Curious Bucks

[Sam Ubl]

This topic came up in coversation with a good friend of mine as he re-told the story of the big 8 point he was hunting last fall and his only run in with the deer.

The buck moves along at 40 yards but too thick of cover. The sun is almost down and Tommy climbs down from his stand and exits the woods. As he exits, he walks past the trail camera, which was 30 yards away from where he had been sitting (he uses a climber in this particular timber).

The next week, he goes back for his camera and sees the picture of himself exiting the woods. 10 minutes later, as shown by the trail cam date/time reference, the buck returned and crossed the path of Tommy's exit trail and is also captured on trail cam.

The deers nose was not on the ground, but there he was. Tommy identified it was the same deer by the spooned tips of his main beams and the corkscrew brow tine. He swears up and down, this buck was indeed THE ONE he'd been hunting and the one that had passed his stand at 40 yards that night.

The Question:

Why did this buck turn around and come back. Was it fluke/unexplainable? Was just bad luck? Or was this curious George in a deers body?

Anyone else have this happen or know anything about this kind of behavior?

Tommy's Verdict:

While he's considered himself impatient for climbing down with enough shooting light left to arrow the deer had he stayed, he's formed a new opinion over the matter suggesting this deer didn't return as a fluke.

Tommy believes this to be his new strategy to try this season. If he has a deer pass out of range, he plans to climb down and walk to another tree near by in hopes the deer hears him and comes back to investigate.

Good idea/Bad idea? What's your opinion?

[DropTyne]

I know without a doubt that deer will look at or explore the back track of a human..... I have had them circle behind me and seen this personally. As for a hunting technique no offense to your friend I think it's a little ludacris.

Several reasons for this conclusion:

1 - The deer did not see him on stand so how would the deer know he was there in the first place.

2 - We don't know what could have potentially spooked this deer back in that direction

3 - If deer were curious enough to follow around human tracks all the time alot more would die because everytime you walked to your stand one would be following you.

Granted the buck might pass through that area and flag it as "Danger" so in the future he will avoid that particular area during daylight.

I generally find that deer avoid areas where humans have passed through or hunted especially a mature animal like your friend is pursuing.

My point of view is pure coincidence

My .02 if it works let me know, I will gladly eat crow!

[dan]

mature bucks don't move far from bedding in daylight very often. I see them walking around staging back and forth in the same area just before dark quite often... Nothing strange about that.
But your buddys technique? thats a different story
I have found mature buck tracks following miy tracks in the snow on many occasions, but I am sure it was done at night.

[Sam Ubl]

No offense taken, I agree it IS ridiculous and was more of a beer induced idea that I didn't take to seriously (well, then again, knowing him ), but consider this for a moment... Between both of your feedback, a lot of good points were made that someone can take to the woods with

[Spysar]

Several times on all day sits I've seen the same buck cruise back and forth through the same area, usually different trails. Yeah, I don't think your buddies technique is that great an idea, however, I think if he see's a buck out of range, and he expects it to come back through, he should stay put, cause odds are the buck will take a slightly different route. If he moves, and the buck does come back.... chances are he will watch it walk under the stand he came from.

And on the other thing mentioned, I have been tracking deer in snow, and many times the track will circle or figure eight, and you will be on your own track with the deer track in it. They usually don't stay on it for long. If it's a buck and he doubles back and knows your on him, he'll start to head up out of there.

[Spysar]

Oh yeah, and about him wanting the deer to hear him. It's worked for me a couple of times. I tie my rattling anlters on my rope and lower them down in the leaves. You can make it sound like sparring and leaves rustling.

[Hodag Hunter]

Oh yeah, and about him wanting the deer to hear him. It's worked for me a couple of times. I tie my rattling anlters on my rope and lower them down in the leaves. You can make it sound like sparring and leaves rustling.

I have done the same.....good trick when the buck hangs up slightly out of range but still in good cover. I slightly "jiggle" the rope and the buck will almost always lock eyes to the ground looking for movement. Gives the hunter time to draw when the buck takes those last crucial steping into range.

[Swampthing]

mature bucks don't move far from bedding in daylight very often. I see them walking around staging back and forth in the same area just before dark quite often... Nothing strange about that.
But your buddys technique? thats a different story
I have found mature buck tracks following miy tracks in the snow on many occasions, but I am sure it was done at night.

I once walked across a wide open field with about 2 feet of snow to get to my stand . The next time I hunted there I used my old track in the deep snow.And about 25 yards into my walk a deer had started following my footprints one after another.He never missed a step for at least 5oo yards up to where I was setting up.

[dirt nap giver]

I haven't had a deer cut my trail in ages(that I've seen anyway) I think in part because i don't wear my hunting boots anywhere but the woods.

[3dog]

I've seen this on trail cams too and don't believe it's a curosity thing, it's a knowledge thing. If I'm living in an area where there are predators trying to kill me it's in my best interest to know a little about these predators. So if I happen to hear, see, smell one and keep tabs as it leaves my area I'm going to go check out what that predator was up to. But I'm not going to go look when he's still around. Unless you have bucks chasing a hot doe, switching trees while a buck is in the area is not a good idea IMO

[Sam Ubl]

Great points, 3Dog.