« Which Way do Deer Travel? | Main | Placing Bait for Deer »
Following a Deer Trail...How Far Should You Go?
I read in a book that a person should follow a deer trail both ways to determine where the deer are coming from and where they are going to.I would like to know how far a person should walk before turning around, especially a person like me who gets lost easily.
ML
Thanks for the great question.
I agree. A deer hunter could choose to follow a deer trail in both directions to see where the trail leads to and from.
How far to travel will depend on what you see while following the deer trail.
I personally like to follow the trails until I find one of three things; a bedding area, a food source or a watering hole.
If, while I am walking, I find the trail leads to a bedding area I stop and turn around. Rarely will I go into where the deer may be bedding. I simply do not want to disturb the area. The only time I will enter the bedding areas is if I have a wounded deer that went into one.
If I find the deer trail leads to a food source or food plot, I will look over the area to see if there is a good place to set up a deer hunting tree stand or ground blind overlooking the food source.
If I come across a watering hole on the trail I will look to see how heavy the deer traffic is around the water source. If deer sign is heavy, I will look to see if there is a place to hang a deer hunting tree stand over looking the water hole.
Often times you may find that a trail leads to food or water in one direction and to a bedding area in the other direction. A great place to put a deer hunting tree stand is half way between a bedding area and a food or water source.
As the deer gets up from the bedding area it will move to either feed or drink. You will have your deer hunting tree stand set up to intercept the deer.
Avoid Getting Lost
Getting lost in the woods is never fun. A GPS is a great tool to help you find your way back out of the woods. They are a bit expensive, but they work very well.
An inexpensive way to keep from getting lost while you are walking deer trails is to purchase a roll of plastic marking ribbon. Each roll costs around two bucks. The ribbon comes in many bright colors and each roll is about 100 feet in length.
When you start to follow a deer trail, tear off a piece of marking ribbon and tie it around a tree. Every 20 feet or so tear off another piece of ribbon and tie it to another tree. Mark your way as you follow the trail. Follow the ribbons back out of the woods.
Knowing where the deer are going to and from could help you bag a big buck.
Keep these tips in mind the next time you come across a deer trail you want to follow.
Good Luck and Great Hunting!
Marty Prokop
www.free-deer-hunting-tips.com
Posted by Marty Prokop
Comments
Thanks Marty I injoy your letters and web site.
I have a question about seeding trails for deer. I live in east central Minnesota and have 40 acres with mixed hard wood trees on 16 acres the rest is hay fields. All around me are fields of corn beans and some times alafa fields that the deer use a lot. My hay fields are mostly grass and I have some trails through the woods and would like to know if it would pay to seed them with something this spring to get more deer to come in and stay? And if so what should I plant?
Thanks for any help Jeff
Jeff,
Thanks for your comment.
Indeed you could choose to plant your trails with a goo deer food plot seed. This will help attract and hold deer on your land.
There are many types of food plot seed available today. The best way to find out which would work best for you is to have a soil test done.
Once you receive the results from your soil test call a few different seed companies to see which seed they recommend.
Make sure you follow the deer food plot seed company's directions to insure the most yeild for your food plots.
I will talk more about this in an upcoming newsletter also.
Good Luck and Great Hunting!
Marty Prokop
Posted by: Jeff at March 6, 2007 10:06 AM
I wondered this too and now i know more. I hope this helps me this deer season to decide how to use the time in the woods better and get a deer and maybe a bigger buck.
Matt
Posted by: Matt at March 18, 2007 2:44 PM
A question I have is I hunt in an area that has some nice size bucks and im in school all day and only get a chance to hunt at night.
The bucks wait till after dark to come into the feild and I was wondering a way to get the bucks to come out.
Or should I put a stand up or sit in the woods where I see the deer come in from?
I am only 15 but I love to hunt and I want to get a nice size buck. I almost got a nice one last year but they're not coming out this year.
Posted by: A T at November 11, 2007 1:57 PM
Hello AT,
Thanks for the great questions.
I remember those days of going to school and hunting late afternoons myself.
It seems you have already patterned the big bucks movements. This is good. Knowing where the big bucks will be and at what times is the most important factor in tagging a deer.
You have a couple options to fill your tag.
One is to get the bucks to come to you during legal shooting hours. The way you do this will depend on the time of the year you are hunting.
If you are hunting during the rut, using a decoy may help draw the bucks to you. Also, making mock scrapes could have you pulling a big buck within range.
If you place a decoy or make mock scrapes, be sure to use both dominant buck urine and doe in heat (doe estrus) scents. The smell of a "new" buck and a hot doe will usually pull the boss of the woods out of hiding.
I also think it is a good idea to put up a deer hunting treestand over looking the area the bucks come out into. Being peerched up in a tree can give you a better vantage point.
Make sure to place your stand down wind of where the deer come out. THis will keep your scent from blowing into the deer when they arrive on the field.
You can alos incorporate some deer calls to help get the bucks moving. I use a True Talker deer call. This one call allows me to make several different deer vocalizations including the grunt, doe bleat, fawn bleat etc.
Again, if the rut is taking place, you can also use some rattling antlers along with the grunt call.
Good Luck and Great Hunting!
Posted by: Marty Prokop at May 5, 2008 3:25 PM
