Let’s face it; much of the country has not been getting the snow as we did 20 years ago. Some years we hardly get a measurable snowfall. That is fine with me in many ways, but the added excitement that a fresh snowfall provides to an already great day in a deer stand is an added bonus. The deer seem to stand out a little more in the white wonderland and their tracks are easier to follow. The beauty the snow provides makes everything look a little more wonderful until you get home and have to shovel the sidewalks.
Not only does snow on the ground help you locate deer while you are 20 feet up a tree, but it also helps the hunter willing to trail a deer for a shot opportunity. Do not get me wrong, the best deer track I have ever seen is one where a deer is standing in it, but many big bucks fall victim to the hunter willing to snow-track a deer through the harsh elements Mother Nature has bestowed upon us.
This is a tactic that has been used from the beginning of hunting. Now mainly used in the northeastern part of the United States and its big timber that seems to go on forever, as well as our northern neighbors like Wisconsin, Michigan, and Minnesota, it can still work equally well here in Illinois for the dedicated hunter looking for an alternative plan to harvest a mature deer when everything else seems to have stopped working. It takes larges parcels of land to accomplish this, or having permission to cross on to other land.
A deer track will eventually lead to the animal that made it. A hunter has to be in good shape and able to read deer sign. A hunter also needs to be willing to track a deer all afternoon if needed, and if he runs out of daylight, get back on the trail the next morning.
The best time to snow-track a deer is during the rut. Get up and start at dawn. The reason this tactic works well during the rut is that bucks will be on their feet throughout most of the day looking for receptive does. Getting an early start will allow you plenty of time to cut a track and follow the trail.
Ideal conditions would be after a fresh snowfall of an inch or two. Old tracks will be covered by the new snow and fresh tracks will be highly visible, allowing you to move quicker. I would try to avoid this technique in a deep snow as you will quickly become tired trying to trudge your way through the deep, heavy snow. A tired hunter is often a careless hunter.
I have found the best success comes when the deer population is low in your area and a good buck-to-doe ratio. A lot of deer means a lot of tracks, which can be very confusing.
As I mentioned earlier it is important to have access to joining land. The feeling of following a buck to a “no trespassing” sign will take the drive right out of you, especially if you have been following the track for any length of time or if you know the animal is close by.
So how do you know if the track is fresh or not? It should be easy if the snow has just fallen, but it can be a little tougher to distinguish a fresh track from an old one if the snow has been on the ground for any length of time. A fresh track will have sharp edges. The snow in the bottom of the track will be packed, but not frozen. On an older track, the tracks tend to get bigger as the edges melt away and the bottom tend to have a layer of ice.
Begin searching for fresh tracks along the edges of fields, on known trails, and near bedding areas.
If the snow is less than two inches deep, a big buck will often leave drag marks. If the snow is deeper than two inches, any deer is capable of leaving drag marks. Bucks do not stop often to urinate. Urine spots between tracks are a good indicator of a buck on the move searching for does.
It is imperative that the hunter is always moving as quiet as possible. Always be alert and try to think like a deer. Try to imagine what the buck is doing and where he is headed.
If the tracks are running in a fairly straight line, he has an intended destination. Maybe he is checking his scrapes, headed to a doe bedding area or a food source that normally holds does. Keep on the trail at a good pace, and if you think you have a good idea where he is headed, circle ahead of him and beat him there.
When the tracks start to appear that the buck is side-tracked, he could be eating, sniffing doe tracks or looking in the snow trying to sniff out food. It is also a good indicator the buck is about to bed. Whatever the reason, it is time to slow down to a snail’s pace. If you believe the buck is nearby, check the wind and circle to the downwind side of the trail. If a buck thinks he is being followed, he will often circle around to check his back trail. If you have moved off his path you might be able to get a shot off at the unsuspecting buck.
Distinguishing the difference between a big buck, a smaller buck, and a doe can save a lot of time. A big buck track will measure about 2 1/4 inches in width and have rounded tips. Doe and young bucks will leave tracks that are narrower and the tips will be more pointed. Also, the toes on a big old buck will be more splayed and will sink so far into the snow that the dewclaws are visible. This only occurs with does and young bucks when they are running.
The stride of a mature buck is about 20 inches with 6 inches between tracks. A doe will have a stride of about 14 inches and only about 2 inches between tracks.
Snow-tracking deer can be effective. The conditions might just be right for a very short period. The hunter needs to be ready after a fresh snow to get out and start tracking. If a hunter is not able to harvest a deer using this method, I bet he learned more about whitetail behavior than what he knew before he started tracking a deer through the beautiful winter wonderland.
