been wondering for a while
 

when you' re out on your stand or whenever you hunt, do other animals give you away? i heard that if a crow caws 5 times, it' s saying that a hunter is in the woods. is this true?

do animals behave differently when a deer is nearby? like will a squirrel bark or will it stop scratching in the leaves, or will any animal do something different if a deer is nearby?

RE: been wondering for a while
 

I know alot of people dont like squirrels, they say they give them away. I love the little guard dogs, well most of the time. Over the years I have noticed that most of the deer I have seen while on stand were announced long before I ever laid eyes on them by squirrels barkign at them. I can say it does not happen all the time but a very high percentage of the time the squirrels give me a heads up!

I have also on more than one occasion had tukeys feeding around me start to look one direction at an approaching deer. Sometimes they are so uneasy they move on and sometimes they go back to feeding. I have also had the oppisite happen, I ahve seen deer get very tense at the sound of an approaching flock of turkeys until it has made out what was heading its way. I actually on one occasion watched a doe run off a flock of turkeys from under a white oak tree. They came back and she ran them off again, this happened three times. I was tryign not to bust out loud watching her blow and stomp and leap at the birds.. She was being a bit selfish lol

RE: been wondering for a while
 

I have seen reactions by turkeys when deer are approaching. It can work both ways though. I' ve turkeys screw me over as many times as they' ve helped me. Turkeys see movement better than deer. I haven' t figured out how to position for a shot or move on a deer when turkeys are lurking. The whole flock will go bananas and spook the deer.
I' ve never really noticed anything with squirels, but it' s possible. Good question. I' ve wondered this myself.

RE: been wondering for a while
 

The crow thing is an old wifes tale, usually when the crows are making a stink it is because there is an owl around. Squirrels can help you or hurt you, if they start barking at you before there are deer in your area it will make the deer very alert looking for what they are barking at, but as already stated they will announce deer as they are coming in. Tree rats can be annoying at times, but for the most part they are fun to watch. I have very limited experience with turkeys and deer so I won' t comment on that one, and the only thing I can say from experience with fox and deer is one time I had a fox passing my stand I did a doe bleat and the fox took off like a scalded dog, so I would assume that deer will run foxes off.

RE: been wondering for a while
 

I' ve had tree rats spook deer from me before , so now I carry my .22 with me as well . [>:] Just in case the deer ain' t showing up , of course ... ;)

RE: been wondering for a while
 

I have never had a squirrel spot me and give me away but I have had some of them ruin a chance of a shot, but it ends up being my fault. I get so sick and tired of listening to the stinkin things that I don' t look half the time I hear them. The only problem is that deer can sound alot like squirrels!

RE: been wondering for a while
 

Ive had those lil rodents bust me more time help-they are fun too watch-but id rath be seeing the deer before the y see me-:D- but thats the way it goes i guess.