Ask me a tracking question

[Tadmdad]

Magic, or anyone else, when tracking do you ever employ any calling or rattling?

Do a fair amount of calling a rattling, mostly from fixed positions. One of our groups favorite midday tactics is calling/rattling core areas, or tracking a buck to bedding area and trying to bring him out of cover by calling/rattling. Using a bucks aggressiveness and curiosity against him, not much different than getting in close to a boss gobbler and hitting him with a aggressive call, they just have to respond, it's there nature.

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[magicman54494]

Great read, thanks for getting this going and doing this, (tad and magic especially) but like all topics great BEAST input (spy, dan, etc).

Magic, or anyone else, when tracking do you ever employ any calling or rattling?

I always carry a call. I would use it on special situations. I think I screwed up this year by not using it on one track. It appeared that the buck was going to bed and I was up high and could see a long way across a wet area. I should have stopped there and called. I didn't, instead I dropped down in and bumped him but the brush was too thick and I missed my chance. 'm sure I could have at least got him to stand up and I would have got an easy shot. lessons learned!
Another time I would call is on noisy snow when I think I'm getting close to a bedded buck.
Cold calling is never a bad idea.

[Mountain Man]

Do you ever do any "practice" tracking during the off season - for example right after the season closes this weekend in most areas in WI? Do you ever go out while most bucks still have antlers to track to learn more about tracking in general?

[magicman54494]

Do you ever do any "practice" tracking during the off season - for example right after the season closes this weekend in most areas in WI? Do you ever go out while most bucks still have antlers to track to learn more about tracking in general?

I usually hunt right into the middle of Dec. By then I may have put on 100 miles on foot. I'm usually ready to take a break. The snow can get pretty deep as well so that makes it easy for me to stay home.

[PLB]

Couple more questions.....might aswell get my $ worth if I'm buying the Windsor.

Preferred tracking weather? Are you looking for wind to cover your noise?

Aging the track? Things to look for when aging?

Tracking during rut. Prefer to look for a buck with a doe?

During bad storms snow/wind. Do you look for thermal cover to track?

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Great questions! Magic can you answer these??

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[magicman54494]

Couple more questions.....might aswell get my $ worth if I'm buying the Windsor.

Preferred tracking weather? Are you looking for wind to cover your noise?

I like soft snow and wind. The more wind the better. Anything that covers noise. Cloudy days are better for seeing - no shadows.

Aging the track? Things to look for when aging?

That is a real hard question to answer with words. wind, sun, warm weather and even just time (evaporation) all effect tracks and in different ways then there is always a combination of these things. One thing I started doing was looking at my track in the morning then stepping next to it later on and looking at the difference between the two. Aging takes practice and looking at lots of tracks. another thing is to watch the temps in the evening when it got soft during the day. When did the snow freeze? then the next day you can narrow down what time the deer came thru. Also, if it warms up during the day pay attention to what time the snow got soft. If you come up to an empty bed, are his tracks made in soft snow or frozen snow. This can help you know what time he left that bed.

Tracking during rut. Prefer to look for a buck with a doe?

I would rather have a buck with a doe. Or better yet 3 monster bucks after 1 doe.

During bad storms snow/wind. Do you look for thermal cover to track?

the challenge in a storm is to find a track. If you do you should be putting a tag on one! Good luck finding a good track. I'd go right to the cedars and hope for the best.


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[Spysar]

Magic, here's a question:

Your following a decent track, but not the biggest you've seen. You're pretty sure it's a buck. You know the track is fairly fresh, and your pretty certain you can catch up to this one. Then you cross another track mid-day. This track is bigger, and certainly has to be a buck. But the track is older, and it's 50/50 on the chance of catching up to this one. You have a couple of hours invested in the first track, but the new tracks size has you wondering......

Do you stick to the first track? Or jump ship and take a chance on the new bigger track???

[Spysar]

The buck I tracked was killed at an elevation of 2300 feet. I started tracking at around 1950 feet. I find bucks like to go up in elevation. If they come down, it's only to go back up another mountain. Do you find your bucks heading to higher elevations? Do you have mountains where you track?

[magicman54494]

Magic, here's a question:

Your following a decent track, but not the biggest you've seen. You're pretty sure it's a buck. You know the track is fairly fresh, and your pretty certain you can catch up to this one. Then you cross another track mid-day. This track is bigger, and certainly has to be a buck. But the track is older, and it's 50/50 on the chance of catching up to this one. You have a couple of hours invested in the first track, but the new tracks size has you wondering......

Do you stick to the first track? Or jump ship and take a chance on the new bigger track???

