Question

[Hunterweeks]

I hunt a state park that's. Archery only it is full of trails for mountain biking and hiking. I live 2 miles. Don't he Rd so I rude my bike. And Take advantage of the trails. While hunting today I had people jogging down the trail. Should. Deer be used to the smell of people and is there a difference in hunting pressure and just people. Being out there.

 

[jakev383]

The deer would be used to human smells on the trails, sure. I've hunted a similar place with jogging trails running all over the place. In my observations the deer will avoid the area during the "peak" times when everyone jogs, or at least stay pretty far from the jogging paths when there are groups of joggers or hikers going through. Otherwise human smells near the trails will not bother them much. Human smells 100yds from the trail will make them blow though. They're used to the smell, but know where the smell is expected to be.

 

[NMSbowhunter]

They will be used to human scent and humans walking but if you go in and act like a predator sneaking around, they will know the difference. This video by Catman shows the difference "normal" human activity vs hunting pressure can make. He is hunting a park and his take aways from this hunt are really good. Watch how the deer react on the first morning of the hunt day vs his scout day.

 

[Hunterweeks]

The deer would be used to human smells on the trails, sure. I've hunted a similar place with jogging trails running all over the place. In my observations the deer will avoid the area during the "peak" times when everyone jogs, or at least stay pretty far from the jogging paths when there are groups of joggers or hikers going through. Otherwise human smells near the trails will not bother them much. Human smells 100yds from the trail will make them blow though. They're used to the smell, but know where the smell is expected to be.

Thank you sir. And 100 percent. Goes with what happen yesterday. Had joggers come by. Deer was feeding on. The whole other side of. The. Fire lane I was hunting

 

[kbetts]

People don't matter.

Punctuation does, though...lol.

 

[casts_by_fly]

That's a good video and tracks with what i've found here. I hunt a couple parks that are part of our township system. if you are walking along the trails they will stand there and let you walk by. They assume you don't see them I guess (I'm sure most people walking don't see them!). As soon as you stop though, they are on high alert or gone. If you go off the trails they are gone. You can get away with more scent sometimes, i.e. your scent blowing across a deer won't immediately put them in the next county, though they will note it and inspect. If you hold still they will usually forget about it and keep walking.

rick

 

[Loopwing]

I will second this. I hunt some multi use areas. Deer will stand 5 feet from a path and watch you. As soon as you take one step off the path you become a threat to them and they adjust accordingly.

 

[Hunterweeks]

The deer would be used to human smells on the trails, sure. I've hunted a similar place with jogging trails running all over the place. In my observations the deer will avoid the area during the "peak" times when everyone jogs, or at least stay pretty far from the jogging paths when there are groups of joggers or hikers going through. Otherwise human smells near the trails will not bother them much. Human smells 100yds from the trail will make them blow though. They're used to the smell, but know where the smell is expected to be.

Thank you sir. And 100 percent. Goes with what happen yesterday. Had joggers come by. Deer was feeding on. The whole other side of. The. Fire lane I was hunting

They will be used to human scent and humans walking but if you go in and act like a predator sneaking around, they will know the difference. This video by Catman shows the difference "normal" human activity vs hunting pressure can make. He is hunting a park and his take aways from this hunt are really good. Watch how the deer react on the first morning of the hunt day vs his scout day.

I have. Noticed. This. When. I'm just riding. My bike in. Or out. The deer have no care.

 

[kbetts]

It was a joke guys. There is a meme somewhere that I have to find.

 

[Skunkworkx]

I use to hunt two reservoirs that are somewhat close to me, archery only, and had some good luck.

People walking, talking, horse riding, fishing, ETC, didn't bother the deer much and even help me a few times

 

[Weldabeast]

I kinda prefer to hunt wma's that have lots of recreational users and are walk in only.... The critters see peeps, dogs, bikes, etc all the time and imo u can get away with a lot more. Catmans video is good example.

I like to mess with deers during the off season and small game season and see what I can get away with. If u can confuse them and make them believe ur not a threat and u can get away with a lot......maybe not mature old bucks but if u just hunting to hunt, younger deers are pretty dumb.

Imo the "stick" (gun or bow) in ur hand is a big red flag the deer know. If I see a deer while walking that I think I might have a shot at killing I try to hide the bow as much as I can and act like I don't see them. I was standing at a bend in a road and a small buck turned the corner maybe 60yds away. He wasn't legal so I mess with him and held my bow on my head like antlers and pretended like I was 1 of those moose hunters and started walking toward the deer and he let me get inside 30yds before trotting off. On another occasion I saw 2 does in the middle of a field maybe 100yds with no cover at all to try to sneak on them....I hid my bow behind my back and walked up to them like they weren't there and got to make a shot but I missed