Deer Signs - How old/new

[squirrelwhisperer]

Another example of a scrape



If you look close (zoom in) you can see hoof scrapes this one is a few hours old as evidenced by the relative moisture content of the dirt BUT it was very recent as this particular morning was very windy yet notice the lack of leaves in the scrape


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[squirrelwhisperer]

You will usually notice the scrape under a “licking” branch that is about 4ish feet above the scrape




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[Nomad]

Scout in the off season , soon after the close of hunting season is good . Trails, rubs, scrapes will all be there , stinking up, the woods and bumping deer will not matter then .

 

[wolc123]

I learned what fresh tracks look like  about 25 years ago.  When I walked out of the house, a neighbor drove by and honked his horn and waved.  That noise must have caused a buck in the thick brush next door to get up and walk across the lane behind the barn.  

When I came across those tracks in the fresh snow (about 5 minutes after the "beep"), they were literally smoking. Probably because the ground was not yet froze and was warmer than the air. It appeared that steam was rising off the tracks.

At that point, before I started to follow those tracks, I carefully studied the small patch of brush where they led.  It was mostly goldenrod, with a few thin bushes.  I picked out a strange looking horizontal line, among the mostly verticals.  It soon materialized into an antler.  The body was mostly hidden by the goldenrod.

I could see clearly across the open field behind the deer (know your target and what is beyond).  I aimed my first shot at the slightly obscured front shoulder, expecting him to bust out across the open field for an easy, clear second shot. That was not needed, because the first one was on the mark.

Technically, I dont know if that can be considered "tracking", since the distance I followed was zero.   The range of the shot was about 30 yards, right in the sweet spot for my Ithaca 16 ga with1.5X Weaver scope.  

The buck was a 1.5 year old 5 point with a funky "drop-tine" on one side.   The main tendon was broke on the rear leg on the opposite side, and there was very little meat left on that hind quarter.  Between the missing meat on the rear, and the messed up stuff up front from the shoulder strike, I probably got less than 40 pounds of meat off that one.  I have yet to kill another drop time though, and that funky little rack will always remind me of that record short track.

Edited October 15, 2020 by wolc123