Lionhound1975
WKR
This last fall I thought that I am going about whitetail hunting all wrong. The kid whose dad's land I hunt on would see a lot of deer while he was pushing a wheelbarrow around and chopping wood. More than I ever did while hunting there twice a week. Obviously, the deer were used to seeing him, his scent, and the fact that he wore bright clothing and listened to music had little to no effect on the deer. I thought next year I will just wear jeans and a Carhartt and chop wood until they get used to be hanging around and I can get my bow out of the wheelbarrow. This made me think a lot on how much hunter behavior (staying quiet or stationary, staying off trails, stalking movements, etc.) vs non-hunter (not quiet, bright colors, stay on trails) behavior affects game behavior.
I guarantee if I the next time I go into the woods, have a loud conversation with regular selfie photo breaks, wear bright-colored, ethically sourced clothing from eco-friendly stores and a pack made from recycled water bottles, and arrive at the trailhead in a Prius with COEXIST bumper stickers, I will probably end up seeing more deer than i currently do. Maybe it's the positive energy crystals...
But seriously, I wonder if deer and other game just realize that a human walking on a path talking represents less of a threat that a human hanging off the side of a tree or attempting to quietly move through the underbrush like any 4-legged predator would do. Obviously at rifle distances the effect could be negligible.
I tried an experiment on my dog. If my hound pup is playing with his toy or just laying around, I can walk up to him and right past him without him looking at me or stopping to see what I am doing. But if I peek around the corner, and then approach him slowly, especially trying to stay out of his direct line of sight, he stops whatever he is doing an perks right up. I've seen the same behavior with horses. So the act of stalking is something that even domestic animals can pick up on.
What are your thoughts on if/how hunter's physical behavior spooks or influences game?
I guarantee if I the next time I go into the woods, have a loud conversation with regular selfie photo breaks, wear bright-colored, ethically sourced clothing from eco-friendly stores and a pack made from recycled water bottles, and arrive at the trailhead in a Prius with COEXIST bumper stickers, I will probably end up seeing more deer than i currently do. Maybe it's the positive energy crystals...
But seriously, I wonder if deer and other game just realize that a human walking on a path talking represents less of a threat that a human hanging off the side of a tree or attempting to quietly move through the underbrush like any 4-legged predator would do. Obviously at rifle distances the effect could be negligible.
I tried an experiment on my dog. If my hound pup is playing with his toy or just laying around, I can walk up to him and right past him without him looking at me or stopping to see what I am doing. But if I peek around the corner, and then approach him slowly, especially trying to stay out of his direct line of sight, he stops whatever he is doing an perks right up. I've seen the same behavior with horses. So the act of stalking is something that even domestic animals can pick up on.
What are your thoughts on if/how hunter's physical behavior spooks or influences game?