dumb question about deer....

saskgunowner101

saskgunowner101

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Just wondering if deer get used to the sound of gunfire. I do quite a bit of shooting out on the farm, and thought they might get a little nervous. Until tonight that is.

I put a scope back on the Marlin 30AS, dialed it in, and went through a box of ammo.. No sooner had I pulled my earplugs, lit a smoke, and there's a deer about 150 meters past my 100 meter target. Without a care in the world....which was suprising.

Is this the same thing as when the girlfriend nags too much?? You hear it, but it just doesnt bother you as much after awhile??:D Any thoughts on this, or was this the Forest Gump of deer.:)
 
I would have to say yes if they are in an unpressured area where here is alot of shooting I'm sure they would get use to it. Guys pull deer off our local gun range's property every year and they run trap there every sunday.

This is just like when a farmer is on his tractor deer will sometimes follow behind eating the dropped corn or wheat......ect.....one farm I hunt yotes run behind the tractor when they do hey they catch mice and stuff this year I sat on the back of the tractor and plinked a few yotes and they didnt even run when I started shooting.
 
i've shot deer and had other deer appear minutes later, appearing unaffected by the gunshot sound. Guess it may depend on the season though
 
I do target practice behind the house, and I always see them in the hay field feeding, sometimes as I am just finishing shooting, including a good size 8pointer
 
I work with a guy who hunts right across the road from a local gun range.He sees alot of deer,and takes quite a few also.I think the get use to the sound.
 
I was target shooting one time and had 6 bucks parade out of the bush, cross the field and grazed just over the fence. They didn't care.

FWIW, I think the deer are more jittery about sudden movements than the noise.
 
3 of the biggest bucks I have ever seen were all within 50 yards of a range where guys are always shooting. I've seen lots of other deer around it year after year.
 
I know that they get use to the sound of a chainaw really fast. They hear cracking of trees in the woods and other things. Cant really see where a gunshot would be any different i guess.
 
In one word- no.
They don't freak out about gunfire, sounds of vehicles, smell of smoke etc.
BUT when any of the above is out of place, for example:
-- they smell smoke from my wood stove drifting through the woods -ok but when the smoke and heat of a field or brush fire come through they are gone
-- Gun fire at a place they have become accustomed to hearing it -ok but in the quiet of the bean field on a cool and frosty morning they spook into high gear.
--Cars trucks quads and tractors are familiar to them and they will watch you pass by, but stop beside them or slam the door as you get out- you may want to find a different place to hunt!

LSB
 
deer get used to pretty much everything....in time. Where I deer hunt the 200 acre property adjacent to it was just sold to 2 younger guys that set up a dirtbike track. I figured my stand was pretty much done for with dirtbikes ripping around there almost everyday. I went and scouted my spot a couple days ago and found that just as many or even more deer are still travelling through my property( even closer to my stand now though :) ). Hopefully they stay that way for 2 more months atleast .
 
It's not even that they get "used" to gunfire. They just don't associate it with danger.

Really. How many deer ever heard the shot that hurt it?

I stalked on a herd of white tails to to kill a doe. To kill the doe I had to put the bullet about 6 inches past the nose of a buck. I shot the doe and she ran straight at me an died at my feet, never knowing I was there. The other 12 deer merely raised their heads and then continued feeding. I waited 20 minutes for them to move on before I dressed the doe.

Gunfire is not a danger signal to deer.
 
Maybe not the majority but there are some deer out there that associate gunfire with danger....maybe that fawn who saw mom fall and remembers that bang?
 
stubblejumper said:
Not all deer will spook at the sound of gunfire,but many will run off.The same can be said of vehicles and atvs.
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I think most of that would be due to the movement of hunters before or after the shot. Don't change the tone of the engine and the deer won't generally react -- other than a hard look. The actual sound of gunfire will only make them more alert.

With regards to vehicles, they will run off if there is any change to the cadence of the engine. When I lived in Fort Mac and spotted a deer by vehicle I would not stop or touch the brakes but would cruise past them stopping a few hundred yards past them and then stalk back onto them.
 
I think most of that would be due to the movement of hunters before or after the shot.
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I have seen them spook and run at the shot many times.There was no time after the shot for movement to have happened,and the hunters were well hidden with the wind in their favor before the shot.Some spook at the shot, and some don't.Some spook and run a bit then stop,some keep running.
 
stubblejumper said:
I have seen them spook and run at the shot many times.There was no time after the shot for movement to have happened,and the hunters were well hidden with the wind in their favor before the shot.Some spook at the shot, and some don't.Some spook and run a bit then stop,some keep running.
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Fair enough. My experiences have been different. Maybe my deer are dumber than most.
 
In my experiences,young deer and does were much more likely not to be spooked,while mature bucks were much more wary.Then again,during the rut,some of the bucks were so distracted that they ignored gun shots or vehicles driving into the field that would normally send them running.
 
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