Intentionally bumping deer off field
Whitetail Deer
How do you keep from educating these deer?
How do you keep from educating these deer?
So a buddy and I had a discussion about getting out of an evening stand that borders a food plot loaded with deer without educating them.
Curious what you guys do?
I found screaming like a banshee works.
I never could figure out how to enter, or leave, my field edge stand without bumping deer. Finally moved that stand back away from the field, about 50 yards inside the wood line. I cut a path from the field down through the woods, and wouldn’t you know....the deer got curious and started using it. I’m following this thread, eager to hear what others have done.
Oh without educating them after dark climb out even here on public land they appear to apparently not care. At least that's been my experience. Hell I've seen just go back to feeding once with a pack of coon hounds.
I have been trapped before and had my wife pull up to the field approach and bump the deer out that way. I know it’s not practical for everyone but some it may help. I read someone on bowsite was using there phone to make coyote sounds to clear the field after dark. On another instance same field I gained access from a neighbor solely for that purpose.
I just bang my walking stick up against the tree or some brush. Gets their attention and the usually just trot off.
Here in MA we have so few deer this topic was the last thing I ever thought about.
It's always been an issue for me... Thing I've learned is after it turns dark, they relax a lot, and they don't even seem to be the same animals... Heck I've walked up to them in an open field (including mature bucks) within 40 or 50 yards with nothing but a small flash light, and as long as you don't walk directly towards them, they'll just let you walk on by without really spooking... I just make normal noises such as a farmer or hiker and take my time getting out of stand and usually, they'll just move off a little and watch you move away... I know it's kinda educating them, but as long as they don't feel you a threat, they'll basically just move out of your way,,, so the way I believe I'm educating them as to me not being a threat... Which is a good thing...
If I’m covered up in deer I’ll have my neighbor come get me with the side by side. I figure they’re used to them and don’t necessarily see them as a threat. If they’re are only a couple of deer I’ll howl like a coyote and it’ll normally clear them
I bring the wife out to her stand in the JD diesel tractor and pick her up at dark same way. The deer hear me food plotting with that tractor all summer so never pay a mind to it. If that’s not practical it seems best to wait them out until it’s plenty dark and slip out quietly.
Agree with zbone, waiting until near full darkness to walk past them is best. They may still bounce off, but usually won't go far. Sometimes you can trick them into thinking your another deer, by imitating a deer's cadence with your footsteps, and making an occasional light grunt as you go.
I coyote howl with a diaphragm call. Usually, once the first deer starts to clear the field, the rest of them follow suit. They hear and see coyotes practically every day, so I don’t think it runs them out of the country, by any means.
During late season, same as Mnhunter1980. At dark thirty, I’ll have my wife pull the truck out into the food plot and blow the deer off the fields. It can be kind of pricey to do it that way, though. She always seems to have something picked out at the jewelers, and when I start to complain to her about it, she always reminds me of the dozens of times that she’s came and picked me up from the stand or the fields when I was putting in food plots. Small price to pay, I guess.
Not exactly the question but on the same parallel....my buddy ,in stand at dark,,,had big mature buck,in woods 50 yards out. milling around till his nocturnal safety came.,,,so MY FRIEND sat,and sat till he had to get down... Decided to try something ..off the wall....he sprinted thru the woods...70 yards to the field edge that the mature buck wanted to enter...he's a solid dude....but he swears..the big buck chased after him...as if he were an advasairy...buddy hustled along field edge...buck stopped at woodlot edge...just a view from the opposite end of the evening,,,I'd think,making loud noise,WITHOUT,letting the deer see you would be best,,,,without relating a human figure to the noise....
Usually lower my pack on my pull up rope and bounce it a few times.
I already admitted it once, so you'd think I'd feel less stupid about admitting this.
I barked like a dog.
It worked. I've done it repeatedly since then. I still feel stupid.
I do like t-roy and have a coyote howler hand call. Most of the time I have used it I was hunting over small food plots and they ran off. Not sure how it would do for a large ag field as I would not think they would run that far away.
