The Quiet Factor!
Moderator: Excalibur Marketing Dude
The Quiet Factor!
Golfcarts,Golfcarts.Seems they're the latest craze sweeping the hunting Nation.Liftkits,ATV tires,gun racks, camo claded and 36 volts to boot!What does this have to do with Crossbow hunting you ask?Under many scenarios,many think they are superior to ATV's and UTV's because of The Quiet Factor.In a trade such as Crossbow hunting where stealth is one of the key factors for bagging that Trophy buck"i know,meat is meat right!sometimes bare walls are just plain ugly!"they say with ATV's and UTV's the Mature bucks are aware of your presence and hunker down!Only to move under the cover of darkness.Thoughts on this anyone?Im sure this will be an interesting topic for me,maybe even some of you.I look forward to your post's. I dont want to ruffle any feathers on the topic,I respect your opinions as fellow Crossbow hunters,but foremost as Human beings.Many heads are better than one!Happy Hunting,whatever your methods may be. THANKS!
-
Grizzly Adam
- Posts: 5701
- Joined: Fri Aug 04, 2006 8:36 pm
- Location: Decatur County, Indiana
Bob's right. Depends on where you are.
Where deer are used to pickups, ATVs and farm equipment, those tools can actually be used to get hunters closer to deer than they would ever get on foot. Many midwestern guide services actually drop off hunters near their stands by truck ... really!
Every farmboy/country boy knows how little attention deer pay to farming activities.
On the other hand, a lot of motor activity where deer are unused to it has a definite bad effect on their movement ... it's something I see every year. Everything changes once the ATV boys start pub-pub-pub-pub-puuuubbbbing around.
Where deer aren't used to noise or human intrusion, I'd say an electric ATV or UTV would be a decided advantage ... up to a point. Deer hear a little better than we do anyway, and are far better at isolating and pinpointing sounds. It's tough to fool their ears without wind noise to help.
Where deer are used to pickups, ATVs and farm equipment, those tools can actually be used to get hunters closer to deer than they would ever get on foot. Many midwestern guide services actually drop off hunters near their stands by truck ... really!
Every farmboy/country boy knows how little attention deer pay to farming activities.
On the other hand, a lot of motor activity where deer are unused to it has a definite bad effect on their movement ... it's something I see every year. Everything changes once the ATV boys start pub-pub-pub-pub-puuuubbbbing around.
Where deer aren't used to noise or human intrusion, I'd say an electric ATV or UTV would be a decided advantage ... up to a point. Deer hear a little better than we do anyway, and are far better at isolating and pinpointing sounds. It's tough to fool their ears without wind noise to help.
Grizz
-
Pydpiper
- Posts: 6148
- Joined: Thu Nov 30, 2006 4:56 pm
- Location: Woodstock, Brantford'ish, ON
- Contact:
Golf Cart!!
It is our next acquisition. It will haul all 5 of us around in complete silence, no helmets no seatbelts, just us against the land.
Where I hunt it is all (mostly) manicured farmers roads, usually grass and they go on forever.
I believe what everyone says, the deer pay little attention to machinery, that is, until it stops! We see deer all the time driving around on the quads, they pay little attention to them, shut it off or slow down and then it becomes a whole different story. We see deer at every outing, they turn to see the noise then resume to what they were doing when the see the machine, whatever it may be, tractor, quad..
Even those are limited to the amount of people you can cram on them, a inexpensive golf cart will easily haul around 6 people in complete comfort and silence.
Again, we spend a great deal of time in the bush, my wife myself and our three kids, all under 6. A golf cart will bring us all comfortably to the river for our picnics and to our blind for hunting. The secondary seats flops out to a nice 6x6 bed to get stuff around when I am by myself and they can tow a pretty good load too.
For me it is a machine that will allow me to include what I enjoy most about the outdoors, my family.
It is our next acquisition. It will haul all 5 of us around in complete silence, no helmets no seatbelts, just us against the land.
Where I hunt it is all (mostly) manicured farmers roads, usually grass and they go on forever.
