Dogging the deer tracks

This nice buck was watching a hunter that was following his back-trail.

Snow depths are getting deeper this year as one storm after another blows through the state. Whitetails are moving freely throughout the Lower Peninsula and parts of the Upper Peninsula but if heavy snows continue in the UP, the deer will soon all be yarded up, which makes for a long winter.

Many avid hunters want to learn more about deer. There's no better time to learn about deer, from deer, than taking a walk through a swamp or woods. It can provide great exercise, and can teach a sportsman a thing or two about these animals they hunt.

Wait for a fresh snow, and go for a hike. There will be no particular destination in mind, but walk until you find one big track traveling alone. Chances are good it will be a buck, and he may be with or without antlers. Many bucks lose their antlers in December, but some Michigan bucks will keep theirs into January or February.

Find a unique track, and get on it and track it for a mile or two.

This is a form of hunting without carrying a bow or firearm. Get on that track and note any particular characteristic about it. One hoof may be oddly shaped, or one leg may drag a bit, and anything different about a hoof print will make it easy to identify.

Stay on the track, and usually you will determine that the deer knows you are behind him within 30 minutes. You are not trying to stalk the deer; instead, you are trying to track that animal until you see it. It's a game of hide and week, and you'll soon learn the deer is better at staying out of sight than you are.

You'll soon come to where the deer is bedded down, and keep to the trail but continue to look ahead and to both sides. Eventually the deer will circle to check you out.

The deer will mosey along until he hears, sees or smells you on the trail, and then will start to meander. Ofter the deer will take you through some rugged terrain before it begins to circle.

The circle is your first clue that the deer knows you are back there, dogging his tracks. They often circle back to a point where they can watch their backtrail. They want to know what is coming up behind them.

Sometimes the deer, if badly spooked, will light out of there on a hard run and cover a quarter-mile or more before slowing. That's OK, just let him run and keep to the track.

Stay on the same track, and don’t be in a rush. Fast-moving hunters spook deer.

Deer that are being followed will often join up with other deer, mix with them, follow many of the same runways or trails they use, and that is when tracking a deer becomes more difficult. It's important to find a track that is noticeably different than those of other deer.

The animal may try to fool you this way, and if this doesn't shake you off the track, look for it to head for another area that holds many deer. Track the deer through that maze, and the animal will either get really spooked or develop a curiosity.

I should note that it isn't wise to do this when deer are yarded up. Deer pinned in a cedar swamp do not need to be spooked. They often will be living off fat reserves, and even though the animals may run away, it may later lead to their death. Track deer when they can freely move.

A deer may move with the wind, across wind, or try to circle to get downwind of your location. A circling deer is trying to see or smell you, and that is when it pays to look all around and slow down a bit.

Don't hurry. A slow-moving sportsman will move the deer where it wants to go, and a spooked deer will lead you on a long chase. Often, a deer will be spotted within a mile.

You may see it standing motionless in the tag alders ahead, crossing a snowy hill ahead, or heading into the next patch of thick cover. It's not necessary to follow a deer to the point of exhaustion.

The trick is to watch what deer do when they know something is after them. They are less frightened of a slow-moving person than one moving as fast as possible.

Watch and see how deer try to elude you. They will make sudden direction changes, stop, move off to one side or the other, but often will be back in thick cover. You may find yourself walking within 20 yards of a deer without seeing it.

Deer will try to elude you. Look for sudden direction changes or movements.

This is great exercise, but even more important, it gives a hunter a greater insight into how deer think and why they do some of the things they do. And best of all, it is fun.

Become extremely good at this tactic, and then start carrying a bow or firearm. Walk up a buck without overly spooking him, and you'll have acquired a talent that very few hunters possess.

Posted via email from Dave Richey Outdoors