Back Yard Deer and Noise

[ko4nrbs]

I've noticed that the deer on my buddy's place don't seem to be alarmed by all the barking dogs, car doors banging, lawn mowers, weed eaters, turnpike traffic noise, etc. In addition the local trains really shake up the area with the track noise and horn blowing. I guess they are conditioned to it all??

It sure irritates me while sitting in the ground blind though. All part of hunting in a subdivision!!

That said when I see them they are always on full alert and are as wary as any deer I have seen.

Have you guys had similar experiences?

Bill

[nchunterkw]

Yep same here. And they don't seem to be super alarmed by smells either. I guess cause they smell so many different things all the time that they've gone "nose blind". But always very alert and very in tune to any noise they are not accustomed to.

[artifact]

Have seen this more than once, talk about being conditioned to noise, at a local shooting range I have seen deer on the bank while guys are shooting!
They hear it all the time and apparently don't recognize it as a threat.

[Hester0305]

When I hunted in the city limits years ago it was amazing to see the deer in peoples yards feeding and not worry about a thing. I've had does track me down and come right to my stand instead of running the other way when they crossed my trail walking in. I hardly ever had a deer blow at me because of bad wind direction

[SALTYDOG]

I have a bunch of them behind my house,not allowed to shoot them they see me all the time..and they are fine with me.. until I make a noise they don’t know....a.k.a. air tool’s and such ....or open the door on my pickup truck in the back yard

[Bcxbow]

Yep same here. And they don't seem to be super alarmed by smells either. I guess cause they smell so many different things all the time that they've gone "nose blind". But always very alert and very in tune to any noise they are not accustomed to.

Same here on my property.

[DuckHunt]

Yes, I too have noticed exactly what you mention. My primary hunting area is roughly 10 acres surrounded by large homes. I have about six houses within 300 yards of my stand in three directions. I have noticed that human sounds doesn't seem to bother them much at all, or they have became accustomed to it. The nice 8pt I saw a couple weeks back came by while an adjacent neighbor was apparently having a party with a dozen or so young girls that had to include a water balloon fight. Either that or some other event that causes young girls to constantly scream and wail as if they are being chased by something. On the video I took of the buck, you can hear all of the screaming in the background even at that distance. He was paying no attention to it at all an actually approached me from their direction. I've even seen deer while the landowner was mowing. They get used to it.

As for scent, I've also noticed they get used to that as well. With so much human scent already common in the area, I've noticed that MOST deer 50 or more yards downwind of me aren't bothered by my scent. On rare occasion, some old wise doe will take offense. But, once they get to within 20-30 yards, I guess the strength of the scent becomes high enough that they note how close the human must be. For this reason, I try to take my shots at about the 30 yard mark if I'm hunting low or from the ground. Once they get inside of that distance, any advantages from being a common scent seem to go out the window.

These are just some of the things to consider when hunting close to civilization. Some times it can work in your favor, but in some cases you just have to deal with it. I've been up a tree on an evening when a neighbor decides to fire more than 300 rounds over the span of a few hours. I've never seen anything on one of those days.

DuckHunt

[Cardinalsfanforever]

we've had does raise little ones around our house. they get used to us being outside. we see them often. I've been them bed close by several times. I've caught them peeking thru the brush watching me. they don't seem to be alarmed when I walk thru the woods.

[otisbrazwell]

that's how Block Island deer are basically your killing peoples pets at least there on the island. Theres always a neighbor
feeding the deer.Come hunting season its a slaughter fest.

[racking up points]

I have a 40y bow range at a buddy’s house. I can shoot all I want and the deer don’t mind, they’ll be 100y in the beanfield doing their thing, (area is closed to hunting). But if I take even one step into their field, they’ll turn inside out and bolt. They are accustomed to my presence and the twang of my unsupressed crossbows