Some of the areas I hunt have a fair amount of volcanic ash or sand. When I spot a large track with the dewclaws showing my blood gets pumping. Even in harder soils the tracks show up. Of course keen eye hunters will tell you if a track was made by a buck or doe. In the Northeastern part of the State older Mule deer does get huge at times. These older does are of larger body then the heavily hunted bucks. I think I am a fair tracker, but not an expert.
But old deer hunters do make good man trackers. Years back I attended a tracking class put on by the Border Patrol. During the class I teamed up with an officer who was an accomplished deer hunter. We quickly accomplished the objects of the course.
In the minds eye I am always looking for the “big buck” but I am willing to take a lesser animal. The buck population on the public land is heavily weighted to two and three year old bucks. Because of their age they have not obtain the weight and large track of an old doe, or fully mature buck. Their tracks also do not have the nicks and other unique characteristic of an older buck.
Am I passing up a buck on the last day that I would be willing to take because I fail to follow up on a small track, with out dewclaws?
I watched the little buck make this track.
I watched this buck for a long time. He has four points on the right side and three points on his left side with small eye guards. He has a small thin rack, but I think he is two years old at most. In the coming years he will grain weight and his horns will gain mass. I think he is last years fawn and he is around one hundred pounds at this time.
