Reading sign - the subtleties?

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mheichelbech
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Reading sign - the subtleties?

Unread postby mheichelbech » Thu Jul 11, 2019 2:28 am

Reading sign is my weakest link. I get the obvious stuff like what direction the buck was walking based on where the run is on the tree, looking for licking branches, etc.
What are the more subtle bits of sign that exists that either don’t get noticed a lot or get misread (day vs night sign)?

How do you read or interpret the sign to put together a plan on hunting a buck if you haven’t been able to observe him?

I’ve seen sign, knew it was a big buck, put up my stand and killed the buck however in the 2-3 cases I’ve done this, the sign was extremely obvious....like a neon sign saying hunt here. I’m talking about the more subtle stuff that must exist but is either not seen or not interpreted.


"One of the chief attractions of the life of the wilderness is its rugged and stalwart democracy; there every man stands for what he actually is and can show himself to be." — Theodore Roosevelt, 1893
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Re: Reading sign - the subtleties?

Unread postby Tufrthnails » Thu Jul 11, 2019 10:59 am

You and me both brother....Sub'd to the thread. So many times when I'm successful I sit back and think man that really was dumb luck! Part of me wants to say it is trusting instincts and such, but how to go from that to reading sign and knowing I should set up here or there. I've learned over the years to trust my instincts, but I also wish I could put it all better together.
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Re: Reading sign - the subtleties?

Unread postby Jdw » Thu Jul 11, 2019 12:15 pm

Here are a few more subtle things I have run into.

Ruffled leaves where deer are eating acorns.

Leaves turned over where they are traveling.

Evidence of browsing on vegetation

Faint beds

Tracks in places where you really have to look to see enough detail to tell what size animal left them.

Subtle trails that aren’t used by every deer in the area.

I try to pay attention to anything that tells me the sign is less than a day old. Like tracks left since a rain or freeze or in my boot tracks or dirty water in a puddle.

I think slowing down is the best way to pick up on subtle stuff.

As far as daylight sign and setting up on it goes, make your best guess based on what you think the deer is doing and your gut feeling. You get better at it with experience.
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Re: Reading sign - the subtleties?

Unread postby Trout » Thu Jul 11, 2019 12:33 pm

I missed this runway scouting my way into a spot last fall, but it was there and I hung my stand on a more well used runway about 50yds away. Saw three bucks use it early in the afternoon but had no shot at any. This spring I got over to check it out, it's on a point just off the military Crest, but it hugs the thicker vegetation on top io the point. I was able to find two other runs in different spots like this after just by expecting them to be there, but I am sure I would have missed them if I wasnt looking for them. Learned a ton from this one that I know is going to help me in the future. I'm working on breaking the curse of being able to put myself where the action is, but out of bow range.

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Re: Reading sign - the subtleties?

Unread postby Twenty Up » Thu Jul 11, 2019 2:05 pm

Outside the box, but this has helped me in these instances.

I’ll have predetermined expectations before I step foot in an area. Old or new to me; scouting or hunting. I’ll predict where I expect to see rubs, bedding and trails. A lot of times I’ll rush through an area, not completely grasping what I’m stumbling upon. I’ll setup “checkpoints” so to speak, meaning if I find good sign “here” I will stop to hunt, if not I’ll push on to the next one and so-on.

Slow down, enjoy the woods and interpret what’s around you. My biggest weaknesses have been moving through areas too quickly and not trusting my instincts.

I hope this helps, they’re simple concepts but I think a lot of us are always in a rush at one point or another
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Re: Reading sign - the subtleties?

Unread postby DaveT1963 » Thu Jul 11, 2019 10:50 pm

Rubs, scrapes, beds, tracks, poop are the obvious. I also look for browsing. You cannot look for deer trails in these parts as there are too many cattle (DNR typically lease out our WMAs to cattle ranchers during spring, summer, early fall) and hogs making trails and the deer just use them. Also, hogs tend to prefer to take over deer bedding so you will seldom find well defined beds.
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Re: Reading sign - the subtleties?

Unread postby dan » Thu Jul 11, 2019 10:51 pm

Rather than searching for sign, I'm looking for bedding, then sign. Sure I pay attention to big buck sign that is random but that's just telling me a buck is in the area. That random big buck sign is what makes subtle sign like leaves disturbed heavy around an oak near potential buck bedding, or one or two rubs, a scrape on bedding exit. The random sign tells me the big buck is there, somewhere. The sign coming out of bedding is then more valuable cause I am going to hunt down all the bedding areas till I find him. Often, hunters get narrow vision and just keep hunting the same property over and over whether there is a big buck on the property in daylight or not. Hunt down the bedding areas near the big buck sign and if you don't run across the buck he is likely coming from property you can't hunt and leaving the random sign at night. 1st thing to do is make sure a buck lives on the property you hunt then start looking for that sign and hunting down the spots he would hide. But, the next step is just as important. You need to be able to abandon and go find another buck when #1 can't be found.
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Re: Reading sign - the subtleties?

Unread postby hunter10 » Mon Aug 19, 2019 12:46 pm

dan wrote:Rather than searching for sign, I'm looking for bedding, then sign. Sure I pay attention to big buck sign that is random but that's just telling me a buck is in the area. That random big buck sign is what makes subtle sign like leaves disturbed heavy around an oak near potential buck bedding, or one or two rubs, a scrape on bedding exit. The random sign tells me the big buck is there, somewhere. The sign coming out of bedding is then more valuable cause I am going to hunt down all the bedding areas till I find him. Often, hunters get narrow vision and just keep hunting the same property over and over whether there is a big buck on the property in daylight or not. Hunt down the bedding areas near the big buck sign and if you don't run across the buck he is likely coming from property you can't hunt and leaving the random sign at night. 1st thing to do is make sure a buck lives on the property you hunt then start looking for that sign and hunting down the spots he would hide. But, the next step is just as important. You need to be able to abandon and go find another buck when #1 can't be found.
Dan very good info. How long will you try before you move on? If I don’t know forsure if he’s on the property regularly (farm country) I struggle to know when to move. Very simple example but if I have a 100 acres. Hunt the 3 bedding areas I’ve found and see the sign but no buck on those 3 bed sits is that enough trying? If cameras pick him up randomly on that 100 acres how am I to figure out when or why he will use those 3 bedding areas.. if I was to move on to a different bud I feel I would struggle to get an understanding how to kill that original buck and learn from it
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Re: Reading sign - the subtleties?

