ORIGINAL: drockw
ORIGINAL: early in
ORIGINAL: GregH
They wear the tips of their toes (fronts especially) from all the traveling they do looking for does.
I don't buy into this theory. A doe doesthis (wears the tips of her hooves) as well.Granted, a buck does considerabletraveling during the rut, butthat period is short lived. I would say overall, a doe travels more than the average buck does throughout the year. JMHO
I feel like i kinda agree with that too, not to gang up on you Greg. In early season (sept. oct) does are out with their young feeding and moving constantly and you see them quite often depending on where you are. Bucks on the othere hand seem to be lazy during that part of year. Please shed more light on this if you can. Im sure your experience outweighs mine, im just kinda theorizing.
Derek
Well, I'm just telling you what I've read and experienced over the years.
Does usually claim the best bedding areas close to food sources in order to rear their fawns. Bucks, on the other hand will venture over closer to a good food source and bed nearby (for them) with their buddies (bachelor groups. After the break up of the bachelor groups, the bucks head back to their core area and wait for the start of the rut. October lull? Anyway, the rut will have bucks on the move from late October until early January. The chance for a hot doe will have them traveling much further than any doe travels. The doe will hardly ever travel out of her home area, whereas bucks will, especially during the rut.
In short, bucks put on way more miles than does.
Unless a doe chips a toe, their hooves are always sharp and pointy. Most all bucks that I or my friends have killed that are 3 1/2 and older have way more rounded toes than does. The older the buck, the more rounded the toes usually are.
Tracks are not all that hard to determine the sex of if the buck is mature. There is quite a size difference between a 4 1/2 year old buck and a 4 1/2 yearold doe. You really notice this when you see one of these bucks on top of one of these does! [:-]