atlasman

Here's the deal. A young kid was running around my yard at the end of this summer with the neighbors kids as we all sat by the fire..........after some pleasant conversation and a few smores the kid tells me his dad is a dairy farmer Of course I spoke with him before they left and he graciously extended me an offer to hunt his property. For many different reasons (some good.........some not so good) I didn't get out there until this morning. That was a mistake. Anyways, no sense worrying about what I can't change now. The farmer is a great guy and we got along well. I helped him feed and move some of his cows and we shared some laughs and the donuts and coffee I brought along. Nice morning..........onto the deer woods.

He tells me where I can go, where I should park and what he would like from me and what he doesn't want me doing. The land is HUGE (400+ acres) and mostly woods...........what is not woods is corn and other crops. As far as deer hunting goes in my area it is about as good as you can ask for. What remains to be seen is how many people are hunting here..........he says I may see some of the other farmer's kids.........if that's all I see I will be shocked. Only time will tell but it looks good for now.

The farmer tells me of a nice buck he has seen hanging out by some really thick brush along one side of the corn field and where he usually sees deer and at what time. What he means by "nice buck".......I don't know because he really doesn't know much about deer or hunting, it's just not his thing. I took a walk all over the property without disturbing anything and saw plenty of deer sign and already have a a few spots picked out for the climber.

I don't put much stock in deer tracks.........other then a good sign of which way the deer are moving. I did take notice of these though for two reasons.........I found them where the farmer said he has seen the "nice buck" in the morning, and they are clearly bigger then a usual track I see around here. The ground here was not overly muddy or soft and the tracks didn't look smeared or stretched very much to me. I feel like this is a pretty realistic track from this deer. I plan to set up on the fringes of this area in the evening and hopefully see what this deer looks like if he comes out to eat while it's still light.

What do you guys think??

atlasman

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atlasman

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Buck Magnet

Definetly a large bodied deer, almost guarenteed to be a buck. The front of the hooves being splayed openmeans that the deer has alot of weight in his front, which is usually the case with a buck. The overall length, width, and depth of the track just show that this is gonna be a bruiser of a body deer. Good luck with him Altas, I hope you get to let the air out of him!

RattleSnake1

I guess the ? I would ask is how far apart were they? As in did it appear that the gate of the animal was rather long? I would guess you're looking at the track of a 3 1/2 yr old buck or better. I've always tried to figure it out, but it's no science by any means. I've noticed around here though that the bucks will have a bit sharper looker hooves than that of a doe and quite often a bit of a curl at the tip of the toes like you're seeing there. If you have a game camera, that might be the best way to find out for sure though.

vikesfan353

Location!

StrutNtom

You sure have some stubby fingers!!! LoL

Looks like a nice buck although the ground does look pretty soft?

Greg / MO

I've got an idea of what could have made them... http://www.huntingnet.com/forum/tm.aspx?m=2360884

atlasman

First I have to find him...........then figure out my best to get a look at him without letting him know I am there. The predominant wind in this area blows right into thethick garbage I thinkhe is in so setting up between him and the corn will be difficult at best. I think I am gonna set up faraway and watch wherehe comes out andtry to figure it out from there.

If he is a big buck there are DEFINITELY other guys that know he is there.............however, he is not dead yet so maybe the pressure won't be too bad on him. We will see.


This is al speculation at this point because I haven't even seen him yet..........and maybe never will. If I do though I will surely introduce him to my friend Mr. Magnus

Congrats ontagging "blade" as well.........I saw that thread when I peeked in awhile back.

atlasman

That would be an absoluteneedle in a stack of needles around here. Anything is possible though. My season starts in a week...........if I even get to see him I will feel lucky.