Define "Pressure"

[GMMAT]

In terms of whitetail deer hunting......define "pressure".

Is it always (in your opinions) due to hunters?

Germ's reply to another post makes sense to me. He said there was an absence of big bucks in his area.....due to "pressure". I buy that. I'm the only one "legally" hunting the woods I hunt. But...the herd there is "pressured". I've always contended that a whitetail doesn't care if you're checking your cam....scouting....planting a food plot.....hanging a stand......walking your dog.....jogging or hunting.

He only knows you're in his bedroom.

[bawanajim]

Oh but yes they do care, my best example is riding my JD gator . If you keep moving ,no matter how slow deer stand and watch but the instant you stop they are gone in a heart beat.
I believe there is day and night difference in how you spook a buck. If your hiding and he winds you before he sees or hears you ,he will be spooked. If you are bumbling along walking a dog and give him warning that you are there chances are he will lye low and let you pass him undetected.

[bloodcrick]

I agree, if a whitetail knows your in his bed room then there is certainly pressure. I shed hunt my area hard, turkey hunt it, and ocassionally ride a quad on it, fish on it ect ect. Im sure some of my big buck sightings stem from the rut. They will venture into areas, and not give AS MUCH thought to pressured areas. I do have several places that i try and not visit as much and hope that others (guys on our lease) do some of the same. Those santurarys that they like to hide in are better off left less pressured imo.

[PreacherTony]

ORIGINAL: bawanajim

Oh but yes they do care, my best example is riding my JD gator . If you keep moving ,no matter how slow deer stand and watch but the instant you stop they are gone in a heart beat.
I believe there is day and night difference in how you spook a buck. If your hiding and he winds you before he sees or hears you ,he will be spooked. If you are bumbling along walking a dog and give him warning that you are there chances are he will lye low and let you pass him undetected.

Absolutely 100% truth right there!!! They DO know the difference! The farmer tells me how he gets within 50 yards of the deer and then they will just saunter away from him .... when i had my own land, I would watch the deer, watching me as I would ride on my 4-wheeler ....

[Cougar Mag]

To me pressure means the deer not being able to move naturally through their habitat. Fortunately deer are great adaptors. How pressure has affected my hunting is this: it makes it very difficult to pattern a nice buck or even get to where they may be spending more of the daylight time.

[SwampCollie]

Here in the land of the give a damn dog hunters, pressure quite frequently comes from a loose deer hound. All in the name of running foxes .

Deer do get pressured in lots of ways, but think on this.... when you are hunting, or staying in one area for an extended period of time, your scent accumulates and builds up... so a deer knows that a human or other threat was there for quite some time (several hours). If this becomes a regular occurance, then I suspect a deer would get wise to it pretty fast. If you are just passing through, your scent will be minimal, and unless you were just there, a deer will be able to tell of course that it is old or that you were just passing by. I think in most places they are used to smelling humans, dogs, yotes or whatever.... its when they get a big ol fresh whiff of it they get spooked.... or like others have said... if its in a place they don't expect it, and can't pinpoint it.

[Vabowman]

Andy, they say "piece of game" now instead of deer/fox....in their trials that is? It is getting heated up around here isn't it. oh by the way I got to PM you !!!

[rybohunter]

Deer know the difference between pressure that wants to kill them and pressure that is just an inconvenience. I live by a park where you can jog/bikepast a deer at less than 15 yds. without them blinking. Get off the trail and try to walk up to one and you won't get anywhere close to it.

Frequentareas where the deer are out in the open or just passing thru is very different than passing thru bedding areas repeatedly.

Making noise that alerts the deer to your presence so they quietly avoid you is better than sneaking up on them and busting them out.

Pressure can come from sources outside of hunters, but the VAST majority and the worst kind of pressure I feel comes from hunting. And "pressure" can go beyond just disturbing the deer. You could have 10 guys hunting an area, but only shoot 2 bucks and stand hunt only and in my eyes that would be less pressure than 5 guys driving the area every day shootingand shooting 2bucks.

Then of course the more likely scenerio is 10 guys driving everyday and shooting 8 bucks. THAT'S pressure.

[JoeRE]

I agree Jeff, pressure to me is any human activities that make deer alter thier habits.

What pressure is changes from area to area. Here, I do not veiw farming activity as pressure as deer are entirely used to farmwork - other places any human activity at all might change deer habits.

[early in]

ThegroundIhunt mostlyis state land.Any time there is another hunter,hiker or horseback rideraround, which is fairly often, I would say there's pressure. As far as actual hunter pressure goes, I'd say it's pretty light throughout the season. Most of this "pressure" occursduring the early season. When it gets "cold" I usually have the place pretty muchto myself.
These deer on this land do know the difference between the various types of intrusion, there's NO doubt in my mind about this. Hikers and horseback riders just keep moving at a steady rate, and don't send them into the next county. But let one of them catch you sneaking around, or spot you in a tree ( they do look up!), game over!!