Bucks v. Does: Who Wins the IQ Test?
 

Okay, thought I would try and get some opinions on this topic. The common theory in my neck of the woods is that the average Doe is dumber than the average Buck when it comes to avoiding hunters. However, I cannot see a reason from a scientific standpoint that this is true.
First, it would seem most predators over the years would go after Does rather than Bucks because Does are smaller. This would seem to cause Does to be more wary on average.
Second, perhaps Does are easier to kill in most areas because there are more of them. This would mean a greater number of stupid Does would be walking around compared to stupid Bucks.
Third, is there any differences between a Does ability to smell, see, and hear compared to a Buck?
I can see arguments that Bucks are smarter because of the years of intense hunting pressure on them. Do Bucks just seem smarter because they are more nocturnal than Does? Why are Bucks so nocturnal, is it hunting pressure? Any biologists out there have an opinion? How about you experienced hunters? Let the debate begin!!

RE: Bucks v. Does: Who Wins the IQ Test?
 

I think it has to do with #"s, on most of the areas we hunt the does out # the bucks 5 or 6 to one,some places higher than thatso you are going to see more does than bucks.the bucks don't have to move around as much to find the ladys.
on the ranches where they manage the # and get them down to 2 to 1 then they always see more bucks, because the boys have to look harder for the girls.

There we have it started. Just my 2 cents,there are 98 more.<img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle><img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle>

I am not a hunter I am a whitetail population reduction specialest

remember keep your back to the sun, your knife sharp, and your powder dry.

RE: Bucks v. Does: Who Wins the IQ Test?
 

around here i think bucks are alot smarter..i mean some are dumb as bricks and if you catch them in the peak of the rut even the big bruisers are love sick and will do about anything for a piece...but come rifle season they disappear and are way more suspicious than does and does been fair game for 2 seasons now...even button bucks run with their heads down when spooked just because for so many years bucks been killed because of whats on their head...rifle season does are just walking around feeding and going about their buisness...bucks tend to lay low most of the day and are realy suspicious while moving...i think they are smarter...does get pounded and you can still catch them walking in a field in rifle season like nothing is wrong...but then again we have alot more does than bucks and bucks been hunted alot harder in the past....

RE: Bucks v. Does: Who Wins the IQ Test?
 

i would say buck,except during the rut. i have had does walk 5 feet from my ground blind when i was standing up in it full view.i even had time to slowly sit down and bring my gun out for the buck in trail.

slayer

&quot;Accurate,Deadly,Dependable&quot;

RE: Bucks v. Does: Who Wins the IQ Test?
 

LOLOL Sorry mauser06 I had to laugh on the button thing.I am not so sure the button's really know what's going on when they really start getting hit.It would be funny though to see a little button sneaking threw the woods head down and all. lolol<img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle><img src=icon_smile_wink.gif border=0 align=middle>

SAVE A HUNTER EATA PETA

RE: Bucks v. Does: Who Wins the IQ Test?
 

I think an old doe is usually much smarter. She usually has to use her wits to take care of not only herself, but two or three younguns at the same time. She is more exposed because she has to continually search for food for herself as well as the offspring. Guarantee you put one old doe and ten bucks in a food patch at the same time and the old doe will spot you first.

RE: Bucks v. Does: Who Wins the IQ Test?
 

I go for the biggest Doe early in season.The leader of the pack.

A Dominant Doe in the 2-4 yr class IMO is the smartest creature in the woods.You take her out EARLY in season Mr Buck becomes easier to pattern.The yearlings scatter aimlessly after the old lady is gone and so Mr Buck follows them directly to line of fire!'

It isn't always that simple.Just been my observation over the years.

RE: Bucks v. Does: Who Wins the IQ Test?
 

I dont know if sex is really what matters the most in deer wariness. I would say that the most important thing would be the age. I hunt in a buck only area so the doe dont have to be as careful as bucks. But on the other hand I have seen a group of two bucks and a few does stand in an open field while somebody shot and missed a buck 7 times, and the doe finally took off, and then one buck took off, but the other waited until it was chased into the woods with a truck. Anyway no matter what sex deer are going to get much smarter as they get older, because of the simple fact that they have lived longer and are more experienced.

