When You see fresh deer tracks , whats your first thoughts on them ?
First ... to me the only good deer track is when there still standing in them...hmmmm!
If I do get interested in them...I'll always back track them. I'm more interested where the deer was then where he's going. I can use that info to my better!
I was out hunting one day and ran across two very young hunters. I was amazed at there learnings. There were a few new deer tracks by us and I pointed them out to them. One of the young guys wen't over and touched the track...look up and said...very fresh "still warm" I still chuckle at that one.... !
I'd have to say that the best information I get from deer tracks is when they form a well worn trail. It tells me that they do in fact travel through this area and regularly so it might be a place to look for an ambush spot.
God bless,Mudd
I agree with Mudd. I start looking for a good spot to setup on, whenever I come across a trail with lots of deer track.
I have stopped to look at some tracks that seemed fresh looking. Then in another 50 yds noticed the deer making them walking ahead.
I read track for freshness by the crispness of the edges and whether or not debris has blown into the track (another indication of age...)
Scat, on the other hand, is a much better indicator of time. It'll be soft and have a shiny surface if it's fresh. Soft and dull after a day, and hard thereafter.
Large tracks, with crisp edges and dew claw indentations, coinciding with large clumped scat with a shiny surface is when I "back out" and wait.
Size of the track.If they're the right size they bear further investigation by me.
In some areas in the upper peninsula of our state there is areas void of deer. So after going through these areas,a deer track will get your attention. The tracks should get you interested in where they have been and where there going. In areas where there could be deer anywhere,I have to agree with Mudd.
Deer tracks wider than 3 fingers without the toes being splayed, or a walking stride over 24" get me excited.
For the young lad and his warm tracks,, you really ought to introduce him to "Smart Pills" :biglaugh: :biglaugh:
With Red deer,an educated hunter can tell reasonably close the animals age,body condition,gender,mode of travel at the time,,,and quite a few other things that I'm not educated enough to read.
For myself,body condition,gender,and travel mode is enough.
For age,the amount the tracks index will tell if I'm looking at an old,young or middle aged animal.
The cant of the rear track as it indexs the front gives a very good indercation to body condition,because a fat animal will have slightly turned out rear hooves due to body fat in the middle regions tuning the hoof out slightly.A skinny animal will often have in turned rear hooves due to having little body fat.
A young animal will often over step the front hooves with the rear due to having a long skinny body and legs in comparison to an older animal.
The dew claws in Red deer mount more to the side in males, an directly on the rear on female animals,,plus a big Red stag has hooves almost 1 1/2 times the size of a similar aged Hind.
How their moving is pretty obvious,due to the length of stride an splay or depth.
Most of this is only of real use if the hunter is reasonably familar with both the area and it's animals,because both body types and terrain can change quite a bit with Red deer.
The one time I hunted Whitetail,I studied their sign a lot,but could only really tell differences between young,old and gender based on size alone.
Most of the time I only use tracks as an indercation of relitive time of passing and size.
As I walk in to an area I use tramping or hunter access tracks and always look for fresh sign or obvious animal tracks that havn't been used for a while,then I make a point of going back over it during the following days.
I've picked up a few animals by doing this over the years.
By back tracking fresh sign you can often find where an animal has fed in the resent past,an those are often good places to be early in the mornings or late in the evenings.
The value of tracks or other sign is of course always dependant on your location.
I usualy hunt very large tracts of native bush where I will be 2-8 hours off the road ends,so I place a lot of value on any hint or clue I can find then.
If I was hunting farming country for something like Fallow deer,the whole game changes and ground sign isn't of the same importance because where they were yesterday is where they will be today,and the land owner will always know where they are from day to day anyway.
The other deer spieces here all have their own particular habits,their own type of terrain and habitat,,,an their all hunted slightly differently from one another,,for some good ground sign is vital,,others not so important.
Earthdog...You ever hunted in the "States" ??? Want too ? Ohio and Me wecomes You !!!
Size of print. Distance of stride. Do the rear strides reach the front? How much wider is the chest to the hips or are the hips wider than the chest?
First thought is usually the age of the tracks and rate of travel. Sometimes circumstances are such that they may have a deceivingly recent appearance (whether dry ground or wet), so I'll be off looking for droppings, evidence of browsing or, perhaps, a deer making the freshest tracks possible...and use them to determine what fresh truly looks like. (It's usually good to know how long the current weather conditions have existed.)
Then I'll probably be concerned with how often the travel route is used, by how many deer, and is it traveled in both directions. Also, if this is a favored route of travel...why...and how does everything fit into "classic" whitetail behavior patterns. Often my search focuses on the landscape and how deer typically use the given setting to their advantage. All the pieces of many puzzles are used to complete the thought, "If I was a deer...then...". Rick.