animal signs/.

[trax]

Get out there and watch them ryleyboy, you're gonna learn a lot more than a game camera's going to teach you. In fact, you'll be surprised by the number of things that you'll learn that you never even went out there to learn, if you're paying attention.

Can't describe it for you any better than that and I'm not trying to dis' you, that's just over 40 years of doing it that way talking. Go get some dirt time, youngster.

[Beo]

Let me try this again.
You need to learn tracking skills follow them to see if they break into differeent sets of prints, get down on hands and knees and study them because tracks are like our fingerprints each is different in size-shape-depth-width-check the scat or droppings, find an intersection of deer runs and set up unseen and sitting still as if hunting and wait. Being able to sit still is a key to hunting deer, wind direction and so on. Find a deer bedding area etc, If you wanna know you gotta do some work.
each deer is different but ya gotta get out there and stay there to see them.

[fitfisherman]

you can usually tell how many deer are in an area based on tracks, beds, droppings, scrapes, etc. If the area looks like a cattle crossing then you know its heavily used.

Also doe tracks are pointed at the toe, and buck tracks are more rounded. Keep that in mind next time you are looking at tracks.

During the pre rut and rut times 1 buck can trash an entire area shredding brush, tearing up the ground with his horns etc. Sometimes 1 deer will do a lot of damage.

Basicallly I look for an intersection of several trails, or a natural funnel in close proximity to a food and water source. Also keep in mind deer are creatures of edges so look for transition zones. i.e. edge of a swamp, hardwood to evergreen transistion, ridges etc.

[sobeit]

A camer trap will only shoe the deer that walk in frount of it. If you watche you will see the deer that are around the area.

[Ole WV Coot]

You just gotta get out there and spend some time. Like I said besides deer there are plenty of smaller animals, insects, trees, weeds and just about everything you see. Even take a good look at different rocks and identify their composition. The woods are like a huge book that can be learned only by study, observation and personal experience. You don't ever learn everything, it's a lifetime process you will never finish.

[Ameriborn]

As with what everyone else is saying,(for the most part, *CoughRickCrashTraxBeoCough*) get out there and observe. You also need to learn how to track them. Plus, being outdoors is a great way to learn about much more than just animal sign. You can observe all of the animals in the area, as well as possibly learning how some of the animals make a living. (Something catching something, something eating something, etc.)

Also, didn't you say you lived in Saskatchewan (Sp?)? Isn't that enough to already know?

[flandersander]

You need to learn tracking skills follow them to see if they break into differeent sets of prints, get down on hands and knees and study them

Last time I did that, I put my hand, then knee, then foot in deer droppings.

[crashdive123]

Last time I did that, I put my hand, then knee, then foot in deer droppings.

I would have stopped after my hand....but hey, that's just me.

[Ryleyboy]

i was just at the lake and i did find out that there was more than a couple deer,, thanks for the tips guys.

[Beo]

Last time I did that, I put my hand, then knee, then foot in deer droppings.

So what, deer scat is part of tracking, I have picked it up to check its wetness, to see the insides to determine age, its part of tracking and comes off when you wash your hands. If your not willing to get dirty or pick up a little deer scat then don't track and hunt and leave the deer alone.
Sounds rude I know, not meant that way. But its part of becoming a really good tracker and will seperate you from just an average hunter.
There have been times when I sat in a blind, tree stand, or stalked for hours on end and saw no deer, but I did see a beaver gnawing on a tree and swimming around its den, seen a hawk take a field mouse, seen a mother fox teaching its kit, watched the birds in the area as they are good indicators when something is moving, watched squirrels and rabbits. A humming bird fluttering over a flower and drinking it in. Then I have seen deer move along fence lines, swim a river, a doe with its fawns grazing, a buck circle the edge of a field from the treeline watching for things before entering. A mink scurring along a a game trail, coyotes sniff across a field and dig things up and even seen them run a deer down and drop on it from a ledge on the bank of a river, and the best thing was two whitetail bucks fighting in late November during rut.
The thing is if I can see that here in Ohio... I know if you do your homework and practice your skills you can see this in wilds of Canada.
Beo,

[Ryleyboy]

so your saying you saw all that by just sitting in a tree stand?.

[Beo]

Yes. sitting in a tree stand, ground blind, or stalking slowly and qiuetly through the woods.
Not all at one time in one day but over my years of hunting that and more. You seem to be under the impression that the animals are going to just come walking to you when your in the woods for an hour or so, it ain't gonns happen. Without sounding like a fruit cake, you gotta blend in and become apart of the woods, stay still, be quiet, look with your eyes (not turning your head) and turn your head real slow if you do, listen to the woods don't just hear them, let nature come back to life around you as it will get quiet when you enter.
Stalking is an art, its just not following trails and sign.