How To Spot Fresh Deer Sign

For seasoned hunters, it’s probably not an issue, but what about those new to hunting? Or maybe you’ve hunted the same family property for years and haven’t had to do a ton of scouting. Fresh sign might be easy to spot if you’ve been hunting most of your life, but if you haven’t, you might struggle to tell the difference between a rub that was made three months ago versus one made within the last week. This distinction might not seem that important, but it can actually determine whether or not you fill your tag.

Reading sign constitutes a large part of deer hunting. Learn how to interpret the sign, and you’ll find success in the deer woods. Whether you’re new to hunting or trying your hand at DIY hunts, here’s what “fresh sign” looks like and how to spot it.

So what makes deer sign “fresh” or old? Well, it depends. A rub or tracks could be recent, but they might not be new enough to help you now. It’s great to find a scrape or rub that was made this deer season, but that intel might not help you until the following season.

For the sake of this article, let’s assume that “fresh sign” refers to deer sign made within the last seven days. Deer sign this recent will prove most beneficial for public land hunters, weekend warriors, or folks hitting the road for an out-of-state hunt.

A deer track is an easy example of deer sign you can spot. However, aging them might not be as obvious. Weather and habitat conditions can make it difficult to determine when deer actually made certain tracks. If you’re hunting in an area like a river bottom, where the habitat stays wet most of the year, those tracks might look fresh. However, a closer inspection might tell you otherwise.

Look for leaves and debris inside the track. If there aren’t any and the edges of the track still have a defined edge to them, it’s probably fresh. But, if you do find debris and other things inside the track, it’s probably not super recent. Also, if you spot water inside the track and it hasn’t rained recently or the ground is soaked, this should tell you it’s not super fresh either.

Fresh tracks can become even more difficult to spot if you’re focusing on creek crossings too. The tracks in the creek or river might look fresh, but that’s because the ground stays wet. In this instance, check the creek or river banks where the deer cross. How do those tracks or slide marks compare to the creek bed? If they’re fresh, the dirt, sand, mud, etc., should still be somewhat loose. If they’ve started to dry, the deer probably haven’t hit that crossing recently.

While not always the case, droppings can tell you where the deer have been feeding, meandering, or staging. During the early season, fresh droppings can help you take advantage of the hot feed tree tactic that gets preached that time of year. Depending on the conditions and habitat, fresh droppings should still appear moist.

If you’re in the timber and you come across scat that isn’t covered by leaves and still looks wet, it’s probably fresh. If the droppings look dry, have been covered by leaves, or there’s only a few pieces here and there, it’s probably old sign, and you should keep looking.

Of course, high temperatures and rain can give the illusion that the droppings you’ve found are either older or newer than you think. In this case, you might have to get your hands dirty. Not literally, you can probably use a stick to further inspect if you’re not sure.

Nothing like a fresh rub will give you the confidence that you’re doing something right, especially if you find it in a place where a mature buck might daylight. Plus, they’re just plain cool.

You can quickly discern between this year’s rubs and last year’s. But last month’s and last week’s might not seem so apparent. A rub made within the last week will still have shavings at the base of the tree, and depending on the temperatures, it should still have green around the edges of the scarring or sap oozing from it.

If you don’t see any shavings and the rubbed part doesn’t appear moist, it’s probably been several weeks since a buck rubbed that tree. That might help you estimate when a buck rubbed that tree and plan for next year, but it might not immediately put you on that buck.

Like rubs, scrapes provide hard evidence that deer visited that spot at some point. Recent scrapes shouldn’t have many or any leaves in them (unless it’s been super windy). You should see dirt scattered on the leaves just outside the scrape where the deer raked it back. If it’s wet, you should still clearly see drag marks from the deer’s hooves inside the scrape too. Older scrapes won’t have drag marks, and you’ll probably notice several leaves covering the bare earth too.

When you spot a scrape from the past six to twelve hours, you’ll know it. If it’s been dry, you might even see exactly where a buck pissed in the scrape. Other times you might see it in the leaves on the edge of the scrape. If you’ve never seen deer pee before, it’s dark like Coke or Pepsi. If it’s that fresh and you’re near cover, you might consider hunting there immediately.

You can also look at the licking branch to see if it’s been broken. Like a rub, the coloration of the broken limbs should tell you how recently a buck visited that scrape. If the broken parts have turned brown, it’s not super fresh.

One of my favorite things about deer hunting deals with sign and interpreting it. It makes those successful hunts that much more rewarding. Nothing will give you a confidence boost like finding sign, formulating a plan, and executing it based on your woodsmanship.

Even if you don’t kill a deer but you encounter them, you should still feel confident knowing that you’re on the right track. Reading the sign takes practice, but it’ll make you a more efficient hunter in the long run.