I believe what everyone says, the deer pay little attention to machinery, that is, until it stops! We see deer all the time driving around on the quads, they pay little attention to them, shut it off or slow down and then it becomes a whole different story. We see deer at every outing, they turn to see the noise then resume to what they were doing when the see the machine, whatever it may be, tractor, quad..
Even those are limited to the amount of people you can cram on them, a inexpensive golf cart will easily haul around 6 people in complete comfort and silence.
Again, we spend a great deal of time in the bush, my wife myself and our three kids, all under 6. A golf cart will bring us all comfortably to the river for our picnics and to our blind for hunting. The secondary seats flops out to a nice 6x6 bed to get stuff around when I am by myself and they can tow a pretty good load too.
For me it is a machine that will allow me to include what I enjoy most about the outdoors, my family.
If you are not willing to learn, nobody can help you, if you are willing, nobody can stop you.
A bowhunter with a passion for shooting firearms.
WMU 91
Boo string
A bowhunter with a passion for shooting firearms.
WMU 91
Boo string
Just my Humble opinion here folks...
Mature bucks we also must classify them as educated bucks...as well as the educated Matriarch Doe. In the Matriarch dominated society the doe are the leaders. The older buck’s bachelor group together until the rut then they are allowed to be with the doe. The younger button bucks stay with their mother for about a year or so until the rut then she will run them off. The doe travel together and are very social liking to be together. They get very educated and more often than not are harder to kill (older doe) than a buck.
A lot of products out there are for our so called benefit to make us more confident with our ability to get close and hunt the whitetail. When we go to their living room no matter how we get there your more likely going to educate them sooner than later making them harder to hunt or even get close to. I say an electric cart would be nice anything to cut down on noise is a plus. But sooner than later they are going to put it together that it’s a threat. They may not hear you from 200 yds VS a 4 wheeler they no your coming...BUT some deer in areas that 4 wheelers frequent don’t care about them kind of like cars and trucks to some degree they ignore them VS a man walking thru the woods they can hear you further away than we think..And if educated to the noise---see ya---or never see ya--
"They say with ATV's and UTV's the mature bucks are aware of your presence and hunker down! Only to move under the cover of darkness.
Yes most of the time but sometimes not.. If it’s in their memory as a threat.Another thing to remember Whitetails play that old cottontail trick...you can walk right by them in the woods (It’s happened to me) I was following a doe trail scouting. I walked right by them probably 20yds. They never moved I never saw them. They blended in well. I lost the trail about another 30 yds..I turned around and went right back the way I came This time when I got to where they were they sprang to action and bolted out a there scared the crap out of me it was so close.. They thought I was on to them a threat so to speak so the bugged out. Once I stalked about 4o yds past a buck laying down I just didn’t see him it was thick he just laid there. After I got by him about 50 yds I heard him stomping away. He didn’t blow snort or anything. He was just trying to get away without me knowing where he was. He was a nice double drop tine beast...SO in saying all that it just depends on if they think you are or the noise is a threat to them.
But yes in short they don’t get big being stupid unless they are in an area that nobody ever disturbs them..If they have food water and shelter in a 1 acre thicket and the are never molested they will stay right there until dark and they will be back to it before sunrise...UNTIL the rut...
But in all my year of hunting I will say one thing remains constant---> Just when I think I have figured them out or found a pattern to them and think I’ve got the edge..They prove me wrong..All you can do is all you can do. Learning by experience is the best teacher.
Mature bucks we also must classify them as educated bucks...as well as the educated Matriarch Doe. In the Matriarch dominated society the doe are the leaders. The older buck’s bachelor group together until the rut then they are allowed to be with the doe. The younger button bucks stay with their mother for about a year or so until the rut then she will run them off. The doe travel together and are very social liking to be together. They get very educated and more often than not are harder to kill (older doe) than a buck.
