 TRACKS
AND TRAILS – WHAT DO THEY TELL?
Meandering Trails, Terrain Trails and Mating Trails
EDITOR’S NOTE: You’ve heard talk that a
big buck is feeding in a green field, but despite watching
from dawn to dusk, you haven’t seen hide or hair
of him, just some does and small bucks. What’s
wrong? As long-time deer hunter Larry Norton of Butler,
Alabama, explains, "Big bucks, especially in the
South, rarely come to green fields in daylight hours,
even during the rut. They don't have to come out in
the open and show themselves to find a hot doe but instead
can walk along a trail 30 to 40 yards off the downwind
side of the field and still smell the does. Generally
they'll wait until dark and then move out into the fields
to eat." So, you haven’t seen the big buck
because he’s not using the same trail as the does
and the smaller bucks. The lesson: deer use several
different kinds of paths or trails. If you know what
to look for and  where
to look, you can take a stand and drastically increase
your ability to find and bag deer. Let’s take
a look at some of those trails, and try a short quiz
that’ll help separate rumor from reality.
Sometimes deer take routes through the woods without
leaving trails. Even when deer frequent a particular
area, they may not walk down a certain path as they
move through this region but instead will meander through
the woods. Often meandering trails occur where two types
of habitat pinch down a woodlot and create a funnel.
Usually deer will meander rather than take a specific
route through that funnel. For instance, if a field
or a clear cut corners the bend of a creek, the deer
only may keep 30 to 50 yards of woods between the creek
and the field where they prefer to walk, although a
large expanse of woods may lie on either side of this
small neck of woods. If the leaves have fallen on the
ground in this region, you'll find little if any deer
sign on the ground.
According to Sam Spencer, retired fisheries biologist
and longtime bowhunter from Alabama, "Hunting a
funnel that narrows down to one specific area improves
the odds of the deer coming by you, instead of their
walking past you out of range. For example, set up your
stand near where a dead tree has fallen in a funnel
area because the deer must walk around it. Any break
in the funnel where deer must pause for a shot to go
under a fence or  to
cross a stream also make productive spots for taking
deer, because the deer have to stop and think about
how to traverse the obstacle rather than danger."
Terrain Trails:
Because terrain trails concentrate deer coming and
going from two different directions onto a very narrow
path, they can work very productively for the hunter.
A hunter may discover a terrain trail in the saddle
between two mountains, because this saddle provides
the lowest place for the deer to cross the mountain
range. By taking a stand on either side of the mountain,
the hunter has the best chance to bag a buck. However,
if you place your stand in the middle of a saddle and
spook the deer, the animals may run back the way they've
come and spook other deer that come up the trail. Deer
also will walk a creek bottom or a wash through thick
cover. As Clarence Yates, from Birmingham, Alabama,
an archer who has taken more than l00 deer with his
bow, says, "Deer like the path of least resistance
just like humans do. Deer usually will cross a small
creek through an opening in the bush, just like people
will."
A path along the edge of a creek or a riverbank makes
one of the easiest types of terrain trails to find.
Traveling along the edges of water gives deer an instant
and immediate terrain break they can use to put between
danger and themselves. If hunters or other predators
spook the deer, the animals quickly and easily can jump
into the river or cross the creek and utilize water
as a barrier to protect them from their pursuers. Depending
on the trail's proximity to the creek or a pond, you
may have to wade the water and hunt from the water and/or
if possible, put up a tree stand  on
the opposite side of the creek from the trail. Or, if
you hunt a backwoods pond filled with flooded timber,
place your tree stand in one of the trees out in the
pond. Then you can approach and leave your stand by
wading the water and eliminating the human odor you
normally will leave on the ground.
Mating Trails:
Too, during the rut, a buck often will have a regular
route he travels in search of females as he expands
his territory to try and service more does.
TOMORROW: WATER, FOOD AND BEDDING
TRAIL
|
