How do guns affect deer?

[ILBOW]

I haven't had to much experience with guns going offclose tothe deer heardsI am managing. I suppose deer could get used to the sounds of firepower in some areas. The only reasonI ask is I was scouting one of my family heards of doe when a large dumptruck was going down the road nearby. It's very rare to have any traffic by me, so i was glassing them from about 150ydsI lost sight of them. They actually appeared to drop down into the long grass and Hide, I thought this was peculiar(sp?)

[hr]

any experience with this??

[ILBOW]

In other situations I've only seen deer freeze with vehicles or loud noises, never hide as if afraid of the unknown!

[GForce]

For years, I have hunted an area near an Indiana Department of Natural Resources property shooting range. The range operates 10 minutes live fire - 10 minutes safety time. There are more deer around this shooting range through most of the year, than any where else on theproperty. Except during Put-n-take Pheasant season.

[LeftyBuckmaster]

around here alot of people illegaly drive deer with their vehicles and sometimes when i go to scout deer from the road the deer will run when i slow down and pull to the side of the road although i am 1/2 mile away

[lifesadrag]

ORIGINAL: ILBOW

I haven't had to much experience with guns going offclose tothe deer heardsI am managing. I suppose deer could get used to the sounds of firepower in some areas. The only reasonI ask is I was scouting one of my family heards of doe when a large dumptruck was going down the road nearby. It's very rare to have any traffic by me, so i was glassing them from about 150ydsI lost sight of them. They actually appeared to drop down into the long grass and Hide, I thought this was peculiar(sp?)


[hr]


any experience with this??

Sad to say but I think they will get used to it, as the urban sprawl is definately closing in on Mchenry co.

[2footroper]

I hunt a very small wood lot near my home where there is alot of waterfowl hunting. The deer are not spooked at all by the shooting. But let them hear a bow string and they are gone for a couple of days. I know of an oldtimer who is very honest and never sipns a yarn tell of a time he was on a stand and wathced a doe and yearling crossing a field of tall grass. They were very skiddish and when a car went by on a nearby road the deer dissappeared. Next thing he sees was the two deer belly-crawling out of the grass and into the edge of the woods some 50 yards from where he saw them last.
I have also witnessed something similar while rifle hunting in north Texas. We were scouting some managment bucks when one of the cowboys decided to take one of them. When he shot, all three deer dissappeared into the 2 foot tall grass. Soon I spotted two of them some 100 yards away stand up and look around. They had to have crawled out of there or we would have seen them. It's very cool to see something like that.

[atlasman]

I hunt my gun club property all the time. My brother and I killed 2 deer there this year. There was a guy on the rifle range when my brother killed his doe and he said she never even flinched when the shots were cracking away. These deer have heard gun shots ring out regularly from day 1 though.

[MOmightymite]

I had a doe within bow range this year during rifle season and a shot rang out on a neighboring property(pretty close)and the deer didnt even flinch. I think they get used to it in a way.

[titleist_03]

My buddy and I have noticed over the years that deer pay little attention to the 'BOOM" of a gun unless they are directly effected. We have both had countless deer in front of us when someone a couple hundred yards away fired, only to the deer continue to act as they were. Granted, there are some occassion when the deer will bolt, but by far the majority remain. I have had a couple instances where I have been able to get multiple shots on a deer because they didnt' bolt after the first shot missed. (Yes I will admit to missing every once in awhile)