GPS Dog Tracking For Hunters (3)
Sep 22, 2022
GPS is For the Birds
In the plains of Colorado, east of Denver, professional dog trainer, Tyler Bowman, runs long-ranging pointers across the prairie with Valhalla Kennels. He uses GPS to track their every move as they work for pheasants.
Bowman’s dogs often range in drainages and over hills and will lock on point out of his sight. Bowman said hunters used to use beepers to call long-ranging dogs back, but it meant flushing birds with no shot and spooking other birds as the dog was on its way back.
Now armed with his Astro GPS, Bowman can track up to ten dogs and range them without worrying. If a dog hunts out of his line of sight, Bowman checks his GPS, which tells him whether the dog is still hunting or if it’s locked up on a rooster. He can then work his way to the pointing dog’s exact location, which can be tracked up to nine miles away.
Bowman uses his HUNT CHIP to keep his dogs off private lands, but also to help understand what kind of terrain his dog is on when it’s out of sight and locked up on birds. Knowing the terrain helps Bowman walk up on the dog and safely plan shooting lanes.
On the Lion’s Trail
Jason Matzinger was hot on the trail of his hounds. Running through snowdrifts, the trail took him through thick deadfall, down a canyon, and across a creek bottom. He let the dogs loose around 7:30 that morning and after nine hours and seven miles, the GPS indicated the dogs were finally treed.
“If I wasn’t in the best shape of my life, I don’t know if I would have made it back,” he said.
The marathon chase took him up a hill where he crested the ridgeline, welcomed by the frenzy of barks and bays.
“They were going ballistic,” he said.
He slowly approached the tree and peered up. A tawny face and large predator eyes looked back.
A large tom, waited in the tree, to Matzinger’s dismay.
He was so sure the tracks were female, as he ran seven miles into the backcountry with no weapon. It didn’t matter though, the day was about the thrill of running with the dogs and chasing lions in winter.
He wrangled the dogs off the tree and turned them around. The sun was sinking fast, the temperature dropping and he had a hell of a hike back to the truck with a pack of dogs as tired as he was.
