09/14/2026
Good luck to everyone willing to sweat it out this week! Iโm here to help from now through January 15th.
This is my 3rd year providing thermal drone deer recovery services. Iโve been doing this since the beginning, when thermal drones first became a legal means of recovery aid in Missouri. I am currently locating 80โ85% of the deer Iโm called out for, with hunters successfully recovering about half of those deer.
There are no shortages of drone pilots offering recoveries out there. Some are licensed and insured, and some are not. Please do your due diligence when hiring someone. Ask for their FAA Part 107 license number (7 digits), or search their name in the FAA Airman Registry.
https://amsrvs.registry.faa.gov/airmeninquiry/
You donโt want to find yourself involved in a situation where something goes wrong with an unlicensed pilot you hired.
๐ฃ๐ฅ๐๐๐๐ก๐ & ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐
My prices remain unchanged.
โข ๐ก๐ผ ๐น๐ผ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ณ๐ฒ๐ฒ for repeat clients
โข ๐ก๐ผ ๐บ๐ถ๐น๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ด๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ด๐ฒ within 30 miles of Mansfield
โข ๐ก๐ผ ๐บ๐ถ๐น๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ด๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ด๐ฒ for established clients
๐ ๐ฌ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ฆ๐ง ๐ฃ๐๐๐๐ ๐ข๐ ๐๐๐ฉ๐๐๐
๐๐ข๐กโ๐ง ๐๐จ๐ ๐ฃ ๐ฌ๐ข๐จ๐ฅ ๐๐๐๐ฅ.
Give him time before taking up the trail. There are some exceptions, particularly during early season when temperatures are high, but in most situations, patience is your friend.
If the blood trail doesnโt look favorable, donโt keep pushing forward. Every step you take can potentially make recovery more difficult.
I also recommend not gridding your entire property while searching. It can complicate the recovery, especially when your deer crosses a property line. You may end up needing permission from a neighborโor multiple neighborsโto retrieve your deer. You would be surprised how often landowners deny permission to retrieve a deer.
When covering larger areas, I often have to launch from several different locations. That takes additional time and can make an already difficult recovery more complicated.
๐ง๐๐๐ฅ๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ก๐ & ๐๐๐ฅ๐๐ฌ-๐ฆ๐๐๐ฆ๐ข๐ก ๐๐๐๐ง
Something else to keep in mind during these warmer early-season temperatures:
Thermal imaging doesnโt simply โsee heat.โ It detects differences in infrared radiation between objects and their surroundings.
A freshly deceased deer can initially stand out because its body is warmer than the surrounding vegetation and ground. As the carcass cools toward the ambient temperature, that thermal contrast decreases, and the deer can become much more difficult to distinguish from its surroundings.
During hot weather like what weโre experiencing, this problem can be even more pronounced. The ground, rocks, fields, and vegetation can become extremely warm and may be close in temperature to the deer itself.
When the deer and its surroundings are similar in temperature, there is less thermal contrast, making the carcass harder to identify.
๐ง๐๐๐งโ๐ฆ ๐ช๐๐ฌ ๐ง๐๐ ๐๐ก๐ ๐ ๐๐ง๐ง๐๐ฅ๐ฆ ๐๐ก ๐ง๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ง.
The sooner we can get the drone over the areaโespecially during that first nightโthe better the chance of detecting the deer before its thermal signature fades into the surrounding landscape.
For example, our first recovery last year was found approximately 36 hours after the shot. We located it the following evening after a day in the 90s. I found a unique, but subtle signature. Very little temperature difference between the carcass and the ground. I believe the thermal signature likely would have faded almost entirely by mid-morning the next day.
๐ช๐๐๐ง ๐๐๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐ฆ๐๐ฃ๐ง๐๐ ๐๐๐ฅ ๐๐ข๐๐๐๐๐?
We located and recovered every deer we were called out for in September last season, despite the canopy coverage and foliage.
Iโm not saying I can see through a completely closed-canopy forest. I canโt. However, Iโm often able to work different angles and pick up thermal signatures on the ground when the crowns arenโt completely blocking the view.
I also have good relationships with several local dog handlers in the area and can point you in their direction if I feel like the area is unlikely to be visible from the air.
๐๐ข๐ก๐ง๐๐๐ง
I have a day job TuesdayโFriday, but if I miss your call or message, Iโll get back to you as soon as I can.
If you have any questions, feel free to contact me:
๐ฑ 417-207-3049
Texting is preferred.
Good luck to everyone this season, and stay safe out there! ๐ฆ
