I know the law varies from state to state, and here in Iowa it is illegal to employ the use of dogs to hunt deer. The lawmakers have determined that the recovery of wounded deer is part of the "hunt". As a color blind person, if the deer does not drop in sight, I am pretty much at the mercy of others to help me find a deer that has been shot. I also know that literally thousands of deer go unrecovered each year because the hunter could not locate them.

I suggest to all members of this forum in states where it is illegal to use dogs, that you contact your state legislator and request that the law be changed to allow recovery dogs. I just did so here in Iowa and I truly believe that the more people that contact legislators, the better chance we have of having the law changed. I went as far as suggesting that the law be changed here to state that if a dog is used to track a wounded deer, the dog handler and other persons in the party cannot be armed. This was done to alleviate concerns about people skirting the law and claim they were tracking a wounded deer while they are really just hunting.

I now step down from my soapbox (again).

I wholeheartedly concur.

I think that law is bogus. Tracking dogs should be allowed everywhere, imo. What is the difference if you are scouring with people, or have a dog on a leash working with those people?

Personally, if I had anice buck hit that I couldn't find...I'd use one if I had access to it, regardless. I feel its the ethical thing to do.

Good post Coop! The offer I proposed to KS yesterday about assisting him in his efforts to locate his deer this weekend, I will also propose to you. I didn't realize you were color blind. I can imagine how that could possibly make it tougher to recover a down deer. For future reference, I am only acouple hours away and if I wasn't already "tied down," I'd hit the road and offer you some assistance in recovering an animal.

I support the tracking dog movement as well.

Ive tried to rationalize in my head the reason they may NOT be allowed for tracking and two things (one of which is semi-valid) pop into my head.

1) The law makers may THINK that hunters would be apt to take a less than optimal shot knowing they can use a dog for tracking.
2) The law makers may THINK that hunters would abuse the law and get into the gray area of where a dog may be off leash, jump a deer, and hunter shoot it, and it not be the deer in question.

The last one can be fixed by a leash law. The first one, idk. I think they should be LEGAL. We owe it to the animal to find it whether it was a freak accident or a poor judgement.

I just heard back from my legislator:

"Thank you for emailing your concern. I think you have offered a reasonable suggestion and I will forward it to our staff so that we might check into the issue when session begins in January.
Thanks, again and good luck hunting."

Is there hope?

Just a FYI................there is an awfully fine line between tracking a deer with a leashed dog, and walking your leashed dog in the woods. Unless thereare laws preventing you from walking your leashed dog in the woods, it's gonna be awfully hard for anyone to say your tracking a deer. Nomsayin?

True that.....Why should a disability stop you from hunting if you don't have any friends in town to help you out? Even for the non-disabled, if you gave it your all finding the deer; why shouldn't you take your dog for a walk.