I was in my treestand this morning when I heard my cell phone vibrate. I immediately smiled because a high school friend of mine said he'd call me if he'd smacked a doe so Axel, my Wire Hair Dachshund pup could track it for training. I answered the phone as I watch several deer. He said not only had he smacked one, he said it was a buck. He said it's not his best but with his daughter hunting for the first time this year he wanted to tag out so he could take her small game, turkey and sit with her when it's rifle season.

I climbed down out of my stand around 10:00, still with deer around, that brings up another thread next. I ran home, changed, grabbed Axel, his tracking collar and headed to Blaines cabin. I met him there and we jumped in the mule and headed to where he was in his treestand. (Note: Blaine saw his buck when it went down and since he recovered/saw it die it is then legal for training/tracking) When we got there we went to where the buck was standing and Blaines arrow was in the ground. He made a perfect shot and the blood trail was very good, very easy for Axel, he ran it right to the buck.

Here's a picture of Blaine and his buck:



And Axel on his prize: