How can you tell if a track is a buck or doe? I remember reading about it in Field and Stream I believe but I cant seem to find the maganize it was in. Also if you know what month the article on deer tracks let me know.

Supposidely in the snow bucks leave a drag mark behind their hoof print from some kind of claw. I dont know if this is true or not but it's what ive heard

Ive been told to look for the two little round holes behind the hoof print. Mature bucks are heavier and although they walk lightly, and sometimes quietly, the back two knobs, have no idea what they are called, i forget, touch the ground at certain points along the tracks

Jim

When a buck walks his chest is wider than his back half therefore the top track will be on the inside of the first track. A doe track will leave the top track on the outside because her chest is not as wide as her back half. The top track is when a deer is walking and they step on top of the previous track. In the winter a buck will leave drag marks in the snow from step to step in deep snow just because they are lazy

Dew claws[8D][&:]

I politely submit that a person cannot tell a buck from a doe by any method except the very general guideline that a buck track is bigger than a doe. I don't mean to insult anyone, but all the stuff about dragging, and dewclaws, and wider chests, etc. is, well, hokum. Here in western MT, a track over 2" wide is almost certainly a buck, over 2 1/4" wide and I'll bet the farm on it. A 2 1/4" wide track is representative of a 3 1/2 year old buck. The exact cutoff width in your part of the country might be different by 1/4" or so, depending on your deer subspecies. I hunt with one of those school kid's protracters in my cargo pocket for measuring tracks. (Yeah, I know, it's nuts.)

i think this is not true that mark happens when deer are running or at least that what my dad told me

The two round holes are called DEW CLAWS. These are the little pieces of hoof that the deer use for extra support i would assume. Most of the the time does dont leave a dew claw mark because they are not as big. Most track that indicate the deer i walking and the dew claw marks are showing, its a good sized deer, possibly a buck. Generally, if you can fit a .270 Win or .30-06 casing in the track, its probably a buck. i would believe the width thing too. i dont think the drag mark thing with bucks is true at all. does drag their feet too. yeah, sometimes bucks will do it. but so do does.

slayer

the only way to truly tell if a track is a bucks , is to follow that track untill you get a shot at that same deer.[&:][]

JMHO. there may be someone out there that can tell the difference , I have just never meet that person.[&:]

are you guys joking about this post or are you serious? if you are serious, a does print makes a "V". but a bucks print looks almost like 2 ice cubs but with the rounded part facing down and a small gap in between.