TRACKS AND TRACKING 



In any and every case the hunter should examine 

 minutely the place where the game stood when 

 it was shot at. The hair cut off by the bullet is 

 often of great assistance in determining the loca- 

 tion of the wound, and the torn-up needles or 

 ground often show if the animal jumped or 

 kicked as it was shot. Remember that the suc- 

 cessful hunter is never in a hurry, and minutes 

 spent in close observation will often save hours 

 of exhausting chase. 



Later in the season, when rough winds have 

 robbed deciduous bushes of their leaves, bucks 

 generally change their day stand, abandoning 

 quaking-aspen thickets, and settling down 

 among windfalls and small coniferous trees, 

 thereby offering better chances for shots at any 

 hour of the day. Still later, during the rutting 

 season, the biggest specimens and best fighters 

 will occupy those roomy, open forests, where in 

 September and early October they make their 

 appearance only during morning and evening 

 hours. These old over-lords at this time select 

 the places of a wider view, apparently to see 

 others of their kind that may pass, to fight them 



28 



