- Joined
- Mar 10, 2016
- Messages
- 1,635
I can remember where I've had a good burger, but can't tell you how many trees I passed to get there
hahaSent from my moto z3 using Tapatalk
-
The SH Membership has gone live. Only SH Members have access to post in the classifieds. All members can view the classifieds. Starting in 2020 only SH Members will be admitted to the annual hunting contest. Current members will need to follow these steps to upgrade: 1. Click on your username 2. Click on Account upgrades 3. Choose SH Member and purchase.
-
We've been working hard the past few weeks to come up with some big changes to our vendor policies to meet the changing needs of our community. Please see the new vendor rules here: Vendor Access Area Rules
Offseason boredom debate
- Thread starter Davis21
- Start date
hahaSent from my moto z3 using Tapatalk
The argument is that eye contact is a sign of aggression or dominance in many species. This would indicate that these animals can perceive eye contact. This is true in a sense - in that the animal already recognizes the animal staring them in the eyes as said animal. The problem with this is two-fold, and a matter of semantics.
First, if the deer recognizes you as a person, with eyes, and are making eye contact, it's too late for it to matter for hunting purposes. At least the deer I hunt - once they realize you're a person, an arrow better be on it's way. Otherwise they're on the move.
The second issue I have with it is that we can perceive eye contact at close distances, and do it very well. You can actually assess dominance hierarchy in humans in a matter of seconds with eye contact alone. Measuring the time that each individual makes eye contact with the others when speaking and listening paints a really clear picture. Unfortunately, put a distance of 10 or 15 feet between you and I, and you can't tell if I'm looking directly into the your eyes, or at your nose, or ears, or mouth, or neck even. What you can perceive is that I'm looking at YOU. That's the semantics. Eye contact means I'm looking at you - Sure, it is more poignant at close distances when you're staring directly into someone's eyes. But being looked at generally is what eye contact is. There isn't a "sense" that can detect eye to eye contact. There's just a more precise image depicted in the brain at close distances. You sense the person in the crowd making eye contact because they are looking at YOU, not necessarily right in your eyes.
A last detail I'd toss in is that its likely that deer can't even see your eyes when you're 20' up in a tree, and backlit. Your face is going to be dark, and your eyes darker. From what we can tell so far, their vision wouldn't allow them to pick up the direction the eyes are looking. Again - they have a prey instinct of noticing a face that has binocular vision staring at them. Back to my first point - if you've been identified as such a critter, it's too late.
So I'll take a slight middle ground here and say that looking away might help them not pick up your facial features and identify you as a predator.
However, I'm willing to bet if you could somehow mount a set of mechanical eyeballs on the side of a tree, with no human scent, that could track a deer's eyes when it was in front of the tree, the deer wouldn't give two flips.
It probably depends on the deer. I also said take notice not come unglued. They will investigate. If that limb was between you and the deer that means the deers focus will be in your direction until they decide whether or not the change has resulted in imminent danger.
As far as being on edge all day. I see it all the time during windy weather. I also hunted around one doe that was on edge every day I saw her. I watched her come unglued over a fox squirrel standing up right in front of her and she would freak out every time a pine cone would hit the ground. Even to the point of blowing over and over. Funny thing I noticed after several occasions that the other deer ignored her. They might pick their head up and turn her way for a brief second but didn’t tense up and just went back to what they were doing. That sounds like conscious reasoning to me. A tornado hit that area in 2017 and I’ve only hunted that immediate area a couple times since. I haven’t seen or heard her. She may still be running
KYHunter
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Jan 20, 2018
- Messages
- 1,113
Well written sir, that Makes sense to me! I think we may be saying somewhat similar things but you probably explained it better. I agree that I think the “eye contact” thing is not really about the eyes themselves but the human face. I would go further and say that Perhaps this is something that is inherited and passed along through the generations. More so in some herds and less in others. The urban deer I’ve experienced living in Louisville will look you right in the face as you walk by and they don’t have a care in the world. Of course they’re probably the 20th generation of deer that has lived in that park and there’s no “fear instinct” passed along or even a need for one. This is way different than any deer elsewhere in the state.
