It seems if I get setup early in the mornings where a roosted bird is, at some point before fly down a deer or two is coming by me. Then the stomping and circling games begin. Very frustrating. Anyone found a way to limit this problem? If a bird is out of sight I have just stood up and ran them off.
Thanks!
Deer can be a problem for sure.
I have a spot that has so many deer on it that I have to turkey hunt it based on the wind so I don't have deer blow out..
So my advice, is strategize around the wind. Some days you may have to hunt somewhere else or on the fringes of where you'd really want to be.
No way to combat it except hope your not in the wind direction of them and don't move.
It's part of the game, the deer is the turkeys friend and alerts him to danger, just as a turkeys putts would alert a deer.
It's part of the battle in my opinion.
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I never worry about it. They hear them daily. If anything I would let the deer see me move, this will usually cause them to move on.
I have been using the scent elimination sprays and scent free soaps, deodorant, and laundry detergent during turkey season for years, same as I do during deer season. Last year I had a doe walk within 40 yards of me on a turkey set up and did not detect me.
I think it is worth the effort and expense. You may want to give it a try.
Never had a deer scare any birds off. I just ignore them and let them move on.
I think Guesswho is spot on.
I don't think there's any way around it besides just staying at home. You have to set up to kill the turkey. If a deer blows it up, he blows it up. I never saw the benefits of scent elimination when I was at nose level with a whitetail.
Maybe I just stink. :) If it's downwind, it's going to pick you up. However, I'm not up on the latest scent elimination products.
I can only recall one time that a deer blew up a turkey hunt and only then because the doe that almost stepped on me turned and almost ran the gobbler over. If I'd have had enough sense, I could have waited a half hour and still probably called that bird in. On most occasions, I never had a bird do anything more than maybe go quiet for a short while due to a deer.
I have had coyotes screw everything up enough that I couldn't get the bird back on track.
Quote from: GunRunner on February 11, 2022, 12:00:50 PM
I have been using the scent elimination sprays and scent free soaps, deodorant, and laundry detergent during turkey season for years, same as I do during deer season. Last year I had a doe walk within 40 yards of me on a turkey set up and did not detect me.
I think it is worth the effort and expense. You may want to give it a try.
:anim_25:
Quote from: mikejd on February 11, 2022, 01:16:22 PM
Never had a deer scare any birds off. I just ignore them and let them move on.
X2 here, I have had deer "blow out" around me, the gobbler kept coming. I think turkeys and deer are use to each other, not to say that an alarm snort can't ruin a hunt. Could go either way I guess....
I personally will do everything I can to get them moving on as discreetly as possible. Then wait a bit for things to calm down and get back to the task at hands. Works on Jakes and hens as well, just try to steer the hens away from the gobblers if possible.
Never had blowing spook a bird. Have witnessed coyotes coming thru a setup with bird in view and birds ignore them. But bear in my experience will make one tight lipped rest of the day which I find odd
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Hunt PA state land. No worries with deer there. In all seriousness, since our deer herd has dropped I rarely have a problem with deer anymore.
Depends on the situation. If the deer are just walking by, I just sit still, if they appear to be feeding or going to get down wind, I will make myself known and run the deer off. I don't jump up but will move enough to get the deer uncomfortable.
Where I hunt, the deer aren't that spooky and tend to just trot off without raising too much heck.
Coyotes have ruined more hunts for me than deer.
The public land I hunt has so few deer I can't remember the last time I even saw one while turkey hunting. But, when I have hunted property with plenty of deer around, I just sit tight and things quiet down quickly enough to not mess up a hunt very often.
I am the opposite of one of the above posts. I run Deep woods off liberally on my hat and do my best not to wash my turkey hunting uniforms.
I want a deer to smell me a mile away, if one is up wind in 40 mile an hour winds I wave at it like a friend I haven't seen in ten years.
I try not to let them get to close, that's when they seem to blow. May not bother the turkeys but it bothers me!
I've had one doe shut a tom up. She didn't know what I was and walked to 10 feet before she started blowing and carrying on. Of course bird was coming in hot at around 100 yards away. She ran right to where he was gobbling and he shut up for about 2 hours. Next gobble from him was way far away. Killed him the next morning though so all she did was extend my season lol
I had deer bust me and spook an approaching gobbler one time about 25 years ago. The deer got right up on me before it started freaking out. Since it happened at one of the few openings in the area where gobblers liked to strut, I took an old camo T shirt, slipped it over my pillow for a few nights, then tied the shirt around a tree behind the downed tree I hunted beside. Never saw another deer in that area for the rest of the season & ended up killing that gobbler the next time I hunted that opening.
Jim
I read that old Dwain Bland- Author of- Turkey Hunters Digest would take with him a slingshot and lay some Lead Balls on the Rumps of Deer + Annoying Hogs.
Deer blow at all sorts of things, even other deer. I actually want deer to smell me. Get's them out of the way faster. Coffee works wonders. The one thing I love about Turkey season, unlike deer season I don't worry about the smell.
Many times while walking predawn we will have deer snort that have become aware of something moving close enough to hear our best stealth walk. In this senerio simply blowing back to the deer conveys that we are a deer. It may amaze those who don't know the difference between a snort and a blow, how effective this is to stop the snorting.
This works to calm deer and also make many of them curious to the point of approaching, so use with caution. I don't know if this has saved a hunt for me, but I'd bet it has.
Archery season is a hoot talking to the deer as well.
Quote from: Lucky Goose on February 11, 2022, 11:47:40 AM
Deer can be a problem for sure.
I have a spot that has so many deer on it that I have to turkey hunt it based on the wind so I don't have deer blow out..
So my advice, is strategize around the wind. Some days you may have to hunt somewhere else or on the fringes of where you'd really want to be.
That's the only way, play the wind like you're deer hunting
I was hunting one day a few springs ago, I had snuck up on the side of the mountain above this gobbler on a bench. I belly crawled down to the mountain to about 70-80 yards and watched this bird strutting back and forth all alone. I had a decoy out beside me and he would gobble just about every time I called. But after 30 minutes I realized he had no intentions of walking up to me.
All of a sudden two deer got spooked out the bench by something and came flying past the gobbler. He went out of strut, panicked for a minute because he had no idea why those deer busted. He looked up at my decoy and started running up the mountain at me. Bang.
First time I've ever heard of deer putting on a turkey drive for a human. I owe them one.
But I also agree with the earlier post that it's just part of the game in the spring that you deal with. I think taking scent control seriously would take a lot of the fun out of it for me.
Deer seem to be the most problem when they're pretty sure or think you're there. If they know you're there from the start they avoid you or try to sneak by. You have 2 options. Be deer invisible, almost impossible, or beer very deer visible through scent and or site.