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.