Deer and noises.......

[monarman]

Out this morning to see if a buck was hanging around an area that always holds a few does...... 12 degrees when I praked the motor so a nice temperature to keep the flies from being too active, a very slight breeze which was in my favour and a dampness to the grass which mean't less sound from brushing through......
The sun was behind me as I started along the track which gave me the advantage of being able to spot the deer as they stood out amongst the green landscape of spring wheat and grassland.... and also meant they had to look into sun if they stared in my direction. So all in all the odds so far were in my favour......

I carried along slowly down the track stopping to glass every 50 yards or so as I got closer to where I had a feeling there may be a deer....... I approached the cattle grid just before the the spying point and noted the slot marks in the mud... .. three different sizes and only a day or two old.... so deer were about for sure.

I slowly stepped up to the junction and had a careful spy...... nothing ... so I continued along the track towards the spot I'd seen a doe a few weeks earlier.
I skirted the edge of the wood.... a couple of rabbits popped up onto their hind legs like merekats.... I got to within 5 yards before they decided I was too close and slowly they hopped off into wood.. without drumming an alarm. As I got to gap in the hedge that I was going through i unslung the rifle and and carried it in the 'trail' position.... at the same time pulling the sticks close to my body so I made as little noise as possible as I crept through the hedge....
I got through the gap an quickly glassed the area ahead of me and to the left but at that time saw nothing...... so after hearing on the grapevine that bucks and does are paired up in some places... and knowing that the area next to where I was stood was a regular fawning ground I decided to set the rifle up on the sticks and give a couple of kid peeps on the buttalo......
Immediately I was greeted with a crashing through the waist high grass in front of me.....where a doe appeared only 10 yards away and stood looking in my direction.. licking her nose and fidgeting.... just then I saw another movement in the grass about 70 yards away..... it was a set of antlers.... the tips just visible above the grass and slightly contrasting in colour to their surroundings. .
I gave another peep on the call which brought the doe a further two yards closer...... then she darted across in front of me into the standing wheat where she stopped... again licking her nose and fidgeting. I gave another peep and she ran down the tramline in my direction..... hesitated.... then continued down the field and into the small copse where I assume her kids were.
I turned my attention back the antlers in the grass...... saw a slight movement.... enough to make out the ears and strong but not very pearled four pointed beams sat on top of a very grey head..
I watched through the scope..... and then the heart started beating harder......so I took my cheek off the stock and composed myself. I put my head down and peered through the scope again....... the antlers moved..... I cold again see the top of the head but nothing else..... the heart started again but this time not as bad so I remained behind the scope.
5 minutes passed and all I kept seeing was movement of the antlers...... so I squeezes the buttolo a couple of times to try and stir him to his feet... nothing!
I waited another few minutes and let out a deep bark.... all I got was a movement of the head...... so I tried again...... nothing!
Again I waited 5 minutes and made a noise like a peacock!...... thought that'd make him stand.... but nope!
I tried the 'gazump' noise that the but talon makes when pressed hard and fast..... all I got was a head turn!

By this time my back started aching as I'd been down on the sticks for quater of an hour, so I stretched up and shuffled my feet a bit...... then got back into position with the antlers in my scope.......
I shouted "oi buck".....and got ready...... he moved his head to one side and that was all!... was this buck a dwarf or just hard of hearing??!!!!!!
I whistled...... nothing....... nearly half an hour I stood, on sticks, with a nice four point bucks antlers in the scope.......
I then had an idea...... I got my phone out my pocket , and clicked onto an app I had that was ringtones in the form of songs by the heavy metal band slipknot.... I pressed play.... and immediately put the scope back on the buck who in one swift move sprang to his feet an bounded off up the side of the grass to the far hedge without stopping!.... then dissappeared..... followed by a doe who must of been sat further away in the grass!!!
And that was that!..... all the noises I made wouldn't shift him but heavy metal made him do a runner!!!!!!!!!

