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RE: Deer Sleeping
Yup, seen them sleep a lot. The other day I had a big ole fat doe( I almost suspect she was a big old buck with no horns the way she acted and the place she picked to hide out for the day). Anyway, there were some deer tracks across my yard in the snow from the night before. They went both ways. I looked them over and finally figured the deer headed to the swamp. It was gun season so I grabbed my 30-06 and binos just to go snooping and pooping in the new snow. I never made it out of the yard. My back yard is a drop off of about 40 feet to the beginning of the swamp. I glassed the land below and soon found the doe bedded 100 yards away behind a downed tree. She already had me in her sights but was hanging tight... I guesss she figured I couldn't see her. I watched her and surveyed the surrounding brush looking for macho buck but he wasn't there. I tired of the game after 20 minutes and left and drove to a piece of ground I have to hunt. I just was snooping and pooping looking at deer sign in the new snow. I came back home about an hour and half later and sneaked up to the edge of the drop off to check on my doe. She was still there... it's now about 9 AM. I watch her sleep and wake up and snooze and lay there with her head up... but her eyes would close and stay that way and then open and she'd look around. I walked across the road to check sign in the new snow. I came back at 11:30 and sneaked up to the bluff to check on macho doe. She was still there cat napping but semi alert. The wind was strong on my left ear. It suddenly came strong on the back of my neck. I was watching this girl and felt the shift and said to myself... I'm too high, she won't smell me. About a minute after the wind shift she opened her eyes wide and jerked her head up and started the nose high sniffing deal. She was on full alert but didn't leave her hiding place. A couple minutes later the wind shift back and she almost immediately relaxed. I sat there watching her and glassing the surrounding golden rods for 30 minutes through my binos. She'd doze and then snap awake with every wind shift. I finally tired of the game and went inside to shower and shave. I sneaked out at 12:30 or so and she had gotten up and moved on. Deer are just different.
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RE: Deer Sleeping
Last year's Illinois Shotgun Season I sat all day on Friday, and then I turned around and hunted all day Saturday. At about 12:00 p.m. Sunday I got down and was going to walk back to the barn and I saw deer out in the field and one was the 140" that I missed Friday. Well they were just standin out in the middle of the field then they bedded down. They ended up bedding down for about an hour and I slept along with them. I fell asleep because I just could not stay awake any longer when I woke up it was one and I thought they would be gone but they weren't they were just starting to move and coming closer and just as they were closing the distance a coyote comes and scares them away. I think I was mad but just too tired to realize it.:)
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RE: Deer Sleeping
ORIGINAL: davidmil Yup, seen them sleep a lot. The other day I had a big ole fat doe( I almost suspect she was a big old buck with no horns the way she acted and the place she picked to hide out for the day). Anyway, there were some deer tracks across my yard in the snow from the night before. They went both ways. I looked them over and finally figured the deer headed to the swamp. It was gun season so I grabbed my 30-06 and binos just to go snooping and pooping in the new snow. I never made it out of the yard. My back yard is a drop off of about 40 feet to the beginning of the swamp. I glassed the land below and soon found the doe bedded 100 yards away behind a downed tree. She already had me in her sights but was hanging tight... I guesss she figured I couldn't see her. I watched her and surveyed the surrounding brush looking for macho buck but he wasn't there. I tired of the game after 20 minutes and left and drove to a piece of ground I have to hunt. I just was snooping and pooping looking at deer sign in the new snow. I came back home about an hour and half later and sneaked up to the edge of the drop off to check on my doe. She was still there... it's now about 9 AM. I watch her sleep and wake up and snooze and lay there with her head up... but her eyes would close and stay that way and then open and she'd look around. I walked across the road to check sign in the new snow. I came back at 11:30 and sneaked up to the bluff to check on macho doe. She was still there cat napping but semi alert. The wind was strong on my left ear. It suddenly came strong on the back of my neck. I was watching this girl and felt the shift and said to myself... I'm too high, she won't smell me. About a minute after the wind shift she opened her eyes wide and jerked her head up and started the nose high sniffing deal. She was on full alert but didn't leave her hiding place. A couple minutes later the wind shift back and she almost immediately relaxed. I sat there watching her and glassing the surrounding golden rods for 30 minutes through my binos. She'd doze and then snap awake with every wind shift. I finally tired of the game and went inside to shower and shave. I sneaked out at 12:30 or so and she had gotten up and moved on. Deer are just different. |
RE: Deer Sleeping
Here's my contribution. Last January this buck spent all day doing the same thing you described....
  Last monday had a small 4 point do the same thing in almost the same spot. Both were outside my office window. |
RE: Deer Sleeping
ORIGINAL: Pops423 Here's my contribution. Last January this buck spent all day doing the same thing you described.... Last monday had a small 4 point do the same thing in almost the same spot. Both were outside my office window. |
RE: Deer Sleeping
Englum,
I guess you've never seen my backyard bucks posts the last few years (which reminds me I really didn't do one this year.) I work out of my house and my office window faces an old farm behind my property. It's been tough the last few years working in October/November. My boss is pretty understanding though, when I go off of IM for a while during those months, he knows. When I get back online, he just sends a message that reads, 'How big?'. |
RE: Deer Sleeping
The past two weekends I've had a doe bed down within shooting distance of my stand. The first for 3.5 hours! the second for 1.5 hours. Neither one ever seemed to go to sleep, although the first one did tuck her head in her back leg, but only for a minute. Of course neither one of them were in heat. [:@] Last year I stalked within 5 yards of a 140-150" class buck in his bed. (I admit I didn't know he was there untilhe stood up but he never knew I was there) I couldn't get a clear shot and after a minute of looking the other way he took off, but he never looked my way and the wind was to me so I suspect his "sixth sense" told him it was time to go. It's fun to watch them but it's a pain too if you want to be able to shoot a different deer, an extra pair of alert eyes is not what you need.
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