Tracking Deer - 4 part series

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magicman54494
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Re: Tracking Deer - 4 part series

Unread postby magicman54494 » Thu Aug 20, 2015 11:38 am

stash59 wrote:What do you think is the most important key to being able to identify a mature buck track. Track width, depth.showing dew claws/ flatter track indicating heavy weight, stride length or trail width/distance from outside of right track to left track.

Though maybe not as dramatic as in people these can vary from animal to animal.

I'm a numbers guy so any basic dimensions on these.

Thanx Magic!!


I mainly go by width. All the other things you stated factor in as well. I use a 30-06 shell as a gauge. if they are as wide as the case it's a good buck, if they are as wide as the whole shell I get pretty excited. It does vary from area to area. The biggest tracks I see are in Minn. The tracks in the U P are smaller for some reason. The stagger seems to be the most miss leading. I've seen small deer with big staggers and vise versa. I also go by the SMALLEST track they make. Often times they step a little off with their back foot and make the track look bigger than it really is.


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Re: Tracking Deer - 4 part series

Unread postby Fresh Track » Thu Aug 20, 2015 2:04 pm

I agree a four finger wide track has been a pretty important indicator of a mature buck. However on snow horn marks left around the areas these bucks are stopping to feed can tell me a lot. I have through the years continued to look for and am amazed how many times I see these marks showing spread size, diameter of the end of the beams or some times when they tilt their head to feed they will show a imprint of the whole side which will tell you tine length. I hunt primarily in the Adirondacks where there is low growing food such as fiddle head ferns or beech nuts or mushrooms on the base of a tree or log. It's exciting to know with pretty good certainty what that buck your tracking has for a rack prior to seeing him. Different types of snow conditions can make these more or less defined.

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Re: Tracking Deer - 4 part series

Unread postby PK_ » Fri Aug 21, 2015 3:49 am

Fresh track, welcome to the forum. Awesome to have another big woods tracker on here. I love the big woods tracker's perspective on buck hunting.

I picked up Benoit's/Blood's books a few years ago and the fire was lit. I actually track a bit every year down here whenever conditions are decent. Sometimes I hunt in sandy areas or muddy areas just after a rain the night before. I haven't ever tracked a buck down and shot him right off the track, but I have tracked them to bedding areas and then circled around and either killed/encountered them by still hunting through or setting up in a stand or on the ground and waiting for them to get up and move on their own.

There is a book I found really good on tracking on bare ground:
http://www.amazon.com/Practical-Trackin ... l+tracking

It is not a hunting book, it is a technical tracking book written by expert trackers I believe they worked extensively in Africa with trackers there. It is a very different perspective than the big woods books. If you aren't serious about getting into tracking or just love to read you won't get through this book, it's very technical.
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Re: Tracking Deer - 4 part series

Unread postby Fresh Track » Fri Aug 21, 2015 5:13 am

http://www.adirondackoutdoorsmagazine.c ... ional-way/

I hope this link goes through, I was looking to introduce a an article on a good friend of mine that has been the sole reason why I have such a strong passion for tracking and big woods hunting. Jim Massett for 65 years has been tracking down bucks in the Adirondacks. I was fortunate as a young kid to sit through many of his seminars and slide shows on tracking. In 1995 I crossed paths with Jim 5 miles back in on a buck track, ever since that chance meeting I have been fortunate to hunt out of his camp each season. His desire to help others succeed has been humbling to say the least. I hope you enjoy the article.

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Re: Tracking Deer - 4 part series

Unread postby stash59 » Fri Aug 21, 2015 5:23 am

magicman54494 wrote:
stash59 wrote:What do you think is the most important key to being able to identify a mature buck track. Track width, depth.showing dew claws/ flatter track indicating heavy weight, stride length or trail width/distance from outside of right track to left track.

Though maybe not as dramatic as in people these can vary from animal to animal.

I'm a numbers guy so any basic dimensions on these.

Thanx Magic!!


