Adrenalin, Darkness questions

[Idahobuckskin]

Hey fellas,

First off, I'm going to come right out and say in the past two years I've been one of the majority who loves to glean information from this site (and I've been fascinated with some of the knowledgeable folks here) but who has rarely posted. Well, shame on me. I'd like to change that. This is a great site and it seems like the more people contribute the more we learn and have a good time. So for discussion (and to help me improve as a dyed in the wool southern Idaho muley hunter) I was wondering if anyone could tell me a couple of things:

First off, sometimes when I see a deer heading over the ridge, or hear or see it moving through the trees, or turning into thin air (you get the picture) my first reaction is to either run after it to get a shot off, or try to head it off thinking I can outsmart it, etc... (I feel I'm in good physical condition) but I don't know if this is the best approach. Does anybody else experience this? Does anyone know of the best approach to a deer once it's alerted of you and moving away? Keep in mind most of the time I'm hunting general season rifle so they usually have their minds made up and are moving at a good clip.

Second question- For those of you who set out in the darkness with a flashlight/headlamp (and I'm not talking starting to hike up when it's starting to get light- I mean darkness)- have you had trouble as far as pushing the deer before you can legally shoot? I'd like to get into this habit more but am afraid I'd either alert the deer too early to shoot or somehow see a buck I'd like to shoot and perhaps now he's taken off into the dark.

Anyway, this post is way too long and I don't know that I'd read it myself but would love any ideas on these questions. Thanks!

 

[MontanaTines]

I'd have to say each situation is different with regards to pursueing alerted deer.
As far as the going in early with a headlamp. I think the benefit of getting in farther, earlier far outweighs the chance of spooking deer. However, that may not be the case if you have to walk up through open sage brush where every deer on the mountain can see you. If you have cover on the way in, the earlier the better IMO.

 

[dutch]

If I alert game before I know they are there, I just try to see which way they are going then just try to stay out of sight, out of scent and out of ear shot. If you don't spook them too bad usually they don't go to far too fast. Just stay on them though, I have had best luck with that approach usually, not always.
As far as darkness I'm usually leaving about 20 minutes at the most before shootin light.
dutch
" Man who excels at putting worm on hook is Master Baiter"

 

[Idahobuckskin]

Thanks for the info guys,

I guess it does depend on the deer's level of alertness to whether he's still hanging around in the next draw or whether he's already in the next county. Probably more important to be persistant given the former situation. I'll have to consider terrain and cover as well when deciding on whether to leave in the darkness. Good advice. Anyone else?

 

[Cruizin]

I have walked in to areas in the dark and as long as the deer can't see you or smell you they won't think much of you. I feel they can tell the difference between a person's walking noise and another deer though so I guess that is something to consider. I like to hike in through the areas I don't feel will hold much deer in the dark then wait till it gets light to walk through the good stuff.

I have found with elk that as long as they don't smell you they usually won't get too spooked. I've had deer and elk look right at me and go back to feeding, but once they smelled me they were gone.

 

[usa]

Just got back from a 10 day bowhunt in New Mexico,we went in about 2 hrs before daylight and used a green cover on our headlamp's. deer and elk are supposed to not be able to see green lite.We bumped a few animal's but I think it had more to do with us making noise than with our light's, we tried to get into bedding area's before the elk got there so we usually didn't have to worry about spooking them because they weren't there yet !

 

[Bura Nut]

I think most people give deer way too much credit. Moving in the darkeness with lights doesnt spook the deer as much as someone thinks. Take spot lighting for example, will the deer quit using the fields you or someone else has spotlighted? I personally dont spotlight but it is legal in many states and I bet the deer dont quit using the area. as to hiking in, get in there early with a headlight to lead you in and shut it down when you get close to your area and you should not have hurt your chances much............... Thanks, Allen Taylor......

 

[eelgrass]

I don't get to hunt snow very often, but I've read many stories of some hunter jumping up a big buck and then following it's tracks (usually for 50 miles or so...LOL) and then shooting it right at dark. You might try that if you get the chance.

One time I hiked up the mountain in the dark for about a mile to this big clearing, to be there at first light. I got there early and was at the edge waiting. It was a full moon. These two young foxes were out there playing and chasing each other around. One of them took off running and ran right for me! He obviously didn't see me. When he got too close, I reached out and kicked the little bugger! It scared me as much as it did him! Something to think about........

