Bigger Or Deeper Tracks?

[Jelvis]

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[mainland hunter]

i dont think you can tell by the size of the track, you can get an idea of the deer somewhat but they all have different shoe sizes some big ones got smaller feet than some lil ones

[bigwhiteys]

To judge the size of the animals antlers I would be looking for other types of sign as well... rubs, wallows, places where it's obvious by the tracks a fight has taken place or buck activity of some kind.

Sign just tells a story... How a hunter interprets it can be the difference in a big buck, little buck or NO buck at all.

Happy Hunting!
Carl

[Sikanni Stalker]

Yes I agree, however be that as it may if you see a large "fresh" print then pursue it,there is definitely a reason for that. Aging a print is an art in itself and that is probably more worth the exploration than the size for sure.

[dana]

Typically big bucks make big tracks. No ands ifs or buts about it. If I find a Hawg track that I can drop my 300 win mag shell into with room to spare, I will be following that track. Antler size has nothing to do with track size though. No way to tell if a buck has crab-clawed fronts or shitty backs by the size of the track. The track just tells you that it has the potential to have a rack the size you are dreamin about. If you ignore following a Hawg Track, you could be passing up the opportunity at chasing a Monster.

[Steeleco]

I always get excited when I see a sizable dew claw mark. It doesn't always mean a big animal but it's a good start.

I've also read where you can, with practice tell a male from a female footprint, it has to do with the hind legs and the space between each foot, all I can say for sure, is I need more practice on that one :wink:

[Jelvis]

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[dana]

A doe will have a different stride than that of a buck. Also a buck will tend to drag his feet and does rarely make really big tracks. Have seen many people get excited by a big looking track but it turns out to be a track of a stotting deer. The toes will be splayed out and will make a average track look much bigger than it really is.

[Jelvis]

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[Steeleco]

A does back feet will be farther apart than a bucks due to the difference in their pelvis. The does being made for birthing!!

[fester]

I don't want to hijack this thread but to continue with the topic, can someone give some insight into againg tracks and scat?
thanks

[Walksalot]

During last years archery season I saw a strange sight. There was a buck which was no bigger than the does and had an very respectable rack. It's rack looked dispropotional to the rest of it's body.

[Fred]

I was on a local mountain with Ex some time back and he got quite wound up over a set of tracks. Actually there were two sets almost identical. The difference was that although the 2 sets were side by side, one set had moss growing in it. He followed the fresher set for a short ways out onto a logging road and pointed out that the front feet were slightly pigeontoed. According to him that is one sign of a very large mature Buck. Since we found the tracks in the early spring we are going to set up a stand or two and see if we can spot this big fellow. Fred

[wetcoaster]

The key to sexing tracks is in the ratio of shoulder width to pelvic width. Does have a pelvic width larger than the shoulder width, bucks have the opposite. Spikes may run slightly one way or the other until they fill out completely. Of course this requires having all four tracks or at the least 2 a front and back to get a rough indication.

A deeper wider true track (not due to side slip, erosion or soil characterisitics) is always worth spending some time noting the area and if it's fresh following. Often times we like to separate ourselves from animals for some reason but we can learn much from what we know about our own two feet. If you follow big footprints from a human some percentage of the time you are going to find a big footed midget but more often than not your going to find a bigger statured person. The same holds true for deer.

Fester the age of a track is completely related to weather and soil type. You must take both these into account, have a look at the soil and classify it on a scale from sand to clay. Pick up a handful of soil next to the track, make a fist and see how well it holds together when you let go. Tracks in dry sand can obviously be displaced by the wind while tracks in wet clay can look fresh a month later. Now taking soil into account consider the weather over the last week and make your best educated subjective guess, practice makes perfect.

[Jelvis]

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[youngfellla]

I don't want to hijack this thread but to continue with the topic, can someone give some insight into againg tracks and scat?
thanks

For ageing the poo, just scoop up a sample and bag it, send to the lab of the good folks at CSI. They'll run some tests, send the report back to you, and within 2 to 3 weeks you will know if it was fresh or not.;-)

[fester]

The key to sexing tracks is in the ratio of shoulder width to pelvic width. Does have a pelvic width larger than the shoulder width, bucks have the opposite. Spikes may run slightly one way or the other until they fill out completely. Of course this requires having all four tracks or at the least 2 a front and back to get a rough indication.

