Shameless plug for Roy

Roy Hinde's that is.

If you are anywhere close to south Texas and have a wounded deer that you can't find, he's the one I always call first.

He and his dogs are incredible.

We had a hunt a couple of weeks ago and the shot was an inch off (detailed in another thread). My ranch down in Zavala county has a LOT of that thick south Texas brush. Not impenetrable, but when you get 15 yards into it, it all looks the same.

We had a vid of the shot and a 3" chunk of bone from the front leg to know that it was a mortal wound. But it didn't get lungs or heart. So I felt comfortable telling a very disappointed hunter that Roy was our best option.

Hunters that have a lot of hard earned money into a big deer hunt get pretty tense (justifiably) when the blood trail is lost. I assured my hunter with this: It's going to cost another 4-500 bucks to get Roy and his dogs out here. There's a good chance we won't find this deer by ourselves. Theres a REAL good chance Roy and his dogs will find it. If they do, that 4-500 bucks will be the best money you've ever spent. If you DON'T call him and we don't find it, that buck you just spent a lot of money on will haunt you for a LOONG time. And it will get bigger and bigger.

Also, look at it as a way to extend your hunt. It is in fact fun to watch a man and his dogs work. Especially if they deliver you to your trophy.

We called, Roy had promised his wife to take her to the hill country, so he sent his son in law John to our rescue with Roy's dogs.

They were at the ranch within an hour and a half, and 20 minutes after putting the dogs on the blood they had our hunter's deer bayed. Our hunter and his guide were allowed to go with John to the dogs and be there for the coup de gras.

Our hunter got his trophy, a mortally wounded deer was spared a lot of suffering, and the experience of using dogs and handler to turn tragedy into success was well worth every penny.

Professional, prompt, and scary good Roy, his dogs, and son-in-law John are.

I'm certain there are other qualified excellent dog men out there. But if I can get the Hindes, I do.

I have used Little Roy on several occasions in the past. He and his dogs are one of the, if not the best out there. The family has been breeding blood tracking/cow dogs since the late 30's. He has done this long enough to know what his dogs can do once he listen to your recap of what happened. The best thing one can do is if you think the shot was off a bit is to not scent up the blood trail with human scent. Back out and call the dog in. Let the dog find the deer, dead or alive. Been on one trail with Roy and Jethro that covered 1 3/4 miles.

Yep. Roy listened carefully to the recap. I do believe he was about to get in trouble with his wife to come help us until I told him about the 3" chunk of longbone. You could tell he got real confident and said "well, if that's the situation then I'm sending my SIL". I felt better too. And Roy stayed out of the "doghouse".

I think my buddy on his side of the ranch has the record for longest trail. Over 5 miles (measured by gps) and 5 hours.

Sounds like we could use a fella like that in N Tx as well.

And I agree, a few hundred dollars is worth not having a lifetime of "wondering", iirc, a deer like that would still count as a kill, so you are out that anyway right? Might as well pay the difference for peace of mind and respect for that buck.

Great ending to that ordeal too.

Watched videos of his tracking. I agree watching the dog work would be a highlight for me. Good dog work, I don't care what -quail, retrieving, running coons or hog, -always fun to watch.

Yeah Dennis, down there I only have native bucks but we still have a lot invested, so if you draw blood it's full price. And it's no fun for anyone if a deer is wounded.

So when a potential disaster is turned around it is all smiles.

That's what I thought, pretty standard/the norm, in any paid hunt from what I understand.

Here is a picture of the relieved hunter and his big 8 point buck! Thanks Rusty for knowing who to call to turn a potential tragedy into a triumph!

Hey that's great news!

Great job.