Thermal Drones

[bowhunter1023]

You'll be the second such successful cow hunter I know if it goes well!

 

[brock ratcliff]

You'll be the second such successful cow hunter I know if it goes well!

I’ll be going along with my buddy Andy. He’s killed dozens of cattle just like this. He donates most of the meat to a soup kitchen type thing. He doesn’t tolerate liability for very long. If they don’t play nice they die. Lol. He’s thinking the drone will just shorten the hunt. I am betting he’s right.

 

[Sgt Fury]

Years ago my buddies dad had one get away and it lived in the swamp next to his farm. After trying to corral it with horses, they decided to wait until winter….then we did an old fashioned deer drive and got It….had to use a tractor to get it out! Steaks for everyone!

 

[brock ratcliff]

The steer is now beef. He was laying up in a thicket I have hunted before and he was laying pretty close to a really nice buck. I assume the posse of rednecks with rifles caused the buck to relocate.

 

[brock ratcliff]

 

[brock ratcliff]

I found two yesterday. The other is alive and seemingly unharmed. Just got home from finding another one. I’ll post pics tomorrow, hopefully after the hunter recovers him.

 

[brock ratcliff]

An interesting fact. Both Seth and I are finding deer usually still alive. I firmly believe those deer would never be recovered with conventional methods. The deer in above was shot at 9. I found him around 2, still alive. Since it was only 15 miles from home I checked him again at 7, still alive. The hunter recovered him in the same bed at 8 this morning. I don’t think I ever waited 23 hours to recover a deer. This man would not have either and this deer would have left the country if bumped too early.

 

[Wiley E Coyote]

Where was he hit?

 

[brock ratcliff]

Low guts.

 

[LonewolfNopack]

Wrote this on our FB page this morning. The amount of things i am seeing hunters do wrong before and after the shot is unacceptable. Obviosuly we expect to deal with less that ideal shots in this line of work, but they are setting themselves up for failure before we ever arrive. I didn't fully anticipate how frustrating this job was going to be.

Begin post:.
The month of November will likely see more people out bow hunting then the rest of the season combined. With that said, I need you to help me help you! My #1 goal when receiving a call is to find the deer that the hunter shot, but by following the below 4 rules hunters will increase the likelihood of actually laying their hands on their deer.

1) Do NOT aim right behind the shoulder! Growing up we were all taught to aim as tight to the shoulder as we can. However unless you hit exactly where you aim every single time, this has turned out to be bad advice. There is such a small room for error with this shot, and if the arrow impacts even an inch too far forward you likely will not ever lay hands on the deer. Many of the deer that we have been looking for and found alive or not found at all have been shoulder shots with the deer being pushed before we arrived. These shots are rarely immediately lethal and will lead to unnecessary suffering of the animals. I have been guilty of these shots in the past as well, and that is why I am teaching what I have learned.

2) Instead of aiming at the crease of the shoulder, aim 5 or 6 ribs back. You will be in a much higher percentage area at that point and have a much greater margin of error, which we ALL need.

3) Gut and Liver shots are lethal 100% of the time! If you shoot far back on a deer in the liver, stomach or intestine area, that deer is going to die and extremely recoverable, but ONLY if you follow the advice in #4.

4) If in doubt back out! If you are unsure of your shot, know you made a shot that was less then ideal, or arent able to see or hear your deer fall, leave and call us immediately. Do not go wondering around looking for drops of blood, or grid searching the area. I can not tell you how many deer are lost each year by pursing them too soon. Our drone is incredible, but if the deer has already been pushed a mile away (which is very normal for an injured deer) we will likely not find it. A liver shot deer should wait a minimum of 8 hours before pursuing on foot, and a minimum of 12 hours with a gut shot deer. This is the MINIMUM. Thankfully with our drone, we can pursue much sooner since it is non-intrusive and will not spook wounded deer. If we locate your deer and it is still alive, we will land the drone immediately and you will now know you need to wait to pursue your deer.

I have been guilty of all of the above but have learned from my own mistakes, as well as the mistakes of others that I am observing. Sometimes the hunters does everything right and bad things still happen! Deer are natural born survivors and have an extreme will to live. I can promise that whatever we will charge you to find the deer that you finally were able to connect with will be a fraction of the money that you have in the rest of your hunting expenses! By following the above 4 rules you will highly increase your chances of recovery when hitting a deer. We are based in Highland county and will travel all surrounding counties as well as south west and central Ohio. Give me a call/text (937) 728-4026.

 

[Isaacorps]

Great advice!

 

[giles]

That is about as proactive as a fella can be. I know you enough to know this is eating you up, keep educating. I feel like this kind of message could be included in every recovery picture also. Highlighting the goods that the hunter did to make the deer recoverable.

Jesse's saying rings out loud with this message of yours "if not me, then who else".

