by23856

This past Saturday I’m using my climber tree stand and climbing up in my tree, making a small amount of racket. I get up to about 18’-20’, get everything set up and my safety strap set, etc., turn around and start sit down so I can pull my bow up, when I hear three hard footed bounds that I knew instantly was a deer that was spooked. I look up and sure enough there is a doe with a very dark chest (relevant in the rest of the story) doing her little head bob stare at me. I freeze in mid crouch hoping she’ll move on. No such luck. She does a few more head bobs, stomps her foot some more, snorts and takes a few more leaps up and behind me. She is currently on my left and down wind. She then circles around me to get behind me and to my right, which is down wind of me. There she sniffs, snorts and stomps some more. “Great!” I think to myself, “She has busted me by sight and now by scent. This hunt is likely ruined.” But I talk myself out of leaving since it is 3:45 PM and I still have at 3 ½ hours to hunt. I figure she’ll take off and if I’m lucky, any alarm pheromones she released will blow away (I’m an optimistic guy).

Well, I wasn’t to be so lucky. This same doe, which I knew was the same doe because of her dark hair, especially on her chest, just kept circling me and looking up at me doing her little head-bobbing stare. She didn’t snort anymore, but would look for a while and then turn and take a few leaps away. At about 5:00 PM I have had enough and decided that I had one of two choices: Shoot her or leave. (Yes, I would have retrieved her and put her in the freezer, not let her lay). I decide to leave and go to another spot and hope for the best. Just as I put my arrow back in the quiver in preparation of leaving, I look up and here comes another doe and her two young ones coming straight at me from my right- down wind of me!! “My scent must not be that bad.” I’m thinking to myself, so I pull my arrow back out and watch these three for a couple of minutes when long and behold, here comes that stinking dark haired doe again from down wind. I’m about fit to be tied. She looks up at my location some more and as the other doe and her two fawns move on from underneath me, she circles around behind my stand and meets up with them off to my left, where she first saw me. She walks off with them and I think I’m rid of her finally.

Not so fast! 15 minutes later, here she comes back from the way she just left with the other three, looking up in my tree some more. She circles up behind me and disappears. It’s 6:30 now and I have about 45 minutes of shooting time left. I sit there fuming, hoping to still ambush an unwary buck (I told you, I’m an optimistic chap) before dark. At 7:05, I hear footsteps off to my left and my heart jumps as I think that I have finally ambushed that big buck as he starts his evening movement to his food plot. I make sure all is ready for me to shoot, I sit rock still looking out of the corner of my eye… Just to see that darn doe coming back for another look. I almost threw my bow at her!!!

Why would she do this? Has anyone else experience a hounding by a doe like this? After the first couple of snorts, she didn’t snort anymore despite being down wind of me at least 3-4 times, and hanging out in the area for 3 ½ hours. Does that mean that maybe my scent elimination program was working a little bit, at least? I know she saw me initially, I was moving too much not to be seen as I set up my treestand, but maybe she didn’t scent me like I thought. Any thoughts or advice?

Dalejbrass

by23856,

She was just having a little fun with ya! Lol. Seriously, whitetailes are VERY curious by nature. I would guestimate, that she was not that afraid of you or you probably wouldn' t have seen her again (do these deer come into contact with humans on a regular basis?)! She may have not been positive WHAT you were and was trying to figure it out. I would recommend that you take her out on your next opportunity if you plan to hunt that location again. Some of the older does will haunt you forever!

I' ve ridden to within 20 yards of three different bucks on my ATV and all of them were pretty relaxed considering the circumstances. I had a spike actually walk to within 15 feet of myself, wife, dog and baby girl while we were sitting on my quad (it was running). That' s what I love about early season bowhunting. Most deer are just not that nervous yet!

BobCo19-65

Deer can be very curious creatures. I don' t fully believe that she knew what you were and wanted some type of conformation. And yes, I have had this happen to me, but maybe not to the extent of your situation.

by23856

Dalejbrass, yes, these are suburban deer so they' re around human scent a lot. Likely this same doe has eaten some of my wife' s garden within the last few weeks also. :-) I know for sure that the doe and her two fawns have. We have seen them in the garden several times, the last time being the day before all of this happened.

BobCo, that is what surprised me- the extent and length of how long this happened. 3 1/2 freaking hours! I don' t know if I should be mad or elated that my camo and scent control didn' t give me away 100% despite the prolonged scrutiny. I' m absolutely sure it was the same doe, though, from her coloring and the fact that she would look right at me the second she was in a clearing and I know I was sitting rock still on most occassions and had a good back drop of branches and leaves to break up my outline.

It did re-affirm to me that deer have fabulous memories and that we are hunting in their living rooms and they know what is out of place and what isn' t. I used to doubt this a few years back, but not anymore.

BobCo19-65

This is definitely a believable story, and trust me, I believe you that it was the same deer. I would tend to be on the happy side that your camo and scent control did not give you away 100%, and as long as she didn' t see you when you got down, she still isn' t sure what you were. I probably would elect to get in a different tree though next time. Cause she will probably look in that same tree every time she goes by it for the rest of the season.

I' ll give you a story on that, but it' s with a dog. One time I was walking in the woods with my dog (black lab, great dane mix), and he spotted a coon in a tree. That was five years ago, and to this day, when we walk by that tree, he looks up in it for a coon.

I' ll tell you a story about a doe. This was about seven years ago. I was hunting from a climber and it was early afternon (I was staying there till nightfall). I just sat down and similar to you, I heard a snort and then a run from behind me. It was a doe that I thought had seen me. Later on, I had a sandwich in the stand, and I acidently dropped the wrapper out of the tree. I was thinking about going down for it, but decided to stay in the tree. A half hour later I hear walking from behind me and the deer is stomping her foot about every five steps. Now, I' m not 100% sure it was the same deer but I' m 95% sure. Sure enough the deer came in slowly and cautiously, bobing her head and stomping and looking right at me. she came all the way in to 5 yards, smelled my wrapper snorted and took of in the direction she cam in. Now I' m pissed. Anyway an hour later five deer (does and yearlings) are coming in with one deer following up. I' m thinking, that is her again. sure enough, she is hoofing the ground and looking right at me. The other deer get passed me about ten yards, and she comes right up to my wrapper again, smells it, snorts, and scares all the deer away. This happened over about a 2 1/2 half to a three hour period. So as you can see, I know where you are coming from.

FlDeerman

Boy can I relate to your story.I had an old doe that nailed me in my stand most of the bow season.It didn' t matter which camo I used, she saw me.I hung a camo jacket in the stand ,set up a ground blind and ended that.I almost had her mounted,the smartest deer I' ve ever met.

PAHUNTER21

This happened to me 2 seasons ago, I spooked her on when I drew on her. She trotted off within eye range not knowing exactly what i was and snorted a couple times. After snorting and stomping for a bit, the curiosity got to her and she mozied back toward me, continuing to look in my direction. She circled me a couple times trying to get a scent off of me, but i guess i did pretty good with my scent control that day. The next time she came around and looked the other way, I blasted her with a good ole' easton through both sides! I guess the old saying " curiosity killed the cat" can be changed to " curiosity killed the doe" !

If i were you, i' d take her so she doesn' t blow your cover. IMHO.

good luck out there

-BJ