Tracking Deer - 4 part series

[magicman54494]

Some of you know me, some newer members may not. I haven't been around a lot. Life has a way of distracting us. Anyway, I was going thru my documents today and found some things I wrote on tracking deer. The things I wrote are more crude drafts but I just don't have the time to clean them up so I decided to post them as they are. Maybe to spark some good off season dialogue. My time is limited so if there are questions you will have to be patient. Enjoy!

Part one:
Why Track?
From a numbers standpoint.
I’m always trying to increase my odds of success whether it be work or in the field. My goal is to shoot a mature buck every time I hit the woods. Of course this isn’t going to happen but with the odds stacked so highly against me I search for ways to tip the odds in my favor. Anyone that hunts the big woods knows that mature bucks are few and far between and have never ending dense forest to hide in.
The odds of success for a hunter that picks a random spot and sits all day are so slim that it’s hard to even put a number on it. I know many hunters who have hunted for years in the big woods and have never shot a mature buck.
Dedicated scouting will increase your odds. Spending time in an area that a mature buck calls home will up the odds a bit but the harder you hunt that area the more likely you will push that buck out or educate him and make him very hard to kill. Logic would make you believe that the more time you spend hunting that spot the more your odds go up. Not true! Your odds actually decrease with each time you hunt that spot. Then there is always the possibility that the deer you scouted may already be dead.
The sad truth is that even if you scout, approach the stand site in a way that doesn’t tip off the buck, and hunt the wind the odds of laying eyes on that buck are slim. Hunting a spot correctly from dark to dark for a week straight and seeing that buck just once would be a huge victory. There is high likelihood that the buck you are waiting for isn’t even in the area many of the times you are sitting there.
Tracking is the only way that I know to really increase my odds for success. This is important to remember – EVERYTIME I TAKE A BIG BUCK TRACK I AM SURE THAT I AM HUNTING A MATURE BUCK. This can’t be said for any other method. Again I want to stress that I am hunting a mature buck 100% of the time! If I am successful only once in a while my odds are still way up there. Lets say I am successful one out of 20 tracks I take. That is only a 5% success rate. These odds may not excite you but look a bit deeper at these odds. I’m sure if you are a dedicated hunter you probably spent more than 20 days hunting each season. With these odds, and spending at least 20 days tracking you should tag a mature buck each year! Of course things don’t always work out the way you want but even if you’re successful only half this much you will be heading to the taxidermist every other season. I don’t know any big woods hunter that wouldn’t drool at these odds.
Remember, hunting isn’t only about killing a big buck. Enjoy the hunt, not just the kill.

[JoeRE]

Yes! Thanks for doing this writeup Magic. For newer members - this is the real deal.

[oldrank]

looking forward to this !!

[ Post made via Android ]

[headgear]

looking forward to this !!

[ Post made via Android ]

+1

[jmaas07]

Definitely looking forward to reading more on this topic...

[ Post made via iPhone ]

[olivertractor]

Looking forward to this

[ Post made via Android ]

[DeerDylan]

This will be a keeper

[ Post made via iPhone ]

[Dhurtubise]

awesome!

[magicman54494]

I want to add that this is a why to track series, not a how to track. It's about the benefits of tracking. I will do my best to answer how to questions as well.
I'll answer one question that I am often asked. How far does a buck travel in one night? To date , the furthest I have documented that I followed a track was 6 miles and I didn't catch up with that buck. He never stopped or bedded down or even ate anything in that 6 miles. He (and a few other bucks) found a hot doe and really made a mess of tracks where I left him. I only had a few hours of daylight left and I had a long way to go to get out so I turned back.

[Dutch]

Looking forward to it also

[Hodag Hunter]

Magic tracked a buck 6 miles but please keep in mind he didn't pick up the track where started....

Who knows where it originated from that night

Northwoods deer can and do put many miles on a day until approximately mid December.

[ Post made via Android ]

[wickedbruiser]

This is a great thread. Looking forward to more!

[ Post made via Android ]

[BigCedarJack]

Keep it coming!

[Jackson Marsh]

Looking forward to this Magic

[ Post made via Android ]

[bigwoodsmn]

I think it gives the best odds too so I've been doing everything I can to switch my hunts to do more of it. I'm pushing my hunts into later November. I'll still sit in good spots when there's no snow. I'll be looking for crossings at river bends (like the G3s thread) and hunting back sides of cuts and funnels, sometimes. But connecting regularly on mature bucks in the big woods... is the big woods hunter's dream. I think tracking makes it much less random. It's about knowing how to identify the right buck, on a day he can be killed (he's hung up with does, or he's bedding after a long night's travels) and gaining the right skills to kill him. There can be miles between big mature bucks. I don't learn anything when I'm sitting in a stand. But riding around in the dark at 4AM and spending the day on foot in the middle of nowhere is an adventure. It's a ton of fun. Plus, there could be other opportunities to shoot another big buck when you're hunting around active pockets of deer. And in some places I've hunted the last two years it's been sad to say... there can be miles between pockets of deer (not just between big bucks).