The Mood of the Deer Will Tell You When to Take the Shot

EDITOR'S NOTE: To know when to shoot, you must become a student of deer and their behavior, pay attention to the deer you're hunting and what they're doing and understand the moods and habits of deer.

In recent years, psychologists and psychiatrists have determined that certain body positions reflect the emotional moods of people. If you can read body language, you can determine how others feel and possibly change their moods.

For instance, if someone sits with his arms across his chest, his legs crossed and leans forward in his chair, more than likely he's nervous, feels threatened and will speak cautiously. However, if he sits with his legs apart, his arms open and leans back in his chair, usually he's a very open, relaxed person who doesn't feel threatened or intimidated. By studying body language, we can learn about the individual people we deal with daily and also the deer we hunt, since deer also telegraph their moods by their body language.

Many deer hunters have the misconception that certain rules always apply and specific tactics always effectively bag bucks. They'll search for a secret strategy to use or a magic piece of knowledge that will ensure their taking a deer on every outing.

However, you must think of deer as individuals -- differing in the ways they move and think. They also have different emotional levels at various times of the day, depending on their individual make-ups.

You'll find ...
* some deer naturally nervous and skittish, while often other deer exhibit more calm personalities.
* outside forces can change the moods of deer. Deer in high-pressure areas consistently will act more nervous than deer who rarely have hunters hunting them.
* older-age bucks and does act much more skittish than younger bucks and does do.
* a doe with a fawn much more high-strung and easily excited than a barren doe. Therefore, take the first good shot that the doe offers you. Don't wait on the best shot because she may leave the area.

Knowing the mood of the deer when he or she walks in front of you can help you learn when to shoot, how to shoot and whether or not you may get a second shot. A nervous deer will break and run at the first sign, sound or smell of anything the animal doesn't understand. This deer usually will act like a standing broad jumper in that it will squat before it jumps. By knowing that a nervous deer will squat before it jumps, then you can aim somewhat low so that when you shoot, the deer squats into the flight of the bullet, and you'll get a better hit.

Tomorrow: Nervously Feeding Deer