And I agree that if I ever look a deer in the eye it should be dead, but what if you’re letting some does feed past and you don’t wanna spook them you in hopes that Mr. Big comes along later?
DaWiz9578
Well-Known Member
It probably depends on the deer. I also said take notice not come unglued. They will investigate. If that limb was between you and the deer that means the deers focus will be in your direction until they decide whether or not the change has resulted in imminent danger.
As far as being on edge all day. I see it all the time during windy weather. I also hunted around one doe that was on edge every day I saw her. I watched her come unglued over a fox squirrel standing up right in front of her and she would freak out every time a pine cone would hit the ground. Even to the point of blowing over and over. Funny thing I noticed after several occasions that the other deer ignored her. They might pick their head up and turn her way for a brief second but didn’t tense up and just went back to what they were doing. That sounds like conscious reasoning to me. A tornado hit that area in 2017 and I’ve only hunted that immediate area a couple times since. I haven’t seen or heard her. She may still be running
Im still glued
...are you gluedSomeone gave a friend of mine super glue in kindergarten and told him it was eye drops. We were all glad to see him come unglued.Im still glued
- Joined
- Nov 27, 2014
- Messages
- 3,406
Wow!!! Hard to believe you can drive all the way to Saddlepalooza every year. Seem that would have severely impacted your vision @EricS
Wasn’t me. A kid named Josh. He was pitiful. Seems like it took about two weeks for the glue to wear off to the point he could open his eye. He missed most of second grade with a brain tumor. Don’t know if it was related to the super glue or not. I need to look him up. We moved in 3rd grade and I lost contact. Heck he may have took his wife’s last name and moved below Atlanta. Who knows?
Wait, I know a Josh...
Lacky
Active Member
no, no that would not be great. I wouldn't be able to shoot them if they could talk to me and wanted to be my friend. I saved a baby elk once whose mom died and was dehydrated and couldn't walk. I wanted to kill the poor thing so it wouldn't have to sit around waiting for the coyotes. Didn't have a gun, couldn't bring myself to kill it by hand. So I picked the damn thing up and carried her heavy ass over a mile to my car. She rode all the way into town with her head in my lap licking my hand. Fish and game told me what vet to go to. After 10 min of IV she stood up and looked fine.
It's hard enough for me to shoot elk now without throwing talking into the mix!
Isn't it weird how a hunter can kill a critter in cold blood one minute, and then turn around and do something like that the next? I love watching woodie hens lead their babies around just as much as I love blasting them out of the sky.
We're a complicated group for sure.
If I walked around in the woods with a bunch of predators that wanted to eat me, I guarantee you I would look for eyes focused on me. Even my dog cant stand it when I stare in their eyes. That's not a sixth sense its survival.
DaWiz9578
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Sep 27, 2018
- Messages
- 3,949
If deer could talk I would get a nice buck to drop a dime on the damn nice buck in return for getting him off the landscape.
Come to think of it, I would only want one deer to be able to talk. Then we could be buds and I would take care of him when he wasn’t off on scouting trips for me. Just turn him loose one evening and come back and get him a few days later. He gives me the info on what’s going, where it’s going on and who’s in charge and I in turn haul him around to captive does and let him do his thing.
THAT would be awesome.
Come to think of it, I would only want one deer to be able to talk. Then we could be buds and I would take care of him when he wasn’t off on scouting trips for me. Just turn him loose one evening and come back and get him a few days later. He gives me the info on what’s going, where it’s going on and who’s in charge and I in turn haul him around to captive does and let him do his thing.
THAT would be awesome.
Lacky
Active Member
and...the competition for best post in this thread is OVER
Yes but ole @Nutterbuster would give you a tip on seeing a huge buck cross the road. When you dropped your buck off he’d already be waiting.
Did I ever tell you about all the times I made mock scrapes where I wanted people to hunt, and left toilet paper where I wanted them to stay out of?
It's not about beating the game. It's about beating the player!