The discussion is about tracking wounded deer not pheasant hunting. In WI tracking wounded deer with dogs was unheard of in the 70s, 80s, and 90s as were all the other gadgets kiddos think they need now. The hunters back then were better woodsman for it, absolutely. Certainly moreso than the sissies today packing in 30lbs worth of “game changing” gadgets, running 6 cell cams to “scout”, and staring at their phones like zombies ignoring every bit of sign the deer have laid down for them while walking in because Onx is telling them to hunt in spot x over here.
Yeah, hunting was MUCH better back in those days. We knew how to actually hunt and most definitely knew how to find our game once we shot it no one needed a dog we bloodtrailed them. Heck, even without blood you can certainly track deer with tracks, turned over leaves, bent over cattails, busted branches, scuffed gravel, bits of hair, and plain old intimate knowledge of the layout of the land and the tendencies of wounded deer. You know, that thing called woodsmanship. But nowadays it’s “get a dog” after not seeing a drop of blood in 10 yards for a lot of folks, it’s an embarrassment to be frank.