With a moose in the freezer I`ve decided that I`m going to snow track my buck this year or eat the tag. I`ve tracked down lots of moose and take most of my animals still hunting so learning to track whitetails seems like the next logical step. Today I was following a good track that I knew was a big buck, long stride, lots of stagger, deep prints that I could lay a .270 round in the toes. Well he figured out I was following him, back tracked himself, made about a 15`jump to the side... over a creek, and then tried to loose me where some smaller deer were feeding. He then intersected a tracked up trail, all the tracks were heading uphill and I assumed he had turned the same direction, later I figured out he hadn't, White Tails are deffinatly harder to track than moose.
So anyways he threw me off his track, and I ended up following three other deer that were traveling together, or at least following each other at a pretty close distance. The tracks were of a fair size and two of them had about 3-4 inch stagger, the distance side to side between the tracks. Normally I would have assumed that much stagger indicated a buck, but I could tell by the pee that at least one of them was a doe. I`m having trouble coming up with a scenario where a buck or two being involved in these three tracks makes any sense, so ...
How much stagger would indicate a buck?
How much stagger could a large doe have?
Any other advice... besides sitting in a tree stand.
Thanks
Identifying buck track?
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Identifying buck track?
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Re: Identifying buck track?
You have snow already?
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Re: Identifying buck track?
So by stagger you mean the distance between the right and left side tracks when it is walking in a straight line? I never have looked at that closely before but think your estimate of 3-4" is pretty close for a buck, less for a doe - maybe 2"? Like I said that is sort of a guess since I have not paid much attention to that.
Bucks, particularly older bucks, drag their feet a lot more than does but you can only see that in less than 6" or so of snow, more than that everything drags its feet. Bucks also toe out with their hind feet a bit, probably to make room for their "equipment"
Between size of WALKING track (too many people look at running tracks and get needlessly excited), how much the feet drag, and toeing out I generally can be pretty confident what the deer is. I study tracks quite a bit.
Bucks, particularly older bucks, drag their feet a lot more than does but you can only see that in less than 6" or so of snow, more than that everything drags its feet. Bucks also toe out with their hind feet a bit, probably to make room for their "equipment"
Between size of WALKING track (too many people look at running tracks and get needlessly excited), how much the feet drag, and toeing out I generally can be pretty confident what the deer is. I study tracks quite a bit.
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Re: Identifying buck track?
If I can't lay a 30-06 she'll in the track sideways buck is probably on the smaller side. Now I have tracked bucks with this size track but not the norm. My feeling with you being a lot farther north, larger deer vs WI, I would be looking for larger tracks.
Stride on average should be two boots long. This will vary in terrain and if end of the buck's day and he is tired.
Look for splayed walking tracks and good dew claws.
The more and more you look at them you can start to identify individual deer. I take lots of pictures of tracks. I have one been chasing two years. Don't know if he is around or not this season.
Good luck.
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Stride on average should be two boots long. This will vary in terrain and if end of the buck's day and he is tired.
Look for splayed walking tracks and good dew claws.
The more and more you look at them you can start to identify individual deer. I take lots of pictures of tracks. I have one been chasing two years. Don't know if he is around or not this season.
Good luck.
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Re: Identifying buck track?
Thanks, that's a great article. I found the part about comparing the rear and front stagger especially interesting, quite possibly I could have answered some questions today if I had known that tip.
Hodaghunter. Thanks for the tips, we just got our first good tracking snow today and I'm new at the whole tracking thing with a whole month or so to improve. I more or less just followed the first buck track I found to start getting some experience under my belt for when things kick off proper in November, I could not have layed a 30-06 shell sideways in the track. I learned quite a bit, mostly in the form of mistakes that I made so I was happy with the modest results. I'm working an afternoon shift so I can get out and hunt the first half of the day all this week, which I will do for as many days as I can without becoming dangerously sleep deprived.