Steve

 

[no_draws]

In my limited experience I've found that as long as you're not walking towards most animals they will go back to a normal routine and not spook as long as they don't smell you. I walked among a couple of Elk heards last year and while stalking had deer walk up within 12 yards of me just to take a look at what I was. I backed away from them as not to cause a mad dash and they just settled in and started eating.

When we drive into an area and see animals we either back way off and get out and try to set up where we think they're headed or we keep driving and go right by them. Most of the time they look at the truck and go back to eating (as long as you don't stop). Go down the road a ways and head into the woods to intercept on foot. That's a form of road hunting which may or may not be legal in your state (depends on the fine print) but it's effective at getting you closer if you happen to see something while driving.

JG >>-------->

 

[BrianID]

Idahobuckskin,

Welcome to monstermuleys. It is always good to see another guy from Idaho posting here. Here?s my 2 cents. It might not be the best thing to do but it is what I do.
I've run down bucks on a regular basis. I don't really run them down; it is more like I cut them off. Most of the time I only make a made dash of about 50 yards but have run up to a couple hundred yards around a hill and got back on them. There is no way you are going to out run the deer but if you can guess where they are going you can certainly cut them off and get within 100 or 200 yards of them. I saw a 38? muley on the wall of a guys house a few months ago. The guy told me he killed it on a general season hunt about 4 years ago. He ran it down (cut it off) before he shot it. Sometimes when I try to cut them off they will just disappear but I think it is normally worth a shot.
If the deer isn't without it. I try to pick a route that won't put me skyline and offers some cover so deer can't see me as well. A couple years ago I walked into were I wanted to glass from at first light and sat down waiting for the sun to come up. About five minutes before very spooked then I won't make a mad dash. I'll try to sneak around to cut them off.
Sometimes there is no route to cut them off and I think it is better to stay put for a minute and just try to guess where they headed and slowly work your way over there. I killed my biggest buck doing this.
When walking in before daylight I don't use a flashlight. I can normally see well enough legal shooting light I decided to move just a few yards to be in a better position. When I moved I kicked up a heavy antlered buck that was less than 50 yards from where I had been sitting.

no_draws,

I'll often use the same technique when I spot a deer while driving.

 

[Idahobuckskin]

Good information- from all of you. Thanks.

BrianID, Good to hear from a fellow Idahoan. I have had some of the same experiences cutting deer off. Couple years ago, someone had spooked them down into my draw and I could see that they'd be heading down the bottom in the trees. I was on the other side of the draw. I knew if I could get down to the bottom of the drainage in time- about a 100 yard sprint, I could position myself for a shot. I could hear the group moving through the trees, and could see bodies moving but didn't know what was what. Well, pretty soon the deer had headed on down the bottom of the drainage, but I had positioned myself well enough on a little outcropping that I could see that one of the bucks in the group was double backing into a side canyon right by which I was positioned. It was awesome being able to have outwitted him and he headed right toward me for an easy 50 yd. shot.
The longer this thread gets, the more I'm convinced that it's more worth it if you can stay in the cover or out of sight to try and head them off for a better shot, than it is gambling that you'll be able to find them later after they've gone into the next draw. Again, this seems to be the case more with a general rifle hunt where they seem to be more spooked than it would be with an archery hunt.
Some interesting thoughts on the moving in before light concept. This year I'll be headed to an area that's unfamiliar to me, so I might wait until I get to know the lay of the land a little bit better so that I can be able to judge what the best route would be to get into position if I were to go in with a flashlight/headlamp. According to the info. I've been given, it's a open brushy area, so with my Dad and two brothers moving in, it might be better to wait until 20-30 minutes before light.

 

[kingfish]

First of all I have never met a man yet that can run down a mule deer!. If I spook A big buck I pay close attentiom to his direction and try to intercept him. A big buck is always concerned about his back trail. I always leave camp a couple hours before daybreak to be in position up high by first light. I occasionally spook deer but they aren't usually in the basin I'm headed for anyway so I keep on truckin.

 

[dutch]

My father in law told me once he was hunting up a canyon, it had been drizzling rain all day and was pretty wet. He was sidehilling it when all of the sudden he was right in the middle of an elk herd, about 30 head just cruising along feeding. Since there was no breeze and with the rain all he could think of was that was keeping his scent down or away, whatever you want to call it.
He said at one point he could almost reach out and slap the ass on this spike walking by him. He ended up getting a cow but he said that was quite an experience, elk walking 3 feet by him as he stood there.
dutch
" Man who excels at putting worm on hook is Master Baiter"