I mainly go by width. All the other things you stated factor in as well. I use a 30-06 shell as a gauge. if they are as wide as the case it's a good buck, if they are as wide as the whole shell I get pretty excited. It does vary from area to area. The biggest tracks I see are in Minn. The tracks in the U P are smaller for some reason. The stagger seems to be the most miss leading. I've seen small deer with big staggers and vise versa. I also go by the SMALLEST track they make. Often times they step a little off with their back foot and make the track look bigger than it really is.


Thanx Magic!! And Fresh Track!! I read somewhere that when Lane Bonoit hunted Wisconsin he had to adjust his thinking on track width. He said the mature buck tracks averaged smaller here. Thus my question.

I have more experience with elk. The largest antlered bull I killed had tiny feet that looked no bigger than those of a young cow. But I now believe he was much younger than I first thought. The next largest bull I killed had extra large feet for his age and body size. Neither of these bulls could have been considered mature in comparison to how we determine that with whitetails. One bull track I came across numerous times in my area was extremely huge in comparison to other elk. Almost as large as that of the mature moose found in nearby areas. In fact most people asked me if the tracks weren't actually that of a moose. After I described their size. I was sure it was an elk. Elk have feet shaped more like a cows. More rounded. Moose are heart shaped and more pointed. Plus after 10 years hunting the area I never saw a moose.

I finally got to see this bull up in a clear-cut. He had large headgear to match the large feet. Confirmed by finding his tracks the next morning up where I saw him.

Just a long winded way to say maybe like this bull's tracks. A truly mature bucks tracks really do just stand out of the crowd when you see them.

By the way Dan's 4 fingered method is brilliant. It's so simplr that I'm embarrassed to not have thought of it myself. So if he wasn't the first to come up with it. Thanx to whoever did.
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Re: Tracking Deer - 4 part series

Unread postby BigCedarJack » Fri Aug 21, 2015 5:27 am

Anyone have an opinion on: "Tom Brown's Field Guide to Nature Observation and Tracking?"
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Re: Tracking Deer - 4 part series

Unread postby stash59 » Fri Aug 21, 2015 5:59 am

BigCedarJack wrote:Anyone have an opinion on: "Tom Brown's Field Guide to Nature Observation and Tracking?"


I have Tom Brown's Two-In-One Survival Library. I believe the above mentioned book is the second part.

Even though I have never done so. Some of his methods to gain knowledge on aging tracks and the like would really improve ones ability to decide what track to follow.

His dimensions he provides on different animals seem to be averages at best.

All in all one would become a better tracker if he really followed the book and did the "homework".
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Re: Tracking Deer - 4 part series

Unread postby BigCedarJack » Fri Aug 21, 2015 4:03 pm

Thanks for the opinion stash59! Tracking is one of the two things I am really working to improve on this year. I rarely get to hunt in snow here. But I find that the more I improve at what I call "micro" tracking I gain lots of success in other areas too. The weather was cool and rainy here yesterday morning so I went scouting and practiced my tracking a bit!

I'm hoping I get a chance to track in the snow this year!
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Re: Tracking Deer - 4 part series

Unread postby stash59 » Sat Aug 22, 2015 2:51 am

BigCedarJack wrote:Thanks for the opinion stash59! Tracking is one of the two things I am really working to improve on this year. I rarely get to hunt in snow here. But I find that the more I improve at what I call "micro" tracking I gain lots of success in other areas too. The weather was cool and rainy here yesterday morning so I went scouting and practiced my tracking a bit!

I'm hoping I get a chance to track in the snow this year!


Like wise on improving skills. It's such a big part of Dan's success and methods. Because I don't have a bunch of trail cams. Going by the old fashioned method of using the sign to base whether mature bucks are present. Is important for me right now. Better tracking knowledge will improve this.