This exact thing happened to me last year on the buck I killed. I started off on a good track. The snow was melting but was froze the night before. My bucks track was made in the melting snow so I know he was "fresh". I actually crossed the track of the buck I ended up killing but passed him up becasue the track was made in frozen snow so I know it was older. The older track was a better buck. I could tell he was with a doe. My buck ended up circling around and finding that doe as well. He led me to the other buck. To make a long story short I ended up taking the bigger buck and ended up getting him. I would say that in most cases I will take the better track even if it's older. I guess there are many variables so it's hard to just say always or never. Since I am getting more experience and I am more interested in getting a big one than any one I almost always take the bigger one. Just because the track is older doesn't always mean he is further away eithor. I switched off a track this yaer after tracking him a long ways to an older track. The older track buck was bedded less than 200 yds from me when i took it. I jumped him but didn't get a shot and I ran out of daylight shortly after that.

[magicman54494]

The buck I tracked was killed at an elevation of 2300 feet. I started tracking at around 1950 feet. I find bucks like to go up in elevation. If they come down, it's only to go back up another mountain. Do you find your bucks heading to higher elevations? Do you have mountains where you track?

The places I hunt are mostly flat. 100 ft elevation changes are about max. I believe it would be much easier to be succesful in mountains or high hill areas. the hills allow you to see better at times and at times (going thru valleys) allows you to make up ground fast without being heard or seen. That brings up another point - there are places where it's almost impossible to be successful and places that are tailor made for tracking. Success can be had anywhere but some areas give the hunter an advantage. In the areas I hunt the bucks tend to go down into the swamps when they are being chased. They head into the thick crap and it gets tough get shots.

[Uncle Lou]

reading about the age of the tracks got me thinking about droppings and yellow spots. Can you or do you use these to aid you in aging a track?

[dan]

That brings up another point - there are places where it's almost impossible to be successful and places that are tailor made for tracking. Success can be had anywhere but some areas give the hunter an advantage. In the areas I hunt the bucks tend to go down into the swamps when they are being chased. They head into the thick crap and it gets tough get shots.

Funny you mention that, I just got back from hunting some awesome public. I have not been in there for years cause of how deep the muck is ( over my head in some spots ) and there aint much for trees. but now that its frozen I took a walk with the rifle. Honestly I was more in the mind set of still hunting than tracking but thought I would share what I saw... 1st off, there were no human tracks in the snow that is at least 2 solid weeks old ( how nice ) I was amazed at the amount of deer tracks, it felt like I was hunting at Andraes The tracks were all staying pretty well on beat down trails, you could find some really fresh big tracks but it was really difficult to stay on one. It was easier to follow the trail till there was a split and then try to figure which way he was headed. I heard deer get up within 40 yards at least 20 times but never saw a thing. Sounded like most of them just got up and walked away circling till they were down wind. It was thick dogwood mixed with cattails. Like Magic said, this area was not suited well for tracking.

[Spysar]

reading about the age of the tracks got me thinking about droppings and yellow spots. Can you or do you use these to aid you in aging a track?

I use droppings and urine to age tracks, and determine if it's buck or doe. It's gross, but I squeeze pellets and scoop up and smell urine... Any pellet that isn't completly frozen and large, is a deer worth following. Scooping up urine tells you if the urine is frozen or still slushy, indicating freshness, and the smell can indicate buck or doe. Doe's squat and pee, bucks kind of dribble pee while walking.

[magicman54494]

reading about the age of the tracks got me thinking about droppings and yellow spots. Can you or do you use these to aid you in aging a track?

I use droppings and urine to age tracks, and determine if it's buck or doe. It's gross, but I squeeze pellets and scoop up and smell urine... Any pellet that isn't completly frozen and large, is a deer worth following. Scooping up urine tells you if the urine is frozen or still slushy, indicating freshness, and the smell can indicate buck or doe. Doe's squat and pee, bucks kind of dribble pee while walking.

I chew on the pellets. The more bitter they are the older the buck. Let me know if you find that to be true also.
OK seriously, I smell the urine. Urine looses it odor pretty fast. fresh stuff is very strong. 1/2 day old is weak. day old is very weak. Fresh urine can be smelled from a distance (10 yds or more)
if your downwind. Pellets freeze at different rates depending on temp and sun. They age as well. the best way to learn is to find some fresh stuff and watch it over time to see what happens to it.
Spy is right about sexing a deer by the smell of it's urine. Doe pee is kinda sweet smelling and buck pee is not very pleasant.
One thing I'd like to add is just because sign is old doesn't mean it's not worth tracking. The deer may have left the sign 12 hours ago but could be bedded very close.

[Spysar]

I agree with Magic. Not very fresh tracks can be fresh quick. I know some of the tracks I have followed were made at night. You and the deer are on different schedules. The deer is mostly making tracks at night, while you are making them in daylight. While you are walking, a lot of the time the deer is going nowhere. Bedding. I love all this tracking talk.