Making eye contact with deer.

[Mayfly]

I was reading an interesting article today about deer having a sixth sense. The article was very good and brought up some interesting points. One thing it touched on was making eye contact with deer when you are hunting and that hit home. For years now I refuse to make eye contact with a deer as its approaching. Why? I feel like they can feel it, I believe in the mysterious sixth sense. Anyone else do this or have experience with this or any other strange things that happened related to a sixth sense type moment? I just thought this was an interesting topic.

[HD]

I never thought about it,
But, I always watch the eyes when a deer comes into view.
For some reason you (I) can tell what it's going to do by watching their eyes.

Sounds weird, I know.................


Hunter

[Bobby Bass]

I think it depends on how long you have been dating!  I'm sorry I just had to say that..

[beeker]

I think if your making eye contact with em they've busted you or are trying to figure out what your doing. I would have to imagine that since deer see black and white that an human eye would possibly stand out for em. considering that they have to look out for predators.   I don't know just a thought

[The General]

I guess i never really thought about it.  I usually am paying attention to them as a whole.  I know I don't ever turn away if they do look at me.

[Pegg]

I have had deer at about 15 to 20 feet from me and they have been looking right at me. eye to eye. Standing there looking at me and I am sitting still and looking  at them. I had it were they walk a way and have had it were I just looked another way with only my eyes and they go running. I love to watch deer that come in that close and don't even know I am there.  I think they sense that I am there but not too sure about it. I do a lot of ground hunting and have them walk by all the time. Some will stop and look right at me and look eye to eye.  It is  alot of fun to see what they do.

[22lex]

Over the years bowhunting I can say that I have had numerous encounters with close up deer that have looked at my eyes and bolted. I think if a deer sees your eyes, that's only half of what you think they see. If they have picked up their head enough at an angle to see your eyes, they are picking up your body, tree stand, bow hanging, etc....

I truthfully think that deer are becoming conditioned to look "up" more and more.

[JCAMERON]

I think your on to something lex. Maybe I'll try a pit blind this year....
I really haven't had enough face to face encounters to make a judgement.

[joker31888]

I'm always watching the deer.  When it looks in my direction I always feel it's staring right at me.  Maybe it is I don't know.  I've heard people say the see the whites of eyes but I duno.

[22lex]

I think your on to something lex. Maybe I'll try a pit blind this year....
I really haven't had enough face to face encounters to make a judgement.

I dunno about a pit blind..... 

But I always use a plastic doe decoy to keep their attention off the figure in the tree that's scrambling to get his bow 'cause he was falling asleep.

[Mayfly]

I stay focused on what the deer is doing but I always pretend like i dont see him or her. Have you ever been standing somewhere and you feel like someone is staring at you then u look to the right and there is some hot chick checking you out? I feel like the deer feel the same way. I thinks it a cool topic because there is no fact involved. It is open for great discussion. One of those deer mysteries that we will never know the answer too.....

[Ryan]

I have had deer stare at me in my stand before.  I just stare right back and don't move until they get the sense I am ok and go back to what they were doing.  I don't think I have ever had one run off after making eye contact with them.  They may move a little, but never out of sight.

[Bobby Bass]

On a more serious note. Very hard to keep your eyes still. You may be able to control your body movement but eye movement is hard to control. How many times have you walked up on say a rabbit and if you pretend you don't see them they will hold rock solid. Then as soon as you turn and look at them directly they will bolt. In the fishing world why do lures have eyes? Other animals and fish can zone in on them eyes.

[beeker]

how many times have you doozed for a second to pop up and have a deer right in your shooting lane?

[kenhuntin]

how many times have you doozed for a second to pop up and have a deer right in your shooting lane?

that did happen a few times to me but since I Have left the beer alone during deer season the past 20 years I do not doze in stand. I hold deer hunting too precious of a moment to waste a minute of it because of some bad habit I have the rest of the year.

[Big Slick]

Have you ever been standing somewhere and you feel like someone is staring at you then u look to the right and there is some hot chick checking you out?

I was reading an old book awhile back I think it was written by Zane Grey, but in that book he mentioned the same thing. Some people have the sixth sense, especialy people that would spend alot of time outdoors. Mountain Men he called them. I know that I used to be able to but haven't paid any attention to that sense lately.

[Auggie]

I stay focused on what the deer is doing but I always pretend like i dont see him or her. Have you ever been standing somewhere and you feel like someone is staring at you then u look to the right and there is some hot chick checking you out? I feel like the deer feel the same way. I thinks it a cool topic because there is no fact involved. It is open for great discussion. One of those deer mysteries that we will never know the answer too.....

Hot chick checking you out? Tim now we know you are full of 

[Pegg]

I would have to agree with Auggie.  Sorry Tim

[kingfisher1]

I agree with Auggie, too.  What kind of hot chick would check out Tim?  She must have  a few too many times.

[MnSportsman]

6th sense... No....
Being aware of their surroundings...Yes...

