I think deer know when you can't shoot them

**4thdimension** · October 31st, 2015, 02:33 PM

I came home Wednesday night to find a large 7 or 8 point bedded down in the woods in front of my house. Of course it was after sun down so I couldn't legally shoot him. Today I asked one of my neighbors if I could hunt their property as I have seen a lot of deer activity there since the rut started. I didn't have my bow with me and figured I would just take a little walk on their property to get an idea of what I had to work with. I walked about 20 yards off the road and turned around to find a legal 5pt looking at me. He acted as if I didn't even exist. I could have shot him 100 times. I ran home to get my bow hoping he would still be there when I got back but he was gone. I just came home to eat before I go out. I think I have a good chance at a buck since I found a good place to hunt close to home and they seem to be really active there since the rut started. Lessons learned during my first year of archery is that I should always leave my phone off and I should never go into the woods during legal shooting hours without my bow.

**QuackXP** · October 31st, 2015, 02:56 PM

I hike at North Park in the suburbs of Pittsburgh, if it was legal I could hunt deer with a baseball bat.

**JAKIII** · October 31st, 2015, 05:15 PM

Off topic, but I know this is the time of year when most deer are hit by cars. I had a near-mis at 11:30am today... he was close enough to my bumper that I counted 10 points. I thought deer don't typically move at mid-day?

**Bang** · October 31st, 2015, 05:21 PM

Deer have a brain, but that does not put them on the same plane with homo sapiens. They do and don't do things based on their experiences and instincts. Don't know how scientific or correct a conclusion, but I read a report years ago that University studies showed that a deer has to experience something 27 times to remember it and make any adjustments, if any be needed.

I have fired a .22 pistol near a herd of deer and watched them advance toward me out of curiosity with each shot. I have still-hunted and watched them sneak away, or bolt, or stand and watch me. One time two rose from their bed and just looked at (two of us at that time). Occasionally a buck will attack a hunter using his antlers. I've seen doe mount doe. (Cows will do it too).

One memorable time I was walking unfamiliar ground turkey hunting on a friend's hunt club property and met up with an on-coming buck. We stopped and looked at each other. I was even able to get my back pack off and dig out a 110 camera and take its picture (damned film was so out of date the photo was barely readable). I left the trail by stepping left and began walking again. He did the same, both of us maintaining the clairvoyantly-agreed-upon distance. I looked back and he was looking back at me. You just never know. I told my friend there was a deer with no fear of man in the area. And that is another part of the puzzle.

Deer, fox, bear et cetera will become accustomed to people if it is necessary to maintain themselves with food and shelter. Major cities have deer and foxes in parks. Foxes will tolerate distant humans if they do not feel threatened.

The interesting thing to contemplate is, does a non-event count as an experience? In other words, does twenty-seven stays near a house resulting in no gunfire equal 27 experiences upon which a deer will depend? Could be.

**Bang** · October 31st, 2015, 05:21 PM

I thought deer don't typically move at mid-day?

The rut is in progress. Doe will be running from bucks, and bucks will be pursuing doe. This is a higher than normal deer-vehicle impact time of year.

The antis have a different explanation. They claim when a deer gets hit in daylight it is caused by their fleeing hunters.

EEE-Yahh...

**4thdimension** · October 31st, 2015, 06:14 PM

The rut is definitely on I was seeing a lot of deer in the woods behind my neighbors houses. I never seen any bucks there until recently. They are coming out in the day now. That 5pt acted like it never seen a person before. He wasn't huge but still legal and I would have had him if I had my bow. I just didn't feel like walking home after I spoke to my neighbor and figured I wouldn't see anything anyway so I went back there unarmed just looking for a spot to sit before it got dark.

**wanneroo** · November 1st, 2015, 02:46 AM

On my range the deer will come out of the woods and watch me shoot, sometimes getting as close as 30 feet away.

Once cover starts to go away in fall and archery season starts, they seem to start getting a bit more skittish and not as predictable in their habits, confirmed now with trail cams. When opening day for rifle hits they vanish like a fart in the wind and I don't see them out open grazing again until January.