So no rule of thumb on stagger? I know about sizing the tracks, I know about dew claws and splaying, I know about drag marks... but I've more or less come to judge a track by its stagger more than anything else. Usually by the rut I'm hunting in snow deep enough that a lot of tracks have drag marks and sizing the track, or otherwise inspecting in great detail is difficult. Heck the last two years its been like that before the end of October.
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Re: Identifying buck track?
Stagger isn't anything I've measured before but usually "just know" it's a good but looking at gait and stagger distance.
I really rely on track detail. Sometimes it takes a while poking around on a set of tracks until you find them going through thicker cover with a canopy. The snow will be less and detail can be assessed.
Look for the smallest track made by the deer. Not the largest. (If walking down hill tracks will look larger, up hill he will be on his tip toes.)
Try blowing snow away in the track to show more detail. ( sometimes carry a short piece of rubber hose).
I drive back roads looking at tracks crossing the roads. Sometimes can find a good track to take in the first hour. Other days never take one.
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I really rely on track detail. Sometimes it takes a while poking around on a set of tracks until you find them going through thicker cover with a canopy. The snow will be less and detail can be assessed.
Look for the smallest track made by the deer. Not the largest. (If walking down hill tracks will look larger, up hill he will be on his tip toes.)
Try blowing snow away in the track to show more detail. ( sometimes carry a short piece of rubber hose).
I drive back roads looking at tracks crossing the roads. Sometimes can find a good track to take in the first hour. Other days never take one.
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Re: Identifying buck track?
The best advice I can give is study every track you come across. The more you look at the more you will learn. Especially after you see or shoot a deer. Back tracking it will give you an idea of what size deer leaves what size track.
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Re: Identifying buck track?
Hodag Hunter wrote:Stagger isn't anything I've measured before but usually "just know" it's a good but looking at gait and stagger distance.
I really rely on track detail. Sometimes it takes a while poking around on a set of tracks until you find them going through thicker cover with a canopy. The snow will be less and detail can be assessed.
Look for the smallest track made by the deer. Not the largest. (If walking down hill tracks will look larger, up hill he will be on his tip toes.)
Try blowing snow away in the track to show more detail. ( sometimes carry a short piece of rubber hose).
I drive back roads looking at tracks crossing the roads. Sometimes can find a good track to take in the first hour. Other days never take one.
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For the last couple years there haven't been a lot of deer tracks around the roads... probably because of the large amount of wolf tracks that one finds there. I think because I'm marching around the bush finding tracks I'm not being as picky as I should be. I was out today and I believe that you are right, I should be looking for bigger tracks.
In the last two days I have found at least a dozen sets of tracks wandering the bush, sets of tracks crossing trails and power lines or in cutclocks would be less than half of that. Tracks I have seen crossing roads are a big fat zero, I think this will change a bit when the rut kicks in. Possibly using my quad to run trails and pipelines might get me on a big track but I don't much like using the quad unless I really need to.
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Re: Identifying buck track?
One can take a smaller buck track, I sometimes do with certain conditions, but a larger track is also easier to identify when mixed in with other deer.
You are right that not all good buck tracks will cross a road but the more you do it will find days that all the bucks seemed to put miles on and big tracks will be more prevalent. Other days it's difficult to even find one decant track.
If magicman sees this thread may have more to add. I know he is extremely busy with work now.
Couple things to keep in mind that magic told me a while back, no matter how frustrating it may seem on track there is always a good buck right in front of you vs sitting in a stand for days wondering when a good one will come through and you only need to win once. The deer will outsmart you most days but with one tag I need only to win once.
Good luck.
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You are right that not all good buck tracks will cross a road but the more you do it will find days that all the bucks seemed to put miles on and big tracks will be more prevalent. Other days it's difficult to even find one decant track.
If magicman sees this thread may have more to add. I know he is extremely busy with work now.
Couple things to keep in mind that magic told me a while back, no matter how frustrating it may seem on track there is always a good buck right in front of you vs sitting in a stand for days wondering when a good one will come through and you only need to win once. The deer will outsmart you most days but with one tag I need only to win once.
Good luck.
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