Deer patterning us.

[Duck dogn]

I didn't want to post this on the walking in thread to steal his topic but have you all had deer patern you as far as movement and time? I was watching seek one hunting the other day and he sat like 40 some odd times before he realized the buck patterned him. With that being said a group of us hunted mornings and evenings growing up on this farm so I decided I would let a guy hunt my stand that morning and for him to call me and I would hunt from when he left til he came back that eve. I seen more good deer that day than any given day in the woods killed my biggest buck to date that day. I think the deer knew when we left each day who knows?

 

[huvrman]

It's no secret deer pattern us. The older a deer gets, the better he gets at it. many a deers been busted by a hunter who sits tight while his buddies all take off for an early lunch and nap.

 

[mike243]

They absolutely will pattern us and move their travel route and might be shorter than you think, they will move over where they cant see the tree you were in or maybe farther away where they feel comfortable you are not a threat, have seen deer looking at spots where I was busted and they will circle that spot to continue on, maybe that's because its funnels ect and not a lot of other ways to go . the older deer will move the first time you bump them not on the 2-5th time also, reckon that's 1 reason they get some age on them

 

[akachuck]

I completely agree with mike243. I've had deer bust me before and not come back around that area for weeks at a time.

 

[BSK]

Yes, deer pattern us and adjust. However, for me the problem isn't just shifting their travel patterns a bit. It's deer, especially older bucks, going nocturnal. As I posted recently, I wouldn't need to know what day opening of deer season is. Just look at the trail cam pictures, find the date most of the movement suddenly shifted to the night time hours, then back up 48 hours. That would be opening day. It takes all of 2 days for deer to figure out they're being hunted and shift heavily towards nocturnal movement.

 

[backyardtndeer]

I hunt our farm that we live on. We have treelines on three sides with a wooded gully behind the house a little over a hundred yards away. I have pulled my binoculars out too many times to count and glassed the edge to the right of our house, about 125 yards away. Several times I watched deer on that side watching me. There oaks on that line and often times have a communal scrape. Could just be the deer are there picking up acorns and the timing is coincidental, don't know. I do know using an atv for pickups and dropoffs can help minimize the deer watching a person climb up or down a ladder.

 

[JCDEERMAN]

Absolutely. Our main travel trails are on top of 4 ridge tops. Any time you are hunting, if you carefully observe deer, you will notice they are scanning up and down our trails for anything that might be on it. Same for food plots. They will constantly keep an eye on those trails while they are feeding. Some mornings walking in, we will bust a few deer early on in our hikes, giving you the sense that they were waiting to see if you left that ole rustic cabin at the top of the hill. They aren't fools

 

[Dennis]

Yes, deer pattern us and adjust. However, for me the problem isn't just shifting their travel patterns a bit. It's deer, especially older bucks, going nocturnal. As I posted recently, I wouldn't need to know what day opening of deer season is. Just look at the trail cam pictures, find the date most of the movement suddenly shifted to the night time hours, then back up 48 hours. That would be opening day. It takes all of 2 days for deer to figure out they're being hunted and shift heavily towards nocturnal movement.

There are a lot of factors, but I have hunted places where what you says is true. Opening day see lot of deer, day after opening day see half as many, 3rd day see almost none, 4th day none. It doesn't have to be that way, though. It is all about controlling pressure. If you are hunting private land and can do it, allocate some thick areas of your hunting grounds as sanctuaries, and don't ever set foot in there except maybe for shed hunting in the spring. Hunt near the edges of the sanctuary.

If you are hunting pressured public , stay away from the feeding areas and figure out where the deer are hiding when they go nocturnal. Sneak in downwind and hunt close to that bedding spot but not in it. You can also hunt in the bedding by getting in there real early, but you will cause them to stop bedding there. It may or may not be worth it.

 

[BSK]

There are a lot of factors, but I have hunted places where what you says is true. Opening day see lot of deer, day after opening day see half as many, 3rd day see almost none, 4th day none. It doesn't have to be that way, though. It is all about controlling pressure. If you are hunting private land and can do it, allocate some thick areas of your hunting grounds as sanctuaries, and don't ever set foot in there except maybe for shed hunting in the spring. Hunt near the edges of the sanctuary.

That certainly helps, as do many other hunting techniques, such as not hunting the same locations over and over. But deer know when they are being hunted (the sudden influx of human scent into areas where it normally doesn't occur), and adjust their activities.

And it really doesn't help when your property is hunted much harder than surrounding properties. In that situation, if you don't have sanctuary, the deer will simply leave. I can live with more nocturnal movement versus the deer up and leaving.

 

[Remington700]

I totally believe they pattern us. I have seen it too many times where deer are in an area and then people come in and the deer leave. Also, as BSK said the sign is there but you never see a deer, they are nocturnal.

 

[philsanchez76]

I only have public to hunt so I try to categorize my chosen pre scouted spots. I have some obvious field corner spots that will only be good for the first 2 days of season- hunt those first. A week later I am moving back into the tree lines. A week or 2 later I am getting right up on the thicker stuff. After that the pre rut starts so I can just continue to switch places around those thick bedding areas. Then late season when pressure dies down I can start to catch them moving in the thinner oak tree line areas again. I am reacting to the deer as they react to the other hunters (and me too, I'm not a ninja).

 

[BSK]

I only have public to hunt so I try to categorize my chosen pre scouted spots. I have some obvious field corner spots that will only be good for the first 2 days of season- hunt those first. A week later I am moving back into the tree lines. A week or 2 later I am getting right up on the thicker stuff. After that the pre rut starts so I can just continue to switch places around those thick bedding areas. Then late season when pressure dies down I can start to catch them moving in the thinner oak tree line areas again. I am reacting to the deer as they react to the other hunters (and me too, I'm not a ninja).

That's a great strategy.

 

[tree_ghost]

I only have public to hunt so I try to categorize my chosen pre scouted spots. I have some obvious field corner spots that will only be good for the first 2 days of season- hunt those first. A week later I am moving back into the tree lines. A week or 2 later I am getting right up on the thicker stuff. After that the pre rut starts so I can just continue to switch places around those thick bedding areas. Then late season when pressure dies down I can start to catch them moving in the thinner oak tree line areas again. I am reacting to the deer as they react to the other hunters (and me too, I'm not a ninja).

You have really started to figure this stuff out. Cant wait to follow along this season to see how you do!

 

[philsanchez76]

It sounds good on paper. But deer still manage to make a fool of me.

 

[recurve60#]

I didn't want to post this on the walking in thread to steal his topic but have you all had deer patern you as far as movement and time? I was watching seek one hunting the other day and he sat like 40 some odd times before he realized the buck patterned him. With that being said a group of us hunted mornings and evenings growing up on this farm so I decided I would let a guy hunt my stand that morning and for him to call me and I would hunt from when he left til he came back that eve. I seen more good deer that day than any given day in the woods killed my biggest buck to date that day. I think the deer knew when we left each day who knows?

An old time mature buck killer and author, Jeff Murray, wrote of this. Have hunters switch stands with other hunters during the day. He has a book, For Mature Bucks Only, that I learned a great amount from in the 90's that truly paid off.

 

[jejeffrries71]

My spot is about 600 - 800 yards from the house. More than once after getting back to the house I've seen deer back there in the open field.

 

[fairchaser]

I've also found areas that deer will pass through even though they know you are there as long as you don't shoot a gun at them. As soon as the first deer drops, game over. Deer learn to tolerate human presence until they associate that presence with danger. That's why hunters who bow hunt only will see more deer on their property.

 

[BSK]

Deer learn to tolerate human presence until they associate that presence with danger.

Exactly