A lot of products out there are for our so called benefit to make us more confident with our ability to get close and hunt the whitetail. When we go to their living room no matter how we get there your more likely going to educate them sooner than later making them harder to hunt or even get close to. I say an electric cart would be nice anything to cut down on noise is a plus. But sooner than later they are going to put it together that it’s a threat. They may not hear you from 200 yds VS a 4 wheeler they no your coming...BUT some deer in areas that 4 wheelers frequent don’t care about them kind of like cars and trucks to some degree they ignore them VS a man walking thru the woods they can hear you further away than we think..And if educated to the noise---see ya---or never see ya--
"They say with ATV's and UTV's the mature bucks are aware of your presence and hunker down! Only to move under the cover of darkness.
Yes most of the time but sometimes not.. If it’s in their memory as a threat.Another thing to remember Whitetails play that old cottontail trick...you can walk right by them in the woods (It’s happened to me) I was following a doe trail scouting. I walked right by them probably 20yds. They never moved I never saw them. They blended in well. I lost the trail about another 30 yds..I turned around and went right back the way I came This time when I got to where they were they sprang to action and bolted out a there scared the crap out of me it was so close.. They thought I was on to them a threat so to speak so the bugged out. Once I stalked about 4o yds past a buck laying down I just didn’t see him it was thick he just laid there. After I got by him about 50 yds I heard him stomping away. He didn’t blow snort or anything. He was just trying to get away without me knowing where he was. He was a nice double drop tine beast...SO in saying all that it just depends on if they think you are or the noise is a threat to them.
But yes in short they don’t get big being stupid unless they are in an area that nobody ever disturbs them..If they have food water and shelter in a 1 acre thicket and the are never molested they will stay right there until dark and they will be back to it before sunrise...UNTIL the rut...
But in all my year of hunting I will say one thing remains constant---> Just when I think I have figured them out or found a pattern to them and think I’ve got the edge..They prove me wrong..All you can do is all you can do. Learning by experience is the best teacher.
Dedicated.... ta all the sweet Bucks yet ta die!
-
Phoenix_Tom
- Posts: 437
- Joined: Tue Oct 28, 2008 10:09 am
- Location: Eastern Ontario
Ah yes, the noise factor.
Question: Has anyone ever had a deer jump when you were drawing your bow (compound, recurve or longbow), the arrow makes a very slight noise on the arrow rest...and that deer is outta here?!!!!
Another question: If your answer was yes to the first question, do you suppose a golf cart, which is definitely quieter than an atv, would make all that much difference?
We too live in farm country and I do have an atv and use it a lot. Not only do we use it year around (right now hauling firewood), but we use it a lot during deer season. Many, many times I will have my wife drop me off where I plan to hunt using the atv. Many times I've gone out to one stand not too far from the house and spotted deer feeding. So, I get on the two-way radio, have her drive back to the field, turn around and then go right back to the house. While she is back in the field, I go to the stand. Usually, within 5 minutes from the time she leaves, and sometimes less, the deer come right back out. Their attention has been on the atv though while I'm getting into my stand!
Then when it is time to quit for the night, sometimes I can't get out of the stand because there are deer all around me. If they don't leave, I'll simply call the wife and have her pick me up!
One interesting time was a few years ago when someone was here hunting (rifle) and I offered to let them use my blind that evening. However, the rule was, go into the blind and do not come out until you either shoot a buck or I come with the atv to get you. So, I took him back and was amazed. Almost brought him right back to the house too. We saw 4 deer about 80 yards from the house. Then before we got to the blind, we had counted 36 more deer!!! They were just inside the woods and the blind was just on the edge. What to do? Many were within sight of the blind. Well, experiment time. I dropped him off at the blind and kept right on moving for a ways, then turned around and went back to the house. He said not one deer appeared alarmed and he was well entertained that evening. No, no big bucks that night but he saw over 50 deer total.
One big rule of atv's though. One must drive VERY SLOW. Almost idle speed. If not, those deer will spook fast! While sitting on stand, every time my neighbor just starts his atv, the deer are on super alert immediately! The difference? He has a racing atv and drives like it. I drive almost at an idle.
Now noise does make a difference along with speed. Our older atv did not have the automatic transmission and was smaller. There is a big difference in how close I can get to the deer with this one vs the older one. A BIG difference.
Yes, we educate the deer. They can tell the difference between a threat and a non-threat.
