Pennsylvania Firearm Owners Association
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  1. #1
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    Default A deer's greatest defense?

    I think it depends on the time of year. Early season-hearing. Leaves down-sight/hearing, in that order. I am a "Watch the wind" believer and really don't worry about scent other than that.

  2. #2
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    Levittown, Pennsylvania
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    Default Re: A deer's greatest defense?

    Deer, from what I have observed, are very sight-oriented. They will focus on an area and watch motionless for extended times. They have ways of testing their conclusions, like dropping their heads and instantly coming back up and watching again, looking for things in motion or proximity changes. They will challenge with hoof-stomps trying to induce motion. They will move their head side-to-side gauging the questioned object against its background to obtain range and size information. Scent may be an initial alerting system informing that something different is happening, or inform on something known or having been experienced.

    I really doubt that a new scent is an alarm. Same for scents they live with day and night. Deer have to experience situations connected to scent repeatedly to learn that a particular scent has a particular meaning. The reaction would be tuned by what that experience has been. If a strange new odor is enough to induce alarm, they have learned to associate a strange new odor with reason to escape contact, and any strange new odor will cause flight. But that is peculiar to that deer's wiring. Others may conclude it is better to remain motionless until the scent is identified. That brings it back to use of sight.
    There are two kinds of guns. Those I have acquired, and those I hope to.

  3. #3
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    Brookville, Pennsylvania
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    Default Re: A deer's greatest defense?

    They can read calendars. I see countless buck out of season, but might see 1 every 4th time I go hunting(over 10 years) in season.
    RIP: SFN, 1861, twoeggsup, Lambo, jamesjo, JayBell, 32 Magnum, Pro2A, mrwildroot, dregan, Frenchy, Fragger, ungawa, Mtn Jack, Grapeshot, R.W.J., PennsyPlinker, Statkowski, Deanimator, roland, aubie515

    Don't end up in my signature!

  4. #4
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    Default Re: A deer's greatest defense?

    I saw what was probably the closest thing to an experiment one day during archery. I had cut my way into some stickers and was facing a pipeline. I had full camo and a head net. A big doe and two fawns were feeding toward me on the pipeline. It was in the evening and the wind had shifted on me. They were about 15 feet in front of me maybe 6-7 feet to the side. That old doe snorted and started looking. there was a small creek and wooded area behind me. First she checked the woods. Then she started looking IN the trees. There was a small field behind the woods and houses over 100 yards out. The doe checked that and then went back to feeding. When they fed across me and were about 6 feet past she went nuts. Blew at the fawns and took off like crazy. She had passed my scent path and now knew I was in a confined area. So, she could not tell distance to where I was at. Obvious because she checked the field and houses behind me and concluded that is where the scent came from. Add in swirling breezes and it shows how ineffective a deer's sense of smell is.

  5. #5
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    Default Re: A deer's greatest defense?

    A deer's entire existence revolves around scent. "A human brain has about 5 million scent receptors that accept, analyze and sort smells. A bloodhound has about 220 million. But a whitetail possesses more than 300 million."

    If a deer hears you, they usually are looking to see what you are. Even if they see you, they don't always know what you are. If they smell you, they are gone. Just because the wind is blowing in a certain direction doesn't mean your scent is getting to the deer. I started using milk weed after watching and listening to a lot of Dan Infalt's content and it's surprising where the wind is actually going sometimes.

    I'm a watch the wind guy too. I think there is absolutely no way to beat a deer's sense of smell. I don't bother with scent control.

  6. #6
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    North Penn area, Pennsylvania
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    Default Re: A deer's greatest defense?

    They move thru the woods pretty damn fast!
    I don't speak English , I talk American!

  7. #7
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    Mar 2009
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    E-Fray-Tuh, Pennsylvania
    (Lancaster County)
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    Default Re: A deer's greatest defense?

    12 yrs or so ago I was active in the SEPA branch of QDMA . Each March we had a "short course" where we'd get deer biologists to do presentations on whitetails. It was fascinating we had some who's who speakers like Dr. Karl Miller, Kip Adams, Dr. Duane Diefenbach, Gary Alt.. I only wish now that I could recall 1/10 of that knowledge.

  8. #8
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    Default Re: A deer's greatest defense?

    Quote Originally Posted by Yoder View Post
    A deer's entire existence revolves around scent. "A human brain has about 5 million scent receptors that accept, analyze and sort smells. A bloodhound has about 220 million. But a whitetail possesses more than 300 million."

    If a deer hears you, they usually are looking to see what you are. Even if they see you, they don't always know what you are. If they smell you, they are gone. Just because the wind is blowing in a certain direction doesn't mean your scent is getting to the deer. I started using milk weed after watching and listening to a lot of Dan Infalt's content and it's surprising where the wind is actually going sometimes.

    I'm a watch the wind guy too. I think there is absolutely no way to beat a deer's sense of smell. I don't bother with scent control.
    Correct regarding how keen their sense of smell is. From community licking sticks to where and how they travel they use their nose for everything. They can smell and sort up to 6 different things at once in order to avoid it all.

    The 30 deer in my yard don’t run from me because they are used to the environment. The deer in the middle of a large SGL forrest or some other remote location not so much. Their sense of smell will dictate their movements from up to a half mile away. While they also rely on sight and hearing which are both very good their sense of smell is much more acute alarm system.
    Last edited by Hodgie; December 29th, 2020 at 09:07 PM.

  9. #9
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    Jun 2017
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    Birchrunville, Pennsylvania
    (Chester County)
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    Default Re: A deer's greatest defense?

    Well it sure isn't their hearing recognition of automobiles. Car vs deer ×3 for me.

  10. #10
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    Default Re: A deer's greatest defense?

    Quote Originally Posted by Knightshift View Post
    Well it sure isn't their hearing recognition of automobiles. Car vs deer ×3 for me.
    Especially during the rut. About 6 weeks back one ran down the side of a very steep across the street from me and jumped off landing on the roof of a BMW driving past. Totaled the car and the driver broke his arm.

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