what are some general tendencies of deer?

[Romans3]

Some responses on a different topic I posted lead me to this question. I'm pretty new to whitetail hunting so I'm just looking for some good rules of thumb. What does certain weather conditions do to their movement, what times of day do they do certain things...etc

[Hot Hap]

They have a tendency to make a fool out of me. Hap

[straitera]

Seen more big deer in the middle of the day. Mostly nocturnal during light of the moon. They'll move before and just after a heavy front.

[Fletcher]

They leave when they smell me, but mostly what Hap said.

[Bjorn]

Try peeing on a fresh scrape-drives them nuts!

[Coonbait]

Hunt edges. Deer like to travel edges, large timber and thickets. Places with a transition from one feature to another different feature. Seems to funnel them rather easily.
 GLENN

[Stiks-n-Strings]

They like to eat, sleep and breed.
Find you some good food sources and hunt them. find where they are bedding and stay out, hunt the out skirts of bedding areas and last but not least learn how to read sign... Scrapes, Rubs and such and hunt over a hot scrape or good rub line during prerut, during rut and post rut.
Most importantly use the wind to your advantage and always keep it in YOUR nose not theirs

[toddster]

They know how to play the wind

[Jack Whitmire Jr]

Learn movement patterns , they like routes of least resistance, such as creek and river crossings with low banks and shallow crossings. Fence line crossing are a favorite of mine, set up downwind of it 20-30 yards. Low gaps in mountainous areas are great, if they have a fence in them so much the better. One stand I have is where a gate once stood open  on a fence line for years, the fence no longer stands but the deer still use it:) Fingers of cover that stick out in fields are great stands , especially where it is in a corn field .

Good luck
Jack

[**DONOTDELETE**]

I know that I'm allergic to the combination of a longbow in my hand and a deer in front of me. I must be. Whenever that combo comes together my knees shake.

[VAFarmer]

They have a tendency to make a fool out of me. Hap


hahahaha!!
YOU TOO?????

excellent response!!

God bless,

Farmer

[buckeye_hunter]

Mature bucks often check their scrapes from 20-100 yards downwind and don't bother them much during peak(breeding) rut.

Deer like to travel the back inside corners of fields, points that jut out into fields, fence rows and ditches if they have to cross open territory.

Deer are like us when traveling, LAZY! That is why saddles are so good to hunt.

Deer DO look up in trees!

Whoever moves first, you or the deer loses.

They are very active just after a heavy rain or in a heavy fog.

They like to bed in the high areas of marshy land.

They often enter woodlots with the wind in their face.

And as said before...knowing all this...they still can make you look like an fool.    

-Charlie

[BEN]

What Charlie just said!!!

They have a tendency to make you cuss at them!!!
They always seem to make you second guess your timing and stand location, and then just when you think you're safe: SNORT!!! STOMP!!! think again!!  

[Michael Arnette]

Some god tips on here.
1  position yourself downwind or more often at a cross wind from where you think the deer will be coming from. Mature deer often travel crosswind.
2  the main food source in the fall is acorns esp. white oak in early fall and other oaks as they season progresses.
3  deer always pause before entering and exiting changes in cover.
4  deer tend to bed high and feed low. although there are exeptions.
5  bucks often walk fence lines for does in heat and often walk the crosswind in a downwind direction. If the wind blows from the north to south the buck will often be traveling SE or SW.
6 As has been stated before, deer take the path of least resistance. they can be manipulated over time in this manner.
7 Mature bucks often show up in mid-day during the rut.

[Michael Arnette]

In the south, japenese honey-suckle is a great food source during the winter months.

They have a tendency to become invisible when the season opens. I think they can read, too.

[joevan125]

Hunt hard and hunt often because i promise you one thing, you cant kill anything if you are not in the woods. I hunt a 2,500 acre lease with 7 other guys and every year i kill more deer than any of them. 3 of my hunting buddies have been hunting for years and i would consider them very good hunters. Over the years i have killed a lot of deer right at daylight and late in the morning when they were already out of the woods. GO EARLY AND STAY LATE and it will increase your chances of seeing more game.

[maxfit]

The more scent-lok i wear the more they smell me!
The better i get at hunting mature bucks and pass on "smaller" ones, the less matures i see.
Hmmmm .............      

[b.glass]

Always expect them to come from a direction you don't expect them to! Atleast that's been my experience.

[Tom Leemans]

They get up and move after a rain.

Follow food sources and the trails leading to and from. Pay attention to seasonal things like acorns and such. They will eat food at it's nutritional peak, whenever possible. Keep hunting does, and then come November....