July 14, 2008
Following Deer Tracks that Seem to Disappear
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You found a huge set of fresh deer tracks and decide to start following them to see if you can catch up to the deer that made them. All is going well, until the tracks seem to disappear.
Did the deer vanish into thin air?
Did it magically sprout wings and fly through the forest?
No. It walked firmly on the ground, but maybe the light hitting the deer tracks is playing tricks on you.
Disappearing tracks have been tricking deer hunters since the earliest times when man started to first track animals.
Here is a solution if this happens to you.
Without stepping on the actual tracks and ruining the trail, Indian trackers used to step from side to side to allow the most favorable light to shine onto the trails.
With favorable amounts of light cast at the right angles onto the trail, hoof impressions or the upturned leaves seem to pop out because of the shadows they cast.
Try this Native American tracking trick the next time you seem to lose a set of fresh deer tracks in the woods. It could have you walking up on a big buck in his bed.
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Good Luck and Great Hunting!
Deer Hunting and Deer Processing Expert at http://www.free-deer-hunting-tips.com
****************************
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Posted by Marty Prokop | Questions and Comments (0)
July 11, 2008
Deer Tracks: Are You Following a Buck or Doe? By Marty Prokop
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A while back I wrote a Free-Deer-Hunting-Tips.com Newsletter and blog post about following deer tracks.
A Free-Deer-Hunting-Tips.com reader asked me how a deer hunter could tell he was on the trail of a buck or a doe.
It is my experience that even if you are following big tracks, obviously made by a big deer, that deer could be either a big doe or a big buck. Yes, I have seen some very large doe deer especially offspring of big bucks.
I have followed more deer tracks since I wrote that newsletter just to see if additional experience would show me something different. Here is what I found.
Following Deer Tracks
After following many sets of fresh deer tracks on my deer hunting land this past fall I have made some interesting conclusions.
I still believe if you follow one solid set of big tracks pressed deeply into the dirt, you could be following a big buck or doe.
Here is where I saw some variances:
If you are following a set of big deer tracks that are meandering through the woods, chances are high that you are following a doe. As you are following these meandering tracks and you notice urine in one spot, you will be following a doe. Doe deer squat to pee in one spot.
A buck walks through the forest moving from point A to point B following the path of least resistance. If a buck comes across something in the trail in front of him, such as a downed tree, he will walk around it and get back on to the main trail and continue walking. A doe, on the other hand, will often go under it.
A line of big deer tracks with urine dripping into multiple tracks is most often made by a buck as he will urinate as he walks.
Deer tracks splayed (a wide gap between the front of hooves in the shape of a “V”) tend to belong to a buck.
Deer tracks with drag marks behind them are usually made by big bucks.
The reason big bucks tend to drag their hooves is because bucks are structurally different in the hip region than does. This structural difference causes mature bucks to swagger from side to side and drag their feet when walking.
The longer and deeper the drag marks behind each track usually means the bigger and heavier the buck making the tracks.
I followed a number of deer tracks to see if a deer hunter could tell the size and sex of a deer solely by its tracks. I found, if you are on a fresh set of big deer tracks and focus on the size of the tracks only, you could be following a big buck or a big doe.
When I added drag marks and urination patterns in combination with the tracks, I could get a pretty good idea of size and sex of the deer being followed.
You be the judge. Try this for yourself and see what you find.
To subscribe to the weekly Free-Deer-Hunting-Tips.com Newsletter or get blog post delivered to you by subscribing to our RSS feed by clicking on one of the RSS feed buttons in the right hand column of this blog at www.marty-prokop.com .
Good Luck and Great Hunting!
Deer Hunting and Deer Processing Expert at http://www.free-deer-hunting-tips.com
****************************
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=========================
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Get Your Own Free Audio Deer Hunting Tips, listen to the Deer Hunting Podcast, subscribe to our RSS Feed, see Big Buck Pictures and read the Deer Hunting Secrets Blog at: http://www.marty-prokop.com
=========================
*** Newsletter and RSS Feed ***
If you want to keep up on new deer hunting secrets subscribe to the weekly Free-Deer-Hunting-Tips.com Newsletter or get blog posts delivered to you by subscribing to our RSS feed by clicking on one of the RSS feed buttons in the right hand column of this blog.
=========================
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Posted by Marty Prokop | Questions and Comments (0)
July 7, 2008
Recovering Your Deer After the Shot
BANG!
Your shot was well placed. You expect to see the deer not far from where you took the shot.
After waiting 20 minutes, you climb out of your deer hunting tree stand and walk to where you took the shot.
You see a good blood trail. You start tracking being careful not to disturb the blood trail.
As you continue following the trail it seems to almost disappear. You look a few feet ahead and off to the left and right and still see no deer.
You are puzzled. Where could it have gone?
“It was a great hit,” you rationalize as you replay the shot through your mind.
This happened to me in a past deer hunting season. I shot a huge doe at less than 50 yards with my 12 gauge. Normally, at close range with a 12 gauge slug, deer have dropped in less than 50 yards.
