Ask me a tracking question

This forum section is for the select few who believe in hard work and refuse to “Buy” success.
  • Advertisement

HB Store


User avatar
magicman54494
500 Club
Posts: 4188
Joined: Fri Feb 26, 2010 6:05 pm
Location: central and northern WI
Status: Offline

Ask me a tracking question

Unread postby magicman54494 » Tue Jan 01, 2013 2:03 pm

Tad requested that I write more about tracking. Instead I figured I'd just start this post and let people ask questions. I'll do my best to answer. Answers requiring a lot of typing will cost a bottle of Windsor. :L:
I'll get it started by asking the first one.
Q:How far does a buck travel in one night?
A:During the rut he can travel miles. The furthest I have followed one and still never caught up to him is probably around 2 miles. Many of my hunts end without ever catching up with the deer. I have got on tracks where they never break stride for miles. They just plod along and eat up country.


User avatar
kwaldeier
500 Club
Posts: 968
Joined: Fri Jul 23, 2010 10:30 am
Status: Offline

Re: Ask me a tracking question

Unread postby kwaldeier » Tue Jan 01, 2013 2:23 pm

What is the most common characteristic you come across of a mature buck that sets it apart from younger deer/does/fawns?
User avatar
Dewey
Moderator
Posts: 36727
Joined: Thu Mar 11, 2010 7:57 pm
Location: Wisconsin
Status: Offline

Re: Ask me a tracking question

Unread postby Dewey » Tue Jan 01, 2013 2:35 pm

Kinda goes with the previous question............

Have you ever followed a large set of tracks thinking it was a buck but ended up being a large mature doe?

How can you tell the difference just by looking at tracks?

[ Post made via iPhone ] Image
User avatar
Zap
Posts: 10056
Joined: Sat Feb 20, 2010 4:57 pm
Location: OK, I am in Kansas.....
Status: Offline

Re: Ask me a tracking question

Unread postby Zap » Tue Jan 01, 2013 3:04 pm

magicman54494 wrote:Tad requested that I write more about tracking. Instead I figured I'd just start this post and let people ask questions. I'll do my best to answer. Answers requiring a lot of typing will cost a bottle of Windsor. :L:
I'll get it started by asking the first one.
Q:How far does a buck travel in one night?
A:During the rut he can travel miles. The furthest I have followed one and still never caught up to him is probably around 2 miles. Many of my hunts end without ever catching up with the deer. I have got on tracks where they never break stride for miles. They just plod along and eat up country.



Cool thread, thanks for taking the time to do this, MM.

:mrgreen:
"Forged in fire lit long ago. Stand next to me and you will never stand alone".
Scot
500 Club
Posts: 726
Joined: Sun Feb 21, 2010 3:33 am
Status: Offline

Re: Ask me a tracking question

Unread postby Scot » Tue Jan 01, 2013 3:40 pm

Thank you for doing this! What do you believe is the most important characteristic of a successful tracker?

[ Post made via iPhone ] Image
User avatar
magicman54494
500 Club
Posts: 4188
Joined: Fri Feb 26, 2010 6:05 pm
Location: central and northern WI
Status: Offline

Re: Ask me a tracking question

Unread postby magicman54494 » Tue Jan 01, 2013 4:30 pm

kwaldeier wrote:What is the most common characteristic you come across of a mature buck that sets it apart from younger deer/does/fawns?


Great question! One of the great things about this besides killing is what I learn about behavior.
I guess the biggest difference is mature bucks are loners. They have their own areas and their own travel routes. They rarely walk where other deer walk. They are also very nocturnal even during the rut. Most of the tracks I follow are made at night on a rare occasion I will find one up and moving during the day. Another thing is they don't waste energy and go where they need to go following the least possible resistance and THEY USE EDGES!!!!!!! They are creatures of habit and will use the same travel corridors over and over again.
User avatar
Hodag Hunter
500 Club
Posts: 3837
Joined: Sat Feb 27, 2010 5:14 pm
Location: Northern WI
Status: Offline

Re: Ask me a tracking question

Unread postby Hodag Hunter » Tue Jan 01, 2013 4:33 pm

Here is my question.........when can I come to your house when you recieve all your Windsor bottles?

I'll bring the ice. ;) :lol:
User avatar
Edcyclopedia
Posts: 12605
Joined: Tue Jul 20, 2010 12:54 pm
Location: S. NH
Status: Offline

Re: Ask me a tracking question

Unread postby Edcyclopedia » Tue Jan 01, 2013 4:42 pm

Hodag Hunter wrote:Here is my question.........when can I come to your house when you recieve all your Windsor bottles?