Over the years, being in full camo  during turkey season, bow -hunting,etc.
( Ghillie suit/face mask & being un-scented/using blocking scent &  always seems to happen during turkey season & not so often during deer season... ...)
 I have had deer come within less than 10 feet of me & particularly during turkey hunting... while I am on the ground....
I am watching them, & many times their eyes & ears... & they are aware that something is not necessarily "right" but they do not always spook & sometimes even try to get closer to get a better "Sniff", to see what is there that they don't understand. I have also had deer come close when trout-fishing & get within 20 feet & even though I have "bug-juice" on, they are curious as to what I am , until I move or they just get a "feeling" & move off. Many times stoping a few yards away to look back & try to ID what they just saw/smelled..
So. As I said.. 6th sense No...
At least, based on my own experiences over the years....

[BiggA]

I dont really know if they sense anything or not but for what ever reason if they look at me I avert my eyes to their body. I also once I decide to shoot a deer never again look at their rack untill after I shoot I just focus on the chest and beyond the target of course.

[Cody Gruchow]

deer can tell if your staring right at them and make eye contact. had a big buck bust me on bow opener he came in and i stood up and just as i was about to draw he looked up right at me, i didnt move at all but i think he really could see my eyes and he turned and ran back up the trail he came down.

[Mayfly]

I stay focused on what the deer is doing but I always pretend like i dont see him or her. Have you ever been standing somewhere and you feel like someone is staring at you then u look to the right and there is some hot chick checking you out? I feel like the deer feel the same way. I thinks it a cool topic because there is no fact involved. It is open for great discussion. One of those deer mysteries that we will never know the answer too.....

Hot chick checking you out? Tim now we know you are full of 

Ya like that dont you  I couldnt pass up the opportunity.

[Pegg]

We could never pass that up. You should know that.

[GRIZ]

I never thought about it but I have never tried to look a deer right in the eye. I have made a point to avoid it. Now that I think about it I've turned my head enough so I can still see them up, down or whatever way my eyes cross but try to avoid them being able to see the "whites of my eyes" I have on a couple times closed my eyes when moving my head would have spooked them. No one ever said anything to me about it til now that made me think it's just what I've done and now that I think about it the whites are what would be the dead giveaway if they see them.

[Auggie]

I stay focused on what the deer is doing but I always pretend like i dont see him or her. Have you ever been standing somewhere and you feel like someone is staring at you then u look to the right and there is some hot chick checking you out? I feel like the deer feel the same way. I thinks it a cool topic because there is no fact involved. It is open for great discussion. One of those deer mysteries that we will never know the answer too.....

Hot chick checking you out? Tim now we know you are full of 

I just couldn't let that slide!

Ya like that dont you  I couldnt pass up the opportunity.

[stevejedlenski]

through my own learning experiences i have started to squint my eyes and not even look at a deers body when they come through. i used to just stare right at them and they would allways seem to start to get nervous if i was looking at them. they would walk in fine and then all of a sudden were on their toes. if they ever did look up they would instantly be staring right in my eyes. since ive started looking away and squinting my eyes they seemed like they were much calmer when they came through.

i can sense when someone is looking at me. i think its more a subconcious thing that you notice when someones eyes are peering at you for a long time, the same as how you pick up movement out of the corner of your eye. how many times did you see something just because something caught your eye, not nessisarily the whole thing but just a hint of something out of the ordinary...color, texture...

[T.R. Michels]

Beeker kind of got it right. I dont' believe deer have a 6th sense, btu they are keenly aware of everything they hear around them. And they see as well as a human, but they are red-green color blind, they see in shades of blue and yellow.

Here is an excerpt from my Complete Whitetail Addict's Manual that might explaing something about deer vision.

Ultra Violet Light
There has been a lot of controversy on how and what deer see. If you have read the section on Understanding Whitetails you know that deer, elk, sheep, moose, mountain goats and antelope are red/green color blind, but they do see colors in the ultraviolet range. Many of the earliest camouflages used dyes with ultraviolet brighteners to print the fabric. These dyes were used primarily in the gray colors. With the research that Dr. Jay Neitz has done there is little question that deer and other hoofed animals have the ability to see the light reflected from those early dyes.

     UV brighteners and dyes have the same effect (even in low light conditions when most of us hunt) as a white shirt washed in commercial detergent with brighteners. When it is seen under an ultraviolet light in a nightclub it shines. If you are wearing a camouflage that uses dyes with ultraviolet brighteners it will shine. When you are stationary in a tree stand a deer may not see you, or it may dismiss any shine it sees because it is accustomed to bright objects in the sky. But, if you move you may be spotted. This is especially true in low light conditions at dawn and dusk. If you doubt that big game animals see better in the dark than humans, and that they see ultraviolet light, ask yourself if you could run through the forest at the speeds the animals do at night, without running into a tree or tripping. Deer species see better in low light conditions than humans!

     If you own camouflage containing UV brighteners you don't have to stop wearing it and buy new clothing. UV Killer, available from Sno-Seal, can be sprayed on your clothing to effectively stop ultraviolet reflection and prohibit game from spotting it. A bottle of spray is inexpensive, will treat your entire wardrobe, and your clothes can be washed up to five times before they need to be retreated. The minimal cost is well worth it if it helps you go undetected. If you are in doubt about your clothing check it under a UV light or wear it to the local nightclub to see if it shines. When you buy clothing look for the UV Free hang tag, or ask if the clothing contains UV dyes before purchasing it. Most camouflage manufacturers now insist that UV free dyes are used to print their patterns, but it doesn't hurt to check.

God bless,

T.R.