I can still recall as a young boy my dad talking about how hunters do more to ruin their chances at seeing deer by putting unnecessary pressure on them. One example I clearly recall was him talking about hunting whitetails on timber land in Wilkes County, Georgia. He talked about being in the stand before first light hearing, but hearing hunters on neighboring land driving nails into trees building treestands. Of course, this was in Georgia in the 80s when deer were not as abundant as they are today. Once we purchased our own land in the 90s, dad was adamant that the ATV stayed parked on the trailer unless a deer needed to be dragged.
Whitetails are smarter than most people believe. Nothing can ruin hunting on a property faster than pressure. However, whitetails can tell the difference between hunting pressure and you just enjoying or working on your land, especially if you do it often. They become accustomed to you, your vehicles, your smells, your patterns and sounds and will tolerate quite a lot unless they feel like they are in imminent danger. They know when they’re being hunted, or should I say, they learn quickly when they’re being hunted. But they also become accustomed to your presence when you are on the property a lot, and will tolerate quite a lot of close indirect contact.
Do your whitetails head for the hills when they hear a car enter the property, or do they stay put and observe? Whitetails become used to things over time just like we do. If danger isn’t associated with an occurrence, they tolerate it more and more and become accustomed to it.(Linda Arndt)
Now with our own land, we had the opportunity to create food plots in openings left by logging. We knew little compared to what we now know. We would arrive in September after not being on the land since turkey season closed in May. Our food plot planting would consist of planting wheat or oats and that was all. We would then leave only to return for the opening of firearm season in late October.
Deer sightings were exceptionally low during this period. The limit at that time in Georgia was two bucks and a doe. We were lucky to see a deer or two over hunting all day Saturday and until lunch on Sunday. It was around five-years before I shot my first buck on our property with only a few chances at spikes and once a mature buck. Dad was able to usually get a buck each year starting our second year.
As I got older, I became increasingly interested in what we could plant, the trees and vegetation around us, and how to provide habitat for the deer and turkey on our land. This resulted in us spending more time on our land along with me taking up archery hunting. There was another increase once we had our timber thinned in 2014. We now had a second chance with a near blank slate to make our land better for all the wildlife in the area.
We expanded our food plots, planted oaks selected to add diversity along with fruit trees. We sprayed sweetgums with herbicide, and our food plot plantings became more diversified. To accomplish all our goals, it required us to be on the property most weekends. It was a wonderful way to spend time together with my dad and with the kids helping from time to time.
Some would say that whitetails holding tighter and tolerating close human activity is all due to habitat improvements, and some of it probably is, but there is more to it. They also become habituated to our activities.(MossyOak)
Animals learn by experience. If you give a mouse an electric shock every time it encounters cheddar cheese, it will begin to avoid cheddar. Whitetails learn in the same way. As long as an experience wasn’t dangerous before, they’ll tolerate it more and more. They have learned to tolerate the author in close enough proximity so he was able to take this image.(Brandon Adams)
Through the habitat work it clearly provided wildlife with additional food and cover. Opening the canopy created more native vegetation and room for the remaining oaks to grow. We created corridors for wildlife to travel along with nesting habitat for birds like turkeys, quail, and songbirds like ovenbirds. Naturally, this would increase the carrying capacity of our land and attract more wildlife, but there was an underlying double bonus that came with the work on the property that was not noticed by me at first – but once you start to see a pattern your eyes open and begin to question “can this be repeated in other locations.”
At first, I attributed the increased daylight movement of deer and the frequency we were seeing them to all the habitat work. Then I started noticing other factors at play. I was in my stand while my dad was bush hogging paths to influence deer travel and remove sweetgums that were not killed by our spraying. You could hear the diesel tractor and blades spinning on the bush hog cutting. From time-to-time dad would hit a hidden stump, making the all too familiar loud crashing sound gamekeepers are familiar with. I was in one of our stands on an oak ridge about 200 to 300-yards from the area where my dad was bush hogging and had several does and two young bucks feeding on some white oak acorns. Each time dad would hit something large the deer would look up, but then return right back to feeding.
This might not seem odd to those of you that hunt on agriculture land or near it. The nearest farm to us is over three miles away and you almost never hear a tractor on it as it is organic grass raised beef cattle. Before our increased activity on our land the deer would have flags up and been bounding away at the first loud sound produced by a tractor. This is what got me thinking.
