hikers and dog walkers pressuring deer
 

do deer on public land react to all human presence as hunting pressure or are they not spooked by hikers and dogwalkers who stick to trails.

I know if a deer sees a hiker it will take off. Im talking more so about long term presence on a property.

Im kind of guessing that they can tell based on the scent of hikers sticking to trails compared to hunters bushwacking.

deer pattern people just like people try and patterns deer\
if there is a regular disturbance in a deer's area by the same people at basically same time, they will both adjust and adapt to them, either by staying away from the area, and or actually getting used to them and learning/viewing them as a NON threat, ever see deer in a non hunting gated community??
deer in these places can down right come fearless of humans and be like pets

but I doubt hikers will have that effect on deer, unless there deliberately trying to tame the deer with enticements of food or??

SO< typically any NEW presence of humans, will be considered pressure by wildlife , deer included!
be them hunters or hikers!, and again I mean NEW or random presence of humans

you have to always remember that HUMANS< smell BAD to tall wildlife that uses there nose to survive and they do there best to avoid us long before we know they were even there!
its what keeps them alive and for them survive!
and after decades of hunting, I personally find MORE hunters uuse trails to get to close to there spots than go brush wacking thru the woods!
so hunters are just like hikers 95% of the time , untill there close to there hunting spot when they jump off trail to get to it IMO!

I hunted a nice cover area near a rural subdivision once. I could hear kids playing and the dogs barking. The deer I saw paid very little attention to those noises. They were indeed used to them. As an added benefit to me, the deer also weren't particularly concerned about human scent. They were used to that too. I took a nice doe that night.

Deer hearing noise and smelling certain smells that they have gotten uses to and showing no concern is one thing, how they act when people go walking on wooded paths and or walking dogs is something else again. As has been previously stated, if an area has a lot of walkers the deer will stay away from the busy area in the daytime.