I have been studying the art of tracking for a few years now. At first my only goal was to track one and shoot it. What I really learned (dah) was that by following a lot of deer tracks I could learn more about deer behavior. Where do they like to travel? What do they eat? where do they bed? When do they travel? The list goes on and on. I have learned more about deer these last 2 years then all the other 30+ years combined! This works for big woods areas as well as small wood lots. Also once a deer knows you are behind him you can learn what he does to try to get away. Where are his other "safe" areas. Most of what I learned can be applied to regular stand hunting. I will be much better at picking stand sites based on my knowledge of deer movement - both natural and forced.
oh ya, tracking does work