Now that I can't argue with. Thats acutally what I was trying to say in my post. Instincts tell them quickly what is and is not danger.

I can't tell you how many times people around here go up in the mountains 2 weeks before elk season opens and they're blowing thier bugles all over the mountain. All it does is educate the elk. They soon realize that a man on a Honda Foreman can make the same sound as a bull. They get very call shy and it happens every year without fail. I've found call shy bulls holed up once 300 yds down in a ravine. I called to them on opening day and they RAN!! I couldn't believe it. The weekend before I was up in the area to check it out and at first I thought bulls were bugling all over the mountain. It didn't take long to see people were doing the bulging and I knew it was going to be a long hunt.

If I encounter a small bull I'm not going to harvest I try my hardest not to spook him. I'll sneak around or just sit and wait until he moves off. Because when he gets bigger he'll take those little lessons and use them to beat me. I even try not to spook cows and my huntin partners sometimes think I'm crazy because sometimes I'll go to great lengths not to spook them. But I figure during the rut you gotta be able to sneak up on those cows to get a shot at the bull. If those cows are spooky and educated they are gonna bust you.

I suppose EKM is right the actual mental capacity of a whitetail isn't all that important, the fact is they are tough to hunt. The only reason I brought it up is it really interested me to know what it is you're really up against. I am a wildlife facts fanatic. Happy huntin!!