Can You Tell Bucks From Does by Their Tracks?

When deer are running, their “dewclaws’ will also make a track impression. Dewclaws are the small appendages just behind the hoof. (IMAGE: National Deer Association)

By Matt Ross – National Deer Association

A lot can be learned from investigating deer tracks where you hunt. I’ll even go as far as saying that deer tracks could be the number one type of deer sign to look for when you simply want an idea how many deer are using an area. However, can you explicitly tell a whitetail buck from a doe by their tracks?

Like their droppings, deer tracks come in a variety of sizes – but only a single, universal shape. Let’s take the next step to see what type of information we can garner from the fancy footwork they lay down on the daily.

Two-Toed Terminology

A deer’s foot consists of two larger crescent-shaped keratinous halves and two dewclaws (short appendages behind and just up from the hoof itself). When pressed into the dirt, their hoof leaves a heart-shaped track that is split in half, with the bottom or sharp end of the “heart” pointing in the direction the deer is traveling.

When the dirt is soft, or when the deer is running at high speed, the hooves will be spread farther apart, and the dewclaws will be visible. CLICK HERE TO READ FULL ARTICLE