Buck Deer

Buck Deer

How to Identify the Deer's Track While Trailing

It is important to remember that the hunter does not leave the place where he has shot the deer until he is sure that he can find the place again. Read on how you can get some tips on how to trail a wounded deer after you shot them.

With clear eyesight a good tracker will not be mistaken by the buck's track to that of doe. The toes can differentiate the young and the old and the doe and buck. The clearest and most distinct tracks will be found where a deer has been feeding, just treading around. Perhaps an easier or surer way to distinguish between a buck's and a doe's trail is to notice the difference in gait while they are walking. The doe's feet will point straight ahead, while the buck walks with a sort of a swagger which causes him to toe out. This toeing out, while not very pronounced, can easily be seen by the hunter who is looking for this difference.

Many hunters are apt to consider any large track to be that of a buck. This does not always prove to be the case, yet almost any track that measures over three inches in length is almost sure to be a buck's. If we notice the size and sex of the deer which we are following and we come to the tracks of other deer, we will have little trouble in keeping on the right track unless we come to tracks made earlier by the same deer or by other deer of the same size and sex. In such cases, we must depend on the difference in the age of the tracks, unless the deer being followed is traveling at a different speed than that of the deer which made the earlier tracks. In any case, the more experience we have in trailing deer, the less trouble we will have in following the one of our choice.

The ability to follow tracks and to read signs becomes doubly important when the hunter wounds a deer. Many times a fatal shot will not drop a deer in its tracks and when the shooter goes to the place where he last saw the animal and does not find a dead deer, or a lot of blood, he is often at a loss to know what to do. He is apt to take a haphazard look around the area, decide that he has missed the shot and leave the area, while the deer may be dead within a hundred yards of the spot.

When a man shoots at a deer, he should not leave the spot where he has been standing until he is sure that he can find the place again. He should fix the place where the deer was located, at the time of the shot, firmly in his mind so that he can go directly there. If he is not woods-wise enough to recognize the place where he has been standing, he should mark it in some way-scuffing his feet or breaking a branch from a nearby bush or tree—and he should mark the direction of his shot. This procedure is not so important if the hunter is shooting in an open area where he can observe the actions of the deer after the shot or if there is snow on the ground so that tracks or any possible blood may be plainly seen.

It is important to know the deer's exact location at the time of the shot, because if a casual search doesn't turn up the carcass, there will be evidence at that spot if the deer has been hit, and this evidence will often show where and how bad the animal has been wounded. If the deer was standing when shot, this evidence will be quite easy to find and any deductions made from it are apt to be accurate, whereas, if the deer was running, the evidence will be harder to find and any conclusions drawn from it will not be as definite.

Remembering the spot where you shot the deer is very important so that you can track again your way back. This procedure is not so important if the hunter is shooting in an open area where he can observe the actions of the deer after the shot or if there is snow on the ground so that tracks or any possible blood may be plainly seen. It is more important to know the deer's exact location at the time of the shot to locate where the deer could be moving.

An easier or surer way to distinguish between a buck's and a doe's trail is to notice the difference in gait while they are walking. And large tracks are usually identified with that of a buck. Some experts can even tell you the sex of a deer being tracked. the more experience we have in trailing deer, the less trouble we will have in following the one of our choice.

About the Author

Mitch Johnson is a regular writer for
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whats the bigest white tail or mule deer buck u have ever shot?

i just got an 8point white tail and waz just wondering

My largest was a non typical Mule deer I took in the late 70's. I first saw him as he ran over a hill near my uncles property. I hunted him for the next 3 years, passing on other animals. On the 3 rd year, last day of the season, as we hiked back to our truck after tracking him all day, I turned a corner to see 6-7 large bucks take off running. I spotted him by his huge rack as he stepped behind a screen of mesquite, he stopped and looked back at me at about 135 yards. All I could see to shoot was a head shot as he looked at me. I dropped my pack, used it to steady my .270 Winchester feather weight rifle and dropped him in place. We worked our way up thru the tall grass and could not find him. My heart was dropping as we criss crossed back and forth, stepping around an old dead looking brush pile. My jaw dropped when I realized that the brush pile was actually one side of his rack sticking up. It took 3 of us to load him into the truck, although I never weighed him, he had to go 300lbs and from the old grey color of his muzzle, he was way past breeding age. I'm sitting here looking at the antlers which are mounted near my office desk and recounting again, for the thousandth time or so, the 12 x 9 points on his most unusual rack. Yes, I admit, that this was the one time in my life that I hunted a set of horns, and not to put meat on the table. Although his tough old carcass was rendered into venisen burger and fed my family a lot of great burgers and meat loaf.

Deer Hunting -- BIG 8pt Buck Down!!! 156 B&C