So what did this doe do?
After the shot, the doe turned and ran straight away from me. I followed her blood trail nearly 100 yards. I noticed she turned back to where she had come out of the woods.
I found her another 30 yards up the trail towards the direction she came from. She was circling back around.
Deer are herd animals. I believe they feel safer in numbers. Perhaps this doe was heading back to the group she was with.
Next time you start following the trail of a deer you have shot and can’t find it immediately, try circling back to where you first took the shot. Chances are you will find the deer near that location.
To subscribe to the weekly Free-Deer-Hunting-Tips.com Newsletter or get blog post delivered to you by subscribing to our RSS feed by clicking on one of the RSS feed buttons in the right hand column of this blog at www.marty-prokop.com .
Good Luck and Great Hunting!
Deer Hunting Expert at http://www.free-deer-hunting-tips.com
****************************
Find Deer Games, Pictures and Hunting Fun at: http://www.free-deer-hunting-tips.com
=========================
*** More Free Stuff ***
Get Your Own Free Audio Deer Hunting Tips, listen to the Deer Hunting Podcast, subscribe to our RSS Feed, see Big Buck Pictures and read the Deer Hunting Secrets Blog at: http://www.marty-prokop.com
=========================
*** Newsletter and RSS Feed ***
If you want to keep up on new deer hunting secrets subscribe to the weekly Free-Deer-Hunting-Tips.com Newsletter or get blog posts delivered to you by subscribing to our RSS feed by clicking on one of the RSS feed buttons in the right hand column of this blog.
=========================
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Posted by Marty Prokop | Questions and Comments (0)
June 6, 2008
“9 Top Deer Scouting Tips that Deer Don’t Want You to Know About!” by Marty Prokop
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Every successful deer hunt begins with great scouting.
Sure you hear the occasional story of the guy who stumbles into the woods, plops down on a log and shoots a nice deer. But how consistently does that guy score big?
To really increase your chances at a big buck every year, use these 9 Top Deer Scouting Tips.
1.) Start scouting EARLY in the year.
If your work schedule will allow, start your deer scouting by mid-summer.
When deer season ends, start looking around for deer signs you may have missed earlier in the year.
Write this information in a deer hunting journal. Use this information when you start scouting and deer hunting the next year.
2.) Learn everything you can about your deer hunting area.
The internet is a huge resource for topographic maps.
Make sure your scouting time includes online research of your deer hunting area. Learn locations of ponds, bedding areas, food sources and natural funnels. Use this information to help you pattern deer movement.
3.) When you are scouting look for DEER SIGN not deer.
Looking for good deer sign is quicker and easier, and you will see more. If you spot a deer consider this a bonus.
4.) Don’t over do it.
Spending too much time wandering around a deer hunting area is not a good thing. You can leave too much human scent in the area, which could cause big bucks to shift their patterns.
5.) WALK through the woods looking for deer sign instead of riding your ATV or driving your vehicle.
If you walk through the woods looking for deer sign you will see and learn more. In most cases you will also make less noise.
Prepare yourself ahead of time for the physical demands of scouting on foot, don’t over do it. Only walk if you and your doctor feel you are able.
6.) Scout multiple locations.
Pay close attention to grain fields, water crossings, pine plantations and hardwood forests. Deer will use all kinds of cover as well as many food sources throughout the full deer season.
7.) Look for fall feeding areas.
Don’t waste your time looking for summertime feeding areas. Deer browsing will change with the seasons. Concentrate on fall feeding grounds like white oak trees and grain fields that will be ready for fall harvesting.
8.) Be aware of deer patterns while you are deer hunting!
Deer patterns will change near instantly when deer season opens. Be aware of the changes and be ready to make a move to follow these changing deer patterns.
Why would you want to scout pre-season if deer patterns change once deer season opens?
An important part of pre-season scouting is for you to become very familiar with your deer hunting land.
You need to know the food sources, water and cover your deer hunting land holds and how deer are using and could potentially use these resources.
You want to know all the deer hunting options available to you on your land so you can change your patterns and plans to match deer activity.
9.) Always look for FRESH deer signs.
Old trails with hardly visible deer sign could mean the deer have changed their daily patterns. Look for fresh repeating signs such as new tracks, fresh droppings, new scrapes and fresh buck rubs. This will insure regular deer activity in the area you plan to hunt.
To subscribe to the weekly Free-Deer-Hunting-Tips.com Newsletter or get blog post delivered to you by subscribing to our RSS feed by clicking on one of the RSS feed buttons in the right hand column of this blog at www.marty-prokop.com .
Good Luck and Great Hunting!
