# Half of the season down



## Cynoscion (Jun 4, 2009)

We are now a little more than halfway through our deer season. I had some down time and with it being New Year's Eve, I thought I'd post a review of our season so far in pics. I'll try to keep these pics sperated out by the dog that did the work or made the jump and bay. I've got a 3 year old dog who's doing the majority of them this year just to get a bunch under his belt but when they get tough, I'm still using my 5 year old dog who's got a couple hundred under his. I'm going to try to keep them in date order as well. Remember that the vast majority (80% or more) of these deer were bayed/caught alive and would have suffered a very slow, miserable death to the coyotes had it not been for the dogs. I hope everybody enjoys the pics and has a great New Year.


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## Cynoscion (Jun 4, 2009)

November for the young dog.


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## Cynoscion (Jun 4, 2009)

Now for the ones that the young dog just couldn't handle on his own. Sometimes it just takes experience to figure them out when the deer walks down his back trail, the hunter's push on the deer for 300-400 yards, there's very little sign, etc. The older leopard dog's not much to look at but he gets it done more often than not.


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## Cynoscion (Jun 4, 2009)

This isn't all of them but at least 3/4 of the deer we've recovered so far this season. Sometimes I forget to take pics when I'm in a hurry to get to the next one. Sometimes we only shoot video which is for my viewing pleasure only. I have to have something to look back on when I'm too old and worn out to do this for a living. Haha
I hope everyone enjoys the halfway point of our season in pics. Happy New Year's and may you all continue to be blessed in 2018.


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## cva34 (Dec 22, 2008)

Thx for Sharing ...What seems to primary reason Deer had to be dog found..example bad shot /bad bullet/bad bullet placement etc


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## DR_Smith (Jul 20, 2016)

Great job and awesome work. I enjoy following g your posts on tracking and the stories with them
Thanks for sharing


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## FREON (Jun 14, 2005)

Happy New Year bud!!


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## Cynoscion (Jun 4, 2009)

FREON said:


> Happy New Year bud!!


Thanks. You too.

More often than not, I get called bc the shot was bad. The hunters seldom realize it on their own but figure it out when they canâ€™t find anymore sign and/or jump their deer. I do see a few bullet/broadhead malfunctions each season. Buck fever is the culprit most of the time.


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## fish4food (Feb 11, 2011)

Great job! Nothing like watching a good dog work.


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## Hayniedude24 (Jun 15, 2016)

Very cool. Got some studs in those pics for sure.


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## AirbornXpress (Sep 27, 2006)

Great job! Keep up the good work and my you have a blessed New Year


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## Gap (Jun 4, 2004)

Wow, I'm sure there are some incredible stories in those captures. Dogs are absolutely amazing creatures.

I was able to experience some dog work when a friends son made a shot on a buck this week near Mirando City. Found a fair amount of blood, but after a couple hundred yards it faded. He called in a guy named Travis from Freer that had two dogs. 

A couple hours later he makes it out and they went to work. It didn't take them long to get on the deer and the chase was on. Over hills, crossing brutally thick brush over two miles. They were 40 yards back of the deer when it crossed crossed onto a neighboring property, right in front of us. After what was almost another hour delay getting permission, they got back on the track and within minutes was on the deer again. Deer went back the other way and covered 3 miles before we called off the chase. 

Hell of an experience! We saw the deer twice, no blood visible, no leg issues, just cruising along, best guess was that the deer was shot in the brisket.


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## Spots and Dots (May 23, 2004)

One of our lease guys crippled one with a low shot to the shoulder. I called Robert and he passed me along to Wade Cornelius. 
We tracked a good blood trail for about 500 yards, through good ol South Texas brush and ultimately ran out of blood. Wade got on site, put his dogs on the ground, and found the deer within 300 yards. Without the dogs that deer would not have been found.


Ethically, calling in dogs when you can't find a deer is the right thing to do. A poor sportsman would do otherwise.


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## StinkBait (May 31, 2004)

Awesome job by you guys, that has to be a pretty fun gig. Robert, by chance did you go to school in Corpus ever? I went to school with a guy the same name as you, but it appears your age is a couple of years off.


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## Cynoscion (Jun 4, 2009)

Thanks for all of the kind words and replies guys. It is a blast but it's a lot of work and long hours with very little sleep.
I've never lived in Corpus. Kingsville/Riviera born and raised with a short Kerrville stint in high school.
Wade's one of the best there is in this business and a good friend. You'll always be in good hands with him. I'm glad you guys are enjoying the pics.


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## Texasgirl44 (May 18, 2012)

Thanks for sharing your experiences and pictures.


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## mrsh978 (Apr 24, 2006)

No nilgai ? You are profiling .....


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## Cynoscion (Jun 4, 2009)

I think weâ€™ve caught 4 nilgai. They are video worthy as you well know!


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## Big Fish (Feb 4, 2005)

*Dogs*

Great service you provide, I had to call for a tracking dog once an it was money well spent.


