Tracking Tips for Serious Trackers from Hal Blood

Anyone who has ever tracked a buck in the snow, would agree that it is fairly easy as long as the buck doesn’t cross other deer track, go through water or crawl through a spruce thicket. Most hunters that follow a track do so until things get uncomfortable or confusing, then they leave it to go and do something else. There is nothing wrong with that if you don’t take tracking serious. That track may even help you find some more deer. Hunters wanting to really learn the art of tracking and become proficient at it are going to have to learn how to deal with anything that old buck take you through and figure out how to stay with him. I’m going to attempt to help you through some of the most common obstacles you may come up against while tracking a buck. Some of the obstacles are caused by the buck but, some you may have created on your own.

Tip #1: Don’t worry about finding a “fresh” track

Too many hunters are looking for that track with steam coming out of it. Believe me, if that’s the only track that you want to follow, you won’t be doing much tracking. I consider any track that was made the night before, to be fresh. Now if you’re lucky it might only be a couple hours old but, it could be twelve. If you hunt an area with a high buck population, you may have the luxury to look over several tracks and pick the freshest, but in a lot of the big woods areas if you pass up a twelve hour old track you might not find another one that day. My criteria for picking a track is the size of it more than its age. I take the first big track I find in the morning and follow it. The possible outcomes of getting on a track first thing in the morning are all positive. If you move right along, you will either catch up to the buck, he will take you to a fresher big track, or you will learn about the buck and his area. Just remember: there is a buck at the end of every track.

Tip #2: Sorting out tracks

If you follow a buck track far enough, he will eventually take you to more deer. This will mean there are more tracks to look at and figure out which track you have been following. This will be easier if you are on a real big track, but if you are following a medium sized buck there will be doe tracks that may be as big. The buck may also chase the does when he finds them which will create a make a maze of tracks. Don’t try to follow these tracks back and forth as you will wan to pull your hair out and it cost time. Instead, circle the maze of tracks and look for the buck track coming out. You may have to make a circle several hundred yards around but it’s quick. If you do it you will be gaining time on the buck as he may have spent an hour laying those tracks down

Tip #3: getting around water

Bucks have learned to escape predators by going to water. They will eventually walk in water, cross a stream or go into a pond. I have tracked many bucks that have swam across a pond. If they went in the pond they came out somewhere. Walk the shoreline and find where he came out. More common is a buck going into a stream and walking in it for a ways. This stops a lot of hunters for two reasons, they can’t see the tack on the other side or the water is over their boots. If the stream is not too deep, you can walk in it. Go first in the direction the buck has been traveling. As you walk the stream look for the track on both banks and look for water dribbled on rock and logs in the stream. Eventually you will find where he left. If you haven’t found the track by the time you come to a log or ice across the stream, turn around and go the other way. You will find the track. If the water is too deep to wade, find a log, rocks, or a beaver dam to cross on. You may have to walk the stream some distance but you should find a place. If I’m hunting where I know there is a lot of streams I carry two trash bags in my pack and put one on each leg to cross. Sometime a buck will cross a river with current to swift for you to cross. If that happens, GPS your position and try and find a way to drive around and walk back to that position. In a river the buck will go straight across so the track should be easy to find. This one will cost some time and if it’s late in the day may not be feasible.

Those are the three things that keep most hunters from closing the deal on a buck. If you are willing to put in the extra effort and do what most hunters won’t your odds of shooting a buck on the track have increased tenfold and it will put you in the ten percentile of buck trackers.

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