old wives tale -or is there truth to this? - Hunting Deer

[scootrd]

When I was very young , My father use to take me hunting with him.
He once told me Deer need at least two senses activated before
they sense danger and Bolt.

If the see you and you don't move , but can't hear you or smell you they wont bolt.
If they hear you,  but cant see or smell you they wont bolt.
If they smell you,  but don't see or hear you they wont bolt.

With only one sense activated they may cautiously begin to move out of the area but wont Bolt.

Is there any truth to this ?
or
Was this just something told to a young kid to keep em quiet and not figit- ing in the woods?
Whats been your experience?

[SHOOTALL]

I vote wives tale . All they have to do is feel funny and the bolt .

[bobg]

   From previous experiences i believe it is true.

[Land_Owner]

It is TRUE - empirically derived evidence (meaning not scientifically proven) - and there will ALWAYS be deer that do not need two of three senses to be active before they bolt.

they get a good look at movement - at you - they're gone.
they get a strong whiff of your scent nearby - they're gone.
they hear a sharp sound nearby - they're gone.

[Swampman]

But not always.

[TribReady]

I'd say it's mostly true from experience except the smell part.....that's all they need and they're gone.
Can get away with movement and sound, to a point of course.

[Swampman]

I've had deer walk up and smell me with their nose actually touching me.

[TribReady]

Little tip for you Swampman: Molasses is not cologne!          

[Old Grizz]

Lets face it guys, if we could figure out the whitetail deer we would all be in the record books. I can't say what Scoot says is right, wrong or wivestails. However if you think about it

[mechanic]

I've known my Dad to hunt from the bed of the pickup with a thermos of coffee and a pack of smokes and kill deer....but not trophy deer and not big old does.  IMO if the youngun's live a year or two they get smart and harder to kill. 

I've also had them approach within inches of me, but I was hunting in an area where there were numerous houses and they were probably accustomed to people and  not being hunted.  Kinda takes the sport out for me when that happens, and I can't bring myself to shoot.

[Land_Owner]

Gotta 2nd swampman and mechanic on some deer getting real close.  young deer especially.  They are curious you know.  Nothing wrong with that.  If you don't play the part of a Predator, and they don't have their alarm senses up, what is wrong in their getting close and taking a good whiff (or lick) of something they know nothing about.  You probably smell like salt and minerals to a deer.  you are just "another log" UNTIL you educate them otherwise.  Of course, if they get the wrong whiff, they could just as easily hoof you, bite you, gore you, ignore you, or (typically) snort you out.

[jhm]

2 basic deer hunting TIPS  Move slowly and 2 dont Stink problem solved .   Jim

[theoldarcher]

As alluded to above: much depends on the age of the deer and the experiences of that deer. 

I have been busted by young deer walking in to my stand, or from it, and just stood still.  I would slowly expose one hand or the other and, with fingers pointed down and the back toward the deer hold it about pants pocket high, and start to wave it like a deer flipping its tail.  I've had buttons and young does actually walk toward me and get quite close.  It's fun--try it sometime.

Older deer will already be gone!   

Arch

[SHOOTALL]

deer will cross a path and turn and bolt as a hunters scent is all they pick up . Ya'll can only tell what the ones you saw did how many bolted you never witnessed ?

[DennyRoark]

I'd say it's mostly true from experience except the smell part.....that's all they need and they're gone.
Can get away with movement and sound, to a point of course.

Times 2

I would slowly expose one hand or the other and, with fingers pointed down and the back toward the deer hold it about pants pocket high, and start to wave it like a deer flipping its tail.  I've had buttons and young does actually walk toward me and get quite close.

me too

Also crawled on my hands and knees and walked with my back horizontal and got with in easy gun range of a couple of nice old rutting bucks, but I was bowhunting

[SHOOTALL]

You can wave a white rag at them across a field and every so often they will run your way . Seems to only work out of season though.

[Dave in WV]

IMHO it depends on the deer's age and amount of hunting pressure. It seems to me their thought process is "when in doubt, RUN !".

[shot1]

All of the above and none of the above.

Deer are funny creatures. I have had deer walk across a field and come to the spot where I walked across the field to my stand stop and smell like a dog at my tracks. Then walk on unconcerned and pick an eat in the field and turn around and walk back across to the exact spot where they stopped and smelled unconcerned just a few minutes ago. When they get to this spot they look like they have run into an electric fence. They jump back and their fur bristle on their back and they take off like a race horse.

