F.I.R.E Week 5: Tracking and Sign Reading

What the Ground Tells You (If You’re Willing to Listen)

Here’s a truth I’ve learned after hundreds of days in the field:
If you’re only looking for the animal, you’re too late.

The best hunters I know don’t just “see” game, they find it through sign. Tracks, scat, rubs, scrapes, bedding, broken brush… it’s all a language. And when you learn to read it, the entire hunt opens up.

This isn’t old-school woodsmanship for the sake of nostalgia. This is tactical intel. If you can learn to read what the ground is telling you, you’ll know:

Where to slow down
Where to sit down
And where to kill

Tracks: Shape, Size, and Direction

Let’s start with the obvious: tracks. But not just “there was a deer here”. We want to ask:

When?
Where was it going?
What does that tell me?

Fresh vs. old:
Fresh tracks have sharp edges, dark centers (moisture), and clean compression. Wind-blown or dried-out prints are older, but not always useless.

Species-specific tells:

Deer: Tighter, heart-shaped. Bucks tend to have wider toe spread.
Elk: Rounder, heavier, often in groups.
Bears: Toes in front of pad; watch for drag marks and pacing.
Cats: Round, with no claw marks (they retract).

A solo track headed somewhere, with no return print? That animal’s probably still there. If it’s angled uphill early, or downhill late, that often means a move between feed and bed.

Scat: The Underrated Sign

It’s not glamorous, but scat is one of the most accurate ways to read time and diet.

Shiny, wet scat: Very fresh. You’re close.
Dry, cracked pellets: Could be hours to days old, depending on humidity.
Diet clues: Green or soft = high feed activity. Dry and fibrous = winter stress or poor forage.

Look around fresh scat: beds, tracks, hair on brush. If it’s fresh enough to shine, you should already be glassing.

Rubs, Scrapes & Rut Sign

This sign isn’t just seasonal noise. It tells you about behavior, territory, and timing.

Fresh rubs: Shiny bark, wet wood, scent often still active. If they’re on the travel route between bedding and feed, sit tight.
Scrapes: Active scrapes mean bucks are checking does. Look for fresh pawed dirt, droppings, and scent trees overhead.

I’ve patterned mature bucks during the rut using nothing but a line of active scrapes that re-lit every two days. It’s a calendar in the dirt.

Beds and Lay Zones

Finding a bed is great. But reading why it’s there is better.

Ask:

Is it wind-safe?
Is it shaded?
Can they see below them?

If so, it’s probably a mature animal’s bed. Multiple beds in a cluster = a group or herd. If the beds face multiple directions, they’ve been there a while and are likely rotating positions.

Following a Trail Without Blowing It

Following sign is different than following animals. You’re collecting intel, not bumping the game.

Here’s my approach:

Slow down when the sign gets better. You’re getting close. Slow.
Stay off the actual trail. Walk beside it to preserve evidence.
Use the wind. If you’re tracking into a bowl with falling thermals, you’re about to blow the entire setup.
Glass ahead often. Tracks aren’t a license to walk faster, they’re a cue to look harder.

I’ve tracked a good buck into a draw, backed out because of the wind, and returned two hours later to find him still there. If I’d pushed in, it would’ve been over.

Real-World Scenario

My very first archery Black Bear was my biggest to date and was even big enough to get in the Pope and Young record book. We never saw him until it was time to shoot. He left tracks and sign, otherwise you wouldn’t know he existed. We knew we were close, but never glassed him in a spotter.

Paying attention at water sources and puddles on the side of the two-track can make a world of difference and just might be the intel you need to fill the freezer and create memories that last a lifetime.

Joel’s Sign Checklist:

Track age: Sharp vs. smudged
Movement direction: To bed? To feed?
Fresh scat or urine? Shiny = very fresh
Bedding areas: Size, elevation, wind position
Rub/scrape activity: Bark color, disturbance
Hair caught on brush = recent pass-through

Final Thoughts from Joel

Reading sign slows you down, and that’s a good thing.

If you’re charging up every ridge hoping to “see something,” you’re missing what the land is already telling you. Learn to let the trail lead. Learn to look at the ground with curiosity. And trust that a single hoofprint can be the start of an entire hunt.

That wraps the Find phase of the F.I.R.E. System.

Next week, we start the “I” in F.I.R.E. Identify.
First up: Species and Sex Identification, a critical skill that separates the ethical hunter from the guesser.

Until then, stay sharp, stay slow, and read the sign.
– Joel