An Unexpected Hunt
Nighttime coon hunts often don’t work out
as planned, but sometimes dog owners need
the peace of mind that a Tracker will help them
find their dog, even in the worst situations imaginable.
Off and Running
In January of 2008, Pete Eastep entered his dogs in a club hunt in Charlotte, Arkansas. A few hours into the hunt, Pete’s Black and Tan, Rider, and Bluetick, Grady, took off after a coon. Using his Classic receiver, Pete tracked the dogs to edge of a thousand acre section of land that had been flooded for duck hunting. Faced with water waist to chest deep, Pete had no choice but to wait.. Hours later, with no dogs in sight, Pete called it a night.
Finding Grady
Pete returned the next day to where the dogs had entered the flooded bottoms in hope that the dogs had returned to the place where Pete had been the night before. Pete first tried to pick up Rider, his signal indicated that he was still moving. Switching to channel two, Pete was able to pick up Grady’s signal. Grady had been picked up by a local hunter who was in the process of returning him.
Searching for Rider
A week later, Pete decided to return to the area in hope that the waters had receded enough for him to try to recover Rider. As hoped, Pete found that the waters had receded to under chest level. Outfitted with chest waders and his Classic receiver, Pete went in search of Rider. Although he felt he was close to finding Rider, the water was still too deep for him to proceed and Pete had to once again turn back.
A Bittersweet Ending
Determined more than ever the find his dog, Pete returned home and practiced tracking in an effort to get a better sense of distance based on the strength of the signal and his gain setting. Feeling confident with his new tracking savvy, Pete returned the next day, this time with a friend.
Pete went to the same slough he had been in the day before. Within minutes Pete was able to recover Rider’s body beneath four and a half feet of water: “I couldn’t believe how clear the signal was after being under at least five feet of water for eight days,” Pete said.
Pete figures the coon that Rider was trailing drowned him. Although a sad end for a good coon dog, Pete was relieved that he was able to recover Rider. |
