Happy Trails

Tracking down a deer in the snow and then killing him is one of the toughest ways to bag a buck. To be successful, you first have to be confident in your abilities to navigate through large tracts of rugged terrain, and you have to be able to read fresh deer sign accurately.

There are several regions of the country where the method is viable. The upper Midwest is one, with its large tracts of snow-covered northern hardwood/mixed conifer forest. In the Northeast, Maine, New York, New Hampshire and New Brunswick are generally recognized as big buck hideouts, and each autumn hunters from these areas prove their tracking skills by tagging hundreds of racked bucks.

And it is in the Granite State where a group of snow trackers specializes in tracking down mature deer--bucks that dress out over 200 pounds. Here's how they do it.

Jim Glidden

It was no accident that Jim Glidden was one of the seven founding fathers of the New Hampshire Skull and Antler Trophy Club. Glidden, now 54, tracked down his first whitetail when he was a mere 17 years of age. By 1985 he had the state record eight-pointer--a 200-plus pound, 150-class behemoth with six-inch bases. To date he has tracked down and killed 15 bucks that weighed more than 200 pounds from New Hampshire, and another five or so from Vermont and Maine. An incredible feat.

“The best conditions for tracking deer occur from peak rut to just after the rut has peaked, and after a night of heavy snowfall,” says Glidden. “If you can be in the woods at first light just as the storm is letting up, you'll find that rutting bucks were moving all during the storm looking for the last few does to breed. This is my favorite time to be afield.”

If the buck has paired up with an estrous doe, Glidden prefers to follow them for a bit and let the two consummate their relationship. To get a shot, however, he says you usually have to separate them--otherwise you have four eyes, four ears and two noses to contend with.

Once they split, get between the buck and the doe. Unless she is near the end of her cycle, the buck will always come back looking for the doe. He just hates to leave her.

It sounds simple, but how do you even know if a buck is in the 200-pound class?

“You can look at the size of the track, but that can be deceiving,” says Glidden. “Over the years I have learned that under normal walking conditions, a 200-pound mature buck has at least a two-foot stride. I actually measure the stride when I am on the trail, from the tip of the front hoof print to the heel of the rear hoof print. If the stride is 231⁄2 to 24 inches, the buck will weigh only 190 pounds dressed.”

This measuring technique is not only a great way to judge body size but can also be used to help you stay on the trail when the buck walks through the tracks of several does and fawns, or when it is snowing so hard all you have for tracks are dimples in the snow.