How do you know when a deer is coming?
- Thread starter Patrick
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Deadeye
Well-Known Member
I always thought I was pretty good at spotting deer while hunting from a stand--- Until I started hunting in Florida. These Deer are Ningas. I mean it. They come and go without making a sound most of the times. If Your not looking where they are you'll never see them most likely.
Like Tap mentioned, the Buck (and the first one from Florida) I got last year I heard something that sounded like click click click. It was a Buck DIRECTLY under me eating the small Acorns that fell from that Live Oak tree. I never heard him walk up and never heard him walk away. He was just there and then again in front of me.
Like Tap mentioned, the Buck (and the first one from Florida) I got last year I heard something that sounded like click click click. It was a Buck DIRECTLY under me eating the small Acorns that fell from that Live Oak tree. I never heard him walk up and never heard him walk away. He was just there and then again in front of me.
Headdigger
Member
In my neck of the woods, crows are too busy harassing owls and hawks to bother with deer. Squirrels are the biggest liars in the woods. I pay attention to the Carolina Wrens. I first make sure that they aren't fussing at me. If they are not, they are fussing at a deer, coyote or a bobcat.
For me, it’s a couple of things. Most of the time, the squirrels disappear. That’s usually a tip for me something is in the area. I also don’t look for deer.. I kind of stare into a section of woods and just wait for movement and then Identify was it is. Sound is always good but that comes with time. Walking with sticks breaking for me is key indication that it’s something more than a little rodent, most of the time. Just be aware of any animal behavior that isn’t normal. Blue jays, crows, grouse. There always seems to be a deer following a flock of turkeys too. Usually nothing big though. I don’t know if they use it for security or what the deal is there.
I also try to visualize when I get to the stand. Deer walking in, Will that be like, what’s the shot. Mentally just go through the motions to be prepared and execute. I’ve failed on some pretty big bucks because of not doing it and being unprepared.
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I also try to visualize when I get to the stand. Deer walking in, Will that be like, what’s the shot. Mentally just go through the motions to be prepared and execute. I’ve failed on some pretty big bucks because of not doing it and being unprepared.
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Interesting on your squirrels disappearing when a deer walks in...mine pay zero attention to a deer...
Mennoniteman
Well-Known Member
When I'm in a deer stand my total focus is to relax so that I can sit without moving. I find that constantly trying to pick up signs and signals of deer coming keeps me from relaxing, which makes it harder to sit still. I'm usually not too concerned about seeing a deer the first second that they appear, if there's deer about I'll see them soon enough. But I'm very concerned about deer seeing me move long before they show themselves. So the main point for me is first relaxing my mind, then physically relaxing my body, and learning not to swat at mosquitoes, pick my nose, texting friends, and scratch my elbows while on stand.
Sitting totally still like the proverbial indian hunter is an art that is invaluable for sitting for deer, and I find that swiveling my head and sitting in intense anticipation of an imminent whitetail arrival is counterintuitive to total relaxation and not moving a muscle.
Sitting totally still like the proverbial indian hunter is an art that is invaluable for sitting for deer, and I find that swiveling my head and sitting in intense anticipation of an imminent whitetail arrival is counterintuitive to total relaxation and not moving a muscle.
yeah I don’t fully understand it myself. I don’t know if they hear the deer coming before we do and freeze up but for as along as I have hunted, they aren’t around when deer initially show up. If deer are in a food plot, I’ll see some squirrels after they are comfortable with them. But hunting funnels and timber they aren’t around when Deer show up. It’s like clock work.
shawn cox
Well-Known Member
I will listen for sounds always but you cannot hear them 100% of the time due to wind or the ground being wet or damp. I always sit as still as I can and stare at sections of the woods and locate movement. 95% of the time I will say I see them before I ever hear them but even with that I can't tell you how many times I have seen one just appear right in front of me. It is like they have portals in the trees.
shaman
Member
How do I know? Lessee.
I'm going to limit this to my experiences in the stand. When I'm in a ground blind overlooking one of my pastures, it's there really is no good cue. I've had deer show up within a couple of minutes of sitting down. Up in a stand, there are usually some warnings.
My treestand venues are all situated around oak/hickory groves. There are leaves on the ground starting in September and they are there until spring. Unless it is pouring rain, I'd say a majority of the deer announce themselves with a slosh through the leaves. I can usually pick that up 100-200 yards out. The hard thing to do is distinguish the deer from the squirrels. For that, my best gauge is that squirrels tend to move less so the bearing stays fairly constant. Deer are usually moving in a straight line, so the bearing is changing constantly.
Another thing I've noticed is that whitetails tend to move in waves. The only reason I say is this is that the shooting seems to come in fits and spurts. I'm hunting in some of the densest whitetail action on the planet-- Zone 1 in Kentucky. Our Rifle Openers sound like WWIII. We can average 3 shot-strings a minute for the first 5 hours of the season. However, that is just an average. What really happens is there will be a sudden fusilade of perhaps 20 shots, and maybe somewhere in the middle of it, I'll see a deer. Whatever is going on, it seems to have an effect on deer across a wide area. At sundown, it is really poignant. The shooting will start within a few minutes of sundown. The deer come out of their staging areas to feed in the fields and reveal themselves.
Of course, having said all that, I can't count the times, I've suddenly had a deer show up under my stand as if they've materialized out of thin air.
I'm going to limit this to my experiences in the stand. When I'm in a ground blind overlooking one of my pastures, it's there really is no good cue. I've had deer show up within a couple of minutes of sitting down. Up in a stand, there are usually some warnings.
My treestand venues are all situated around oak/hickory groves. There are leaves on the ground starting in September and they are there until spring. Unless it is pouring rain, I'd say a majority of the deer announce themselves with a slosh through the leaves. I can usually pick that up 100-200 yards out. The hard thing to do is distinguish the deer from the squirrels. For that, my best gauge is that squirrels tend to move less so the bearing stays fairly constant. Deer are usually moving in a straight line, so the bearing is changing constantly.
Another thing I've noticed is that whitetails tend to move in waves. The only reason I say is this is that the shooting seems to come in fits and spurts. I'm hunting in some of the densest whitetail action on the planet-- Zone 1 in Kentucky. Our Rifle Openers sound like WWIII. We can average 3 shot-strings a minute for the first 5 hours of the season. However, that is just an average. What really happens is there will be a sudden fusilade of perhaps 20 shots, and maybe somewhere in the middle of it, I'll see a deer. Whatever is going on, it seems to have an effect on deer across a wide area. At sundown, it is really poignant. The shooting will start within a few minutes of sundown. The deer come out of their staging areas to feed in the fields and reveal themselves.
Of course, having said all that, I can't count the times, I've suddenly had a deer show up under my stand as if they've materialized out of thin air.
Native Hunter
Well-Known Member
"There is a fifth dimension beyond that which is known to man. It is a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition, and it lies between the pit of man’s fears, and the summit of his knowledge.
You unlock this door with the key of imagination. Beyond it is another dimension: a dimension of sound, a dimension of sight, a dimension of mind. You’re moving into a land of both shadow and substance, of things and ideas. You’ve just crossed over into… the Twilight Zone."
You unlock this door with the key of imagination. Beyond it is another dimension: a dimension of sound, a dimension of sight, a dimension of mind. You’re moving into a land of both shadow and substance, of things and ideas. You’ve just crossed over into… the Twilight Zone."
