BrentH243

While hunting, how accurate are you at determining whether a sound you hear is either a squirrel or a deer?

For everyone that answersover 90%, how can you tell for sure? I know the way a deer and a squirrel normally sound, but sometimes I hear what I think is a deer and I slowly move to try to see it and its a squirrel. Other times, I hear what I think is a squirrel and I don't bother looking because I don't need to make any un-necessary movements to watch a squirrel, and adeer walks by. I would hate to think a squirrel is coming in, not bother looking at it, and noticing a mature buck sneaking 15 yards from the stand, through the brush, and out of sight! Those darn turkeys make a ton of noise too!

mauser06

i am pretty danged good at distinguishing sounds in the woods. i am usually right on with the normal critters...deer, turkey, chipmunks and squirrels..i can distingush deer running and trotting in dry leaves over anything else pretty well too..

i still look, just to double check...but i can call em most of the time..here and there i still get fooled, but if you spend enough time on stand, you will find that deer sound differently than most anything because of the way they walk...

Arthur P

I can usually tell if it's a squirrel or a deer. But there have been armadillos that had me absolutely convinced I had a deer coming in.

Austin/WI

I'm pretty decent at distinguishing the differences. I still look, just to double check, and I will admit I have been surprised when I saw what I thought was a squirrel

One tips I heard a long time ago ---> Deer will usually take steps in 3's, 5's, 7's, etc. So that's one way of telling the difference I guess. I've never really thought about it too much, but it has seemed to be fairly accurate as I do think about the past few weekends...

JoeRE

I can always tell (well almost)....but the possums have me fooled. Every time. Most of the time they sound like a buck too...walking marginally slower and clumsier than a doe.[:@]

MN/Kyle

"76-90" for me. Its the darn flocks of turkeys that for what ever reason always fool me.

HammytheHunter

76-90% is pretty on par for me.

Hoytail Hunter

I don't have it mastered yet so I always pay attention to every sound. I'm probably in the 51-75 category.

Prairie Wolf

Cottontail rabbits kill me. I always am right when it is a deer. I am wrong more often than not when it is a rabbit. Squirrels usually don't fool me.

BowMagic

This is a great Poll for me. I'll have to tell the whole story. It's late season bow hunting in Cable Wisconsin for those of you who deer hunt up in that area of the country the deer are extremly picky. My family in 4 years of late season bow hunting have never shot a deer. I got in my stand at about 625 AM. At 630 I heard a noise behind me I thought it was a squirrel because I had just brought my Tree stand about 1.5 miles through the forest I must have been quieter then I thought. I saw 3 nice does stand at 20 yards I shot the bigest one. My first deer and our family's 1st late season deer. If I would have turned and looked I never would have shot her!