Wild Game ignore shots

I don't believe animals are smart enough to know what a gun shot is,I believe they are trying to get out of a situation they don't like???When a animal makes up its mind it will do what it wants noise or not!
 
few years back on a moose hunt..i was about 25-30 ft high up on a huge rock over looking a cut block...dumbdawg was about 150 yards away blocked from my vision from another hill...
i had a cow walk right beside the rock i was on..she could not have been any more then a few 5 yards out from me..
dumbdawg let a volley of 3 shots go off at another moose(a huge bull that he got)..
but as he was shooting, that cow did not flinch in the least,she slowly just wondered off
 
John Y Cannuck said:
Now I know lots of folk are going to find this hard to accept, but it's the truth, and I think the more experienced here will back me up.

Firing shots over the heads, or even at, wild game doesn't alarm them a bit.

If you hit something close to them, and that makes a noise, that will spook them, but the shot itself has no apparent affect.

I base this on many years of hunting.

The MNR even recommends firing shots to scare away a cow moose if you shoot the calf and she stays. (doesn't work in my experience)

Shooting at running deer. If you miss, the deer won't even change course, unless it sees you, or the bullet strikes something close enough to alarm it. Even then, it's more likely to stop, and look about than fly off in a new direction. Unless of course it sees you move.

No I've no experience with Grizzly/Brown bear encounters, but I honestly wonder how many folks have tried to scare away a bear with a shot, and paid the ultimate price for doing so.

They make bear bangers, because shots don't work, you want the disturbance to be right beside the animal. They tell you to shoot them close to the animal. People in polar bear country will tell you that even then they don't always work.

IMO, making yourself known to the animal, making sure it knows you walk on two legs, not four, letting it get your scent, is the surest way short of shooting the animal dead, to getting a swift departure on the animals part.
The exception being polar bears, and probably some grizzlies/brown bears, that see everything as food.

This may not work on a moose, or black bears for that matter, depending on the circumstances, but It does seem to give them pause. They are well aware that they have few equals in the bush, but they have limited or no experience with humans, and as such may (repeat may) be more cautious if they figure you out.
Yeah, I've been there for a bluff charge by a moose when I had no cow tag and I shot the calf. We did fire shots, she just stood there staring us down. When I separated from my hunting buddy, she charged him, and only stopped when I ran back to him.
It's not an experience I'm in a hurry to repeat. If it happens again, I will stare straight at her, waive my arms, jump around and yell like an idiot, and do it quickly, so she has no chance to feel me out. If she starts to leave , follow her up at a run yelling. That works far better than gun shots. Or has in calves I've shot since.
BTW, be wary while you are gutting, I had one cow come back. I was done gutting, stood up, and there she was 20 ft from me. I never heard her coming. She could have stomped me dead, and I doubt I'd have known she was there 'till she hit me.
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That certainly seems to be the case here with this bear.

[youtube]CjV0wL8RYuU[/youtube]
 
Keep in mind wild game hears sharp cracks of ligthtning, dump truck tail gates and all kind of other banging all the time with no negative results to them. Rifle or shotgun just another bang.
 
John Y Cannuck said:
The sound of a broken twig, is one they instantly recognize as the indicator of something that could be dangerous near by. The sound of a gunshot they not only don't know that it represents danger, but it's so sharp and fast, they can't get a direction on it.

Back to the broken twig, and the tail. Most times, a deer will run only a hundred yards, often fifty, maybe even less depending on the terrain, and cover, then stop and listen. If it senses nothing, it will continue to do it's thing, right there, or walk quietly away. Numerous times, I've been able to stalk up on a deer that I just spooked. Just give them a couple of minutes, and proceed very quietly to follow them. Chances are you will at the very least get another look.
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I completely get what you are saying.... but... since they don't understand or know where the shot came from... why don't they even bother looking around?.... From my experience to them it's like the gunshot never happened...
 
Superbrad said:
I completely get what you are saying.... but... since they don't understand or know where the shot came from... why don't they even bother looking around?.... From my experience to them it's like the gunshot never happened...
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Yes, exactly, it's not something they recognize as a threat, so it's ignored like it never happened.
That's what happened when we fired over the head of the cow moose standing 20 feet in front of us. Exactly nothing, like we never fired.
 
I have seen game animals not react at all to the sound of a gunshot, but I have also seen them react suddenly, or take off on a dead run as well. I think it depends on the situation, and on the animal.
 
