Does noise from logging equipment keep deer away?

Power Pill

Power Pill

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This year there has been a lot of logging activity within ear shot of one of the plots I normally hunt and so far I haven't seen a thing..

I'm not an expert on deer behavior, but I'm thinking that the sounds of the chain saws and falling trees are keeping the deer away.

Anyone have any experience or knowledge in this area?

Thanks!
 
I was cutting farwood a few weeks back and had a mulie buck wartch'in me.
He sure knew the diffrunce t'ween a Stihl and a Weatherby.
 
They may be a little wary at first but in a short time they come to accept the noise and go about there business. Like the fellas said they will come checkout the commotion and get on with there day. I feed my deer out of the Argo. They know the sound of that Argo and literally come running as they know it's super time. Put some grain/corn feed out so they associate the noise with food.
 
I remember one time when I was younger, falling trees for a skidder along about a hundred and fifty yard face. After the skidder got a twitch hooked up and was headed back to the brow, the deer would come out at the other end of the face. They wouldn't leave until the skidder came back or I got close to them. The trees were filled with old mans beard (green moss), they can't resist that stuff and were eating it like cotton candy.
 
I have hunted areas where the logging crews have come in half way through a season and i thought i was screwed, what i saw was that during the operations the deer held back inside the tree lines once they were done cutting for the day and gone the deer came out about 30-45 min later to feed on the tree tops laying on the ground. Be careful and pick your shots so you dont hit any branches sticking up from the fresh cut trees and it will play in your favour.
 
In my experience saws and logging equipment don't keep the deer too far away, I've had them watching me cutting firewood in the winter lots and as soon as I start walking away they are moving right in to feed. They've become use to the sound most places ad seem to know where there are saws running there is feed for them. I wouldn't worry to much about logging near by.
 
From all the responses I'd say it might be in your best interest to stand in your plots and run a saw?!
I have no experience with deer/logging operations but I did 10 winters in Kap on the winter wood harvest and the moose and wolves were regular guests on the job.
 
I had that very thing happen this year. Property beside me was being clear cut. The loggers were in from just after sunup to sundown. Deer stayed out of my fields due to all the commotion on the adjacent property. Deer came out after they left, which in effect turned the deer nocturnal during the time the loggers were there during November muzzloader season. They quit cutting/working about two weeks ago and things seem to be going back to normal. I have also seen the deer eat cedars while I was logging in January 50 ft away. I really think it depends on time of year and food sources available.
 
As said already, they like to eat the moss and lichen on the de limbed branches etc. Was out in the bush with my wife's uncle getting more firewood yesterday, after we both left to drop off our first loads we came back to 2 white tails feasting on the lichen. They hung out fairly close while we dropped, bucked and split two more big pines. Both of us were running saws and the noise didn't do much to deter them, by the time we had both vehicles loaded again there were about 5 waiting to get in to eat. Next fall I'll have a rifle or 12g with me when deer is open again, I'll be looking to fill the wood shed and the freezer in one go.

It's been cold and snowy the last couple weeks so I'm sure their out looking for anything to eat at the moment, the moss/lichen is to hard to pass up.
 
Well, i have hunted the same property for probably 25 years since it belongs to a friend of mine.
About 20 years ago he had part of it logged - and guess what we didn't see a thing during deer season.
Then over the next 20+ years we always got deer.
This year he had it logged about a month before the season.
Guess how many deer we saw this year? Zero.
 
Deer and elk have come right through landings in BC in high-lead spar-tree and grapple yarder operations with roar of diesel engines, crashing and thumping logs, choker bells clanging, signal whistles blowing, guys yelling ...
 
I don't know about logging but I know they sure aren't scared of loaders or gravel crushers, in our old gravel pit they would walk with in 50 ft of a loader roaring around piling gravel. One guy swore he could have run one over if he wanted and those things only move at 4 - 10 mph because the deer paid them no mind at all
 
Bigbubba said:
Well, i have hunted the same property for probably 25 years since it belongs to a friend of mine.
About 20 years ago he had part of it logged - and guess what we didn't see a thing during deer season.
Then over the next 20+ years we always got deer.
This year he had it logged about a month before the season.
Guess how many deer we saw this year? Zero.
Click to expand...

My experience has been similar. While I have seen them when out cutting wood etc. I have also found that a bit of commotion on the field during the day from either farm equipment or vehicles keeps them tucked into the treelines till dark. It may depend on how educated your deer are and how much hunting pressure they're under. Where I hunt, the numbers are good, but they sure don't seem to be stupid or slow. All the hunters in the area take care of them real quick.
 
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