stash59 wrote:Lockdown wrote:cspot wrote:PredatorTC wrote:live2hunt wrote:Listened to this for the second time today. Really great stuff! I liked the comment about how we are looking for non pressured areas by sight but deer are seeking areas without human scent by smell. Joe also mentioned how some bucks survive by not doing the same thing consistently. Can’t remember exactly how he said it but I often think about these bucks with inconsistent patterns as outlaws. If an outlaw drove the same road and robbed the same banks along that road everyday he wouldn’t be an outlaw very long (food source)If an outlaw stood out in front of a grocery store selling moonshine everyday then drove straight home they wouldn’t be an outlaw anymore (bedding). If an outlaw was dating a girl who lived next door to the police station he wouldn’t be a outlaw very long (the rut) They would all be caught with these examples. The great outlaws have a way of throwing the law off their trail with elusive inconsistent patterns yet still remain right under their nose the whole time. Not sure how I came up with this correlation I started scouting with this in the back of my mind so I’m always trying to figure out what makes this deer different to survive. So when you find what makes an old deer different that is usually the consistent thing that becomes his weakness. Just wish I were better at figuring that thing out!
I love this^^ I like this deep objective way of thinking. The term "outlaw" is great, I may have to steal it from you! I wonder if the reason that some deer adapt to this way of living is because they figure out that this is the way that they get harassed less? Or is it just the personality that they have and that it's in their DNA. These big deer figure this stuff out pretty fast. Years ago, I chased an old deer with a unique personality. I could shine him every night in a corner field from either an east and west road or the intersecting north and south road. I could shine almost the entire field from these two angles. In the beginning, he was always by the road. After I and others shined him a few times, he learned that he could walk to a certain spot in the field where you could just hardly make him out. Pretty soon, he was never by the roads. He would just spend his summer nights in this spot where spot-lighters couldn't see him and it was hardly worth pulling up the binoculars to figure out what he was. The funny thing about his is that there is a new buck in town this year that I've been shinning. Same darn thing, different area. Begging of the summer, hes right in the open. Now, hes found a spot in the field where you darn near have to stand on your head on the roof of the truck to get a light on him and when you do, he squats down or takes off. These deer adapt faster than humans in some ways. If they don't, they probably don't make it to maturity and only the smart survive. Deer personalities fascinate me.
I have seen that a lot with shining around me. Always felt that if you really want to see a good buck and be able to take the time to really look at it, then you need to shine early when few others are. By now it is usually tough to get a light on one that is close to the road or that will stand still for a minute to let you have a look.
This is extremely similar to what I have seen the big farm land bucks do around here during daylight. It’s very flat in most areas, yet there are little dips in the fields here and there. You don’t even realize they’re there while driving by or glassing. I’m convinced that these bucks CONSISTENTLY utilize these little depressions. That’s why I’ve learned to get out of the truck and observe. My sightings go way up when I do.
There are mile roads on most section lines here. You can see a ton of ground, so there aren’t many places to hide. I don’t know how many times I’ve investigated an area as best I can then came up empty handed for shooter bucks. Then rut and gun season comes and someone shoots a good buck. Well where was he hiding all summer
In much the same way you guys mention bucks wising up to shining, these bucks wise up to vehicles stopping to stare at them. Or sadly, shoot at them or run them down during season. They KNOW where they can be seen and where they can’t.
Most often when you stop, they take off. If they hang out where they’re visible they’re constantly getting bothered by traffic. I’ve watched deer many times while observing or on stand while a car drives down the road. If they can see it, they get much more nervous than if they know they’re hidden. It’s obvious in their body language.
They’re masters at staying JUST out of sight, because it’s less stressful for them.
Where I grew up, there were a few families that poached out cars in the summer. I've observed alot of deer. That would feed in open areas in sight of the roads. As soon as they heard a vehicle coming down the gravel. They would casually head to the nearest cover. Get hidden before the vehicle arrived. Then wait until the coast was clear. And casually make their way back into the field to feed. Course the bigger mature bucks seemed to be the first deer to react to the sound of a car coming!
See these things in ky as well, by the time the opener gets goin glassing is pretty much useless! They hide anywhere they can and almost go nocturnal, around road sides anyway!