Many experienced whitetail hunters believe they can tell a buck’s track from a doe’s. They say a buck’s hoof lobes splay, sometimes so much that the front of the track is wider than the rear. But a heavy old doe often has splayed hooves.

Both bucks and does run with a rocking horse motion, causing the hind prints sometimes to register ahead of the foreprints and forming a slightly zigzag line. Tracks don’t bunch up in the manner of a bounding mule deer—except in deep snow, which forces high leaps. The trail will likely be 5 or 6 inches wide and the walking stride a foot or so long. Running strides may be stride 6 feet or more.