Yes, another pressure question.

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buck_junkie
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Yes, another pressure question.

Unread postby buck_junkie » Sun Sep 05, 2010 5:00 pm

I know that this topic is beat to death and everyone has their own opinion but in our area we have low to moderate hunting pressure with many other pressures that private land hunters don't deal with. Hikers, golfers, mountain bikers, birdwathchers, and so forth. I just wonder sometimes if these other pressures impact deer activity the same as say a yote bumping a buck out of his bed, or a hunter being winded. I believe pressure is pressure. Any time a deer's normal routine is disturbed, that's pressure. Or in a public land setting are the deer more tolerant to these pressures or do they just avoid these areas all together? Some of our better spots are adjacent to popular hiking trails, espically horse trails. I'm really not for sure just wanted to see if anyone else has any input to help me further figure out our area.


huntinnurse
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Re: Yes, another pressure question.

Unread postby huntinnurse » Sun Sep 05, 2010 10:03 pm

Deer that live among people, even on public land learn to tolerate people and live with a certain level of scent and activity. It was my observation when I was doing alot of work on the land in BC, that as long as I was on the tractor AND it was moving the deer would come out of the woodwork to come see what I was doing and even come up to within 20 yards of me. But as soon as I stopped the tractor and tried to take a pic, they would bolt.
I think the same holds true for deer on public land that is well used thru the year by outdoors enthusiasts, hikers, walkers, joggers, flower pickers, whatever, as long as you keep moving in a nonstealthy (not stalking or slowly trying to get to stand, trying not to be seen, heard, or smelled) deer may not see this as a threat as they have become used to it from their own observations. But as soon as a whiff of scent gets to them and they can't see where it is coming from as they could with walkers/hikers it becomes a threat and they are gone. I think when a deer smells you and sees you within a short period of the scent, they can size up immediately if we are a threat or not at that moment. Of course, if a buck smells human scent near his bed when he never has before, game over. He's gone.
I also have a theory of predatory phermones. When your out shed hunting, mushroom hunting, or just taking a nice stroll thru the woods, do you notice when you see deer, sometimes and even more times than not, the deer sees you and stops and watches. Might take a step or 2, but curiosly watches you. You are not out with a weapon in your hand hunting deer, and I believe not producing prdatory pheremones. But put camo on and bow or gun in hand and head to your stand, and if you see deer (or they see/hear you), they bolt as if they "know" you are hunting them. I think when we get up and start dressing and getting ready to get out to stand, we begin producing those predatory pheremones and it is this in our scent that spooks deer the most.
For example: How is it a young deer(or any animal for that matter) who has never seen a yote, knows instictively when they see/smell/hear them , run and run fast. I believe it is predatory pheremones.
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dan
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Re: Yes, another pressure question.

Unread postby dan » Mon Sep 06, 2010 1:00 am

Good points Deb,
I deal with similar types of pressure in some of the places I hunt...
I have noticed that deer get used to human scent in certain places. Like on a hiking trail, on a dirt farm road, etc. But its a different story when they run into scent where they don't expect it.
I could give you a million examples of this... One that sticks out in my mind is from a farm I used to hunt years ago that is now a subdivision.
There was a long straight dirt road that started at the farm and ended at the woods. On one side was an old over grown pasture with brush pockets and some good bedding spots that were very hard to hunt. On the other side was crop fields the deer would feed in. I was hunting mainly back at the woods edge and could glass the fields and pasture. Other hunters, neighbors walking there dogs, and farm workers would all walk up and down this old dirt road.
From my treestand positions I would see deer cross the dirt road quite a bit. Some would stop and smell the tracks and scent of the people flick there tail and just keep going carefree, some would trot across the trail quickly, then resume walking, and some would ignore it all together. But none of them freaked out, or spooked.
I started seeing a very nice buck crossing the dirt road coming out of the pasture just before dark. After a few days in a row I stopped at the trail where he was crossing the dirt road ( and my scent trail ) daily.
I walked down the trail about 10 steps off of the dirt road into the pasture and then returned to the dirt road and went back to the woodline to hunt a different buck. That evening the pasture buck returned. But this time when he hit my scent trail 10 feet from the dirt road he freaked out and ran back where he came from... I never saw him cross the dirt road again.
My experience has been they tolerate some human scent in places they expect it... Put it in an area that catches them off guard and mature bucks likely won't tolerate it.
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Re: Yes, another pressure question.

Unread postby DropTyne » Mon Sep 06, 2010 4:17 pm

I've actually hunted directly over a walking trail that got used pretty frequently, I sat there because there was good bedding that butted right up to an acorn rich ridge. One night I had two guys walk under my stand on the trail drinking beer and smoking cigarettes. I thought for certain my hunt was over. About and hour later a fork emerged from the swamp like bedding area, just as he was making his way cautiously to cross the trail I heard the two beer drinkers waking back my direction. The fork horn quickly jumped back into the thicket. As the men passed I thought now for certain my hunt was over. To my surprise that same buck emerged again to cross the trail shortly afterward but this time a nice 110" 8 pointer was in company. When they crossed the guys actual scent trail they quickly scampered across it like Dan said but after that they were calm and relaxed. I passed the buck because he was not the calibre I wanted, I had seen a larger one in there earlier in the year, but I did learn something new and see something I have never seen before.
DROPTYNE

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