Tracking animals through a fresh blanket of snow is a fun and, oftentimes, productive way to hunt them. But if you’re not able to age a track, you could walk all day and never catch up with the animal that left it. Justin Richins, of R&K Hunting Company, spends a lot of time tracking elk and mule deer through the ample snow that falls in Utah and Wyoming over the course of those states’ hunting seasons.
In this video, he shares some of the tricks he uses in determining whether to follow a track or to move on until he cuts another one. Richins gives the CSI treatment to a set of elk tracks here, but his tactics apply to any game animal, including whitetails. If you’re still trying to fill your deer tag, take heed to Richins’ advice and you just might walk up a buck before your season ends.