In one of these threads I was reading that deer are afraid of ATVs. I don't think that is all true.
My best deer stand, I have to follow and old railroad bed into a swamp It's a perfect travel route for deer. My stand is about 20 yards off the RR bed. Last year I was clearing shooting lanes and had my quad parked right in the middle of the RR bed. On 2 occasions deer came down the trail and stopped at my quad. It's like they were curious about it. This was in the summer and the deer had no preasure yet, maybe that is why they weren't afraid of it. I've also been up in a tree hammering and sawing on a new stand and had deer come to look and see what I was doing. Maybe we just have dumber deer than most. Of course come September, they seem to grow some intellegence.

 

about the time that you start thinking that deer will always do this, or always do that, they show up and prove you wrong. they've done it to me time after time.

i think that they may have been curious about your quad while it was on the tracks, but had it been in the woods it may have scared them to death. you just never know how they're gonna react. and they may be curious about it today, and scared to death of it tomorrow. i guess it depends on their mood at the time.


-heywood-

 

I think it all depends on the area you are in. If the area you hunt is close to a ATV/snowmobile trail or RR tracks or Roads then chances are the resident deer will be accustomed to the sounds of an ATV. They may even find the sound to be 'interesting' and deer being inquisative may even come to 'investigate' the sound of an ATV. Our hunt camp is on a MAJOR atv trail in Northern Ontario ( the camp is 100+ yrs old.. and was there way before the trail came through) so we dont even worry about deer being spooked by the sounds of an ATV, the sounds of hunters talking is another issue though. Case in point years ago I went out early to still hunt, got feeling a bit sick so decided to walk back to camp about 930 am. Now some of the guys had decided not to hunt that day so they had the generator running ( making lots of noise). As I walked the trail back to the cabin I looked up at a ridge a mere 75yds from the cabin ( and running generator), there stood a good sized DOE feeding , without a care in the world. Needless to say it was a successful hunt that day LOL.. Guys heard me shoot and just assumed I was horsing around shooting targets, had a hard time convincing anyone to help drag it in as it was" too close" to the cabin LOL.. Now if you hunt an area that WAY back in the deep country where ATV's and humans rarely venture, I'd agree that ATV's MAY spook deer.

 

Serious deer hunters know that mature, trophy deer don't get that way being stupid and learn the sights and sounds of EVERYTHING that is not a natural part of their world. Sure, younger and less experienced bucks and does will sometimes stop and look at you as if to try and figure you out. However, the sound of an engine can make an older buck stay bedded for hours if not the entire day.

Which is why so many mature deer fall victim to the rut. Just as the case with humans, the sight of a female can make them forget about everything else.

 

Hunted with a buddy last year who drove his Atv to his stand and killed many a fine deer with his wheeler sitting right below him, and his quad was red! So I think that I can do that with my new green quad this season. Well I drive right to my stand and get excited with I see eight does come walking down the trail about 30 minutes after day break. Then one sees my quad, get about 20 yards away from it and starts blowing and stomping. All deer run off and I didnt see any more. Needless to say, that afternoon I parked the quad about 70 yards from the stand, were the deer couldnt see it, and shot a doe with my bow. So go figure.

 

Yea- it just depends on where you hunt. If there are atv's being used on the property during all seasons then the deer will get used to it. I shot a 6 pointer the other night with the atv 100-150 yards away. I rode it 3/4 mile back into the woods on the atv trail we use all the time. Parked and walked in... 1 hr later I shot the deer at 15 yards perfect heart shot..... other times I walk all the way back in and have to walk all the way back out to get the atv to get the deer out...

 

Cool tip i seen in hunting mag. spray tires or a tire with lure sent/doe sent or what ever you want to call that stuff that brings them to ya.

It will leave a nice trail right to ya. Not a whole bunch just a little.

 

it doesnt bother em, they use my cut ways regular,they here you
coming, they lie low or boogie uot of their
or become more nocturnal,i think...

 

if you cut trails and keep em raked
theyll use em

 

A lot is dependant on what they are used to and deer do condition very quickly to sounds and noise they equate to dangerous, non threatening, etc. When I use to work in the outfitting business it was quite common to drive a quad to a bait restock and leave, only to be told be either a camtrakker or a hunter that as sson as that quad was a safely out of ears distance away all of sudden deer would start popping out of the spruce. Last fall while moose hunting we had offered when things where slow to check an outfitters baits and restock for him, this one bait everytime by the time we got in we'd get greeted by a few does and fawns not scared but alert and obviously waiting for more easy treats. So these 2 cases the deer kenw the sounds of the quad and what it ultimately meant but react or equate them differently to what should be done when the sound appeared. Just so you know they were both in the forest so pretty much remote areas that hear very little vehicle or human traffic! Rest assured unless pushed deer will often rather lay low then bolt, so driving to your stand or spot may hamper slightly but once things settle it will return to normal. I wouldn't park my atv or truck anywhere that it would come into direct contact with the animal and spot in which I am hunting. Anytime an animal sees an object it will alert them, sometimes nothing is the result and others they go all wonky...being it to unpredictable I just avoid it one less thing to worry about!

IMHO if your to lazy to walk a bit then find a new sport!!