6th Sense in Whitetails?

[FF/EMT516]

I don’t think they're dumb at all. Young deer, inexperienced and take more risks? Yes but not dumb. Just like people, they learn as they grow. I dont know about you all but if you dumped a bag of corn or apples in the middle of 500 acres and told me to go find it I probably never would. A deer will find it in 2-3 days if that. I know, sense of smell and all that. I get it. But theyre not dumb. I was scouting last spring and walked through a bedding area and found a diploma from The local college framed and hanging on this tree. Some deer named Reginald went and got a education and running for office last I heard.

 

[EasyE]

Young bucks are dumb. Really dumb.

Teenagers are dumb, really dumb.

 

[torrent]

Just my .02¢, but if I were a prey animal I would be scared too. Can they sense me looking at them? I don't know, maybe. I can sense folks looking at me so it might be the same for deer. If you spend a week or more in the field you start to develop your senses better.

Maybe deer can sense when a coyote is looking at them too. It could be a lot of things they notice and are able to pick up on natural changes. I won't look a doe in the eye unless I want to get snorted at. Those old ones are particularly cranky if you look at'em wrong.

 

[Derek Trent]

Their all day dumb I kill ‘em all

 

[stargazer]

Their all day dumb I kill ‘em all

If you killed them all, what would you have left to hunt? Yes, the young ones are dumb. That's why the older deer let the young ones go first. They would get shot at first. Yes, and I fell for that with my first deer.

 

[KY_Fried]

Young bucks are dumb. Really dumb.

Yup, just like young men, or maybe that was just me.

 

[Derek Trent]

If you killed them all, what would you have left to hunt? Yes, the young ones are dumb. That's why the older deer let the young ones go first. They would get shot at first. Yes, and I fell for that with my first deer.

I was being sarcastic I agree with you

 

[xbokilla]

 

[Hoosier Sasquatch]

I have seen deer" wake up" for no apparent reason on more than one occasion. The most notable probably because it was the first deer I ever saw from a stand was a buck. I was perched on a weirdly steep ridge overlooking a bottom. A natural stand. A decent buck appeared in the distance, nose to the ground. Never looked up for 100 yards. He headed straight for me. I drew my bow. the wind was perfect. I made no noise. Right as he neared the spot where I could shoot he looked right up at me. Not right, left, right at me. Spooked instantly. Got me hooked though!

 

[xbokilla]

It’s crazy what they can pick up on and what they pay no attention to. I had this one narrow cheap ladder stand in a tree, nothing around me, just a couple of big tree limbs to hide me. Let’s put it this way, it’s on a ridge and when the leaves are off the trees I can see the stand plain as day from 150 yds away. Well, oddly, deer always walked all over me. Rarely had one blow or notice me (and I’m a rather large dude). One time I was hunting with my nephew in law and it came a light rain. I dug through my backpack and luckily I had a cheap clear poncho I’d picked up and put in my backpack. I dug it out and put it on. Shower didn’t last long, maybe 20-30 minutes then it got sunny and hot. I took the poncho off and crammed it between some tree limbs above me. A few minutes later 3 does came up the hill and stated blowing and carrying on. I thought, dang I must stink. Well, few mins later, same thing happened again except this one big doe looked like she was staring above me. Once they made their way off. I grabbed that poncho and stuffed it in my backpack. Does, yearlings and little bucks walked the ridge all evening and never blew again. One thing out of the ordinary and they went crazy.