Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting Are deer afraid of helicopters?

This should make some Idaho hunters ecstatic. During the next 6 weeks the Idaho Nat. Guard will be flying helicopter maneuvers in hunting unit 40. They will be making both day and night flights and landings.
That unit is in the Owyhee Mtns south of Boise and is a very popular hunting unit. Last year over 1200 deer came out of there.

Here's a link to the story: HELICOPTERS

I've seen a few deer flying out to the rigs in the gulf.
They never even look up at us but they have helicopters flying over them daily.

Yes, but not as much as blue tape.....

I think they are afraid. Have never seen one waiting in line to take the helo ride when the fair is in town.

Helicopters flying from point A to point B usually don't bother them. Helicopters at game census altitudes will put then to flight, most of the time. I wouldn't lose any sleep over it.

Few critters learn to ignore noises that won't hurt them faster than deer. I would not sweat it.

Besides, what can you do about it? I would not change plans for that reason.

I was a flight medic on a UH-1H in the late 80's and early 90's, only time it seemed to matter is when we were flying 'nap of the earth' drills, which we only did over a military base anyway. At normal altitude, I wouldn't worry much.

Deer are generally only afraid of helicpters and blue tape if they have been harrassed by helicopters and blue tape.


Or maybe it's helicopters wrapped in blue tape.....oh, whatever......


Casey

I know they're very used to them at Ft Indiantown Gap (where I'm from) because they mostly ignore them.

Not if they live near a helicopter base.

Otherwise deer are afraid of their own shadow.

I know I am.
I hate them.
you know what leaking fluids inside a helicopter means?
it runs.

The biologists that I've talked to tell me that the older desert bucks tend to duck under trees when helicopters appear. Apparently so do older desert rams. This makes getting an accurate census count more difficult.
But they don't leave the areas where they were living. E

I never thought of helo's... now I know why its so hard to kill a moose where we hunt. Helo's, bush planes, Ft Greely firing its big guns all the time... dang moose are scared of em. LOL.

I do know moose mostly go the other way from ATVs though.. thats for damn sure, they can run the moose quite a ways away if you are to lazy to get out and walk just a BIT..... .25 mile is generally more than enough and be patient.

Helos-- wouldn't even give them a second thought personally.....

The noise will bother you more than any deer

One of the places I hunt in NM, is right under an area that fighter pilots train in. Lots of low level noise and the occasional sonic boom as they do there manuvers. The deer and elk don't even flinch. They are also totally undisturbed by ranch hands driving around in the old rattletrap ranch trucks or logging trucks with no mufflers. But if a hunter comes sneaking along and steps on a twig, they will high tail it. They know danger comes quitely.