Whitetail tactics #1

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bleinmiller
Posts: 1
Joined: Tue Jul 05, 2016 5:45 pm

Re: Whitetail tactics #1

#11 Post by bleinmiller »

Shadowhntr wrote:Thanks for posting kirk!

We hunt an area similar to like you are describing. What we have figured out, is the people the deer are use to in the state park, are on a routine. Not so much in timing but patterns...in other words they are always on trails and road ways doing their dog walking, horse riding, hiking and so on. The deer seem to keep their distance from them, but do not get overly alarmed. Yet i can ease quietly through the timber, and they will spook like crazy. With these particular deer, we are out of the normal, and the walkers are considered normal within their routine and loosely accepted as a result by the deer. Me on the other hand, im the devil.
Thanks for adding me to the group. I really like it already. The following is a story that kind of ties in to the quoted post.

A friend of mine was targeting a certain herd of deer. He's an accomplished bowhunter and the elements were in his favor yet he still got busted each time. The farmer thought it was funny because he walked out there each day with a 5 gallon bucket to tend to his cattle, sometimes passing well within bow distance of the deer. You've probably guessed the ending by now. My friend waited for the farmers scheduled time to walk out there to coincide with the deer showing up. He walked out nonchalantly with bucket in one hand and his bow in the other and harvested the deer he had been targeting.

Obviously this isn't a repetitive hunting practice but it says a lot about how tuned in the deer are to patterns.

Stiknstring
Posts: 119
Joined: Mon Aug 13, 2012 11:25 am

Re: Whitetail tactics #1

#12 Post by Stiknstring »

I see this phenomena in the animals I pursue also (Blacktail deer and Elk)
All year long they wander unmolested through the clearcuts and along logging roads.
Posing for pictures and generally ignoring the "tourists".
We get excited about the possibilities when season opens, but then the animals disappear.
I have noticed that during summer months the animals get used to campers, loud noises, late nights, campfire smoke...
Hunting season there are different camps, quiet guys dressed in camo, no (or fewer) late nights, early morning vehicle traffic (before daylight)
Those cars that used to slow down and occasionally stop, now are parked and empty.
Hunters are now actually walking through the woods quietly, an obvious difference from what they were doing a few short weeks ago..
Sometimes it is the act of "stalking" that spooks them.
I have harvested several deer when I had ended my hunt and decided to just head back to camp, walking normal, paying no attention, then.. there is one right there!!

Captainkirk
Site Admin
Posts: 12787
Joined: Tue Aug 26, 2014 8:19 pm

Re: Whitetail tactics #1

#13 Post by Captainkirk »

First; Welcome to the gang here, Brett! Jump in, the water's fine!
Darren, this 'phenomenon' has been documented many times over the years. Deer seen leisurely strolling in fields or crossing farm roads are nowhere to be seen after the first hour of gunfire on opening morning of gun season for months to come. Animals like deer and elk are not intelligent, but they know when something is different or not right and modify their behavior. They know that some guy in camo skulking through the brush is not feeding his cows....
Aim small, miss small!

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Shadowhntr
Posts: 4614
Joined: Wed Feb 10, 2016 4:47 pm

Re: Whitetail tactics #1

#14 Post by Shadowhntr »

Ttt
The element of surprise can never be replaced by persistence.

stumper
Posts: 2688
Joined: Wed Sep 14, 2016 7:40 pm

Re: Whitetail tactics #1

#15 Post by stumper »

I just went to school.... That was awesome.
Nothing clears a troubled mind like shooting a bow.

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