Can you tell the difference?
 

I was just wondering if there was a way to tell the difference between a doe track and a buck track, this may seem like a stupid question, but I have always wondered if there was a way if there is one.

RE: Can you tell the difference?
 

size and depth

RE: Can you tell the difference?
 

Greg:

Honest question....

Would size/depth tell you the difference between a 150# 4.5yr old doe and a 150# 2.5yr old buck?

RE: Can you tell the difference?
 

I agree with Jeff, so you see a track from a 4.5 year old doe and a 1.5 year old buck, size/depth would show you the which was which? I have me doubts matey!

There is TWO sure fire ways to tell the difference. First, see the deer that made the track...LOL

And second, their walk. A bucks chest is wider than his hips and when deer walk they commonly put their back hoof in the print of the front hoof, being a bucks hips are narrower than it's chest, the second track will lay inside the first track.

Conversely with does, a does hips are wider than her chest (breeding) and her second track will lay outside her first track.

Other than that, both doe and buck have dew claws and may sink in snow and mud depending on the age structure of the deer.

Some go as far as say drag marks, although bucks are lazier than does, I don't find that to be full proof in an old doe and young buck.

RE: Can you tell the difference?
 

Good stuff Rob. I've also read somewhere that a bucks hoof prints will be more spread out toward the tips than a doe. Not sure how much faith you can put into that one.

RE: Can you tell the difference?
 

Generally, bucks (mature) have wider feet with rounded toes. They wear the tips of their toes (fronts especially) from all the traveling they do looking for does. Their track is set wider apart than a narrow chested doe and they usually drag their feet. Does usually step into their front foot tracks with their rear feet whereas bucks don't. Does have narrow, sharp pointy tracks.Sometimes a real big buck will criss-cross their feet as they walk, sort of like a swagger. Almost like their big belly swings them from side to side............. sort of how I walk!!??

RE: Can you tell the difference?
 

Hey Rob....I'v eheard this as well. Who knows?

Honestly....unless I'm at a creek crossing....I actually never look at individual tracks. Maybe I should.....

RE: Can you tell the difference?
 

thanks guys i really appreciate it
[align=left] [/align]

RE: Can you tell the difference?
 

I stand corrected and learned something.

RE: Can you tell the difference?
 

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

RE: Can you tell the difference?
 

Although it may be hard to tell a young Buck from an older Does tracks, I have never seen a bigger than normal track that has a large gap between the ends of the hoofsandthe dew claws strike the ground onsoliddirt at a normal walk that belonged to a doe.
But thats just my observation.

RE: Can you tell the difference?
 

http://www.yahwehschildren.org/Critters/Images/deer-track.jpg
We use a chart similar to this with the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. I would scan the one we use but I dont have work again until Monday. This is just in the ballpark, it's obviously not exact.

RE: Can you tell the difference?
 

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

RE: Can you tell the difference?
 

I would agree with Greg on this one.IMO - from my observations,bucks often have more of a rounded impression than a doe, deeper track andmore space between the splits in the hooves.

RE: Can you tell the difference?
 

The depthof a given track is relative to the pressure/weight being put on the hoof. A heavy doe(they doe exist) can/will leave a deep track with a wide spaceas well as a heavy buck. Probably more so because there are more doe than buck, at least where I hunt.:D

RE: Can you tell the difference?
 

Read no further, this is the answer. I will add if the track is 3"+ wide and 4"+ long, he is a shooter.

RE: Can you tell the difference?
 

+1, that was pretty much what I thought. All except the big belly swinging part and myself analogy.....:D

RE: Can you tell the difference?
 

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! [:-]

RE: Can you tell the difference?
 

There you have it! which one do you think might be a buck?

RE: Can you tell the difference?
 

Mature buck tracks are generally blunter and wider than does. They also drag their feet more,toe out, tend to jump over fences rather than under, and when they pee in the snow you can sometimes tell the difference by how 'spattered' the stain is. Obviously this isn't perfect as there are always some outliers but I believe I can tell the difference between 3.5+ year old bucks and everything else over 90% of the time. That being said, you sometimes get deer that make you go huh? The pic is of a 4.5+ deer with 161" of bone on his head. Granted it would spread out a bit with weight on it but we are still talking a track maybe 2" wide. I would have guessed the track was from a doe.

RE: Can you tell the difference?
 

JoeRe, Is that a back foot or a front foot?

The reason I ask is because mature bucks front feet usually show the most wear. Generally, the inside toe is worn way more than the outer toe. My guess is that it's from all of the scraping that they do. They seem to throw the dirt and rocks toward the outside more.

That track could fool you though.

RE: Can you tell the difference?
 

Front foot - sorry I forgot to say that - I have never seen anything like it before for the reasons you say. It seems like he didn't do much scraping - which is also weird as his bases of his antlers were very polished from a ton of rubbing (granted I only assume that a deer that rubs a lot would scrape a lot and vice-versa).

RE: Can you tell the difference?
 

Bucks tend to be splayed out at the tips and a does tend to be more parallel

RE: Can you tell the difference?
 

That comes with weight....that being said, one of the largest tracks Ive ever saw was from a doe. Shot at her, missed, and saw her tracks, great googly moogly....started wondering if it was a buck with broken antlers.

RE: Can you tell the difference?
 

As a doghunter, i spend alot of time during general gun season looking at tracks. Another big tip-off to it being a buck track is the stride of the tracks.long stride=a buck

RE: Can you tell the difference?
 

Can't always guarantee nothing by the size of the track but generally the spread, curvature of the hooves can give a much better idea. Depth can fool us too. My best buck ever had lost a ton of weight(shot him in December) and was really long. His tracks were deceiving in as far the depth of his tracks.

RE: Can you tell the difference?
 

I've always been a big believer In a wider then normal track usually means a decent buck (common sense). The dragging of the feet In the snow I also believe Is right on with bucks.

RE: Can you tell the difference?
 

never knew that does have dew claws as well the guys that i have learned the little i know so far have always associated them with bucks.

Learn something knew everyday !