I just wish I had gotten the Brown book while I was a kid. When I had the time to do all the exercises.
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Re: Tracking Deer - 4 part series

Unread postby SamPotter » Sat Aug 22, 2015 10:03 am

The deer I hunt in the Adirondacks don't seem to weigh as much as bucks in other regions. I look for other indicators already mentioned: antler marks in the snow, blunt toes, avoidance of narrow/tight spaces, etc.
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Re: Tracking Deer - 4 part series

Unread postby Dhurtubise » Wed Apr 12, 2017 1:51 pm

Dewey wrote:Magic, what books do you recommend? I have Larry Benoits "How To Bag The Biggest Buck Of Your Life" but want to read whatever I can get my hands on.

Another question..... When do you do your tracking do you wait till after opening weekend of the gun season to avoid the mob of hunters and just wait till things settle down during the week or just head to remote spots many don't hunt? I could see how this could be good after opening day if bucks stack up in certain areas.

I have had people tell me it's a waste of time to scout in snow after the season. I disagree because although deeper snow can really alter travel patterns it can still tell you plenty about a mature buck that lives in the area. Nothing I love more than following a bucks trail and trying to figure out where he was going and why. It's amazing how they stick to certain land features and vegetation cover for travel. I have found so many primary beds and stand sites this way that have produced so many sightings and kills over the years. So ridiculously easy to find just by following tracks in the snow. Tracking like this really gets you thinking like a deer. Everything they do is for a reason. Wish I had gun hunted this way many years ago. Feel like I wasted my best years sitting on stand from dark to dark waiting for a deer to come to me instead of making it happen myself. Hoping my best years are yet to come. 8-)
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I enjoyed this post by Dewey. I can relate on many levels.

I'm also bumping this thread for a great read. Thank you Magic for yet another gem.

D.-
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Re: Tracking Deer - 4 part series

Unread postby magicman54494 » Wed Apr 12, 2017 4:34 pm

Dhurtubise wrote:
Dewey wrote:Magic, what books do you recommend? I have Larry Benoits "How To Bag The Biggest Buck Of Your Life" but want to read whatever I can get my hands on.

Another question..... When do you do your tracking do you wait till after opening weekend of the gun season to avoid the mob of hunters and just wait till things settle down during the week or just head to remote spots many don't hunt? I could see how this could be good after opening day if bucks stack up in certain areas.

I have had people tell me it's a waste of time to scout in snow after the season. I disagree because although deeper snow can really alter travel patterns it can still tell you plenty about a mature buck that lives in the area. Nothing I love more than following a bucks trail and trying to figure out where he was going and why. It's amazing how they stick to certain land features and vegetation cover for travel. I have found so many primary beds and stand sites this way that have produced so many sightings and kills over the years. So ridiculously easy to find just by following tracks in the snow. Tracking like this really gets you thinking like a deer. Everything they do is for a reason. Wish I had gun hunted this way many years ago. Feel like I wasted my best years sitting on stand from dark to dark waiting for a deer to come to me instead of making it happen myself. Hoping my best years are yet to come. 8-)
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I enjoyed this post by Dewey. I can relate on many levels.

I'm also bumping this thread for a great read. Thank you Magic for yet another gem.

D.-

You are welcome, deweys post is spot on.
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Re: Tracking Deer - 4 part series

Unread postby Uncle Lou » Sun Apr 16, 2017 1:57 am

Excellent bump Dhurtubise.

Great read and great tips. I like many would like to get better at this method. I do walk alot, but don't necessarily "track".
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Re: Tracking Deer - 4 part series

Unread postby Singing Bridge » Sun Apr 16, 2017 2:25 am

Todd's posts on tracking are not only excellent for learning but they are such a great read. His last hunt in the U.P. And the Bucks he tracked were were simply excellent to follow along with.
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Re: Tracking Deer - 4 part series

Unread postby Dhurtubise » Sun Apr 16, 2017 2:52 am

Singing Bridge wrote:Todd's posts on tracking are not only excellent for learning but they are such a great read. His last hunt in the U.P. And the Bucks he tracked were were simply excellent to follow along with.


Were those hunts logged in the "live from the stand thread"? I don't think I ever came across them. Thanks SB.


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