Dr. Ken Nordberg's Sign Guides

Set of Twelve Laminated Pocket-Sized Field Guide Cards in a Non-Glare Poly-Pocket

$9.95 per Set

Almanac & Sign Guide Order Form (PDF)

A Valuable Hunting Tip:

In fall white-tailed bucks 3-1/2 to 6-1/2 years of age (few survive past age 7) are much larger animals than bucks 2-1/2 years of age. Bucks 2-1/2 years of age are much larger animals than adult does, 2-1/2 to 13-1/2 years of age (does typically survive much longer than bucks). Yearling bucks are about the same size as adult does. Yearling bucks and adult does are significantly larger animals than yearling does and yearling does are much larger animals than fawns. Logically, then, each of these classes of whitetails has hoofs, droppings and beds that are different in size (length) than the hoofs, droppings and beds of the other whitetail classes, and thus each of these classes of whitetails can be identified by measuring the lengths of their tracks, droppings and beds. The odds of erring when identifying whitetails in this manner are extremely low. By limiting hunting to trails or sites where very fresh signs of a certain size are found, the hunter can actually key on any one of these classes of whitetails, bucks 3-1/2 to 6-1/2 years of age, for example.

Card Descriptions:

Track Guide — Use to measure the track length, thus giving an accurate estimate of deer class.

Droppings Guide — Front used to identify whitetail classes from dropping lengths; back explains meanings of sizes, appearance, distribution and relative age of droppings.

Bed Guide — Front used to identify whitetail classes from bed lengths; back explains characteristics of buck and doe family bedding areas and how and when to hunt them.

Antler Rub Guide — Front illustrates and explains five kinds of antler rubs; back explains purposes of antler rubs and when, why and where they are made.

Ground Scrape Guide — Front and back illustrate and explain various kinds of ground scrapes, explain which bucks make which scrapes, when, why and where, and provide hunting tips.

Range Guide — Front and back illustrate and describe typical buck and doe family home ranges, dominant buck breeding ranges and lesser buck temporary ranges.

Feeding Area Guide — Front and back describe graze, browse and special food feeding areas and provide tips for hunting deer using them.

Activity Cycle Guide — Front and back explain how five of the most profound of forty-three factors affect the timing of whitetail activity cycles, enabling the hunter to more thoroughly exploit periods when the odds for hunting success are most favorable.

Buck Stand Site Guide — Front and back describe fifteen buck stand sites, illustrate where to find them and explain best times to use them.

Wounded Deer Guide — Front and back provide proven methods for recovering deer that do not quickly drop upon being hit with a bullet or arrow.

Field Dressing Guide — Front and back provide illustrations and instructions for properly field dressing a deer, thus enhancing the quality of venison.

Rut Calendar Guide — Front and back explain characteristic signs and activities of the five phases of the whitetail rut (first described by Dr. Nordberg), triggering factors and where to hunt bucks during each phase.

John Nordberg — “These are great! The Fall Tracks Sign Guide is the most important. Measuring tracks this last season (2004) let us know that there were three bucks in one area. My brother ken got the medium-sized buck first. But we knew to keep hunting the area because a bigger one was there. We were positive because of only a fraction of difference in the hoof size. Silver got the bigger one. They were shot about 200 – 300 yards apart within about 4 or 5 days of each other. Man, what a payoff for simply measuring track size! If you do not field dress deer on a regular basis, you will be very happy to have this Sign Guide and a good knife with you. In our group, because of my Dad and my brother Dave, practically no one else field dresses. They just jump in and do it. In 2001, I got a nice buck right at dusk. It was cold and raining hard — just miserable conditions. I knew I had about 5 to 10 minutes of good light and I knew no one would be able to help me with the buck until well after dark. I wanted to field dress it quickly. I hadn't field dressed a buck in years so I pulled out my Field Dressing Sign Guide, my knife, my flashlight and did a clean job in less than 10 minutes. If you ever wound a buck or have a kill shot where the deer runs a fair distance, it is always good to pull out the Wounded Deer Sign Guide and review it before you make a mistake. It might be easy to just start chasing the deer. You have to have a cool head and make all of the right moves. In a rainy situation with no snow — you might not have time to get your group's best tracker and have to do this very skilled task yourself.”

Dr. Ken Nordberg's Sign Guides make great gifts too!