Unread postby mheichelbech » Mon Aug 19, 2019 1:25 pm

hunter10 wrote:
dan wrote:Rather than searching for sign, I'm looking for bedding, then sign. Sure I pay attention to big buck sign that is random but that's just telling me a buck is in the area. That random big buck sign is what makes subtle sign like leaves disturbed heavy around an oak near potential buck bedding, or one or two rubs, a scrape on bedding exit. The random sign tells me the big buck is there, somewhere. The sign coming out of bedding is then more valuable cause I am going to hunt down all the bedding areas till I find him. Often, hunters get narrow vision and just keep hunting the same property over and over whether there is a big buck on the property in daylight or not. Hunt down the bedding areas near the big buck sign and if you don't run across the buck he is likely coming from property you can't hunt and leaving the random sign at night. 1st thing to do is make sure a buck lives on the property you hunt then start looking for that sign and hunting down the spots he would hide. But, the next step is just as important. You need to be able to abandon and go find another buck when #1 can't be found.
Dan very good info. How long will you try before you move on? If I don’t know forsure if he’s on the property regularly (farm country) I struggle to know when to move. Very simple example but if I have a 100 acres. Hunt the 3 bedding areas I’ve found and see the sign but no buck on those 3 bed sits is that enough trying? If cameras pick him up randomly on that 100 acres how am I to figure out when or why he will use those 3 bedding areas.. if I was to move on to a different bud I feel I would struggle to get an understanding how to kill that original buck and learn from it

Something I’ve struggled with as well. Especially as a primarily weekend hunter. It can be difficult to stay on them. End of season is a bit easier.

The other thing I’ve found is that early season when it has been super dry and leaves are falling, it’s difficult to identify a bed. Especially around agriculture where they don’t seem to bed in the same spots a lot. Having watched the farm dvd multiple times, has helped a lot...but I still have difficulty with the subltle stuff...I dunno maybe I am over complicating things and the bucks just aren’t there.
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Re: Reading sign - the subtleties?

Unread postby dan » Mon Aug 19, 2019 1:59 pm

Fresh sign? daylight or close pictures? Im hunting down the bedding areas. If I run thru them, I baCK OFF TILL i THINK HE IS THERE AGAIN. 100 acres makes it tough. Good chance he is on the ither side of the fence... Thats part of the reason you spread yourself out and hunt several properties and several bucks... Now, lets just say this is an abslute giant and you wish to shoot no other, or hunt any other properties. Well then you have to do a lot of observation sits watching areas rather than hunting and waiting till you get eyeballs on him to move in. Anyway you look at it, you have to be light on the amount of hunts you do near each bedding area.
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Re: Reading sign - the subtleties?

Unread postby mheichelbech » Mon Aug 19, 2019 11:29 pm

dan wrote:Fresh sign? daylight or close pictures? Im hunting down the bedding areas. If I run thru them, I baCK OFF TILL i THINK HE IS THERE AGAIN. 100 acres makes it tough. Good chance he is on the ither side of the fence... Thats part of the reason you spread yourself out and hunt several properties and several bucks... Now, lets just say this is an abslute giant and you wish to shoot no other, or hunt any other properties. Well then you have to do a lot of observation sits watching areas rather than hunting and waiting till you get eyeballs on him to move in. Anyway you look at it, you have to be light on the amount of hunts you do near each bedding area.

Is it possible to tell if a hunter’s observation sits are having an impact on the buck? A good example is 2 years ago, last 2 weekends of the season, a mature buck was with a group of does, I observed him on a Saturday evening passing by about 100 yards away. Sunday evening I moved to the spot they went through. He cross through where I had been on Saturday.! Both sets, I had favorable winds and I am 99% sure he didn’t detect me except for possibly after I left. By the next weekend, he was gone...this buck made me feel like a fool. I never knew if it was my hunting that caused the pattern change or if they deer just changed up for some other reason. I know this area well and the deer do change travel patterns frequently.
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Re: Reading sign - the subtleties?

Unread postby dan » Tue Aug 20, 2019 12:34 am

They do change patterns up frequently. But intrusion certainly has an impact. Rest assured I have a lot of hunts like that as well
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Re: Reading sign - the subtleties?

Unread postby Edcyclopedia » Tue Aug 20, 2019 1:04 am

dan wrote:Fresh sign? daylight or close pictures? Im hunting down the bedding areas. If I run thru them, I baCK OFF TILL i THINK HE IS THERE AGAIN. 100 acres makes it tough. Good chance he is on the ither side of the fence... Thats part of the reason you spread yourself out and hunt several properties and several bucks... Now, lets just say this is an abslute giant and you wish to shoot no other, or hunt any other properties. Well then you have to do a lot of observation sits watching areas rather than hunting and waiting till you get eyeballs on him to move in. Anyway you look at it, you have to be light on the amount of hunts you do near each bedding area.


I like this strategy.

I for one think this is common-sense, however, I have never done this - sometimes it takes time for the light to dawn on MarbleHead :think:
Gr8 info Dan :clap:
Expect the Unexpected when you least Expect it...


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