Do Deer Scare Easily? I Think Not...

Believe it or not, shooting does not always scare deer. Let me tell you what happens at The Farm. I have a bench rest and shooting range set up for sighting in my rifles. The surrounding area is made up of small wood lots, open fields, small marshes and creeks. Many times when I am sighting in my guns or trying different ammo, deer will walk around the fields and continue eating without picking up their heads. Sometimes this will be within 50 to 100 yards of the target. I've had to wait for them to leave the line of fire as they are feeding right in back of the target. However, if I am close to them and snap a twig, they go absolutely berserk looking for the intruder.

You can walk at a steady pace through the woods and they will stand and watch until they make sure "what you are and where you are going" before they leave. When they walk through the woods, they sound like a herd of cattle..not very quiet unless they've already been alerted. As I sat in my blind, I've been upset to hear people walking through the woods near me on opening day, just to find out that the "people" are actually very noisy deer. Of course, none of this occurs on a windy day..the wind does make deer extremely cautious and skittish.

I have seen my neighbor baling hay on The Farm and deer will walk right out into the field to satisfy their curiosity. He told me that when he's mowing hay, he sometimes has to stop for deer because they are so interested. BIG V