I was watching three deer feeding in a field. I was well hidden and there was a slight movement of air from the deer to me. These deer were about two hundred and fifty yards from me and I was waiting for them to come into surer range of my short-range gun before attempting to shoot one of them. While I was watching them, they suddenly stopped feeding, looked in my direction for a short time, switched their tails nervously and walked out of the field into the edge of the nearby woods. I had not heard any sound that could account for their actions, so I looked around to see if I could find what had alarmed them. When I turned my head I could hear voices. There were a woman and child walking along a road about one hundred and fifty yards in back of me. This road was not visible from the spot where the deer had been feeding. Although the voices were indistinct from where I was stationed, the deer had heard and recognized the sound as a possible source of danger and had made a discreet withdrawal. They were not unduly alarmed and were back feeding in the field twenty minutes later. They had heard sounds at four hundred yards that I had failed to hear at one hundred and fifty yards.



A deer's hearing, like its sense of smell, is affected by the wind and other atmospheric conditions. These conditions should be considered by the hunter who wishes to approach a deer without being heard. Eyesight is a deer's weak point when it comes to the identification of objects. Deer are supposed to be colorblind. Apparently they are unable to see details of an object at any great distance and they seem to be unable to identify objects by their outline. In spite of this, they are able to detect motion at a considerable distance.

I have stood perfectly still many times while deer looked at me and, unless they detected my scent, they acted as if they were uncertain of my identity. On one occasion, I stood in an open field and a deer passed me at a distance of about fifty yards. He stopped and looked at me for a long minute before he continued his walk across the field. There was no sign of alarm in his actions. He seemed a bit puzzled about me, yet not enough for him to investigate or to cause him to run. I have stalked feeding deer by moving towards them when they were not looking my way and by remaining motionless when they were looking. I have killed a few deer in this manner after they had looked directly at me while I was only partially concealed by small clumps of bushes. On other occasions when I have tried this they became suspicious and left the area.

One time in a canoe I stalked a deer. I crossed a small pond in plain sight of the deer which was feeding on the shore. By traveling slowly and directly towards the deer I created the illusion of a stationary or floating object. By keeping the paddle in the water and only moving it when the deer was not looking, I kept noise and motion to a minimum. The deer became slightly suspicious at about one hundred yards, but never entered the woods until I had more than halved that distance. There was the possibility that the animal was able to detect my scent. This seems to indicate that a deer's eyesight is not keen and dependable.

The deer's hearing sense is sharper than that of human. But they could be affected by the wind and other atmospheric conditions. These conditions should be considered by the hunter who wishes to approach a deer without being heard. Eyesight is a deer's weak point when it comes to the identification of objects. Deer are supposed to be colorblind.

Sometimes it is good to play hide and seek games with the deer while hunting. It is better for a hunter not to be disturbed and make motions or noise when the deer looks at you when they are in disturbed position.