What makes a white tail buck drop his guard?

John Y Cannuck

John Y Cannuck

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### is the usual answer to that question, but the small eight pointer I shot with the crossbow last night, was zoned in to a snack of Cracked Corn and molasses.
I got molasses at the feed store, blackstrap,very strong smelling. Deer love it, but it isn't good to feed them regularly with it. They will lose the enzymes in their gut for natural feed.
I put out a coffee can full every second day. They generally only eat a few mouthfuls (I've watched) but the odd one will eat about 1/4 of the pile. Still Ok IMO, because they still are eating their natural source as well.

Anyway, back to the story.
I was trying to find new deer spots on my property, so I set out a few of these piles with cameras here and there. This little buck showed up, so I set out to see if I could get him. Unfortunately, I hadn't really planned where I'd sit when I put out the corn, and I had to set up way too close, Maybe 30feet or so, from the pile. also there was a lot of little whippy beech sticks about, so a crossbow shot had to be really careful.

Then the bugger approached from down wind! WTF? He marched up my left side not 20 feet from me, turned broadside in front of me and got himself ventilated clean through both lungs. He should have got at least a whiff of me, no way should he have missed it, yet he was so spell bound by the Molasses, on he came at a fast walk. He ran off less than 50 yards looked back towards me like the noise of the crossbow was why he ran, then fell over dead.
 
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I shot a nice little 8 like that last year with the crossbow. Had been feeding him with apples since August, shot him second time I sat. He was so comfortable by my stand that he was sleeping there. Would have been a really nice deer in a couple years, but if I hadn't shot him, he wouldn't have made it that far anyway; I was hunting an area lousy with competition, and I needed to tag out quick for work reasons.
 
It is strange how they at times get habituated, and will ignore danger signs.

Several years ago, while hunting farm country, I spotted a little [3x3] buck laying
right in the shade of a round hay bale in the field. I was not interested in taking him,
so decided to play a trick on him.

I sneaked up to that hay bale on the offside, and when I got to it,
I jumped around and yelled at him. Of course, he took off
like a scalded cat, and headed into cover about 125 yards away.

I mused to myself...He'll be wary of that spot for a while after that scare.
Imagine my astonishment to see him back in that same spot, less than 2 hours later,
laying down, chewing his cud!!! I just shook my head and carried on. Eagleye.
 
as to the habituated comments, not too likely, as it was the first time I had put corn in that location, I had done so only twice (Two nights, two days apart, and he was only on camera once) . So, one time addiction? Part of it may be that because I had not been hunting there, and it was just off a large stand of big Hemlock White pine and Cedar, he felt at home, and safe.
His approach was from behind where I had no cover at all. But being in camo, and not moving, he likely took me for a stump. I have taken deer nose to nose in the open before, by staying low, and not moving. On a few occasions they have actually walked towards me stomping their feet. I took an eight point buck at Fogduckers place that weighed in at 265. It walked towards me from about 40 yards out to 20 where I shot him with the same crossbow.
 
Deer seem to come in as many different "types" as do people. Some are cautious, some foolish, some are OCD, some are smart, or dumb, outgoing, introverted, lazy, curious or any of the other character traits we see in humans, or dogs, or any other animal. They get distracted by "shiny stuff", and when they are thinking about ### they are as dumb as a grade 9 male. Sometimes they are paying attention, and sometimes their minds seem to be wandering somewhere. So, what makes a buck "drop his guard" can be a long list, and can depend on the individual and the circumstances. I have shot almost as many deer when I was "doing it all wrong" but caught a distracted one, as I have when I was doing it all right.

When they are on their guard, they are amazingly crafty. When I can catch one thinking about other stuff, I can often fill a tag.
 
There are three basic subspecies of whitetail deer:

1) Truly wild deer. They have never encountered humans before, and are not necessarily afraid of a human encounter. I've had wild deer approach me to a distance of 20 ft, apparently quite curious.
2) Cottage deer. These deer are quite used to friendly human habitation, often being fed by innocent cottagers. These deer are pretty close to being pets.
3) Hunt camp deer. These deer are scared sh*tless of any human activity, particularly orange people in 4 wheelers. You cant get within 500 yards of them.
 
Better lucky than good. I have been in the past, and consider myself good, so sometimes lucky is what matters. Truly not connecting as of late. I have shot them at 200+ yards and under 12. Hoping to connect during Muzzle Loader season in December.

JYC - nice buck....looks tasty.
 
cosmic said:
There are three basic subspecies of whitetail deer:

1) Truly wild deer. They have never encountered humans before, and are not necessarily afraid of a human encounter. I've had wild deer approach me to a distance of 20 ft, apparently quite curious.
2) Cottage deer. These deer are quite used to friendly human habitation, often being fed by innocent cottagers. These deer are pretty close to being pets.
3) Hunt camp deer. These deer are scared sh*tless of any human activity, particularly orange people in 4 wheelers. You cant get within 500 yards of them.
Click to expand...
As i've hunted all of the above, I'd agree with you. With an addition. Truly big bucks are rarely in the stupid class, regardless of their environment. Does on the other hand are rarely that bright.
 
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