GMMAT

That's a valid theory....but what about areas of bow-only hunting? Would this (and I'm asking) change your opinion? What's the difference in a man with a bow and a kid with a fishing rod making noise? And....what is that deer associating danger with in regards to the bowhunter?

Dr Andy

You're all giving the deer too much credit. Everything is learned and instinctual behaviour. When i go morel hunting in the local forest preserves I can get within 10yds of a deer, sometimes the young ones follow me around. These deer and their generations of anscestors have never been hunted. I pose no threat to these deer.
Eye contact is another thing. If you're still hunting and looking around and meet the gaze of a deer,they flee. If you're walking casually past they often will stand and watch you pass. I believe Fred Bear used this tactic. Walk calmly past a deer, draw,turn and release. (I read that somewhere, probably on here. )

SouthDakotaHunter

I think some deer are getting smarter. Also think they loose some of their 'smarts' when they are trying to flee something... My aunt and uncle had a couple of mature deer that were hanging out behind there house in their trees a couple of years back. They lived right next to a highway and she said that the deer would come to the edge of the road and look both ways and then cross

mauser06

ive always wondered that very thing quik....

every summer we watch the crop of bucks grow and get pumped and within a couple weeks of the rifle opener we hear about ALOT of the ones we knew about being ironed out on the roads...yes, i know thats when they get dumb and do the seeking/chasing of the does etc...

ive noticed alot of deer ironed out here real recently...alot of them looked to be yearlings...searching for food? i dont know...

still alot of older deer get ironed out yearly...you really would think theyd know better...and sometimes i wonder why in the world they tried to cross the highway when theres 10000s of acres of woods on their side of the road and nothing is visibly different that would draw them to the other side...

i think it may always be a mystery...alot more deer cross the roads than anyone knows about im sure...maybe they just figure "i did it 1000x before...." "SPLAT!!!"

kmunny19

same reason people still get killed by hitting each other with cars. deer (and people) need to get somewhere, any the vast majority of time they spend on a road is safe and accident free. however, rarely, the stars (or cars) line up in just such a way as to have two objects trying to occupy the same space at the same time. I imagine the first time a lot of deer get that close to a fast moving car is also the last. many are killed, and those that get injured or near missed are likely to take cars more seriously in the future, even if they don't truly learn to avoid them.

GregH

I think these go hand in hand!? Can danger cause reclusivness?