The Stare Down

[WiscoDan]

Sometimes I forget it’s fun just to see deer, and I had an entertaining stare down after dark tonight that reminded me of that. I sat in a new spot on public near some doe bedding where a series of trails skirt a transition area. As I was getting ready to climb down, a small doe popped out of the brush right onto one of my shooting lanes so I sat tight while she browsed and eventually moved off.
Finally I climbed down my beast steps, platform in hand, and as I stepped onto the bottom stick I beard the unmistakable sound of another deer walking down the path straight towards me. By this point it was too late to do anything other than watch the little fork walk straight to 8 yards away and stop, staring at the odd lump clinging to the side of the tree. Fortunately I was wearing gloves and a face and head covering and I was mostly on the back side of the tree. The staring contest went on for 8 or 9 minutes before my calves began to burn so bad I knew I had to either just spook him or figure out another route. He obviously wanted to continue on his path, but he didn’t like the weird thing in on the tree. Since he couldn’t see me well and since he was young, I tried an aggressive snort wheeze, more for fun than anything. Haha he did NOT like that and bounded off about 20 yards and looked back, appearing very confused. I did it one more time and he started to walk away. I still don’t think he has any idea what just happened to him. Funny little deer.

[greenhorndave]

I enjoy those kinds of interactions as well. Interesting to observe their behavior close up in those situations.