Sight or Sound

[cachemoney]

When hunting, are you more often tipped off to deer by sound of their movement or by seeing their movement first ?

 

[Jeremy K]

Sound for me ,I hunt tight areas though that dont provide much line of sight

[Splitear]

I think it's sound for me as well. Sometimes you just know there's one close, and I have to believe that I heard something and maybe didn't even realize it. There is nothing that will get my blood pumping like hears that steady 4 beat rhythm coming through the leaves. 

[wolc123]

50/50 for me.  My recent 9 day Adirondack ML/rifle deer hunting trip illustrates that perfectly.  I had 2 good chances at deer. The first one I saw first, and the second one I heard first.  

I was not able to get off a shot in either encounter.  I was too fussy the first time, and not fast enough on the draw the second time.  The most important lesson I learned on the last one is: squirrels dont snap twigs on wet leaves.

[BizCT]

It depends on where i am hunting and if the leaves are wet or dry. If the leaves are like potato chips i hear them first. if it's wet, i see them first.

 

My Dad (very hard of hearing) has never heard a deer in his life. He absolutely loves hunting, so I can only imagine how he would feel if he actually heard them coming first. 

 

[grampy]

Since my hearing has gotten worse as I age, I rely on my eyes more now. Still have 20/20 vision. I've always been good at picking up movement in the woods. Just like a deer. A flick of a tail or ear is all I need most times, even from quite a distance away. Even the motionless deer, with the horizontal profile in the thick stuff, can tip me off sometimes.

[rob-c]

Sound first, unless I spot them a few hundred yards off. 

[Northcountryman]

Sight more than sound for me as I find them to be very quiet most of the time . Maybe it’s me , though , cuz when it’s dark , before shooting light , I only hear them lol

[Just Lucky]

I never hear them although I am almost deaf, I see them first. I have smelled them though before seeing them. 

 

[turkeyfeathers]

the other day I was alerted to a weird loud noise. Turn around and its a fork horn eating an apple. He then whizzed like a faucet for 30 seconds that surely would have alerted me as well

[BowmanMike]

5 hours ago, wolc123 said:

50/50 for me.  My recent 9 day Adirondack ML/rifle deer hunting trip illustrates that perfectly.  I had 2 good chances at deer. The first one I saw first, and the second one I heard first.  

I was not able to get off a shot in either encounter.  I was too fussy the first time, and not fast enough on the draw the second time.  The most important lesson I learned on the last one is: squirrels dont snap twigs on wet leaves.

I dont think i ever heard a squirrel snap a twig on the ground,regardless of moisture levels.

I would say 75/25 sight over sound for me,but it does depend on the setup.

Edited November 6, 2020 by BowmanMike

[Bolt action]

50 / 50 for me also. There have been times when I hear them coming from a ways off. Other times I look around and they're right under me and I never heard them come in..

[GreeneHunter]

Movement ..... Can't hear shit !

[Marion]

I never hear them although I am almost deaf, I see them first. I have smelled them though before seeing them. 
 

I love smelling them first that's the most exciting part! When you can smell before you see em!

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[Robhuntandfish]

I take whatever comes first.  But have to say when i first started hunting any noise i would react. Now that I've done a lot of hunting can generally tell if a noise is a deer walking or just some small game moving around. 

[Bolt action]

9 minutes ago, Robhuntandfish said:

I take whatever comes first.  But have to say when i first started hunting any noise i would react. Now that I've done a lot of hunting can generally tell if a noise is a deer walking or just some small game moving around. 

Not me.. damn squirrels get me every time!

[Spear]

Usually sound for me. If I catch them by sight first, they are far off or they came in silent and I just happened to wake up from my glorious nap or looked up from my phone.

[Tughill Tamer]

50/50 for me it depends on the conditions.

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[genesee_mohican]

I can hear quite well, but it's usually sight. Although on these dry November days with all the leaves on the ground, there's a great chance you'll hear them first.

[doebuck1234]

7 hours ago, Robhuntandfish said:

I take whatever comes first.  But have to say when i first started hunting any noise i would react. Now that I've done a lot of hunting can generally tell if a noise is a deer walking or just some small game moving around. 

X2.my cousin this year kept telling me he heard alot of noise behind the blind where door is.asked him if he had seen it and said no.told him he'd be surprised how much racket a squirrel can make!!!!ill close my eyes every so often and just listen,truly seems to make a difference and listening to all going on is so peaceful.

This year in particular ive seen before hearing,seems like they have been dam near within 30 yards of me when see em!!!!

[Nomad]

The ones I don’t hear , I see first .

[Bionic]

I typically see the deer before I hear them.  I do pay attention to squirrels though, when the gray’s bark, and the red’s sound like rattlesnakes....I pay extra close attention for deer movement, pretty thick woods here.

Edited November 7, 2020 by Bionic

[Daveboone]

Gotta have my hearing aids in...I have absolutly been tipped off by hearing them, but usually only when it is very "crunchY". I have been more frequently tipped off by other critters...squirrels, etc. complaining about intruders.

More often than not though, I see them. I like to hunt the sloppy weather, which means alot of background noise to start. I most frequently see the little moving patch/spot in the woods and zero in on it. Much easier to do from a distance when snow is on the ground, so I prefer to hunt the later season.

[wolc123]

On 11/6/2020 at 8:17 PM, The Jerkman said:

I love smelling them first that's the most exciting part! When you can smell before you see em!

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I can only recall smelling one, before I saw him alive the last time.  It was 2016, the last year that I punched both my buck tags.  I saw him and heard him prior however.  I also got a stronger smell of his innards afterwords. 

A little 3 point appeared 5 minutes before I saw him.  The little guy offered me a 15  yard broadside shot.  I passed because the body and the rack were both very small.

His older cousin showed up next, emerging from heavy cover at exactly the same place, about 75 yards away.  Way bigger body and 8 point rack.  He appeared to be at least 2x the size of the little "scout".

The big guy did not follow the same path and give me the easy, 15 yard broadside, open field shot however.  He detoured thru a corn plot, upwind of me.  I could hear him munching on it as he moved closer. 

Just before he emerged from the standing corn, about 20 yards away, I got a real good whiff of that rutty/musty/pizzy smell.  When he stepped out, he took my arrow behind the shoulder.

He then turned and stumbled towards my pond, dragging a back leg.  He had been quartering to, and my arrow exited his butt cheek, after passing diagonally thru lungs liver and guts.  I watched him keel over about 50 yards short of the pond. 

That was one messy, smelly gut job.  I used all the blood forward of the diaphragm on that rinse.  The meat all tasted very good, and there was plenty of it.  I guess you could say I used all of my senses on that one.

Edited November 8, 2020 by wolc123

[mowin]

In crunchy dry leaves,I can pretty much tell a tree rat from a deer.  Wet woods or snow covered, mostly see em first. 

I've got a couple stands about 100yrds from the Berkshire spur. The road noise is so loud I couldn't hear a squirrel if it was chewing on my boot. During the week, I'll bring radio headphones on stand and listen to music. Awesome place to hunt, and I've taken some fantastic bucks there, but the noise sucks.