Question: Has anyone ever had a deer jump when you were drawing your bow (compound, recurve or longbow), the arrow makes a very slight noise on the arrow rest...and that deer is outta here?!!!!
Another question: If your answer was yes to the first question, do you suppose a golf cart, which is definitely quieter than an atv, would make all that much difference?
We too live in farm country and I do have an atv and use it a lot. Not only do we use it year around (right now hauling firewood), but we use it a lot during deer season. Many, many times I will have my wife drop me off where I plan to hunt using the atv. Many times I've gone out to one stand not too far from the house and spotted deer feeding. So, I get on the two-way radio, have her drive back to the field, turn around and then go right back to the house. While she is back in the field, I go to the stand. Usually, within 5 minutes from the time she leaves, and sometimes less, the deer come right back out. Their attention has been on the atv though while I'm getting into my stand!
Then when it is time to quit for the night, sometimes I can't get out of the stand because there are deer all around me. If they don't leave, I'll simply call the wife and have her pick me up!
One interesting time was a few years ago when someone was here hunting (rifle) and I offered to let them use my blind that evening. However, the rule was, go into the blind and do not come out until you either shoot a buck or I come with the atv to get you. So, I took him back and was amazed. Almost brought him right back to the house too. We saw 4 deer about 80 yards from the house. Then before we got to the blind, we had counted 36 more deer!!! They were just inside the woods and the blind was just on the edge. What to do? Many were within sight of the blind. Well, experiment time. I dropped him off at the blind and kept right on moving for a ways, then turned around and went back to the house. He said not one deer appeared alarmed and he was well entertained that evening. No, no big bucks that night but he saw over 50 deer total.
One big rule of atv's though. One must drive VERY SLOW. Almost idle speed. If not, those deer will spook fast! While sitting on stand, every time my neighbor just starts his atv, the deer are on super alert immediately! The difference? He has a racing atv and drives like it. I drive almost at an idle.
Now noise does make a difference along with speed. Our older atv did not have the automatic transmission and was smaller. There is a big difference in how close I can get to the deer with this one vs the older one. A BIG difference.
Yes, we educate the deer. They can tell the difference between a threat and a non-threat.
Keep smiling!
Dennis
Dennis
-
Phoenix_Tom
- Posts: 437
- Joined: Tue Oct 28, 2008 10:09 am
- Location: Eastern Ontario
I had to give up caring about what's behind me a long time ago. I can only setup my bilnd or stand to the best of my abilities and watch what I figure needs watching. It never fails though: there'll always be action behind my stand!bstout wrote:Ain't it great!Phoenix_Tom wrote:I hear ya Hoss. But experience seems to count for nothing...they change the game plan everytime you think you got them figured out.
I wish the son of a guns would stop coming in from behind me!
20 years ago I was rifle hunting with my father and uncle. I was on the ground with a big old oak tree to my back, in the corner of a good sized recent clear cut. When They came back for me they asked how long I had slept for. I hadn't slept at all. But there were fresh buck tracks in the snow that came straight to my tree. You could tell the buck came over, chcked me out from a foot away and then left. I never heard him or saw him.
-
Pydpiper
- Posts: 6148
- Joined: Thu Nov 30, 2006 4:56 pm
- Location: Woodstock, Brantford'ish, ON
- Contact:
Drawing a bow at 15 yards or approaching a deer at 500.. Not seeing the connection.. Noise is relative to it's surroundings, here we spend a lot of time buzzing around that area on machines, none spook deer anymore.B-Logger wrote:Ah yes, the noise factor.
Question: Has anyone ever had a deer jump when you were drawing your bow (compound, recurve or longbow), the arrow makes a very slight noise on the arrow rest...and that deer is outta here?!!!!
Another question: If your answer was yes to the first question, do you suppose a golf cart, which is definitely quieter than an atv, would make all that much difference?
You Michigan guys have your own way of doing things, we just walked in from the weekend there and my next post Will be about that experience..
If you are not willing to learn, nobody can help you, if you are willing, nobody can stop you.
A bowhunter with a passion for shooting firearms.
WMU 91
Boo string
A bowhunter with a passion for shooting firearms.
