Montgomery County
Blood trackers and deer recovery in Montgomery County, Maryland
5 vetted trackers cover Montgomery County: 4 tracking dog handlers and 1 drone operator. 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 50 yd archery safety zone
Who can help in Montgomery 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 
Stewart Drone Operations (667) 201-8553 Anne ArundelBaltimoreHowardMontgomeryQueen Anne's $ 
Back Creek Tracking Services Longspur (540) 533-3822 AlleganyFrederickGarrettMontgomeryWashington $ Local rules
Hunting Montgomery County
Montgomery 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
Sunday deer hunting
Sunday deer hunting is allowed on private land in Montgomery County.
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 Montgomery 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.
Between 50 and 100 yards of an occupied building an archer has to be in an elevated position that lets them shoot on a downward angle.
Chronic Wasting Disease
Montgomery 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 Montgomery County specifics that catch people out. They sit on top of the statewide rules, they do not replace them.
You have to report a deer you cannot find
This is the one that surprises people, and it is a county rule with no statewide equivalent. A bow hunter in Montgomery County must report the failure to recover a wounded deer to the county police at the end of an unsuccessful search. Calling a tracker is what turns an unsuccessful search into a successful one, so make the call for a dog before you call it a night.
Deer that runs onto county parkland
Montgomery County is ringed with M-NCPPC parkland, and a deer shot on a back lot often dies on it. Before you set foot on park property to look, call the Park Police at 301-949-8010, describe where the deer went in, and wait. They may send an officer to walk you in. If they clear you over the phone instead, you may not carry your bow or gun onto parkland, and if you find the deer alive you have to call them back. Retrieving a deer counts as hunting, so this is a permission question, not a courtesy. If you hunt near a park, call ahead of the season and tell them.
No bows inside Gaithersburg or Rockville
Discharging a bow or crossbow is not legal inside the incorporated municipalities of Gaithersburg and Rockville, whatever the landowner says. Everywhere else in the county an archery hunter can work a suburban neighborhood on written permission, which is why so much of the tracking here happens in back yards.
Bows and roads, guns and the urban area
The county code adds a road rule the state does not have: no discharging a bow from, onto or across a public road. Guns keep 50 yards off a public road, may not be full metal jacketed, and inside the urban area are barred outright except for deer hunting on private ground of at least 50 acres, from an elevated position, with signs posted and written notice to the chief of police at least 15 days out.
A tracking dog is not a dog at large
The county animal ordinance lists tracking as a qualified activity, and a dog taking part in one is not at large even off leash, right up until it leaves the activity. Maryland still requires the tracking dog to stay leashed, so this matters less as permission than as one less thing to argue about with a neighbor who has called it in.
Unlimited antlerless deer with a bow
The whole county sits in the Suburban Deer Management Zone, where there is no cap on antlerless deer taken with a vertical bow or crossbow during archery season. Muzzleloader and firearms seasons keep their normal limits, and the zone does not add any extra days. It does mean the archery pressure here is heavier than anywhere else in the state, which is a big part of why suburban tracking calls cluster in these five counties.
No bottleneck rifles or handguns
During firearms season this county allows shotguns, straight-walled cartridge rifles and handguns, air guns, muzzleloaders and archery equipment. A rifle or handgun firing a bottleneck cartridge is not legal for deer here, which rules out most of the classic deer calibers. Straight-walled rifles are legal in every Maryland county, so a .350 Legend or .450 Bushmaster travels anywhere.
Spotlighting from a vehicle
Casting a light from a vehicle onto woods, fields, livestock or buildings is illegal statewide. This county is one of three places where you may do it until 9 p.m., and only to watch or photograph wildlife. If anyone in the vehicle has a bow or a firearm along, the law presumes you were breaking it. Following up a deer you wounded in legal light is a separate rule that does let you put a light on the animal after dark, but never from a vehicle: a motor vehicle may not be used to pursue a wounded deer at any hour.
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 Montgomery
Trackers travel. If nobody in Montgomery 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.