Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Wary/Stupid Game

I've never been able to tolerate hunting or fishing with men who feel the need to whoop and holler when they connect with their quarry. Seems disrespectful to an extreme to me.

Accidentally pulled up close and stopped, on the ATV, something around 50 ft. Nice 8 pt. buck. I got the look from the buck, along with both hearing antenna turn directly at me. Just sat on the ATV. Got bit of wee tail flare also. I did not move, and sit there quietly.

In several seconds he relaxed. The buck was eating leaves off a small beech. Some he would bite off and spit out, some leaves he would chew. Sugar thing I think, carbs? I slowly reached down and shut off the ignition. Got the look again, and the antenna array, no tail flare at all. Several seconds went by, buck relaxed and continued eating.

Started the ATV, got the look and antenna again. Noticed only one ear turned my way, the other off to behind me, 90 degrees.The buck relaxed quicker. Turned the ignition off, All I got that time, was one ear arrayed my direction. I assume no look because my position had not changed . I do not know what a deer thinks or learns, but I sure concentrate for a way to turn a situation my advantage when hunting them.

Decided to play with the buck a bit. Knuckle thumped gas tank cover. Got the look and antenna array, no tail flare. Got the stare, then relaxed again in short seconds.

Don't remember sequence for sure, but a simulation follows: Tried about six different sounds I could make on the ATV, without changing my silhouette. The first 2 or 3 sounds,got a look and antenna array. Buck goes back to his leaf selection routine. After a bit of that, all I got from the buck was a brief ear flick. Assume he was monitoring my location.

Edit to add, for what it is worth, correcting typos also:
Buck continued on with his leaf chewing. I sit there trying to think of something that would get his attention and a typical close reaction of mature deer. Happened to look downward, and there was a short, dry stick about the size of your finger laying in the trail, within reach. I slowly leaned over (petrified speed), watching the buck. Slowly moved upright, then cracked the stick. Instantly at the sound, the buck was gone.

Anyone ever use a horse or decoy of some kind to get or bring within kill range.

I think it is a predator/prey instinct embedded, that allows the particular species adaptability to learn how to survive. A combination of inherent genetics to adapt successfully to a particular environment. Over genetic generations, the probability to adapt should increase, less any catastrophic change in the environment.

We also use the same predator/prey genetics when working with livestock, pets, varmints, etc. The learning comes from being successful or not. Some young learn from parent, some don't. Does not mean their genetic adaptability bad or good, just means they weren't successful for that situation.

Man, I had a lot of bad typos in this, .

I've been watching deer on my land for quite awhile.
I killed the first deer on my property using a flintlock, and wearing jeans and flannel after running a chainsaw all day. I reeked of gas,bar oil and sweat. With no pressure, they were easy to hunt.
Now, by muzzleloader season they are usually wary and I need to exercise scent control and be in head to toe camo with no visible skin showing. By the time modern firearms season comes in, I have 1-2 days to connect before every deer goes 100% nocturnal (based on hundreds of game camera photos over 3 years in the same spot). I will not see any deer in daytime (even in photos) until sometime in April when they'll re-emerge to enjoy the garden and legume crops.

+1 on Poodles comments.
The area we hunt deer, they get used to the loggers (noise, smell, movement,road traffic) during the summer. Come October they (and elk) seem to feed in those areas especially ridge tops where they have a clear view in most directions in morning and evening. Daytime it is into the bottom for a nap and water at creeks, seeps.

They learn our patterns just like we TRY to learn theirs. Yesterday afternoon I was coming home at about 1500 from our hunting club after doing some testing of new loads and a mile or so down the road saw a nice 8 point. Half way home there is a power line ROW where someone has planted a food plot and there were already three deer on it. Wouldn't have seen that so early in the day a couple of weeks ago.

Years ago I read an article written by a bow hunter who always hunted by stalk. He insisted that deer were only fearful of preditors(sp). That preditors gave off particular odors that deer could detect and would flee from.

He claimed that he stopped all meat consumption in his diet during the Spring of each year and ate only vegetables and cooked only with vegetable oils. This way he could hunt without concern for wind direction or noise and make close shots on his quarry. Claimed great success by this method.

Not sure how I feel about those claims but maybe theres something there.

I am pretty sure some tree hugger sends our whitetail copies of our hunting seasons.
For weeks before the season, you can watch any number of bucks wandering around during daylight.
Soon as the season opens, NADA!
We can't hunt at night, nor with dogs, so when you're on your way home AFTER dark, or walking the dog....well you get the picture.

I ever catch that tree huggin' pecker.....


Later...

That is funny. Yea, the game knows Akfker is gonna gitem so they just offer up their souls to him- no sense in running.

Same in Polk co just east of you.

