The Advantages of Planting Food Plots

Why it is advantageous to plant food plots.Photo by Bill Kinney Photography

Why would you want a food plot?

Great question!  We were hoping you'd ask, because a food plot has many, many advantages.  They are also a lot simpler than you'd think, plus they can be a ton of fun!

How to Interpret and use a Deer Grunt, Snort, or Wheeze

Bill Kinney Photography

Have you ever wondered what those different deer noises meant?  You will often hear a deer before you see him if you pick up on his vocalizations.  There are a variety of hunting calls meant to imitate deer sounds and, when used in the correct manner, can be very successful.  These sounds are extremely useful hunting tools and need to be understood in order to have a successful hunt.

Why do deer make such vocalizations?
Like any wild animal, deer use sounds as a form of communication.  Deer are a quiet animal, moving in and out of an area sometimes without a sound so as to avoid unwanted attention.  Because of this many of their sounds are just as suttle and often not recognized by the average hunter.  This is why it is important to train your ears and learn how to correctly use these calls.

Types of Deer Noises
The most commonly known is the grunt.  It is used by hunters during the rut and can be quite successful, but understanding their other sounds is important as well when trying to understand  what is going on in your environment.

The snort
Deer snorting is very common and sounds almost like a sneeze.   However, if you hear a deer snort, proceed with caution.  It may not specifically be you, but a deer snorting is a deer sending out a word of caution.  It is telling the other deer that somethings not right.  If you can see it and it is looking in your direction, do not move.  The deer will flee if it notices any further danger.  Know that once a deer has snorted, even if it dismissed whatever danger it thought was there, it is still on the alert and you must be extremely stealthy.  A skittish deer does not take second chances.  If you ever see someone trying to sell a deer snort as a hunting call, recognize it as a probable scam, it will do nothing more than scare away every deer in the area.

Understanding a Deer's Senses: How Well Can Deer See?

Bill Kinney Photography

In order to get your prey you need to understand it right?  Here is a little more insight into a deer's sight.

Sight
Deer have a good sense of sight, but compared to other hunting animals such as turkeys, it is not their most dependable sense.  Studies into how well a deer can actually see have found that deer have less rods in their eyes than a human does making them partly color blind.  They also have poor day time vision and see colors in the red spectrum, such as a hunting vest, as more of a grey color.  This is why hunters wear orange vests, because to a deer it is not anymore noticeable than the color of a pile of leaves.  Something to keep in mind, however,  is that to a deer that solid grey patch and is more noticeable when moving.  Therefore, if you can, find an orange vest with a camo pattern to make you further blend in to your surroundings.

Another problem hunter's have is underestimating a deer's sight...or overestimating it.  More than one hunter has made the mistake of, thinking they were spotted, they began to make their move too soon.  Maybe they thought it would be their only chance or they just got too excited, but if a deer hears you, pinpoints you, and stares directly at you, the best thing you can do is sit completely still and pretend you are a tree.  At that point the deer is accessing you, it wants to make sure that you are not a threat.  It is trying to decide if you are a predator or part of that tree you are sitting in.  If you start moving right then, the deer is going to know and make a run for it.  It is essential that you understand exactly what the deer is seeing and know what it is doing so that you don't miss an opportunity.  Camouflage is one of your most important tools when on a hunt and knowing how a deer's eyes perceive you is important in understanding what you should include in your hunting wardrobe.

What recent studies have brought to light is that deer have better night vision than humans and can perhaps see better in the UV lighting spectrum.  This is equivalent to what we see in a room with a black light.  Humans have a filter on their eyes so they do not have this type of perception, but deer may be more alert to bright colors such as those found in our clothing.  To some hunters this could be perceived as a problem.  The reason is because some clothing and laundry detergents are treated with a color brightener which would technically enhance the color of the clothing in a deer's eyes, making the wearer "glow" in a sense.  Luckily this vision is primarily enhanced in low lighting such as dusk and dawn and not noticed in the daytime.   It may be wise to look into laundry detergents that do not have color enhancers.  This doesn't mean you need to go crazy about your laundry detergent and fabric dyes.  Keep in mind that hunters have for years been wearing the same clothing, went out in the same situation and found success.

It should be kept in mind that, although these studies provide good evidence towards the likelihood of deer having such sight, the studies are not completely conclusive.   Whether or not deer have such acute seeing senses, it seems to rely more on the technique and skill of the hunter than just the color of his vest.

Do you have the problem of always being spotted when in your stand?  Does it seem to occur more frequently to you than others?  Or at certain times of day?

Understanding a Deer's Senses:  How Well Can Deer Hear? >

Understanding a Deer's Senses: How Well Can Deer Hear?

Bill Kinney Photography

When hunting deer, the main problem most hunters have is not finding the deer, but outsmarting them.  The senses of wild animals are not necessarily better than ours, they are simply more developed.  Wild animals must rely on their senses for survival and actively pay attention to their surroundings.  Sometimes it can be difficult for a hunter to become accustomed to this level of stealth, but understanding a deer's senses is essential to a successful hunt.

Hearing

A deer's hearing is relatively good.  They have wide, cup shaped ears that are maneuverable and perfect for pinpointing small sounds, which can be a dead giveaway for the careless hunter.  However, this is simply for the careless, because a deer's hearing is actually not as acute as we are led to believe.  A study was conducted to understand just how well a deer could hear and, after collecting all the data, the researchers realized that a deer's hearing is actually not much better than a humans.  They can hear at a higher frequency, but a hunter claiming that the deer heard them click their safety from across the field is a little far fetched.  Instead, what was found was that a deer's ears, because of their build, are a great tool for pinpointing noises and picking out unfamiliar sounds.  It is not necessarily that a deer can hear better, but has trained its ears to pick up noises that are unnatural and could be a danger to the animal.  Usually if a deer hears an unfamiliar noise it will quickly hold its head high and swivel its ears searching for more sounds.  When it feels it is safe it will continue on as normal and dismiss the noise.  If not, it will give a warning snort and run to safety, flagging its tail as a warning sign to others.  Normally why a hunter is caught is because once they have perhaps been heard and the deer looks directly at them, the hunter will either move or look unnatural and spook the deer.  This is why it is essential to blend into your surroundings and train yourself to be as inconspicuous as possible.

The First Buck

Bill Kinney Photography

The first hunt is different and unique to everyone, but never forgotten!

Finally, after all that time, I'd finally been able to take my hunter's safety course! I was thirteen or fourteen, had been shooting bow since I could hold one, and wanted nothing more than to get out on my first hunt and show up all the boys. This had been an aggravating wait, not only did I often accompany my parents on hunts and help them with everything from packing out to processing, I had to sit through that hunter's safety course! I mean really, What were they gonna teach me that I didn't already know about hunting? I was ready to go!