I’ve used an electronic predator call, and played coyote howls to clear a field. Doesn’t seem to do long term harm.
Coyotes are everywhere. Deer hear them, see them, and smell them all year long. Coyote howler. Been using one for years. Also, if my brother is hunting that day, I’ll txt him and have him drive in right to the Treestand and pick me up. But mostly, I use a coyote howler. They don’t seem to spook. They just ease out of the field.
If others were on the property or I was at home, I would always have someone drive in to get me. That doesn’t scare them nearly as much as a human suddenly dropping out of a tree or popping out of a blind. If I was alone, a coyote howl usually gets them going.
That’s why they make squirrel costumes. Just climb down and the deer won’t notice a thing
At first I felt silly but after a few times you get over it.
Along the "I feel silly but" line.....when I get out of the stand and start walking I walk as if I`m a animal. 3 or 4 quick little steps, then a pause....repeat until I am out of range.
I've done the same as Waterfowler and bounced my pack off the ground. Doesn't give the deer any reason to suspect someone's in the tree.
I have bounced my back pack, made owl sounds, coyote sounds and bawled like a cow. All seem to work, but now I'm looking for a squirrel suit. :)
have buddy pick deer me up with 4 wheeler with lights on.they just move off and dont associate you with stand.
Got a good app that plays coyote sounds. Yipping, barking, howling and as they start to move off crack a twig or two. Shawn I have
Most of the time the damn hogs come in and spook them off right at last light. If the doesn’t happen I’ll have someone drive in on a side by side or quad. They hear them all the time, they just move off. I know they’re right back in there because I’ve got pictures of deer a few minutes after changing cards on cameras
Don't or act like a nonhunter - which means you do it at least 4 or 5 times a week and they get used to it as nonthreatening. I hunted many urban areas where deer, even mature bucks (2-3 years old older are in a class by themselves) who have no problem standing silently 50-70 yards away unnoticed as people walk by on a nature trail, talk, stop at a bench etc.
They turn inside out when they see a hunter sneaking along 100 yards away not on the natural trail.
A mature buck who knows he is being hunted is very difficult to kill. The exception is the rut which is random - sitting a funnel then is a good idea.
Very few hunters ever learn enough to realize just how smart a hunted mature buck is. Once I did and realized the incredible effort required to kill one WITHOUT getting lucky during the rut I slowly lost interest.
Here in Ohio mature bucks are always nocturnal days before archery season opens. Until the rut they virtually never move during daylight unless bumped. If you hunt a stand more then once a year they know. 3 or more times and your odds drop 10 fold.
Before I retired I drove through the metroparks for work every day - 95% of mature bucks I saw in daylight were only during the rut and they were not hunted.
It is shocking.
After dark I just pass by them at a reasonable distance not willing to go too far out of my way, but I do keep wind in my favor so that they don't get wind of me. I would rather they see me or get bumped by me than have them wind me. Not sure if it is valid science or not but hate it when they get my wind.
oz
I've always just gotten out my stand. The deer will spook in the field but will be back out in the field sometimes even before I'm out of sight. That has always been my experience and I've never had problems with running them off for good.
Usually throw a water bottle, then the puffy that's usually in the bottom of the pack, then the rattling bag. It puts the attention away from my stand and they clear out. Although I have run out of things to throw and they still wouldn't move. I just got down after that.
I do the phone with coyote sounds. The attached video is my go to.
The farm I hunt in WNY is primarily large ag fields, and often times I don't have access across, say 1 or 2 bordering edges of the fields, so this leaves me bound to exit via the field. So my tecniques may not be helpful in a small food plot...
Anyways, over the years an exiting process has developed to suit my hunting areas, which goes something like this .....
Let me preface by saying; whenever it comes time to leave I generally suffer a bout of severe anxiety (alas I can finally understand what it feels like when my gf says she has anxiety haha!), as each time it becomes a game of trying my damnedest not to scare deer, and I'm on pins and needles until I'm clear of them! I can't be alone in this struggle...
