Deer can’t count: Use this to your advantage.

This buck stood, watched us get out of a car, & then it pulled away. He came back.

It can happen in October, November or December. People fall into a daily routine, and within two or three days, whitetails have the hunter  patterned.

This doesn't help a sportsman's chances to score on a nice buck. The deer may see you climb into the tree or while approaching the area. Deer often spot people on their  way to a stand, especially if they are arriving late, and they stand and watch the hunter climb into the stand, fasten up the safety strap and wiggle into a comfortable spot.

What happens next is they seldom show up during legal shooting time. It was proved to a hunting buddy last year.

A strategy to avoid spooking deer.

He'd shot a doe that night, and it ran into the woods for 50 yards before dying. We followed the deer after sundown, and it was my suggestion that he look near the edges of the heavy cover.

"You'll see deer beds everywhere within 20 yards of the cover edge," I said. "Those deer watch you walk in from the road, and see you climb into your stand. The deer have patterned your daily actions."

Shifting from one stand to another, and never hunting the same stand two nights in a row, eliminates some of the problems. It's difficult to sneak into anywhere when snow covers  the ground, but one trick that does work in farmland country is for one person in a four-wheeler or a can drop the other hunter off.

Deer never have learned to count. If they see a pickup truck or four-wheeler ATV pull into the area, and both people get out while while one climbs into position to hunt and the other person drives off, the animals figure that everyone has driven away and it's safe to head out to feed.

Two walk or ride to a stand, stop, drop one off, mill around and then move on.

Later in the evening, a hunter may be sitting in the tree, pinned down by nearby animals. The hunter can't move without being seen so they remain motionless.

A vehicle comes in and someone jumps out, moves around a bit, and the deer run off, frightened by the vehicle. The hunter in the stand climbs down, retrieves his hunting gear, and they ride off together.

In both instances, the moving vehicle is what moves the deer away. The vehicle is what spooks the deer, and it's never the human element that scares them off.

It's the vehicle that spooks the deer, not the hunter climbing down in front of a deer. The deer see a person climb into the vehicle, and they are none the wiser.

Let a vehicle or other people moving around spook deer. A vehicle is really best.

Often, our deer are gone by full dark. We can then climb down and walk out without spooking the animals.

We've found that slowly driving in to drop someone off or to pick them up doesn't unduly spook the animals. Talking does scare  them, and I've always advocated doing all the talking while in the vehicle with the windows shut.

The stress of human intrusion can be caused by a variety of reasons. If deer traditionally bed near a stand, and they see a human day after day climb into a stand, they get more than a little edgy. It can halt all travel in that area  for the day.

Changing stands, changing arrival and departure times at a hunting spot, or giving a stand a rest for several days, will allow deer to settle down and not be as spooky as before.

Hunters should have two or three ways into each ground or tree stand, and an equal number of ways to leave the area. The less stress we place on deer, the easier they are to hunt.

Whatever hunters can do to reduce human impact on deer, the better their hunting will be. The more stress we place on the animals, the poorer our hunting becomes.

Try a new approach with your deer hunting this season. Move about, change the time you arrive or leave, and whenever possible, arrange for someone to drop you off and then return to pick you up. It doesn't solve every hunting problem, but just remember, deer can't count.

If they see two arrive, and the vehicle then leaves, they assume that everyone has left. It a simple hunting concept that can really work.

Title: Deer can’t count: Use this to your advantage.

Tags: ((Dave, Richey, Michigan, outdoors, motorized, vehicle, spook, deer, drive, off, deer, can’t, count, success))

Posted via email from Dave Richey Outdoors