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## Cynoscion (Jun 4, 2009)

*One more today for the young dog*

Score one more for my young dog this evening. Hunter had bone fragments and lost blood 75 yards in super thick brush. The young dog trailed him like he was on a string. 260 yards and bayed on the spot. Shot was low in his belly and out into his back leg. Sorry for the gruesome pic but the dog got his treat before I could get there to finish him off.


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## DA REEL DADDY (Jun 7, 2005)

Yeah 10-4 on watching a good dog work and I appreciate you posting this.

You said, _(80% or more) of these deer were bayed/caught alive and would have suffered a very slow, miserable death to the coyotes had it not been for the dogs., _agreed.

It is all fun and games until WE wound a good deer. I say WE because I think we all have had the misfortune of not hitting a deer properly. Whether they turn turned at the trigger squeeze, wind shaking the stand, or just plain buck fever, etc. etc. etc.

Happened to me a few years back. It was early in the morning and a buck came out I decided to take. I put my gun up and at the last second he stepped or turned toward me as I fired. The shot entered through the back of his left rib and exited towards the back side of his right gut. Long story short I had to get the rancher to help me find him. This, by all means, was not a trophy buck, but it was by far one of my favorites, because for 4 or five hours and was beating myself up for not making a good shot. I kept telling myself I waisted a good animal, my time and effort I had put I the season to blow it. Luckily we found him and I was happy to have a harvest of venison and not waisted a good deer.

So anyway, great job recovering these deer by you and your pups.


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## Deerhunter88 (Aug 4, 2013)

Thanks for the pics and the updates! I'm not making a living off it by but have been offered way more than my gas money for some recoveries. I was amazed watching a dog work a track for a buddies deer he shot leaving no blood years ago and was hooked when I had to call in one for one of my own messed up shots. With some training tips and advice from Robert I know have a dog I run locally. I love to hunt but when I hear Piper baying a live, wounded deer it becomes an adrenaline rush. Thanks Robert, if it wasn't for my son wanting to sit on a deer stand, most of my time would be spent sitting at the camp listening for a gun shot so I can start hunting! 
We have some great recoveries this year but haven't recovered them all due to land issues, Louisiana law issues, and She's still a young pup figuring it all out. I will say the best call I took this year is when I showed up and immediately found blood everywhere and the old timer just looked at me and said "buddy I'm color blind"


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## ClayShooter (Aug 29, 2009)

Cynoscion said:


> I think weâ€™ve caught 4 nilgai. They are video worthy as you well know!


Nothing better to watch than the ol leopard dog go to town on a Nilgai!! Live action. Happy New Years Amigo. Maybe Iâ€™ll see u this weekend!!! ðŸ¤£

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## Cynoscion (Jun 4, 2009)

Thanks for the kind words everyone.

Looking forward to it Adrian!


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## Cynoscion (Jun 4, 2009)

I just thought I'd bump this old thread to say good luck to everyone tomorrow and through the whole season.


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## DA REEL DADDY (Jun 7, 2005)

Cynoscion said:


> I just thought I'd bump this old thread to say good luck to everyone tomorrow and through the whole season.


Hey, thanks a lot. I just got back from my new lease and met a new group of guys I will be hunting with. Small world, two of the guys on the lease grew up with a friend of mine from work, another grew up in the next neighborhood where I grew up and his football coach was my next door neighbor.

I enjoy following this thread. H

On a side note where and how far do you and your pups travel on call outs? And do you have any contact information? Just in case , but hope not.. No offense...lol


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## Cynoscion (Jun 4, 2009)

Haha I get that a lot. Any time I post my phone number, I believe the mods consider it advertising and since I don't make enough money at this to be a site sponsor, I'll just send you a pm with my contact info.

I live/work in Kleberg county and will generally travel up to 2 hours one way to trail animals. I keep in touch with just about every reputable dog man in the state so I can almost always get you contact info for someone who is close to you and will do a good job for you. Don't hesitate to call even if I'm too far away. I just enjoy talking deer and helping folks out.

Hope you have a good season.


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## Cynoscion (Jun 4, 2009)

We've trailed 2 bowshot deer since season started. I forgot to take a picture of the first one but he was shot just a little far back. Zero blood. He only made it about a hundred yards but with conditions the way they are down here (thick, green, chest deep grass), the hunter's had no idea which way he went. They had actually walked within about 50' of him and didn't know it. He was a mid 170's kinda deer with a big double mainbeam.
The second deer was yesterday and almost a repeat of the first. I think this one made it about 120 yards but made a hard ninety degree turn which made it hard to find him. Here's a pic of number 2. Really nice mainframe 12pt.


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## DA REEL DADDY (Jun 7, 2005)

Good puppy!


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## Trouthunter (Dec 18, 1998)

Post your number Robert just no fees listed ya'll can work that out over the phone. 

TH


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## Cynoscion (Jun 4, 2009)

Thanks TH. I really appreciate that.

If any of yâ€™all think you may need help this season or have questions about your shot, sign you are finding on the trail or what to do under certain circumstances, donâ€™t hesitate to give me a call. Iâ€™m glad to help if I can.