A deeper wider true track (not due to side slip, erosion or soil characterisitics) is always worth spending some time noting the area and if it's fresh following. Often times we like to separate ourselves from animals for some reason but we can learn much from what we know about our own two feet. If you follow big footprints from a human some percentage of the time you are going to find a big footed midget but more often than not your going to find a bigger statured person. The same holds true for deer.

Fester the age of a track is completely related to weather and soil type. You must take both these into account, have a look at the soil and classify it on a scale from sand to clay. Pick up a handful of soil next to the track, make a fist and see how well it holds together when you let go. Tracks in dry sand can obviously be displaced by the wind while tracks in wet clay can look fresh a month later. Now taking soil into account consider the weather over the last week and make your best educated subjective guess, practice makes perfect.

Thanks

You are right practice does make perfect, in a Jim Shockey movie once he said "no matter what at the other end of this track there is animal" I always think of that when i find tracks and think about the tracks.

[fester]

For ageing the poo, just scoop up a sample and bag it, send to the lab of the good folks at CSI. They'll run some tests, send the report back to you, and within 2 to 3 weeks you will know if it was fresh or not.;-)

I have seen that show but for them it takes only a few minutes not weeks, they probably have a doe to buck track comparison machine. I know the batcave has one.

[SteadyGirl]

Good thread. Although I don't think anything anyone has said could be called an exact science. I just picked up a book called Case Files of the Tracker. Looking foreward to reading it.

[talver]

my 2 cents is general you know its a fresh track when you look up and see the animal in it

[wetcoaster]

Good thread. Although I don't think anything anyone has said could be called an exact science. I just picked up a book called Case Files of the Tracker. Looking foreward to reading it.

If you are looking for an exact science you need to try physics or math because biology isn't one of them.:mrgreen: I wish; my job would be alot easier!

[Jelvis]

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[Jelvis]

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[JMac]

I agree with the old posts of guys like Dana. If I cut a track that looks like that of a small elk and he's dragging his feet, he's a big mature buck. I've seen many hooves from bucks taken from Lillooet to Quesnel and the hawgs have feet on them like calf elk (It's kinda like cutting Shaquille O'Neils tracks out in the snow, a guys tracks in size 9-10 isn't going to be some 7 foot giant). On the other hand it doesn't mean it's going to be a book deer either. If not, hopefully it'll be some 6 plus inch based uneven bast*rd that won't score worth a hill of beans but has all the character your lookin for.

[Fisher-Dude]

I don't want to hijack this thread but to continue with the topic, can someone give some insight into againg tracks and scat?
thanks

The best way to age the scat is pop a few dubs in your mouth, if they feel warm on your tongue, they are fresh. :rolleyes:

[Jelvis]

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[mapguy]

was hunting a few years back and came acrooss some fresh huge tracks
followed them around a 100 yard bunch of trees they circled and wen't around
another batch of trees half an hr later i'm starting to think this animal has been into a grow op then what do i see a grayishbrown creature with big ears
coming towards me but wait hes has a friend . i go a little closer and what do i find and old guy with a goat on a leash.just out for a walk in the middle
of a doe area.good thing it wasn't an ammiture hunter. Now that was too funny

[Deerwhacker]

I seen on a hunting video that in the snow you should examine around tracks cause sometimes when the big bucks are foraging there antlers leave impresions in the snow telling you exactly how big that deers antlers are.

[Jelvis]

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[Jelvis]

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[Spitzer]

Anybody have some clues or ways they can tell by looking at tracks of deer whether they are a big buck, if you see the tracks in snow, mud, dirt in the bush? Anyone else to share their experience and know-how on this skill when hunting for buck deer? Jelbuckordoebigrackorsmallbythetracks?


The best and fastest way to tell sex and maturity of a diagonal walker (moose, deer, elk, etc.) are "straddle widths". "Straddle" is the outside measurement of the front, or rear tracks.

Mature males are broader in front quarters than the rear quarters, which means the straddle of the front hooves will be wider than the rear in a mature male. The opposite is true for mature females.