RE: Bucks v. Does: Who Wins the IQ Test?
 

I shot an old (3-4 yrs) doe this evening with Blackpowder, she stepped into a shooting lane and picked me out like I was waving a flag. Lucky for me I was ready when she stepped out and she didn't have time to snort. I think and old doe can be very smart, especially in a heavily hunted area, but a 5-6 yr old buck living in NJ, PA, MD, et ceterea, or anywhere hunting pressure is very high, may be the smartest animal in the woods, or at least the most cautious.

Just my .02

&quot;We do not inherit our wildlife from our fathers, we only borrow it from our children.&quot;

RE: Bucks v. Does: Who Wins the IQ Test?
 

A old doe is very smart indeed,the buttons are as dumb as a door knob most the time.

RE: Bucks v. Does: Who Wins the IQ Test?
 

Here is how I rate deer in the IQ department:

#1 Old Doe
#2 Old buck
#3 doe
#4 button
#5 All bucks during the rut!

Fred Bear said the smartest deer he ever killed was an old doe.

The Tazman aka Martin Price
Founder and President of
Virginia Disabled Outdoorsmen Club

RE: Bucks v. Does: Who Wins the IQ Test?
 

Taz, You got'er! A &quot;herd&quot; or dominant doe has it all over the rest of them. I have had several experiences with &quot;smart does&quot; in northern WI. I have been picked out of tree stands in white pines that offered very good concealment (wind was good and I wasn't moving).

&quot;Semper Fi&quot;

RE: Bucks v. Does: Who Wins the IQ Test?
 

I would have to agree with the guys who say an &quot;older, mature ,wild, dominant doe&quot; for smarts. I hunt a huge swamp and amazed how even the first day of rifle season how quickly these animals are back into some of the thickest cover there is. There #1 job is to keep those fawns alive. Alot of guys think mature bucks are the smartest simply because they hardly ever see them. There may only be 1 of these animals within a several square mile area so seeing one is rare in heavely hunted areas like PA.

Large older bucks are also very noisy animals when moving through thick cover and this can give away their position where larger does move very quietly.

RE: Bucks v. Does: Who Wins the IQ Test?
 

I would agree that the older doe seems to know what is going on. Lets face it bucks aren't really that smart when it comes to rut time. They may seem a little more weary, but thats because they have to protect there area and they do get into alot of fights. They are more interested in who's out there instead of eating and just walking around. Now as far as there IQ test go I'll have to get back to ya there is a little button buck that is giving me trouble in the classroom He keeps running around with his head down and knocking all the desk over<img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle><img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle><img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle> Sorry Mauser I couldn't resist:)

RE: Bucks v. Does: Who Wins the IQ Test?
 

Nothing smarter than an old doe. That old doe will pick you out and than give the command for every deer in the county to run off. An old buck may be smart but he will usually get his but out of danger and not all the deer in the woods.

I had a group of 15-16 deer come in. A good variety of deer were present under my stand. That damn old doe never took her eyes off of me for twenty minutes. When I finally made a move to grab my bow she squaled out and all the deer fanished.

GO PACK!

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RE: Bucks v. Does: Who Wins the IQ Test?
 

Deer are not stupid. Some just have more natural instincts than others (my opinion). Also, Who said deer don't look up? They do where I hunt!

RE: Bucks v. Does: Who Wins the IQ Test?
 

Not that I ever hunted a deer, but the answer &quot;a buck because their hunted more&quot; assumes that they can tell that by being &quot;male&quot; they are the target and not that the species as a whole is the target.

It seems though that if the male is hunted more, then there would be less of them to survive long enough to gain real experience as opposed to the females who are hunted less, would assume that the live longer and had more experience with hunters because not being the target they survive more hunts.

RE: Bucks v. Does: Who Wins the IQ Test?
 