The next experience that helped me understand better – I was surrounded by deer feeding on acorns on an early November evening. Legal shooting time had passed, but I did not want to alert the deer to my presence in the stand. I texted my dad because I could hear him – our 70s-style single-wide trailer that we stay in is about 150-yards from my stand. I asked him to slam the gate on the trailer. The deer only looked up again and went right back to feeding. I eventually got to sneak out after a nearby pack of coyotes started to howl.
I was amazed at this occurrence. The deer were more concerned with coyote howls than they were of a human 150-yards away. As I made my way back to the trailer, I started thinking how often they had heard and even smelled us, especially after a hot humid central Georgia day, at that same location my dad made the noise. I promise you this did not happen in the early years of us owning the land. You would never see deer close to the trailer. Now we see deer walk right by the trailer while we are standing there with our dog.
A third example to help show the second benefit from being on our land more was when we were doing our fall food plot planting. I had finished plowing and my dad was spreading lime and fertilizer along with oats. I was standing in the middle of the intersection of two roads on our land putting seed into my hand spreader. I could hear something walking in the woods beside me. A large mature doe walked out, and she was followed by another mature doe and two younger does. They stood there in the road looking at me, giving me time to take out my phone to get pictures and a video of them. As they walked away after a minute or two, they went in the direction of one of the food plots we had been working on. Now the puzzle was starting to become clearer.
Since we have increased our activity on our land, we have seen more deer including more mature deer. The deer have become used to us, to our vehicles, and to our movement patterns. My dad and I have been fortunate to shoot numerous mature bucks on this property since the early days. Daytime movement has increased on trail cameras over the same period, including mature bucks. I know that some would say this was all due to the habitat improvements, and some of it probably is, but I feel there is more to it. I started talking to friends that I knew had increased their time on their property or land they are now managing.
I have a friend who is a retired wildlife biologist. Upon his retirement he could be found on his property almost every day – creating openings for waterfowl and bedding habitat for deer. In the winter he can be found hinge-cutting trees to create bedding habitat as well as food for the deer. He also fills his feeders with a corn/peanut mixture. It is while sitting with him watching the parade of bucks in his oaks that the idea for this article was born.
Upon becoming more of a presence on his property he has seen the daylight movement of deer increase. In the last two years, hunters have harvested several mature bucks on his land. Even after shooting wild hogs or deer in the morning, he will have mature deer on the land that afternoon. In fact, this deer season, almost all of his images have been from the deer moving during daylight – until the rut started, but even his mature bucks are moving during daylight. He even has some images of deer visiting his feeders or in his food plot within minutes of him leaving them. He feels that the deer have become used to his truck, scent, and activities.
When actually hunting the property, it is advised to use the same vehicles and routes that you normally do when working the land. It’s also a good idea to use the buddy system when dropping someone off at an ambush site. The farm vehicle is much less intrusive to whitetails than a hunter on foot.(MossyOak)
Human activity, or pressure from other forces obviously can alter whitetail behavior and movement. In areas where whitetails aren’t used to human activity, even a little human encroachment can shut down movement quickly. However, in areas of high human traffic where whitetails live in close proximity to humans it’s a different story.
Editor in Chief of this publication, Todd Amenrud, told me how he can sit in his ATV with his dog by his side and actually talk to the does and fawns on his property. He can drive up to some of them at distance of about 10 to 15-yards. They just look at him, almost as if they understand him. Why, because they’re conditioned to it. Obviously these aren’t mature bucks, but they are wild deer and very interesting.
Whitetails learn quickly when they are being hunted. It depends upon your approach and “stance.” Are you driving a farm vehicle down the trail or are you sneaking down the trail with your gun at the ready? More than likely the deer will stay put and watch you drive by in a vehicle they are used to, but will be much more cautious when you act like a predator. Gamekeepers can use this information to their advantage. Let the deer become accustomed to you. When hunting, use the same vehicles and patterns you normally would when working on the property.
This evidence might not hold up to the standards of a scientific journal and it needs to be measured at more locations to be accepted by some, but with increased daylight sightings (even with mature bucks) on three separate properties I’m convinced whitetails become accustomed to our activities and they know when they are being hunted. For the everyday hunter this should show that increasing your presence on your land will not necessarily run off wildlife. It all depends upon the type of activity. Don’t be afraid to get out on your land and do the habitat work you are able to, and feel will improve your property. Not only will your habitat work attract more deer, but it will also make them accustomed to your presence, sounds, and scent, thus increasing daylight activity during hunting season.
Whitetails can learn to tolerate a lot of human activity within their range. They are very adaptable animals and learn to recognize your smells, voices, vehicles and patterns. As long as your activity isn’t a threat, they will accept it more and more over time.(MossyOak)