Immature diagonal walkers will average the same measurement from front to rear straddles, but males will tend to stray a little wider on the front now and then. Opposite is true of females.

So when tracking diagonal walkers you must determine left and right sides of the animal in an average walking gait. If the front tracks are wider than the rear it is a male. The opposite is true of females.

A big buck will have a wide front straddle compared to his rear tracks, good sized tracks, and deep, especially in the front. Look for signs where the antlers touch the snow on the ground or through the snow covered branches.

I know trackers out there that could easily tell you exactly how much weight the buck is carrying on it's head....... but, there are no fast answers to becoming a master tracker capable of such skill. Only dirt time, awareness, and an obsessive passion to learn more will get you there. How bad do you want it?

There are other micro/macro indicators inside tracks called "pressure releases". Pressure releases would indicate weight, health, hunger, pain, disposition, disease, head turn, swallowing, arm movements, twitching, carrying, hesitation, frustration, danger, etc. etc. you get the point.

The average common tracker would not be able to "see" them, and that enters into a whole different science, the realm of the Apache.

They had up to 4,500 different pressure release indicators, and would know more about you by your tracks, then by looking at you.

happy tracking.

[M.Dean]

Buck tracks, it's dam near impossible to tell a buck track from a doe track. You can make a educated guess but thats what it is,a guess. Because a track has dew claw marks does not make it a big buck track. A large track does not make it a buck track, a track that wanders around does not make it a buck track. I followed the biggest tracks i,ve ever seen a few years back, i saw a few big bucks there earlier in the season, walked over a bit of a rise, started to glass and seen 3 does,one was huge, dew claw marks and all. If you see a big track and think it's a buck, the only sure way to tell is to follow it for the next week or two and see whats at the end of the track. It's fun to see tracks and try to figger out what they are and where there going, but until you see the animal it's a guess. This is just from my own experiences, some people may be able to tell the difference,but i know i can't.

[Jelvis]

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[hunter1947]

I drop and animal in its tracks ,that how I now how big the tracks are :mrgreen: .

[shotgunjohn]

In my experience a rutting buck drags his toes in a C pattern in a couple inches of snow. If you find a herd of tracks with one bigger one with this C shaped toe drag and dew claws showing on top then chances are its a mature buck with a herd of does.

[kbb]

is there any way to tell weather or not your tracking a whitey or muley from the tracks left?

[Jelvis]

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[ElectricDyck]

I've heard if you see bigger poo pellets scattered from moving while dumping it's most likely a buck. Any truth to this? I saw one dump that was a 30 foot long trail in big tracks with spurs showing in medium soft ground on the flat.

[Jelvis]

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[hunter1947]

The only way I can see when looking at a track that was made within the one day is the with and length of the track. Then I know that I am dealing with a good size deer.

[hunter1947]

is there any way to tell weather or not your tracking a whitey or muley from the tracks left?
A whitetail track is more pointed and thinner then that of a mule deer ,a mule deer is wider and more rounder near the rear of the hoof.

[tooley]

There is no way of telling for sure how big a buck is from its tracks, but if there is two sets of tracks, are you goona follow the small one?

[trailhunter]

http://www.rlnn.com/PhotoOct06/deerhooves.jpg

[trailhunter]

hard to really tell antler size but im sure body and hoof size goes hand and hand...........well in most cases

[kbb]

What a freak!

[Jelvis]

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[horshur]

That whitetail has been foundered...laminitis!!
I have trimmed ponies and donkeys with the same deal.

[hunter1947]

I think someone played with this pic ,I don't believe that this animals has the hoofs you see in this picture.:roll:

[CanuckShooter]

There is no way of telling for sure how big a buck is from its tracks, but if there is two sets of tracks, are you goona follow the small one?

Buddy was so intent on following the big tracks he didn't hear the train coming......:eek:


One thing for sure...small deer don't make big tracks...big deer don't make small tracks...just basic woodsman ship.

