Hey all,
I am curious what everyone looks for if the're unable to find large deer tracks when there's so many leaves on the forest floor that it's hard to find and/or measure a deer track. I hunt the big woods in mountain/large hill type terrain where finding any loose dirt/mud is scarce due to the ground always being covered by leaves. Once in a blue moon I can find a pond(also rare where I hunt) and can search around it for tracks in the mud yet this doesn't happen often.
I'm also keeping in mind that I can still look for larger deer droppings, scrapes/rubs(later in the season is when these seem to start popping up), possible buck bedding areas(upper one third on a knob where wind blows over their back, etc.), and of course where they feed(which changes throughout the season as different trees start/stop dropping acorns.
My plan this year is to go into areas where I've had buck on trail cam(no checking cams during the season) with my hunting gear on my back and the wind/thermal in my favor. Once I find it, up the tree I go and get ready for action(or lack thereof).
Just curious what everyone else looks for if they can't get a read on actual tracks.
Thanks all,
Danny
Tracks in the big woods?
- Danny1977
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Tracks in the big woods?
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- headgear
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Re: Tracks in the big woods?
Sometimes you have to see the sign that is less obvious, be it a track in some compressed leaves or you find that one spot of a little bare dirt that tips you off to a good track. I've tried following tracks through leaves and it certainly can be very hard to do but not impossible.
- Singing Bridge
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Re: Tracks in the big woods?
fresh, oversized droppings alone will have me setting up to hunt the bedding area... and they leave them behind every day.
tracks take some experience when there isn't an obvious place to look. A wide dent in the leaves that I know is a track will get me to set up. Sometimes the tips of the hooves leave a small dent and that is all it takes...
Bridge
tracks take some experience when there isn't an obvious place to look. A wide dent in the leaves that I know is a track will get me to set up. Sometimes the tips of the hooves leave a small dent and that is all it takes...
Bridge
- brancher147
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Re: Tracks in the big woods?
Seeing tracks in the leaves is tricky but gets easier the more you do it. Wet leaves are the best. But I know what you mean it is hard to find a good track in exposed soil in the woods. I usually look for rubs and tracks in the leaves around bedding. It’s hardest when the leaves are really falling in October. I find a lot of good tracks on old logging roads and they typically have spots with less or no leaves where wind blows them off.
Some do. Some don't. I just might...
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Re: Tracks in the big woods?
Singing Bridge wrote:fresh, oversized droppings alone will have me setting up to hunt the bedding area... and they leave them behind every day.
tracks take some experience when there isn't an obvious place to look. A wide dent in the leaves that I know is a track will get me to set up. Sometimes the tips of the hooves leave a small dent and that is all it takes...
Bridge
Makes sense and thank you. I’ve tried looking at the droppings and wasn’t sure if they were large enough to say “this is a deer worth going after”. I can tell the difference between a fawn and an adult but not between a large buck and just any other adult doe or younger buck.
How large(wide) of a dent in the leaves? I’ve heard four fingers worth of width but that could differ from person to person since I wear a med sized glove someone else may wear an extra large therefore the different hand size leading to different sized deer
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Re: Tracks in the big woods?
Danny1977 wrote:Singing Bridge wrote:fresh, oversized droppings alone will have me setting up to hunt the bedding area... and they leave them behind every day.
tracks take some experience when there isn't an obvious place to look. A wide dent in the leaves that I know is a track will get me to set up. Sometimes the tips of the hooves leave a small dent and that is all it takes...
Bridge
Makes sense and thank you. I’ve tried looking at the droppings and wasn’t sure if they were large enough to say “this is a deer worth going after”. I can tell the difference between a fawn and an adult but not between a large buck and just any other adult doe or younger buck.
How large(wide) of a dent in the leaves? I’ve heard four fingers worth of width but that could differ from person to person since I wear a med sized glove someone else may wear an extra large therefore the different hand size leading to different sized deer
We figured out a while back in another thread. That 4 finger relates to the track being as wide as the length of a 30-.06 shell. Or about 3 1/4" wide. But most wouldn't hesitate chasing around a track of 2 3/4" in width. Kinda depends how big the deer feet get in your area.
As far as turds. Individual pellets as big as the first knuckle on an index finger!
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Re: Tracks in the big woods?
When seeing a hint of a track in the leaves, it helps me to feel the track rather than just visually gageing it. By pressing my ungloved hand down into the leaves I can feel the width and the depth of the dent under the leaves. Depending on the situation I can often tell direction of the track this way too.
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Re: Tracks in the big woods?
In soft soil you can sometimes scrape away the leaves to get better impression of the track too.
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Re: Tracks in the big woods?
This is all great advice. Thank you much
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Re: Tracks in the big woods?
Creek crossings can be a good place to find sign and tracks. Like also stated key in on bare dirt/muddy spots. Steve Bartylla has a tactic where he takes a rake and will rake out a spot like that on a known trail. Then will go check that spot for specific buck tracks.
You can’t hunt something that’s not there
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