 

[brock ratcliff]

Generally speaking when we hear “It was a perfect shot” that simply isn’t the case. Now, I don’t know what angle his shot was but from the photo this looks pretty good! I found him 5 hours or so after the shot and he was still alive.

 

[brock ratcliff]

Been a busy couple weeks. The only downside I have found with this thing is I have a difficult time talking myself into going hunting.
A huge percentage of the deer Seth and I have found would have most certainly not been recovered. No doubt in my mind about that. Some of them not even with a top quality dog. It’s been enlightening to me. Bad shots happen. Bad decisions should not but they certainly do.

 

[Wiley E Coyote]

I know you'll awful busy so I can help you out by hunting your spots so they don't go stale on ya! You're welcome just shoot me a text! I hope you get out to relax soon. Thanks for what you're doing!!! Good Hunting to ya

 

[bowhunter1023]

What's interesting is the whole drone vs. dog thing has become yet another thing that hunters are infighting about. Not saying you are contributing to that because you're not, just mentioning since you made the comparison. Also since you got into the game, I've paid way more attention to the drone game and have been following a lot of dog handlers for a few years. It's such a silly argument because each has its benefits and collectively, they're helping hunters put more deer on tailgates than would have happened otherwise. It's been interesting to see human tribalism show itself in hunting's latest trend.

 

[brock ratcliff]

I know you'll awful busy so I can help you out by hunting your spots so they don't go stale on ya! You're welcome just shoot me a text! I hope you get out to relax soon. Thanks for what you're doing!!! Good Hunting to ya

I sure appreciate the offer!

 

[Buckmaster]

What's interesting is the whole drone vs. dog thing has become yet another thing that hunters are infighting about. Not saying you are contributing to that because you're not, just mentioning since you made the comparison. Also since you got into the game, I've paid way more attention to the drone game and have been following a lot of dog handlers for a few years. It's such a silly argument because each has its benefits and collectively, they're helping hunters put more deer on tailgates than would have happened otherwise. It's been interesting to see human tribalism show itself in hunting's latest trend.

I foresee it as Dogs are the more traditional method plus you get a companion friend. Nothing beats the infrared drone technology expect obsolescence and depreciation. Both methods serve their purpose. My preference is getting in the bush over sitting on a tailgate. To each their own.

 

[brock ratcliff]

What's interesting is the whole drone vs. dog thing has become yet another thing that hunters are infighting about. Not saying you are contributing to that because you're not, just mentioning since you made the comparison. Also since you got into the game, I've paid way more attention to the drone game and have been following a lot of dog handlers for a few years. It's such a silly argument because each has its benefits and collectively, they're helping hunters put more deer on tailgates than would have happened otherwise. It's been interesting to see human tribalism show itself in hunting's latest trend.

Yeah, that isn’t me. There are undoubtedly times when a dog is far superior. We have areas where bush honeysuckle is so thick it is literally impossible to see anything. The first three deer I was unable to locate were in those areas. And I’m certain all three are still alive. Conversely, I’ve located deer that were wounded and was able to accurately see how badly. Dogs cannot do that. Even the best handlers can only make an educated guess.
Here some takeaways so far:
Rage broadheads suck
Marketing by Raven has caused a lot of real world problems.
We need mandatory Bowhunter Ed
Deer are incredibly tough animals
People, collectively, are not all that bright in regards to ethically killing an animal with an arrow. I know I’m seeing a lot of the lowest denominator here, but it’s been shocking.
Non-resident hunters are far more likely to spend a little coin in an effort to retrieve a deer they have shot. The vast majority of calls have been from non resident hunters.
If you do not see your deer tip over, leave. Wait at least 12 hours or call a drone operator to assess the situation. I wouldn’t bring in a dog until at least 18 hours. All those long tracks they are on are most certainly due to the deer being pushed while still alive.
Liver shot deer can linger a long time. And many of them seem to stand vs. bed. They will stand a very long time.
Lung blood …. If it’s red, it’s blood. People seem to have no concept of what lung blood actually looks like. I have heard a dozen times the hunter followed lung blood for 500 yards. No they didn’t.
If your arrow is “tight to the shoulder, just above halfway up”, you missed the good stuff. Learn anatomy. If you aim close to the leg, shoot for the lower 1/3. Every time. If you can’t help but aim for the middle of the body, aim back from the shoulder in the middle of the dang ribs.
If you think it’s “slightly quartered”, you don’t have an ethical shot unless you are good enough and smart enough to aim in front of the near side shoulder.
I could go on…. Lol

 

[brock ratcliff]

I’m not certain my numbers are correct, but I think I’m 23-4 on finding the target animal. One of those deer was recovered right where I was searching. He was up under a cedar tree. I searched that area for 2 hours and did not find him. Fortunately, the hunter went back the next morning and found the deer. He said when he saw the situation he understood how I could not see the deer. I am still ticked off that I missed it.