Pat, I was amazed 40 yrs ago hunting squirrels in Piney Creek bottom. When there had been a die-off and they were scarce you might see one off through the timber a way. Sneak in and have a seat against a trunk and wait 30 min. and it would shoot out a limb and jump, hauling azz after hitting the ground or through the trees. They get wary when scarce, as coyotes are in West Texas now. Only the smartest are still alive after this drought has decimated the rabbit and quail populations.

Where I started hunting at last season, the older deer have gotten
really wary of the boxes. They'll just stick part of their head out in the clear
and scope out the box, if they make out your silhouette, they'll just hit reverse
and back right up. And most of the blinds have been in the same spots for way
too many years - the crossings have moved to almost half way between the boxes,
too far to shoot from either in a lot of cases. Makes it interesting

I've been almost lynched a couple of times, warning people about mature whitetails and whisker buscuits. I don't even try anymore. Ultimately they always come back with a sad "You told me so." story.

yeah, I read that too, tried for a week before mule deer hunting, and it didn't work

Many times in my life I have contemplated the wide range in difference in difficulty in killing a deer in normal east Texas timber country and that in central, south or west Texas. I figured it was 5-10 times harder there. Most other country has areas you can sit and glass and stalk to within 300 yds for a shot. In the forest, 70 yds can be a long shot and deer are very difficult to get that close to, unless on a very restricted property with blinds and feeders.

PS Brush country in south Texas can be impenetrable unless you belly crawl real good, but there, elevated stands or senderos allow long range interdiction of moving deer.

Mmmm...yep. Several times the past couple years I wanted to bust a doe, but there was a nice young buck there that had future potential, and I didn't want the buck to associate noise/blood smells with the area. Only time will tell if it makes a difference

If one includes fish in this topic, I have noticed, when I was seriously bass fishing, that a hot new lure would come along and be the hot ticket for a given area or lake. Then a couple years later something else was suddenly the hot lure. I always suspected that lures get "hot" when soemthing new comes along, that is genetically attractive to some % of the population. After that group is either caught and eaten, or caught and learns to avoid the lures in question, the success rate on that lure declines. That's my theory, anyhow

Yea, I've eaten chlorophyll till I had the runs for weeks before archery elk and hunted without a speck of leather on me, clean clothes, bathed and soaked in scent killer, bow and arrows sprayed down, underwear soaked in scent k. and doused with , baking soda, gargled with baking soda and then h2o2, Shower cap over hair and ears, clean cap, clean knife and azz---you better be downwind. I have had young bucks sniff around a little while downwind and put up with it. I wish I knew whether the ion machine seen on a tv show really works.

I think it's a combo...pressure and genetics. Every place I hunt has pretty high pressure. I think that effects most deer especially later in the season.

I think some individuals are just wound tighter as well... In one place I hunted there was a doe that every time I saw her she was walking on egg shells, sniffing, looking, moving slow, even when the rest of the group of does she was with were care free...I only saw her with other deer a couple of times, most of the time she was by herself. She always looked nervous. I didn't see her nearly as much as the other does. It makes sense that her offspring would be like her, be it genetics or learned behavior.

I seen many deer approach a dead deer. Have never figured it out. I have seen four bucks gore and stomp bucks that I've shot, until I've run them off, 3 were firearm kills, one an archery kill. Two came back and watched from a distance while field dressing, kept a close eye on them. I watched a mature doe stomp and strike another mature doe that was archery kill. Deer went down out of sight. Heard the ruckus before having downed deer and other in view. When I could see, it appeared the doe stomping, grunting, and screaming ( best description I can give for sound, lot higher pitched than a bleat). Don't recall hearing a deer ever making that sound before or after. I thought the doe doing the stomping was berserk. Maybe she was, just don't know. She did run off when I walked steadily at her. Some tell me it's some kind of dominance show. Not sure I buy into that, but might be one reason.

Have shot deer out of a herd, where other deer in the vicinity would come back and approach the downed deer. In human thought, it appears be some kind of curiosity thing. Once they are satisfied with whatever their brain tells them, some will leave entirely, and some will go on doing what they were doing before, without leaving the vicinity. Can't recall ever seeing any of these approach the downed deer twice. Have noticed those downwind of the dead deer appear more nervous than deer approaching upwind, and take longer to settle down. Is there such a thing as the 'smell' of death? Could it be odor of wounded flesh, or blood? Do dead deer release some kind of pheromone from their glands? Beats me what the answer is?

In this area where hunt, it seems if a female 3 generation herd, dominant doe, yearlings, and years young, given time to settle down will return and approach the downed doe. The other group members seem reluctant to abandon what appears to be matriarch leader. Some or one of them will approach completely to dead doe to smell the body, or watch what the other deer do, and imitate likewise. Human thought tells me their actions seems to be confusion, doubt, anxiety, a what do we do thing if you will. That bit of behavior here, can result in filling two meat tags, if you got enough patience and room for the additional meat. Our deer here do talk to each other vocally, but more muted and not as often as I've heard mule deer vocalize at times.

Many times I don't think a deer knows what it is going to do, until it takes the next step, .