I think it all boils down to age. Most of the older deer are really smart and their sex doesnt have much to do with it. We have all seen those old bucks that get huge because they know how to move and avoid hunters and were to sneak around. But then you have that old lead doe that all the other does depend on to get them through the woods safely they follow her cause they know she knows the ropes. So i think it all comes down to age and experience.

RE: Bucks v. Does: Who Wins the IQ Test?
 

In most places, people shoot 5-10 bucks for every doe. Therefore the bucks better be smarter or they are history.

You would call a doe that walks near you or sees you and doesn't spook a &quot;dumb&quot; deer, but if no one shoots at her, she has nothing to fear, so why run. She has never had a good reason to become nocturnal.

In our area, we hunt does hard, and for many years have killed more does than bucks (about 1.5 does for every buck killed). Even though the night survey counts still shows about 2 does per buck, you see more bucks than does during daylight hours. Why? Because does have been hunted harder and have become more nocturnal.

In other words the class of deer hunted hardest will wise up over time.

RE: Bucks v. Does: Who Wins the IQ Test?
 

I think that it is much less buck and doe and much more age and experience.Many old bucks go totally nocturnal once hunting season starts but younger bucks can be very foolish during the rut.

RE: Bucks v. Does: Who Wins the IQ Test?
 

OK - Lets call it a draw on Doe vs Buck IQ.

I will say without question,hands down,a 2-4yr Dominent Doe will kick ANY Bucks Behind/Buttocks/A*# any time any place 24/7/365 days!!

Been there seen that fight a few times.

RE: Bucks v. Does: Who Wins the IQ Test?
 

I call it even except during a 2 period.

Put it this way........who is smarter when a man is after a woman? <img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle>

RE: Bucks v. Does: Who Wins the IQ Test?
 

Well yesterday afternoon, the lead doe either saved its own life or one of it's followers. I had 5 doe come out at about 120 yards with a huge old doe in the lead, she had to of been pushing 200 pounds on the hoof, the wind was perfect and they never looked in my direction once, at about 40 yards out the lead doe jerked her head up and looked down the powerline for 30-40 seconds(not in my direction)and then started to feed again, about a minute later she did the exact same thing, but this time she headed back the way she came and the other 4 followed her. What ever spooked her was downwind of her where she was looking, I have no idea. What I found interesting was the 4 doe with her didn't have a care in the world, all they did was keep an eye on the lead doe and follow her lead. Oh by the way I was bowhunting or there would have been at least one and probably 2 more deer for my freezer.

The Tazman aka Martin Price
Founder and President of
Virginia Disabled Outdoorsmen Club

RE: Bucks v. Does: Who Wins the IQ Test?
 

What is the question??

Is it are Does smarter?, or are they Harder to hunt?

There is a big difference, because I concider myself a little smarter than any deer and I would be easy to hunt because of my habits.

A mature Doe may be Smarter than a mature buck, but they are much, much, easier to Kill.

They may be very aware of there surroundings, the look up, and they can be real good at busting you but there habits make them very huntable. They almost always leave the bedding areas during light, and often enter well past daybreak. They are burdened with two stupid fawns, who often get restless and move around quite a bit.

I have had more does come withen bow range AFTER they have seen me or got a little wiff of me. They have a terrible habit of investigating what is not right - must be a mothers thing.

A mature buck on pressured land is a different species compared to does. Almost 100% nocturnal, sneaks away at the slightest hint of danger and 99% of the time will never return.

Them darn does are easy<img src=icon_smile_wink.gif border=0 align=middle><img src=icon_smile_evil.gif border=0 align=middle>

RE: Bucks v. Does: Who Wins the IQ Test?
 

AJ52 that goes for people too!! I've been clocked by my wife for darned good reasons too!

RE: Bucks v. Does: Who Wins the IQ Test?
 

I would say the average buck is smarter than the average doe. Besides the fact that both of them are dumb during the rut, and both seem to sense danger about the same, the buck will be alerted quicker and headed for saftey beore the doe will. Bucks just seem more cautious. That's just in my hunting experiences.
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