Catoctin Game Recovery (240) 674-2405 CarrollFrederickMontgomeryWashington Free Frederick County
Blood trackers and deer recovery in Frederick County, Maryland
6 vetted trackers cover Frederick County: 5 tracking dog handlers and 2 drone operators. One is based right here in the county. Call or text them directly. Searching this registry is free.
Region B Sunday hunting allowed CWD Management Area Black bear season 50 yd archery safety zone
Who can help in Frederick County
Closest trackers first. Every listing is reviewed before it goes public, and each tracker sets their own fee, so check the profile before you call.
Catoctin Game Recovery (240) 674-2405 CarrollFrederickMontgomeryWashington Free 
Blood Tracking Dogs of Maryland Blood Tracking Dogs of Maryland (443) 293-2395 BaltimoreCarrollFrederickHarfordHoward Free 
Thermal Trace Drone Services (443) 338-3747 BaltimoreCarrollFrederickHarfordHoward $ 
Back Creek Tracking Services Longspur (540) 533-3822 AlleganyFrederickGarrettMontgomeryWashington $ 
Cincy’s Deer Recovery (717) 434-3351 AlleganyBaltimoreFrederick Free Local rules
Hunting Frederick County
Frederick County sits in Region B, which covers the rest of the state, from Frederick and Montgomery east to the Eastern Shore.
Region B deer seasons, 2026–2027
- Archery
- Sep. 11–Oct. 21, Oct. 25–Nov. 27, Dec. 14–18, Jan. 3–7, Jan. 11–31
- Firearms
- Nov. 28–Dec. 12 and Jan. 8–10
- Muzzleloader
- Oct. 22–24, Oct. 26–31, Dec. 19–Jan. 2
Black bear season, 2026
- Season
- Oct. 26–31, 2026
- Bag limit
- One bear per hunter, and one per permittee and sub-permittee team
- Shooting hours
- One half hour before sunrise to one half hour after sunset
- Permit
- Permit only, drawn in the summer lottery. Primary lottery permits are good in all four bear counties; the secondary lottery draws a smaller number that are good only in Frederick or Washington County.
Sunday deer hunting
Sunday deer hunting is allowed on private land in Frederick County. State law also opens designated public land from early October into mid-January, but the current DNR Sunday chart lists Frederick as private land only, so confirm with DNR before you plan a Sunday hunt on public ground.
Safety zone
The statewide safety zone is 150 yards from an occupied building without advance permission from the owner or occupant. For archery hunters in Frederick County it is only 50 yards. That puts a lot of legal hunting within sight of houses, so on a track the neighbors are usually the first door to knock on.
Chronic Wasting Disease
Frederick County is inside the Chronic Wasting Disease Management Area, which covers Allegany, Baltimore, Carroll, Frederick, Howard, Montgomery and Washington counties. A whole carcass may not leave that block of counties unless it is going straight to an approved processor or taxidermist, or to a landfill inside the area. To carry deboned meat or quarters out, you have to check the deer in and get a confirmation number first. Worth sorting out before a late recovery turns into a long drive home.
Maryland DNR: chronic wasting disease and approved processors
Rules that only apply here
These are the Frederick County specifics that catch people out. They sit on top of the statewide rules, they do not replace them.
Shotgun zone around Frederick City
Frederick County is split into two firearms zones. In Zone 2, the built-up area west of the Monocacy River around Frederick City, bottleneck cartridge rifles are off the table for deer: shotguns, straight-walled rifles, handguns, muzzleloaders and archery only. Zone 1 covers the rest of the county and allows bottleneck rifles too. Bottleneck handguns are legal countywide. Check the map before you pick a rifle.
Tracking a wounded bear works differently
A leashed dog or a drone may be used to find a dead or wounded bear, and calling it in works the same as it does for deer except for the number: notify the Natural Resources Police 24 hour emergency line on 410-260-8888 rather than the deer line, before the search starts and again when it ends. Landowner permission has to be in hand first. Two differences do bite. The rule that lets you finish a wounded deer after dark is written for deer only, so a wounded bear has to be put down inside legal shooting hours. And anyone without a bear permit who wounds or kills a bear has to report it to DNR within 24 hours, whether or not the bear is ever found.
Orange during bear season
Archery deer hunters here have to wear daylight fluorescent orange whenever the black bear season is open. Archery hunters in the rest of the state have no orange requirement during the regular archery season.
County parks: no chasing, and a 9 foot leash
County park rules bar hunting, chasing, frightening or harming any animal, and separately cap every leash on park land at nine feet. A tracking lead is usually twenty to thirty, so a track that reaches a county park stops there until you have permission in hand.
Dates and rules here are a summary of the 2026–2027 season and may contain errors. Always verify with the Maryland DNR before you hunt. Full dates, legal light, and Sunday details are on our season calendar.
Before you call
Give the tracker the best chance
Back out and stop grid searching. Walking the area spreads scent and turns a clean line into a puzzle. Mark the hit site and the last blood you found, note the time of the shot and what the deer did, then call. In Maryland the tracker also has to notify the Natural Resources Police before the search starts and close it out when it ends, whether they are running a dog or a drone, and a tracking dog stays leashed the whole time.
Losing the light is not a reason to give up. If the deer was hit during legal shooting hours you may keep after it and finish it after dark, with a weapon legal for the season and a light on the animal, so long as you call the Natural Resources Police before you carry on and again when the search ends. A bear is different: that one has to be finished in legal light.
Not sure whether a dog or a drone fits your situation? Our dog or drone guide walks through when each one wins.
Nearby
Counties next to Frederick
Trackers travel. If nobody in Frederick County is free, try a neighboring county.
Join
Not on the list?
We welcome experienced handlers and new trackers. If you are just getting started, reach out early for guidance during training and testing, and help finding a mentor who can guide you through your first season. Email info@mdbloodtrackers.net or join the Facebook group.
Applications are closed. We will reopen next summer, July/August, after the testing season, to join for the 2027/28 season.