Superb Results
Well our journey as a tracking team continues!! Having passed our Vorprüfung test in Germany,Watzmann vom Wildenfels,stud book number,BGS 16-041 have been out on various tracks with a lot of success and we are starting to work well as a team. Our most recent call out was on a Fallow doe. Just at the end of the fallow doe season I get a call to see if Watzmann and I can go and find a shot fallow doe, having taken the details of the shot / caliber used/ distance of shot / ammunition used and most importantly the reaction to the shot. I had decided that we leave the fallow a minimum of 5 hours before tracking as I suspected a low gut shot and didn't want to push the fallow on by going in to soon. The stalker whom is very experienced,knew not to follow up into the woodland just in case of pushing the fallow on. 6 hours later myself and watzmann arrive at the shot site where around 10m out from the woodland in an open field having used Watzmann to try and locate the shot site we find nothing.......no pins , no blood , no bone.....zero With the stalker saying the beast kicked out and ran along the wood Watzmann soon took a line with his nose down and along we went along the woodland edge,when at about 100m we come to a large woodpile where Watzmann diverts around and on to a bridleway. The brain on the end of the leash(the correct end)then indicates blood,I inspected the small spot of blood and marked the spot. There was a gap in the hedge and we are now tracking in a 2 to 3ft rape field this is a different experience for us,never having tracked on rape before, Watzmann was indicating blood all the way up the field, with pheasants moving in front of us I knew this could be difficult with all the game scent. Having brought Watzmann back on to track to the marked blood spots a few times we are now around 400 meters up the rape field. The one who knows then takes himself through a hole in the hedge into a thick pine plantation indicating blood again with myself having a sigh of relieve after getting all the way through the standing rape field, we continue tracking around 300 meter through this plantation with Watzmann indicating blood all the way through. We then get to a ride with a really thick gorse and spruce plantation, we track into the gorse 100m where we quickly discover a wound bed with loads of blood
and I now think this fallow is still mobile and moving on! Watzmann tracked on another 50m or so then took a back track down the same track ,he then took a turn to the left where he has indicated blood , fresh blood this time! Watzmann is now picking up his pace on the leash and continues on another 60 or so meters I am moving quickly to Watzmann as I think I am close to releasing him to chase, were heading to a really thick clump of gorse, Watzmann had stopped and I finally get to the leash but I see the fallow doe crouched down, It was not going to go any further. After a dispatching shot that was it another really successful track for us.
After having inspected the doe the shot had gone through the rear left leg and skinned the lower belly.
I was so pleased with the way Watzmann had tracked with the drive and self correction on track, as well as the distance of the track was a much longer track than what we had been normally doing. All the best Jim Simpson