After chuckling to myself and pondering over what just happened I carried on stalking, I headed to where I lost sight of the buck and doe...... but to no avail, although further along around 250 yards away a doe was making its way down the wheat towards the hedge...... on a mission. So I took it upon myself to go and see where she was heading incase she had a buck waiting somewhere.
I continued through the damp grass again spying every few yards incase something was couched down..... I stopped at a point where I could see the clear track that deer were taking across a ditch from the adjacent wheat..... I checked the barbed wire for hair which confirmed it as deer.
As I turned and looked up the field I saw something move..... it was a very beige coloured fox!.... 50 yards away it stared at me and moved along 5 five yards before stopping just long enough for the 139sst out of the 7x57 to turn one side of the beige into red!
The keeper was happy......

A very enjoyable and informative morning...... and still love getting buck fever!
I WILL EVENTUALLY GET A GOOD FOUR POINT BUCK!!!!!

 

[tozzybum]

Great write up monarman ,shows how weird true life can be ,and fair play to the buck for running away from Slipknot,s brand of "music",he has taste

 

[Loki]

Hiya

Thoroughly enjoyed reading your exploit - your meeting with a 4-pointer will come!

L

 

[monarman]

In 21 years of stalking I've never had a deer sit for so long whilst I made noises to rouse it!..... I couldn't even find a stone handy to throw at it... I can't help but wonder if a shot over its head might of been a better option than using the phone? I know firing a shot into clear fell to rouse deer has worked in the past..

I'll have another look for the buck in a week or so... hopefully he'll be a bit more vertical!

 

[Tom270]

I really enjoyed that

 

[swesandy]

Thanks for sharing!

 

[Kjf]

Kjf

 

[slider]

Thanks for sharing. I had a similar(ish) experience a month or so ago when I spotted a yearling buck lying up in on a clear fell, He was only about 70 meters away and I managed to get down and set my rifle up on a stump.

It took a good 15 -20 minutes of waiting, barking then shouting before he casually got to his feet - right on the skyline with a village less than a mile behind. Fortunately he slowly wandered in the right direction and I was able to stop him with another bark when there was a safe backstop.

 

[John Gryphon]

A lolly wrapper (sweets/candy),the old cellophane type twirled `tween fingers can elicit a reaction The same was all I had at hand when I crawled through bush to 23 Fallow does laid up in the sun.I got into the 75 yard mark so I was having a shake lol. The deer had their ears pricked but stayed like statues,THEN all as one were gone around the corner in a millisecond ha ha. I followed them around the corner and voila there was a black buck BANG!

I had also fascinated a Lyrebird one evening with a similar wrapper,the bird worlds supreme mimic and that had him readily listening with ear cocked.

Sometimes an unfamiliar sound will get the quarry to take notice..for a shot!
I have oft done it with deer for camera shots.

 

[Freeforester]

Making a noise too often without changing your own position does tend to let him get a fix on you, and thereafter they don't usually stop to look back, they've already got your number. Had a slightly similar experience 25 years ago, he wouldn't stand up, only antlers visible, but when he did rise, he was out of the blocks and gone, no looking back or stopping to confirm. Have also been present when others have tried similar tactics on their quarry, same outcome each time.

Watching a buck 130yds distant yesterday evening (quiet-ish wind wise, bad midges!)waiting for it and the doe to rise (one of two pairs within a hundred yards of each other, neither pair really "on" rut wise, but as ever, in attendance, weather not terribly conducive to passion!), we could see nothing through the grass with binos, but the ears were very attentive when viewed through the thermal imager; they are pretty good at getting a fix on where a sound is coming from, given more than one chance to do so.

We live, and learn...

 

[John Gryphon]

I have thought at times that a shanghai/slingshot at hand to fire a good sized marble over the other side of a bedded deer to get him to rise and concentrate on the direction of sound may have some merits. Stone throwing works but one tends to give himself away in doing so.

 

[eldon]

You don't need a slingshot or anything else to "get them to concentrate on the direction...etc"
A few years ago I was watching a doe and she wasn't wise to me at all. I decided not to shoot so emptied the chamber for a test. I dry fired a shot specifically watching the response. Upon the trigger click, from a distance of around 150 yds, the deer nearly but not quite, moved its head in the direction of me. Now bear in mind I was fully hidden in dense undergrowth. I allowed her to return to feeding before doing anything. Once settled I then fired another dry shot. This time she was accurately onto the right direction.

Deer have this ability by what is known as a doppler effect. The two ears don't signal to the brain as one and so the difference in time of the signal will provide additional i.e. directional properties to the information. The military used this effect in a similar manner to pinpoint sniper fire.