Are Deer Afraid of Turkeys?

[Brick1083]

First year bowhunter, hunting public land from the ground. I've been seeing deer on each sit. So far, they've either been yearlings that I've passed or they have managed to stay just where I can't get a clean shot.
Each time I go out, I've been hearing turkeys nearby. My wife suggested maybe I should get a turkey permit to have in my pocket too. Ultimately, I decided not too - $30 seems a bit expensive and I thought it might distract me from my primary goal: a deer. So of course, yesterday morning as the woods began to come alive, I realize I'm set up right underneath a big roosting area. For two solid hours I had dozens (felt like hundreds) of turkeys making the most racket all around me. Stomping through the dry leaves like clumsy hunters and yelping like there's no tomorrow.

I hadn't seen a single deer until, when finally around 10:00, the turkeys began to meander away. A small buck came from my right, and worked his way in front of me angling away and to the left. I thought he would come through the openings I had to shoot, but angled slightly away behind some vegetation. When he was nearly out of sight, I grunted and sure enough, he paused, turned around and started coming back. This time he was on a trajectory that would take him walking broadside 25 yds away across my shooting openings. I got my body turned, my bow up, was preparing to draw......when along came a couple more turkeys. They were startled by the buck, began flapping and squawking up a storm. The buck turned and high-tailed it outta there.

At first, I thought I'd chalk this up to bad luck, but then I thought, maybe I need to learn a lesson from this. I didn't see deer until most of the turkeys had finally cleared out and quieted down. And when I did see a deer, it was easily scared off by the confrontation with the turkeys. So, are deer afraid of turkeys? And do deer avoid moving through areas where turkeys are making a of a racket? Maybe they realize it will be tough to detect a predator between all the leaf parading and yelping? Perhaps I need to make sure I'm set up further away from this area when I'm hunting deer.

[Noreast10pt]

I've heard the saying "where the turkeys are so are the deer"
Maybe because if the turkeys are doing their normal thing the deer will be at ease, but if they're squawking and running the deer know something is up.
I've also heard of guys using turkey calls while walking in to try trick the deer.
In your case it sounds like the deer knew the area was safe when the turkeys left but got startled by the stragglers.

[Stanley]

No

[d_rek]

I had the same question many seasons ago when I first started hunting. The answer is a definitive NO!

I always see turkey and deer cohabitating in SE Michigan where I hunt. I have hunted both turkey and deer on one of my best properties by me.

While i've never seen turkeys roost above bedded deer, I have seen them fly up and down to roost within a few hundred yards of known deer bedding. Doesn't seem to bother the deer.

They don't really compete for the same food sources either (except maybe for some ground forage) so they're not much of a threat to one another in that regard.

I have seen deer come into a field to feed while I have strutting Toms a dozen yards away.

One of my best sits deer hunting I can ever remember was a morning hunt when I had a flock of hens come through with a straggler loner hen yelping louder than i've ever heard a turkey yelp. And right behind not 30-40 yards came several deer.

[oldrank]

Deer are scared of everything. They may not run everytime if they are sure what's going on but will spook if they are unsure.

I've had squirrels spook deer, I've had woodpeckers​ spook deer, house cats, other deer.... and so on.

[mauser06]

I'd say absolutely not.


I had 2 mature bucks in an area that I watched all fall. Never got them killed but most of the fall, they hung with a flock of turkey. They were never far behind. I figured it was a safety net for them. If nothing bothered the turkeys, they felt safe. 30 sets of crazy good eyes in front of them..
Last year I shot a longbeard and then the flock of 30-40 came by. Not long after they were out of view I shot a mature buck...

[Dewey]

Deer are scared of everything. They may not run everytime if they are sure what's going on but will spook if they are unsure.

I've had squirrels spook deer, I've had woodpeckers​ spook deer, house cats, other deer.... and so on.

Yup

[Brick1083]

Thanks for all the replies. Here's what I'm going to take from this: it seems that deer and turkeys generally coexist and so I shouldn't hesitate to hunt this area again. It must've been a fluke that when these turkeys crossed paths with that deer that day they came at him aggressively.

[<DK>]

I've heard the saying "where the turkeys are so are the deer"
Maybe because if the turkeys are doing their normal thing the deer will be at ease, but if they're squawking and running the deer know something is up.
I've also heard of guys using turkey calls while walking in to try trick the deer.
In your case it sounds like the deer knew the area was safe when the turkeys left but got startled by the stragglers.

I agree w this statement. Seems to work well for me

[elk yinzer]

I don't think so.

I had a hunt in mid-October where I lightly bumped a couple does. I stood like a statue for 20 minutes until they bedded back down, then circled 30 yards and climbed a tree. I could see the one bedded all evening at 49 yards. I wasn't wearing camo for any of this and was wearing an orange vest and hat during the staredown part, as per regs during our muzzleloader overlap.

Anyway the turkey part, I was in the stand for 20 minutes or so and caught movement behind me. Was surprised to see a couple turkeys 25 yards away, which put them about 20 yards from the deer. I was getting a little phone video of them and they eventually picked me up and putted (I think that's what the turkey alarm vocalization is called?) and ran off, running right by this doe. She watched them run off but didn't even bat an eyelid, just laid there chewing her cud. I kind of thought knowing those turkeys were alarmed would spook her, especially after having a staredown with me an hour prior, but it did not. Now would a 5 year old buck do the same? Probably not but who knows.

[brancher147]

Deer are definitely not scared of turkeys and I see them together frequently. But, I did have 4 gobblers come in to a group of 6 or 8 deer and scare all of the deer away this season a couple weeks ago. The deer were all does with a buck chasing the does. The gobblers came in strutting along with the deer, then all four gobblers began fighting hardcore and breaking sticks and running all around. The gobblers scared all the deer away and I never did even see the buck, but I did end up shooting a gobbler at 20 yards from the ground with my bow. So, it does pay to have a deer and a turkey tag.

[daveynewman]

My grandpa use to tell us always look behind the turkeys cuz deer follow them because how great the vision of a turkey is.

But I never personally witnessed it lol

I'd still say no

[nor' easter]

I have seen deer and turkeys feeding within a few feet of each other on several occasions. Maybe hearing you grunt made him nervous and the turkey noises were enough to push him over the edge.

[Dewey]

I have noticed younger deer usually tolerate turkey but mature does and bucks seem to steer clear of them and the ruckus they make. By nature mature deer are really skittish.