Pressured Deer movement

[erussell]

Interesting article on a study of collard Bucks during deer season.

What about actual deer sightings? Not surprisingly, hunters in high-hunter-density areas saw 1.6 times more deer than those in low hunter-density areas. “When you have more hunters afield, you’d expect more deer sightings with increased deer movements,” Little said. “The threefold greater hunter density nearly doubled the observation rate, going from 15 percent to 30 percent. But it’s also interesting that deer observations in the combined hunting areas plummeted to 3 percent by the season’s third weekend. The bucks were getting smarter and/or the hunters simply weren’t hunting certain places where deer hung out. As we analyze more of the hunters’ GPS data, we’ll get a better handle on that. The data show the deer were still there.”

http://www.americanhunter.org/articles/what-pressured-bucks-do/

[sweet old bill]

so if you put a hunter every 100 yards and walk across the hill then the hunters on the botton of the hill should see more deer. Sounds like something we al new from putting on deer drives over the years.

[erussell]

Find it interesting that even pre season scouting got them moving less.

Not only did the bucks grow increasingly wary during hunting season, they started wising up when hunters first showed up for a two-day scouting and stand-placing opportunity in mid-November. This was about a week before the hunt and coincided with the deer’s peak-breeding period. From then on, the bucks steadily decreased their movements all the way into the post-season—the same pattern Karns documented in his 2008 Maryland study

[G-Man]

I tell this to the guys that have camps around me when they say all the deer are goneor are are on your place.. "Look all year its quiet out here a week or two before the season, all i hear are your atv's, hammering, smell woodsmoke,and hear shooting. The deer hear and smell this as well, i place my stands in july and stay out of the woods till opening day! Thus my place is still quiet, yes i put out cameras but they are in open areas that are usually traveled by me on a consistant basis." I let one neighbor hunt a stand that looked toward his property the day before opening morning and opening morning he saw 67 deer before noon both days! all leaving his area where there are several small properties with multiple hunters, checking stands,and entering to hunt,all were headed for my sanctuary area. He got his buck and a lesson as well, deer live in their area year round they know what belongs and doesn't put pressure on them and they will leave and find a place that doesn't.

[FULLDRAWXX75]

so if you put a hunter every 100 yards and walk across the hill then the hunters on the botton of the hill should see more deer. Sounds like something we al new from putting on deer drives over the years.

Though this may be true, I have seen deer pattern hunters and drivers from a weekend to weekend push, and even yr. to yr.

I actually witnessed does, move from a small patch of woods that was being pushed(same drive every weekend by the locals) and saw does stay in the woods while the watchers walked by and as soon as they passed the does walked out, into the fields, lay down and waited until the drivers passed, then up and back into the wood lot. Humans are creatures of habit as well...............sometimes easier to pattern.

I took the 11 pt. buck pictured in the photo thread, by being some place different during a watch than the usual watcher used to stand at.......................I moved 75 yds further down the hill and to the rt. and that big boy tried to sneak by. I did it because three times that season I hear guys talking about seeing this huge buck while driving, but the watchers never saw him.

Same guys, same drive, same watch locations.......................the deer knew the game. Well I changed the rules..............................LOL

FDXX75

[nyantler]

There use to be a story that was going around about a study.. where a mature buck was place in a small fenced area ( can't remember the acreage, but it was small) and a number of hunters ( I want to say 4-5) where placed in the fenced area as well to hunt the buck.... and after a week or so none of the hunters had seen the buck yet. The study was done to prove how elusive a mature buck can be...

[G-Man]

I remember reading that study I believe that they even had orange streamers on the deer's ears....I always say you see 20 in a field how many more are still in the woods.....

[wztirem]

There use to be a story that was going around about a study.. where a mature buck was place in a small fenced area ( can't remember the acreage, but it was small) and a number of hunters ( I want to say 4-5) where placed in the fenced area as well to hunt the buck.... and after a week or so none of the hunters had seen the buck yet. The study was done to prove how elusive a mature buck can be...

The smart ones die from old age! ;D  I should be so lucky.

[MuzzyLoader]

I'll never forget what my grandfather told me when I was a young lad.  He said if deer could shoot back, there'd be no hunters.

I've watched deer walk behind hunters in the big woods of PA - and the hunters never heard or saw them.  Makes me wonder how many have walked behind me over the years.

[erussell]

Ive walked by bucks ( nothing I wanted to shoot) on several occasions,  in thick cover, during the past seasons and watched them hold stone still till I was past them then jump and run in the opposite direction. I had a small 8 point one time that must have watched me walk to my stand from the thick brush around my stand. He came out about 50 yrds away, just as I had sat down. HE stood and looked in my direction for what seemed an hr then slowley made his way out to my tracks in the snow, and followed them the 50 yrds to my stand over the next hr. When He got to the base of my stand he looked around confused as to where my tracks went, This made him really nervous and he ran back to where he started from and disapeared into the thick pines. I would have to stop  short of saying deer are smart, but would have to agree there instinct for survival is strong sometimes.

[Doc]

I'll never forget what my grandfather told me when I was a young lad.  He said if deer could shoot back, there'd be no hunters.

There's another fact that has occurred to me: If bucks knew how lethal their power and speed is, and the deadly effectiveness of their antlers, there would be no bowhunters.....lol.

[nyantler]

I'll never forget what my grandfather told me when I was a young lad.  He said if deer could shoot back, there'd be no hunters.

There's another fact that has occurred to me: If bucks knew how lethal their power and speed is, and the deadly effectiveness of their antlers, there would be no bowhunters.....lol.

Be hard for a deer to get you in a treestand though... but they could learn to ambush you on the way there..

[gjs4]

NY hunters greatly underestimate the amount of pressure we put on the herd and how the deer that dont adapt are called dumb/dinner and those that do something different are smart/elusive. We (with this writer included) give way too much credit to whitetails for our own lack of adaptation

[fasteddie]

A QDM report from $ QDM Co-Ops in Yates County

Co-op Members,

Attached is observation summary information from all four individual QDM Co-ops within the county along with a county total.

The highlights:

·        There were nearly 4,100 total observation hours

·        More than 1 in 4 of the antlered bucks observed were 2.5 years old or older (1 in 3 within the Italy Valley Co-op)

·        A total of over 4.600 deer were observed

·        The adult doe:buck ratio was 1.76 does observed for every antlered buck

·        The fawn recruitment rate of .79 fawn for each adult doe observed was nearly on the estimated western NY rate of .80.

Almost time for some serious shed hunting – good luck!

John