JimPic

Read this:

http://www.whitetails.com/tracks.html

skeeter 7MM

Generally the size of the track will indicate if male or female but of course you have overlap of big does and young bucks. Therefore it is a flawed method. Also in no way will you ever be able to truly tell how much bone he is carrying without actually seeing it. I think that is what scouting is for, unless I am wrong. However one can use tracks or trails made to guess what type of deer might be making them. By this I mean a doe and younger bucks will take the path of less resistance and often the point a to b origin. Meanwhile mature deer will often be less in favor of such travel patterns and tend to have a wandering pattern to their daily travels. If you use the snow drag thing mentioned a doe will drag her feet but she will walk in a more straight line, while the buck will zig zag - we refer to them as ski tracks up here. Also look for the pressence of fawn or yearling tracks, this will indicate a doe present. Another way is to actually follow trials back into the bush, caution though make sure to have proper wind direction and be alert to exactly where you are headed. What you may find is travel ways, lateral lines, rubs, scrapes, etc on this little catch the leader expedition. Of course during the rut a buck may very well hop on a doe trail if she is hot, so things start getting grey on what tracks really mean...however if you hunt where the girls are the bucks will be around and you have more than enough other signs to help pinpoint what is going down.

So no real fool proof, easy method many ideas on what tracks mean but unless you see the deer making them you really never know what your following!!! To me tracks are just another visual sign to keep searching for a spot in the spot.

leffler

ive been told that whn a doe steps down in mud her hoofs split some, where as a bucks hoofs stick together , there will be a small space between the does hoofs and a bucks will have none

Shootem up870

leffler,
i think you have it backwards. the bucks print will have a small gap between the bucks hoofs.

ill post pics when i get back today, im going to do a little trimming at one of my stands.

Tazman

There is no sure fire method of telling a buck track from a doe track, but in general the larger the track the more likely it is a buck.

UMPIRE

There is NO absolute way to tell whether a buck or a doe made a track unless you see the animal standing in them. End of story.

WapitiHunter3

I couldn't stop laughing after i read this post, you guys are clueless
a bucktrack will be rounded at the front and even in, the length and width only indcates how old it is.
A Doe track will be pointed in front and spread apart a little more.
a fawns tracks are when it is hardest to tell

Rack-attack

LOL.........

Rounded points are ONLY due to age and wear - A 6 yr old doe can very well have more rounded tracks than a 3-1/2 yr old 150" Buck

NO - It indicates How BIG the deers hooves are and possibly how big the deer is....LOL....
A 3-1/2 year old 250 lb buck will most likely have a larger print than a 180lb 6-1/2 yr old buck

THE ONLY WAY to tell for sure is to see whats standing in them

j3k2c1

I have heard that a buck or a large doe will leave prints of its dew claws in the ground. Also I have heard that does and fawns meander and bucks walk in more of a straight line.

Jimmy S

For those who don't think there is a way to identify a buck by the tracks, ask the Benoits of Vermont.