Dr. Grant Woods, one of the top deer biologists in the world, told me one time:
“Whitetail bucks react incredibly quickly to either a positive or a negative stimulus. A lot of hunters fail to take that into account quickly enough. For example, if a buck sees or hears you in a tree stand near a food plot, he will learn to avoid that spot very fast. He will still go to the plot (positive stimulus) but he will circle your stand (negative stimulus) so that you might never know he was there. You might sit there all afternoon, not see any deer and wonder what is wrong. Hunters need to take into consideration how fast mature bucks react and adjust their patterns. Then hunters need to adjust their stands, strategies and patterns.”
Keep that in mind as you head out to hunt this season. Good luck.
That’s what makes them so special and such a challenge to hunt. I know I will never figure them out since each one is different but that keeps the fire burning inside to keep after it. What a sport we are lucky enough to be able to take part in!
Yes, they are smart and adaptable……………until the rut comes along and all that smartness and adaptability gets thrown out the window for a short period of time, take advantage of it while you can.