Perhaps it was taking an unfair advantage, but when I found another deer in almost the same circumstances, I shot it before it was aware of its danger. With the first deer, I was hunting for knowledge and experience; and with the second, I was out for meat. Probably some of the other deer which I have stalked were asleep before I saw them and some sound or scent had alerted them to danger but not enough to cause them to leave their beds. I have found these sleeping and resting deer comparatively easy to stalk, but it requires a lot of time and concentration on the job at hand as well as trained eyesight in order to be successful. Many hunters cannot or will not do this.

A friend of mine, who is an excellent hunter and who has killed his share of deer, tells me that he has never had a standing shot at a deer in the woods. They have always been on the move. This speaks well for his marksmanship and his eyesight must be good, but evidently his eyes are not trained to identify stationary objects.

Feeding deer are considerably easier to stalk than resting deer, mostly because their feeding motions make them easier to see and because they are partly preoccupied with their feeding. This is no reason for any slackening of caution while attempting to approach feeding deer.

The presence of tracks around an area is often help in stalking deer, but if the hunter concentrates on these tracks, he is apt to miss seeing the deer until it is too late for an aimed shot. The idea of using tracks as an aid to stalking is not to trail a deer to its bed or feeding area, but to use these tracks to obtain some idea of where the deer might be located. Knowledge of habits and of the surrounding country is necessary for the successful use of these tracks and other signs as aids in locating deer without the need of following the tracks to them.

Another man and I were portaging from one pond to another on a late summer day. He led with a pack and I followed with the canoe on my shoulders. My view was obscured by the canoe and my eyes were on the trail in order to insure safe footing. When I saw fresh deer tracks in the trail, I began to speculate about where the deer might be going and why they were traveling at that time of day. I spoke to my companion and told him to watch for deer at a spring that was a short distance along the trail. When we came in sight of the spring, there were a doe and a fawn.

This is an example of the type of reasoning which should be used in order to take advantage of tracks while stalking deer. I knew the location of the spring. I knew that the deer would not be moving at that time without some reason. It was not feeding time and the deer were walking, a fact which indicated that they had left their beds of their own accord. The logical reason for such actions was to obtain a drink of water. I would not advise a hunter to stalk the nearest spring whenever he saw a fresh deer track, because each individual case presents a separate problem and each case requires a different solution.

The successful stalking of, bedded deer is a task for the expert?the specialist of the hunting fraternity. The novice will have more success in stalking feeding deer. This should not deter the novice, or restrict his stalking activity. He should attempt all types of hunting, for this is the only way that he can improve his ability to the point where he becomes an expert.

The feeding deer may looks easier to stalk but it doesn't mean that you have to slacken the caution while attempting to approach feeding deer. And try using the present track in stalking the deer because they could of good use to the hunters.

It is good for a hunter to stalk the nearest spring whenever he saw a fresh deer track, because each individual case presents a separate problem and each case requires a different solution. The successful stalking of, bedded deer is a task for the expert?the specialist of the hunting fraternity.