I'll bring the ice. ;) :lol:


It'll be all gone by tomorrow...
Happy New Year - CHEERS! :obscene-drinkingcheers:
Expect the Unexpected when you least Expect it...
User avatar
magicman54494
500 Club
Posts: 4188
Joined: Fri Feb 26, 2010 6:05 pm
Location: central and northern WI
Status: Offline

Re: Ask me a tracking question

Unread postby magicman54494 » Tue Jan 01, 2013 4:44 pm

Dewey wrote:Kinda goes with the previous question............

Have you ever followed a large set of tracks thinking it was a buck but ended up being a large mature doe?

How can you tell the difference just by looking at tracks?

[ Post made via iPhone ] Image


Yes a couple of times.
Once the deer squated to pee so I knew it was a doe, also it ducked thru some brush which at first made me think it was a shed buck. The other one went thru a narrow opening so I knew it was a doe or at least a smaller racked buck.
Bucks tend to walk with purpose and don't do a lot of wandering.
Usually I pick a track that is so big that it's highly unlikely to be a doe.
I don't judge single tracks. I follow for a ways and look at the track as a series before deciding to follow. Sometimes I will follow for 100's of yards before deciding whether to take it.
I alway judge a track by the smallest one I find in a series. Some deer walk a little staggered front to back so their track looks wider than it really is.
User avatar
magicman54494
500 Club
Posts: 4188
Joined: Fri Feb 26, 2010 6:05 pm
Location: central and northern WI
Status: Offline

Re: Ask me a tracking question

Unread postby magicman54494 » Tue Jan 01, 2013 4:46 pm

Scot wrote:Thank you for doing this! What do you believe is the most important characteristic of a successful tracker?

[ Post made via iPhone ] Image

Persistance.
User avatar
magicman54494
500 Club
Posts: 4188
Joined: Fri Feb 26, 2010 6:05 pm
Location: central and northern WI
Status: Offline

Re: Ask me a tracking question

Unread postby magicman54494 » Tue Jan 01, 2013 4:48 pm

Hodag Hunter wrote:Here is my question.........when can I come to your house when you recieve all your Windsor bottles?

I'll bring the ice. ;) :lol:


I'll let you sniff the empty bottles. :lol:
User avatar
Hodag Hunter
500 Club
Posts: 3837
Joined: Sat Feb 27, 2010 5:14 pm
Location: Northern WI
Status: Offline

Re: Ask me a tracking question

Unread postby Hodag Hunter » Tue Jan 01, 2013 4:51 pm

magicman54494 wrote:
Hodag Hunter wrote:Here is my question.........when can I come to your house when you recieve all your Windsor bottles?

I'll bring the ice. ;) :lol:


I'll let you sniff the empty bottles. :lol:


Ok.... I have the perfect spot for you next weekend......and bring lots of bail money.
Darin
500 Club
Posts: 1169
Joined: Thu Dec 06, 2012 6:56 pm
Location: WI
Status: Offline

Re: Ask me a tracking question

Unread postby Darin » Tue Jan 01, 2013 5:32 pm

What is the most "odd" location tracks have led you to or thru?
User avatar
magicman54494
500 Club
Posts: 4188
Joined: Fri Feb 26, 2010 6:05 pm
Location: central and northern WI
Status: Offline

Re: Ask me a tracking question

Unread postby magicman54494 » Tue Jan 01, 2013 6:13 pm

Darin wrote:What is the most "odd" location tracks have led you to or thru?


I was tracking a big one and he caught the scent of a doe in heat. He turned and went thru the nastiest blowdown I've ever tried to get thru. Shortly after getting thru the blowdown he hooked up with the doe. The snow was sparce and he crossed an open area and the snow was pretty much gone and I lost the tracks. I would never have believed that any deer would have went thru that nasty blowdown. Love makes males do crazy things!
dan
Site Owner
Posts: 41588
Joined: Sat Feb 13, 2010 6:11 am
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HuntingBeast/?ref=bookmarks
Location: S.E. Wisconsin
Contact:
Status: Offline

Re: Ask me a tracking question

Unread postby dan » Tue Jan 01, 2013 11:46 pm

I was tracking a buck the other day. I bumped the buck out of a bed in a very remote area of cattails. Being that the water was frozen, and both me and the buck were higher up than normally, and the cattails were low, I would be able to see the buck across the cattails. The buck never ran, just snuck ahead. I followed him into a corner where he would either have to come back past me, or cross open territory. I was really surprised to find that the track looped around and went back past me without me seeing the buck. Staying on the track, a short time later, he had enough and turned onto private land and went up a large bare snow covered hill... In the mess of cattails, I think I was keeping my eye on the track too much, and missed the deer slipping around me, or up the hill. I was expecting to get close and have him run, which is usually the reaction I receive... Do you have any comments or suggestions?


  • Advertisement

Return to “Public Land Hunting”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 27 guests