[Jelvis]

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[Jelvis]

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[hunter1947]

Remember deer have four hooves, so three deer can make a whole lotta prints in a short time. If the deer tracks are splayed out like < like that when going forward it could be jumping or running. Tracks tell you there was a deer standing in that track before you saw it. Now what else can you interpret from the print? Deer have four toes on each foot, ( the two hoof lobes and the two dew claws.) The mule deer hangs in rough, broken, tumbled, mountainous country it's habitat is more open then other deer species. look for deer prints by rock bluffs where there is a mix of big conifer trees. Jelfourhoovesmakelottatracksdudette
Also look for deer tracks in your flower bed ,LOL.

[Jelvis]

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[huntwriter]

Deer tracks tell me nothing other than that at one time a deer walked there. There has to be other sign around like rubs and scrapes to confirm what deer it is and how big the deer might be.


As for size shape and distance apart of tracks I have heard so many opinions and counter opinions from scientists and hunters that I am not sure if a hunter really could tell from the size and shape or impression if it is a buck or doe.


For me there are two kinds of tracks, old and fresh. If they are really fresh I might follow them to see if I can find other sign along the way.

Deer tracking in fresh snow can be great fun and a good way to fill the freezer with fresh meat. ;-)

[Jelvis]

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[huntwriter]

huntwriter that is written well hunter. I know where your coming from with saying " there has to be other sign," than the track to piece the puzzle together and that picks up my ears. I have seen tracks and looked around in a radius and saw young conifers that were rubbed, I know by many moons of hunting mule deer that rubs have to be read too by the hunter. How old first and they could be from last season but the buck might have thought of this area he marked and could show up this season too. Also if following in snow remember a deer always goes where other deer are especially when they herd up in fall during hunting season. Snow can be good or bad like very quiet or really noisy, you have to learn to track in both. Jel Keeplearningtoreadsignsofwildlifeintheforestbythei rtrackstheyleave

Thanks Jelvis. I am not that knowledgeable about mule deer. My forte and passion are the whitetail deer. I do not know if the following also pertains to mule deer. There are different types of rubs.

The random rub means nothing much other than that bucks are in a given area. But these rubs say absolutely nothing about the age and size of the deer that made them. The random rub usually appears just prior to the pr-rut and is made by all sizes and ages of bucks tacking their frustration out on anything. I have seen a fork horn tearing a small bush completely to shreds. Any hunter passing would suspect that a large deer has made this rub.

Traditional rubs. These are rubs that bucks visit year after year, generation after generation to refresh them. In observations I have discovered that all bucks regardless of size and age visit these rubs. Nobody seems to know exactly why the bucks are attracted to these traditional rubs. Perhaps at one time these were important signpost rubs.

Signpost rubs. As the name suggests these rubs are markers (signposts). Such rubs can mark a variety of things and are similar as the sign posting on our streets. A signpost rub can appear on an important crossing of two trails, on territory borders, bedding areas and many other restructures. If a row of such rubs are found along a deer trail it becomes a rub line indicating which direction the bucks travel.

In my scouting I pay particular attention to the traditional and the signpost rubs.

Did you know that does make scrapes too? Not many hunters do but it’s true.

[Jelvis]

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[huntwriter]

Bigger or deeper tracks? Jelwriter2

Sorry got a little side tracked there.

As I said in another post deer tracks tell me nothing other than that at one time a deer walked there.

Deer tracks do not reveal anything about size, weight or sex of a deer. There are simply to many variables. Let me explain.

It is believed that dewclaw impressions are the sign of big bucks. Not really. Deer walking on soft ground will leave dewclaw prints even if they are lightweights and so will a running deer.

Splayed hoof tracks are an indicator of a heavy buck. Not necessarily so. Any running deer will create splayed hoof tracks. Also deer walking downhill or stopping abruptly will create splayed tracks.

Big tracks equals big deer. I followed ones what must be the biggest deer tracks that I have ever seen. When I came up on the deer it was a doe. Deer like humans have different feet sizes.

The distance between the hind tracks is an indicator of the sex. I have never found that this is a valuable assessment. In all my years of tracking deer I have found that bucks too can produce tracks that are wider than what is considered normal.

The only time I get exited about deer tracks is when they are steaming hot or if I find an area that is completely torn up with fresh deer tracks. Other than that deer tracks are of no importance in my scouting.

The things I look for when I scout would be a topic for another thread.:wink:

[Jelvis]

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[Jelvis]

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