Deer Hunting Expert at http://www.free-deer-hunting-tips.com
****************************
Find Deer Games, Pictures and Hunting Fun at: http://www.free-deer-hunting-tips.com
=========================
*** More Free Stuff ***
Get Your Own Free Audio Deer Hunting Tips, listen to the Deer Hunting Podcast, subscribe to our RSS Feed, see Big Buck Pictures and read the Deer Hunting Secrets Blog at: http://www.marty-prokop.com
=========================
*** Newsletter and RSS Feed ***
If you want to keep up on new deer hunting secrets subscribe to the weekly Free-Deer-Hunting-Tips.com Newsletter or get blog posts delivered to you by subscribing to our RSS feed by clicking on one of the RSS feed buttons in the right hand column of this blog.
=========================
*** Help Your Deer Hunting Buddies ***
Help your deer hunting buddies and support deer hunting…it’s free to do… Go ahead and email this Free-Deer-Hunting-Tips.com blog URL to your deer hunting buddies or use our Tell A Friend form at http://www.free-deer-hunting-tips.com/ .
=========================
Posted by Marty Prokop | Questions and Comments (0)
November 24, 2007
Deer Hunting and Tracking Deer: To Shoot or Not to Shoot?
Below is an email correspondence I had with a member of www.Free-Deer-Hunting-Tips.com
Marty,
Have you ever hit a buck directly in the shoulder with a rifle and not recovered him?
I hit a big buck this past Saturday. I found a quarter size piece of bone in the blood and lots of blood. I am talking paper plate size areas for about 100 to 150 yards and plenty of other drops for about a 1/4 mile and then it all stopped. The blood was bright red. The deer ran but was all hunched down to his right side and ran 2 circles in one field crossed in front of me ran 2 circles in another field and then headed into the woods. I am sure his left shoulder was gone.
Do you think a major artery was hit and this deer is dead somewhere. I can tell you that my friend and I spent 10 hours in total looking for this deer in the thickest briars you could ever imagine and covered every inch of those thickets. We were even on our hands and knees crawling through the thickets looking for any blood we could find. We have the shredded hands and legs to prove it. We did search every inch looking for just the deer also.
Please let me know your thoughts. I am sick about losing this deer. It is the biggest deer I have ever shot or seen in person.
Thank You,
Curt
Curt,
Thanks for your question.
I have hit deer and they have run off, but I have found every one I hit. I have only had to let one deer go over night before picking up the blood trail the next morning. I found that deer 30 yards from where I stopped the night before.
Without seeing the blood trail and bone fragment it is hard to say what happened for you.
Was the deer standing directly broadside to you when you shot? Could your shot have glanced off a shoulder bone and not hit any vitals? Was the blood trail on both sides of where the deer was standing? What distance is your rifle sighted in for? How close was the deer when you shot? Did you graze its back bone? Could you have hit low on a front leg?
There are a lot of questions that need to be answered before I can answer effectively.
Is the deer dead somewhere? Possibly. Again it is hard to say without seeing the fragments and blood trail.
If you can, send me the answers to the above questions.
Marty Prokop
www.Free-Deer-Hunting-Tips.com
Marty,
The deer was standing in parallel with me. His rear was facing me. I definitely hit his shoulder, because the piece of bone I found looked like it was part of a socket. I could not find the original impact area, because it was in a cut down cotton field and hard to find any blood or the exact location to mark it. My rifle is sighted in for 100 yards. The deer was about 50 -60 yards when I shot. I did not hit the back bone at all. It is very possible that I hit low on a front leg, but I believe that I hit more of the shoulder than anything, because of the bone fragment found. I found the fragment in a blood soaked area after he had already ran about 50 yards and 4 circles to the right. The blood trail that I found seemed to have blood on both sides of the deer.
I hope this helps.
Thank You,
Curt
Curt,
Thanks for getting me the answers to my questions. I appreciate having a dialogue on this.
If the deer’s rump was facing you and you aimed for a shoulder, then your shot most likely did not hit any vitals.
I don’t think you would have hit a main artery either due to the angle at which you shot.
Under no circumstances should this type of shot be taken. The likelihood of wounding the deer are too high. If all you are presented with is a rear end shot, let the deer walk.
The best shot to take is a direct broadside shot. This puts the deer’s whole body in front of you, and gives you a clean shot into the vitals of the deer. A quartering away shot is also a good shot to take. A quartering away shot will expose a good portion of the deer’s vitals.
For this particular shot you would aim a bit farther back on the rib cage that is facing you. Correct shot placement would have you hitting at least both lungs which would result in the deer falling fairly close to where the shot was taken.
From what you described, the shot most likely hit a leg bone and caused some soft tissue damage resulting in blood loss.
I would like to make a suggestion. Only take broadside shots at deer. Your chance of hitting the vitals is much greater and you will be able to follow the blood trail to the deer.
If a deer doesn’t present itself for a good broadside shot, wait until it does.
If it doesn’t present a broadside shot at all, let it walk.
Allowing a deer to walk away for another day is better than having a wounded one running around or worse yet a wounded deer running off and dying later.
Marty Prokop
www.Free-Deer-Hunting-Tips.com
Posted by Marty Prokop | Questions and Comments (0)