I once had a deer that must have spotted me move while I was in my tree house stand,(4'X4' with a roof, built in a big pin oak tree) that is on the edge of a big field that had soy beans at the time in it. 210 yards away in the wood line across the field I saw a deers right antler, ear and eye while scanning with my field glasses. This buck was standing behind a big pine tree 10 yards deep in the woods from the edge of the field. It was about 30 minutes before dark in the evening. I watched this deer until it got too dark to see and it never moved. The next evening about the same time as the day before I was watching this spot and I caught movement a little deeper in the woods and this buck came to the same spot behind that tree and stopped and never moved until it got too dark for me to see. The next evening which was my last day on this hunting trip and I needed one more deer for the freezer. I decided that if that deer came back and stood in that spot watching my stand that evening and did not move into the field for a shot. I was going to shoot him right through that eye that I could see. My custom 25-06 Rem 700 had a Leupold 3-9X50 scope on it with duplex cross hairs. When sighted in for a POI 3" high at 100 yards for a point blank zero of 350 yards that the bullet would not be above or below 4". I could place where the top part of the heavy part and thin center line meet of the vertical part of the cross hair on something the size of a pop bottle cap at 200 yards and hit it dead center. I had ranged to that big pine exactly 210 yards and I knew I could hit that deer in the eye. Sure enough that deer showed up about 30 minutes before dark and I let him stand there for about 15 minutes and he did not move. I got a steady rest across my 2X6 shooting rail put the junction of the heavy and light part of the vertical part of the cross hair on the bucks eye and squeezed the 2 1/2 pound trigger and BOOM and I heard the bullet SMACK. I got out of the stand and by the time I got across the field to the big pine it was almost dark but there laid a good size 7 point buck with his rack cocked sideways and his right eye was gone and the back of his head was a mess. 117 gr Sierra leaving the muzzle at 3100 fps will really mess up a deers head. He was good eating though.

I have had deer trail me just like a dog and walk right up to my stand.
I have had deer see me and stand their watching me for quite a while not moving an eye lash. Some of them even watch me as a slowly raised my rifle and killed them.
This past season. One afternoon I walked into one of my box shooting house stands and while unlocking the lock on the door I dropped the lock and it banged loudly on the wooden steps. When I got into the stand and was taking off my butt back it slipped out of my hand and banged loudly on the floor. I picked it up and put it in it's place. Then as I picked up my rifle and was loading it I dropped one of the rounds onto the floor and as I leaned over to pick it up I bumped with my head a 4" wide board that I use to rest my elbow on when shooting and it fell out of the stand and crashed to the ground. (Ever have one of those days  ?) When I got the rifle loaded I turned to place it up on my shooting rail and there in the middle of the path looking right at me was this big doe. I just put the cross hair on her chest and BOOM. I guess I should just beat and bang and make all the noise I can because it seems to bring the deer to me. 

Other times I am sure that deer have seen me blink my eyes and they have bolted.

I have found that deer many times won't believe their eyes or their ears but they always believe their noses and are gone like a shot.

[tangob5]

Can't speak for whitetails but mule deer won't bolt without a reason.  I have stood frozen 40 feet from a doe and 2 fawns and talked to them quietly and the only reaction I had was twitching of their hind legs when I was talking.  If I stopped talking they would start feeding again.  They did take flight when I talked to them and waved at the same time.  Another time I was moving slowly and quietly along a ridge when I had a buck get up from behind a bush about 30 yards from me and I froze.  That buck and I stared at each other for a few minutes then he decided there wasn't a problem and put his head down for some grass that's when he became freezer meat.  This year I took a buck at 65 yards and he just watched me as I raised the rifle and pointed it at him and shot.  I do believe at least with mule deer they need at least 2 stimuli before they take flight but if they feel non-threatened they will stay put.  I've witnessed this behavior more then just a few times and it always astonishes me.

[Empty Quiver]

Before gun season opens that is a pretty good rule o' thumb. They will be very jumpy with one sense triggered probably, but not bolt. After season opener the rules change especially by about 10:30.

[charles p]

All I have is an opinion.  Smell is the hardest sense to fool.  Mature deer (bucks and doe) are keen to smell.  Young deer seem to be dumb at times.  Wind is your friend.  Your next best friends are distance, then bait.

I don't normally wear camo but I hunt from elevated box stands that conceal me.  I've killed a ton of deer in NC, but very few that can be bragged upon.

[BIG Dog454]

Dumb deer taste just as good as smart ones, usually they are more tender.

[giturgun]

Have been shooting at my 100 yard bench and started to walk down to check the group / change papers. And when walking past  the slight bend bend around the hill . Have had deer bucks and does approaching trying to see where the noise is coming from. Also have had deer sneak up behind me while shooting at the same bench, turn around and they would be standing in the middle of the road watching me shoot.
  Had a doe and her little one stand and observe me cut a ground hog almost in two with my 16 inch Contender in 30-30 one day. They are used to shooting around here , rod and gun club can be heard from around 5 miles away . And they be lead in the air often around these parts.

Far as the 2 sense thing , have had does do the head bobble thing seemingly forever trying to decide what Iwas before. Soon as I moved the least most tiny bit , they be gone.
I think it just depends on the deer's mood.
Same with turkeys , they are in the yard almost every day. I get out of the truck and walk to the front door and the turkies just casually walk into the woods.