Robert Johnson
361-438-6875


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## Capt. Marcus Canales (Aug 25, 2005)

What area is yours, Robert? 

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## Cynoscion (Jun 4, 2009)

I try to stay out of the big 3â€™s (Wade, Rob and Roy)areas unless Iâ€™m invited. Theyâ€™ll usually call me if they get something over my way so I try to do the same for them. I live and work in Kleberg county so I usually do Kleberg, Nueces, San Patricio, Kenedy, Jim Wells, Live Oak, McMullen, Brooks, some of Duval and some of Jim Hogg. If youâ€™re close, give me a call and at the very least, I can put you in touch with one of the others.


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## Cynoscion (Jun 4, 2009)

*One this evening*

This deer was shot early this morning. They knew he was pretty much center punched when they reviewed the footage so they left him alone for 6 hours. When they got back to the scene of the crime, they couldn't find the arrow or any blood so they were nervous and called me. It took the dog a few minutes to work out the beginning of the trail but he made short work of it and found him dead less than 200 yards from where he was shot. Tall, thick grass and fat deer are making it hard to find them down here this year without a good dog's nose.


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## DCAVA (Aug 5, 2013)

Boom!!
Bad arse work bro!!


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## Bukkskin (Oct 21, 2009)

Way to go Cynoscion.


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## DA REEL DADDY (Jun 7, 2005)

WTG puppy!


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## Deerhunter88 (Aug 4, 2013)

Thanks for bringing the thread back. Piper is 0-1 this year. This one baffles me. Deer shot from 20' in air at 15 yards. Hunter said pass through but only found blood up high and on underneath side of palmettos. What's baffling me is there was blood on the back half of the arrow. The first 14" of arrow and broad head were spotless. Arrow wasn't buried deep in mud, so that eliminates the mud cleaning it off. The blood that was on the arrow was 360 degrees around. Piper ran the trail hard but due to area I was forced to run her on a leash. something she hasn't done since a puppy. 
I'm thinking it was a high grazing wound.


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## Whitebassfisher (May 4, 2007)

Dog work like this I think is great, because it prevents waste of a magnificent animal.


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## Cynoscion (Jun 4, 2009)

Thanks for the kind words everyone!

Deerhunter. The condition of the arrow, the way you describe it, makes me believe the hunter was aiming high, the deer ducked at the sound of the string going off and the arrow hit the deer high above the lungs and through the back straps. We see it all the time but from a ground blind situation the arrow will be completely clean and greasy feeling to the touch. If you think about it, it makes sense. 20â€™ up a tree, entrance is high in the backstraps and exit is in the body cavity although still too high. This would explain the relatively â€œcleanâ€ arrow with very little blood on it.
We can usually trail a deer like this but very rarely if ever does it end successfully. This deer is usually back on camera in 10-14 days as if nothing ever happened.


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## Cynoscion (Jun 4, 2009)

We trailed and caught this buck yesterday. The hunter found a little piece of meat and not much blood. They trailed the deer and saw him standing on a fence line. They said the deer wouldnâ€™t try jumping or going under the fence but ducked back in the brush instead. This made me think that it was possible that the deer had a busted leg. Once we got there and cut the dog loose, it was pretty easy. The dog trailed beautifully and jumped the deer at about 300 yards down the trail. The deer bayed at about the 400 yard mark but broke and ran before I could get there. It was all over when he bayed again around the 650 yard mark. The place was really messy. Flooded and muddy so it took about 15 min to get to them but we finished the deer off when we did. It was a good race and a great calll to back off and wait on the dogs. This deer wouldâ€™ve been coyote bait for sure.


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## WillieT (Aug 25, 2010)

Great job.


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## Bukkskin (Oct 21, 2009)

Cynoscion said:


> We trailed and caught this buck yesterday. The hunter found a little piece of meat and not much blood. They trailed the deer and saw him standing on a fence line. They said the deer wouldnâ€™t try jumping or going under the fence but ducked back in the brush instead. This made me think that it was possible that the deer had a busted leg. Once we got there and cut the dog loose, it was pretty easy. The dog trailed beautifully and jumped the deer at about 300 yards down the trail. The deer bayed at about the 400 yard mark but broke and ran before I could get there. It was all over when he bayed again around the 650 yard mark. The place was really messy. Flooded and muddy so it took about 15 min to get to them but we finished the deer off when we did. It was a good race and a great calll to back off and wait on the dogs. This deer wouldâ€™ve been coyote bait for sure.


Nice recovery, good job.


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## AirbornXpress (Sep 27, 2006)

Good job


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## Cynoscion (Jun 4, 2009)

Thanks guys


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## willydavenport (Jun 4, 2004)

I really enjoy this thread. Thanks for taking the time to post. Was that last buck pictured as blonde as he looks or is it just the lighting? 


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## Cynoscion (Jun 4, 2009)

Thanks Willy. I enjoy posting our adventures, helping folks out and making a little extra cash.
I think the reason he looks so light in the photo is bc he was covered in mud/water from fighting the dog for so long while I was trying to get to them. You can tell in the pic that they wallered out one heck of a hole during the scuffle.


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