So for the process;
1) Being that I generally sit till dark, I will usually glass when I'm about to climb down, and while on the ground I will glass the field from that level too which usually provides more ambient light to the eye since you aren't looking downward. This undoubtedly helps me avoid deer. Having the right binos with a big exit pupil for light gathering is of the utmost importance here. From there I assess the best escape route, which could be as simple as using the field topography to escape.
2) If I know a target buck is nearby in the field I will try to wait him out. I've stayed on stand for hours after dark waiting for bucks to leave my vicinity.... and I find that they usually wander off after feeding for a while, but I've also had them bed down which really sucks. In that event, I will try to slip out the "back door" going the complete opposite direction of the deer in effort to put distance between us. Usually this means a making large loop out of your way, en route back to the truck.
3) In the events there isn't enough ambient light to glass and avoid deer, or there isn't a "back door" route out of there, or there isn't topography in the field to utilize, and I can't wait them out, I'm left with one option. I act like a coyote. Since I was a kid I've been able to replicate a pretty mean bark and howl sequence, and like other guys say it feels silly, but I'll bet you money it works!
If they can't smell you they will try to get down wind, and often they resist running right away as they'd rather investigate you, but if you couple that howling with fast movement low to the ground, it seems like they are less apt to stick around to find out if you're (a coyote) coming after them or not.
So the goal here is howl, and move quickly, not giving them time to stand around, circle you, or assess the situation.
If you do this they will spook, but I believe they are doing so as a flight response to a "coyote" scaring them, and the faster they exit the less time they have to realize you aren't a coyote. With that said I don't think deer can reason anyways, so if they hear a howl they'll have no reason not to believe their ears, even if their eyes and ears are not agreeing! But let them circle down wind and all bets are off.... they trust their nose.
I either bark like a dog or start whistling and calling my dogs name like he’s lost. Along with that I rattle my release to make it sound like the dogs leash. Works great and I don’t notice any negative affects
I just turn my ozonics off..... but really I usually have an open reed coyote call that I can use to howl. When that doesn’t work I just get out. If I’m hunting near home I have had my wife pull up in a vehicle.
Coyote Call... they hear, they know it, live with it, blow it once or twice, and they are gone.
Same goes for the climb down.
Have fun !
I walk right through the middle of them. They never spook. Of coarse I will be wearing my HECS suit with my ozonics running while i use my acorn cruncher. Never forget your cough muffler just in case you catch a cold during the hunt.
I find that a pop bottle rocket works pretty well.
;-)
Matt
Wait til pitch dark. They are used to a lot of movement In the dark hours and often they will move off but stay in the field.
Just wear a Hecs suit and it won't matter what you do. Can just climb down, pet a few, and walk out.
I do what is suggested above. If I’m not picked up, I walk out with a tail from a doe and I intermittently flicker it. Actually appears to calm them down. Works during daytime too, but less effectively.
All of the above at times-except never tried dog barking.The best is to plant a corn,milo,whatever,buffer or access strip.A few spots I can go away from the field and exit another route.Time consuming but.... Just got an e-bike.Gonna try leaving on that in one spot I have and see what happs.
Personally, I think the key and what you want to prevent is, letting them see you in your tree or see you descending your tree. As long as you can get down without alerting them, you simply wait until complete darkness and walk out.
Pat, My truck has the App where you can start the truck with the phone and BEEP the horn.
Can't wait to try it in Kentucky when I can't exit the field at night.
Most new vehicles can use the after market option.
One time my wife and I were at a birthday party and my son called her from his tree stand and said “ I need help” and then the phone went dead. I drove the 15 miles at a stupid speed and pull up to his stand and he crawls down. I said “what the hell is wrong?” He had two big bucks in the field and didn’t want to get busted getting down and called and then his cell phone died. I was sure relieved. He killed one of those bucks two days later.
Sounds like you’ve got some payback owed to you, Beav. Use it wisely;-)
