I thought I could tell the difference too, and perhaps most of the time you can but.....
a few years ago I was tracking a "buck", six inch print with a really wide split toe imprint. The snow made for good tracking. When I caught up to it in its bed I thought it must be a buck that had already lost his antlers. I had an antlerless permit, shot the animal, only to find out it was a doe. She was really big, dressed out at over 180 pounds. Go figure!