WMU 91
Boo string
Well, drawing a bow at 15 yards or hearing a golf cart at 100 yards? Same thing. Wasn't this thread about noise?Pydpiper wrote:Drawing a bow at 15 yards or approaching a deer at 500.. Not seeing the connection.. Noise is relative to it's surroundings, here we spend a lot of time buzzing around that area on machines, none spook deer anymore.B-Logger wrote:Ah yes, the noise factor.
Question: Has anyone ever had a deer jump when you were drawing your bow (compound, recurve or longbow), the arrow makes a very slight noise on the arrow rest...and that deer is outta here?!!!!
Another question: If your answer was yes to the first question, do you suppose a golf cart, which is definitely quieter than an atv, would make all that much difference?
You Michigan guys have your own way of doing things, we just walked in from the weekend there and my next post Will be about that experience..
FYI, I have dozens of times been less than 15 yards from deer with my atv! You are right, sometimes people have their own way of doing things, but why do you lump all Michiganders all together? Isn't that like saying all Canadians are the same? I think not!
Keep smiling!
Dennis
Dennis
-
Pydpiper
- Posts: 6148
- Joined: Thu Nov 30, 2006 4:56 pm
- Location: Woodstock, Brantford'ish, ON
- Contact:
Heck ya! I lump all Canadians in the same pile, they deserve it!B-Logger wrote:Pydpiper wrote:B-Logger wrote:Ah yes, the noise factor.
Question: Has anyone ever had a deer jump when you were drawing your bow (compound, recurve or longbow), the arrow makes a very slight noise on the arrow rest...and that deer is outta here?!!!!
Another question: If your answer was yes to the first question, do you suppose a golf cart, which is definitely quieter than an atv, would make all that much difference?
FYI, I have dozens of times been less than 15 yards from deer with my atv! You are right, sometimes people have their own way of doing things, but why do you lump all Michiganders all together? Isn't that like saying all Canadians are the same? I think not!
I was born in Mt. Clemens, raised in Troy/Sterling heights then off to Ferndale for my own crack at life, decided Madison Heights was a better place for me and then finally landing in Canada to raise my family.
Not like I am an outsider looking in here, been there, done that.
I am an American, Michigan guy actually, I just happen to be living in Canada right now. The beer here is way better.
If you are not willing to learn, nobody can help you, if you are willing, nobody can stop you.
A bowhunter with a passion for shooting firearms.
WMU 91
Boo string
A bowhunter with a passion for shooting firearms.
WMU 91
Boo string
-
Pydpiper
- Posts: 6148
- Joined: Thu Nov 30, 2006 4:56 pm
- Location: Woodstock, Brantford'ish, ON
- Contact:
One thing I have learned about crossbow hunters is that there are a fair number of them that get where they need to go because of necessity, not convenience.TYE wrote:I just think some people are too lazy to walk to their treestands, and just drive their ATV or whatever right to it....
Where I rifle hunt, I sometimes walk miles and miles to get to spots.
A guy walking through the woods with a "hot pink" bowstring doesn't have a lot of say in the matter.
If you can drive an ATV or other machine to your stand and still be successful I see that as a skill, nothing less.
If you are not willing to learn, nobody can help you, if you are willing, nobody can stop you.
A bowhunter with a passion for shooting firearms.
WMU 91
Boo string
A bowhunter with a passion for shooting firearms.
WMU 91
Boo string
I just mean hunters in general... I know of a lot of people around here who drive their vehicles right to under their stand and wonder why they never get any deer. Or their ATV's.Pydpiper wrote: One thing I have learned about crossbow hunters is that there are a fair number of them that get where they need to go because of necessity, not convenience.
I understand if someone has a disability... that's understandable. But someone capable of walking a few hundred yards to get to their stand, but rather be lazy and drive right to their stand, I think is pretty stupid.
I don't have a pink string anymore... that string is on my dads Vixen nowPydpiper wrote: A guy walking through the woods with a "hot pink" bowstring doesn't have a lot of say in the matter.
I have a blue and grey string on my compound bow
BUT! I do have black with 2 hot pink vanes on my arrows. 