Happy T day. been long time friends.

Just want to share a short story.

didn't renew my hunting license this year.

Its warm today, so I'm out in the nearby public forest.

wearing super noisy jacket, walking fast, and I come across 4 deer, a big doe and 3 smaller does.

At 15 yards away.

Down wind from me.

They immediately scent me, and then see where I am, so I figure I'd yell out and scare them away.

They continue to stare at me.

so I do a couple of jumping jacks, attempt to spin around arms flailing, while making loud weird noise...

and they come forward!! now 12 yards away.

I'm jumping up and down stomping on the ground, making all the noise as possible, even attempting a bad imitation of warning cry I heard from a doe few years back.

and they just stand there, then turns side way, and ALL of them give me broadsides!!

I'm now laughing and screaming "you guys are lucky I don't have hunting license!!"

And they continue to give me broadside for good 30 seconds or so, and then, apparently hearing something in the distance, trot away....calmly.

...they really know when you aren't a threat to them....

I’ve long thought then when we hunt our body chemistry changes. Whether it be adrenaline or some predatory pheromones. Different animals give off different scents during breeding etc. why wouldnt we? It certainly explains to me the difference in animal behavior when i encounter them hunting vs just out walking the woods with no ill intent toward them.

i was up on the mountain before season, no bow,,a nice 5x5 just keeps eating as I go past, then takes a few steps toward me,, I get a nice photo with my phone,,about 20 yards,,

I've had that happen when hunting and not hunting on public land. They get used to horseback riders and hikers. Hear picnickers off in the distance talking.

Q: Are these deer subject to any hunting pressure?

The ones that are immune from persecution can get to be as tame & clueless as city park ducks or golf-course geese...

But there are times when they just really do seem to know.....

ahh chemistry... ok. that makes sense.

>Q: Are these deer subject to any hunting pressure?

A: bow hunting only public land (small) in middle of semi-suburb... yup. usually more hunters in there than shoppers in the mall on black Friday! (ok, over-exaggerated, but you get the idea).

had this happen a lot. with Turkeys also

Would add that happens near horse and hiking trails. Off deeper in the woods with the same deer, it's usually a different story.

My old friend I used to gun hunt the U.P. of Michigan with was fond of saying, "I ain't got anything against no deer but if one runs into me while I'm taking my walk I just might shoot it."

He killed many nice bucks and never sat in a blind, climbed a tree, snuck through the woods or tried to be quiet in any way. He never seen a twig that he didn't need to snap and rarely stopped moving except to build a fire and heat a can of soup two or three times a day.

The biggest buck he killed he shot at three times with his 30-30 as it walked towards him before he killed it. He fired his first shot at 100 yards, then 80, and 50 and finally he killed it at 25 yards. I heard the shots and they were so far apart I thought that someone was firing a distress signal. When I got to him I looked at the tracks in the snow and it was evident what he had done. He had walked in a 10 yard circle around the fire snapping off dead pine boughs and putting them on the fire between firing shots at the Buck. Before the last shot he stopped and pulled the glove off his trigger hand with his teeth and let it drop to the ground. He said the Buck was looking right at him but he had to get the glove off because he couldn't feel the trigger with the glove on very well. He wasn't joking when he said ne had nothing against any deer, but if they get to close he might shoot one.

That was 45 years ago and the common belief then was to be still, shut up, don't move and play the wind. He did none of these things and killed more Bucks than any of the rest of us. I believe he was often mistaken for a Buck thrashing the brush and tearing up the area by other deer and not perceived as a threat because of his behavior in the woods. Good Day

The chemistry is a little off I'm afraid.

First of all Epinephrine (Adrenaline, like Heroin is a patented trade name for the chemical construct) is not an external excreted hormone so none of it leaves the body and has no secreted residue that another animal can smell or detect.

Pheromone on the other hand is an excreted hormone and is the name give to a range of messaging chemical compounds but they're species specific. It maybe that the animal associates the smell of specific Androstanes with humans because of shared Androsteroidal enzymes

Happy Thanksgiving to you Ted, nice to see you post again. Cute story! Lance

I thought from the title this post would be from a relative of Frisky...the deer give him the same treatment when he's "armed". (does not include when he's in the Power Wagon)!

All summer I was getting pix of two forkies, right from the drivers seat of my truck. Come hunting season, poof!

PS That shed is right at the top of the club trap shooting field...

I wonder if deer and animals have a sixth sense that warns them if the are being hunted?

I've run some threads about putting up wicks, cedar posts, and water holes to attract deer. This year during the rut I went to a treestand that had all three. As I got to about 75 yards I saw a deer standing right where I was going. I looked in my binos and saw that it was a fawn.

I don't like scaring animals for any reason, but that's right where I was going. So I debated on what to do. Screw it, get up in the stand, she'll run away.

A few more steps and another fawn got up. I walked to the stand and they stood by the waterhole - 15 yards away. I put down my backpack and walked to within 8 feet!!! Now I don't want them to see me get up in the stand, but screw it. One was a buck and one was a doe. They stayed there for just short of and hour and 15 minutes, when a buck came by and they followed him to a corn field.

This should be of more interest. I dug that waterhole three years ago on a 95 degree day. Whew!!!. It was pretty good the first year, but now after 3 it's a singles club bar. In mid Oct. my hunting buddy and I put 70 gallons of water in the hole. Around Nov. 5th it was almost dry. Evaporation? I don't think so.

My buddy sits that stand most of the time (he shot a good buck there that Sharps found). There's a huge corn field on the edge of the woods and the hole, wick and pole are about 50 yards from the field. During the rut my buddy saw bucks run out of the corn field with their tongues hanging out and right to the waterhole. Then back to the corn field.

Bowmania

I have that happen the day after hunting season. one was so close I could have touch it.

olddogrib beat me to it. I thought this was going to be a thread about Frisky. I was expecting some laughs.

While mule deer hunting I've had deer stand and watch me walk by without showing any sign they wanted to run. But as soon as my path carried me in a direct line towards them they were gone. Using that one year in Montana I had a nice buck bust me. I started walking aimlessly zig zagging in his direction. He allowed me within about 30 yards and started twitching his tail so I took the shot. He was broadside looking at me so got both lungs. He started towards me a few steps when the arrow hit on the other side of him but died within 5 yards of where he originally stood. He had seemed more curious than afraid thru the whole thing.

I have been telling you fellers this for a while they will come to you or you can walk up on them. Now you pursue them and they know that!

Animals know and are interesting to watch what they do. They just might fool you have to learn how to fool them in a pursuit mode not to spook them to get in range and exicute the shoot to be able to takeem.

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