I have long felt that gunshots have very little, if any effect on game.
Over several decades I have seen plenty of evidence to support that as well.
I believe that a gunshot is just a loud noise of short duration.
Wild animals are exposed to plenty of loud noises in the woods, most of which is benign
to them.
Once in a while, a shot gets the attention of an animal if it hits nearby, but usually they
just ignore shots.
Regards, Eagleye.
 
I have seen several videos of somebody shooting animals in a herd from a distance. One drops the others ignore it and keep eating.
 
Had a bull moose walk between me and a target once. I was with a group of 6-7 guys and we'd probably fired 20-30 shots.

It didnt appear to have a care in the world.

Im of the firm belief that game animals really dont give rats ass about gunshots unless it hits them, or something close to them (like another deer, moose etc).
 
stubblejumper said:
I have seen game animals not react at all to the sound of a gunshot, but I have also seen them react suddenly, or take off on a dead run as well. I think it depends on the situation, and on the animal.
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Is it possible the ones that ran off were reacting to bullet hit objects close by & not the gunshots.
 
misses

My experience has been just the opposite, I sat and shot 4 impala from a herd at 350 mtrs (needed 6 for bait), 5th shot went off as I closed the bolt (still don't know why) and went out over their backs and they then scattered poste haste.
As long as I was hitting them no issue.
I do know the bullet makes quite a loud crack as they go by, as long as they are still supersonic.
With sheep I've found it makes all the difference if they don't know where you are, they react but just mill around.
Leopard react instantly to a miss (wasn't me)
Cariboo don't seem to notice too much, they react, but don't go screaming off.
Bison up here, react immediately to a shot/miss (again wasn't me)
Wolf react instantly to a miss (this was me)
Never been on a hunt where a moose was missed, how the heck do you miss a moose anyway. Can't say about them.
Where I've hunted whitetail in Sask they most definately react to a miss without anything in their vicinity being hit, bullet strike was a good 100+ mtrs from him.

I cannot say I have ever missed or seen a missed animal that showed no reaction at all. I've heard of it on whitetails at peak rut, and I believe it from what I've seen of them.
 
davemccarthy707 said:
The human voice is probably the only thing that will spook a moose around here.
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In my experience talking to moose or deer even at very close range will get absolutely no response from them unless you raise your voice to louder than you would use for normal close conversation...however, if you snap a twig or even ruffle the grass it will instantly get their attention.
 
agree

prosper said:
shoot one deer in a group, and the rest may scatter - but wait a half hour, and odds are very good they'll be back
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Sheep react exactly like this, shoot 1 or 2 rams out of a band and sometimes they only move off a couple hundred yards, as soon as you've packed up and are walking out they will move right back. Seen it 1/2 doz times easy. we always attributed it to taking the dominant ram from the band leaving the rest with no leader.
 
For me, I find that they run or stay about 50/50.

Once when I was a kid I shot over the back of a broadsided buck at about 150 yards. (Lee Enfield & iron sights) He turned his head in the direction that my bullet had gone into timber. He then bolted back the way he had come out. As I stood there contemplating what the @#$$% had happened to my astonishment he came back out of the bush and stood again about 40 yards from me, looking away from me and toward where my bullet had gone smashing into the woods. (I put one behind his ear and felt much better thank you.)

Clearly this was a case of the deer paying attention not to the sound of the shot but to the sound of the bullet smacking a few spruce and alders downrange from him.

Otherwise I have seen deer continue to feed and pay no attention to the sound of nearby shots. Other times they just teleport out of there at the shot. I am not sure what makes the difference in their reaction. I have had similar experiences with elk and moose. With caribou who the heck knows whats happening because the herd is almost always on the move anyway.
 
_MG_3308LooseMooseshoot.jpg

This Moose (just North of Moose Jaw) last October wasn't scared, but seemed annoyed at all the noise from the guys target shooting in a field. She came from beyond the direction of the shooting and meandered behind them. I think the guys ruined a perfectly good nap!

I'm not sure if the fellows shooting even noticed this moose, but I thought it was a bit humorous, and stopped to take a photo. If they did see her, they obviously didn't have a cow tag! ;)


..... Lucky for a lot of us that the game animals dont bolt at the first shot, cause sometimes it takes a second to put dinner on the table.

I will say that migratory birds(who likely get shot at a lot) flare quickly and get outta dodge as soon as the 1st shot(s) are fired. But from the air, they also see the shooter and have a pretty good sense of the direction of the noise!

Interesting thread, btw!


Lucky :shotgun:
 
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