Whitetail Deer Hunting Gain a better understanding of the World's most popular big game animal and the techniques that will help you become a better deer hunter.

Shot scare?

Old 10-09-2009, 10:59 PM
  #1  
Spike
Thread Starter
 
root1102's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2009
Posts: 15
Default Shot scare?

i have 100acre farm where i hunt and a few days ago i was sighting in my gun and the neighbor called all pissy saying i was ruining huntin because deer remeber the gun shots and it scares them so they never come back? Any truth to this?
root1102 is offline  
Old 10-09-2009, 11:52 PM
  #2  
Fork Horn
 
ACPOSSETIM's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Northern Illinois
Posts: 187
Default

Tell the guy to get bent.....he's an idiot. I have a neighbor who acts the same way. First it's MY property I'll shoot when I want to, not when he thinks it's time to. I have a dirt berm with a wood frame in front of it I use to sight in built into the fence line of my property. The day before gun season a few years ago, my buddies and I shot over 75 slugs while practicing. The next morning I killed the biggest buck of my life within 50 yards of the berm, he was bedded with a doe right behind it. Now I wouldn't shoot a lot and expect to always see deer the same day, but it surely doesn't drive the deer of your property for good.
ACPOSSETIM is offline  
Old 10-10-2009, 02:04 AM
  #3  
Nontypical Buck
 
iSnipe's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Minnesota
Posts: 1,304
Default

Often deer don't know where the **** the sound came from! Ever watch other deer after a shot? Some just stand there, like "What's going on and why is that buck running away?" LOL!

I've seen plenty of deer right at a firing range! Deer get acclimated to just about anything... humans, cars, sounds, smells, sights, etc. Your neighbor is a little naive and you should either show him this post(LOL!) or try and politely share with him how deer react.

He does have a point though. Deer, bucks especially, will have some uneasiness to an area if shooting continues for a while where there was no shooting before. It's sort of like in between what I'm saying. A lot of shooting, and we're talking over time, the deer will get use to it. If we're talking a few shots over a day or so from the same place, the deer will have to get use to it, but will take some time.

Deer will be less tolerant to your hunting/walking sounds and the scent you leave behind than a few shots. I don't think deer adjust their patterns, per se', to gun shots, but to the overall intrusion into their area.

iSnipe
iSnipe is offline  
Old 10-10-2009, 03:04 AM
  #4  
Giant Nontypical
 
Join Date: Nov 2004
Posts: 5,425
Default

My dad was a John Deere dealer...Back in the 60s a fellow came through selling a contraption that he claimed would scare deer out of the fields...It consisted of a timer, car battery, spark plug, natural gas tank, megaphone, etc...

You set this thing to make a huge boom every 15-30 minutes...
Within a few days, the deer were feeding around them...

One of the few times I remember my dad getting the short end of a bargain...
nchawkeye is offline  
Old 10-10-2009, 03:31 AM
  #5  
Nontypical Buck
 
iSnipe's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Minnesota
Posts: 1,304
Exclamation

Originally Posted by nchawkeye
...a fellow came through selling a contraption... It consisted of a timer...
Yep, that will get them acclimated even faster. LOL!

iSnipe
iSnipe is offline  
Old 10-10-2009, 10:41 AM
  #6  
Fork Horn
 
turkey guide's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Eagleville Missouri
Posts: 338
Default

I can't even tell you how many times in the military, firing had to be stopped at the range while someone in a hummer had to drive the deer and turkeys away. My hunting grounds are one ridge away from a range and out of state bowhunters often express concern about all the shooting going on spooking deer. Of coarse it's everyone in the county sighting in before rifle season and competion shooting going on in the next valley. I assure them that the deer are used to it and after they see the deer ignoring it completely they settle down and hunt. I have also witnessed deer standing and watching me as I sight in or use a chainsaw. These noises are so common that they are ignored as long as you don't look at the deer. Once you stop your normal activities and stare at them then they will spook. It has little to do with sound and everything to do with a predators attention being rivitted upon them. I was watching bulldozers work the other day pushing brush and so were the deer, until I noticed the deer and looked directly at them, then they left. They are very curious and until they are scared away by a predator watching them they will investigate strange sounds. They can even get used to that in a park setting where people watch them all the time and leave food for them which is why baiting is not allowed in some places.
turkey guide is offline  
Old 10-10-2009, 10:57 AM
  #7  
Spike
 
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Idaho!
Posts: 39
Default

deer get use to anything if they hear it enough. i wouldn't worry about your neighbor
brianguy is offline  
Old 10-10-2009, 04:50 PM
  #8  
Typical Buck
 
deerhunter518's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Humboldt County, California
Posts: 511
Default

full of **** if thats true then public land will never see deer
deerhunter518 is offline  
Old 10-10-2009, 06:48 PM
  #9  
Nontypical Buck
 
WIbuckchaser's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: Chippewa county, WI.
Posts: 2,646
Default

Like deerhunter518, said. I hunt public land and the deer around there are listening to shots from all kinds of guns, from squirrel hunters to duck and goose hunters, bear hunters, trappers, poachers, etc. starting in Sept.
I couldn't tell you how many times that I have dropped a deer and have the other deer right next to it just stand there and barely even flinch at the sound of the rifle only 30yds away.
WIbuckchaser is offline  
Old 10-10-2009, 06:50 PM
  #10  
Spike
 
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Tony, WI
Posts: 48
Default

I go out and shoot trap in the back yard (75 + shells) and i get photos on my trail cam of deer eating at the same time i was out shooting and my cam is maybe 200 yards from my trap set up.
countryboy6990 is offline  

Contact Us - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.