how it would go. Like most of, if not all shoulder wounds, there was great blood for the first couple hundred yards and then it quickly dried up. Though Clyde didn’t get a picture on a deer, this was a huge win for me as a handler being able to take that leap of faith and put the trust I need to in my dog.

J&M Whitetail Recovery

11/12/2025

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