Thoughts on deer eyesight and head movement

[Peacemaker]

My ladder stands have the seats 15 feet off the ground. During firearms season, hunters (with any weapon) are required to wear at least a hat's worth of blaze orange (I forget the sq inch requirement, but a hat is enough).

One of my stands has a 360 degree view. So, I have to constantly move my head to scan the area and see everything. My options are to wear a blaze orange vest and camo my head and face (or not), or to wear an orange hat and camo everything else. My thought is that if I wear an orange vest and camo my head and face, a deer (or turkey since the seasons overlap) may be less likely to see movement when I slowly turn my head to scan for game. I can keep my upper body largely still (OK, not for 360 degrees but close to it). Or am I overthinking it and should I just put on the orange hat and be done with it?

I have had success both ways (at least for firearm distances of 60-100 yards), but wanted to get opinions from the experts.

[SixLomaz]

Can you use orange camo clothing (black branch like pattern on orange background)? If not then use an orange hat and be done with it. Cover your face and hands with camo fabric and move only when deer looks the other way, or have their heads behind some obstacle, or they move (walk / run). Deer need two out of three stimulants to run away, smell + move or smell + noise or move + noise. If the wind blows in their nose they will smell you no matter what you are wearing or doing to eliminate the human scent. But you can control the movement and the noise.

IMPORTANT: Never underestimate the peripheral sight of deer. They will detect the slightest movement without fail every time.

[Onetimeonly x-->]

Moving slow is the key, better yet scan with your eyes then move your head. It's better to have a backdrop so when you are moving your less likely to be seen. Your fine if you do your part your good. Best of luck hunt away!!

[Lake shooter]

"If the wind blows in their nose they will smell you no matter what you are wearing or doing to eliminate the human scent. "

I know that there are many who believe this to be true, but it's pure baloney in MY experience.

The first 3 deer that I killed with a bow, I was standing on the ground wearing a blaze orange vest AND hat, standing in the open on the edge of a greenfield. IMHO, having something behind you to break up your shape and preventing being skylighted are way more important than blaze orange. Move like cold molasses and they don't notice it as long as they aren't looking straight at you while doing so.

[foofoo]

although some say flourescent orange cant be seen by game i gotta believe its not the whole story. if they see orange as a shade of grey or white wearing a hat makes it a blob in the tree thats unnatural.movement of a hat adds to the spook factor. in my state i wish there were laws that allowed you to remove the orange while in the tree. cover is your best bet. every year wandering the woods i stand in amazement as to where ladder tree stands are placed out in the wide open strapped to bare trees. through the years ive gotten good at slammin those 15 ft ladderstands into some thick cover. i wear the cheap knit orange walmart cap thats small. i like it cause it has no visor and isint so 3-d.i usually wear a full face camo ski mask and the orange cap on top. walking to and from the stand i always wear a light weight fold up orange vest.

[SixLomaz]

"If the wind blows in their nose they will smell you no matter what you are wearing or doing to eliminate the human scent. "

I know that there are many who believe this to be true, but it's pure baloney in MY experience.

The first 3 deer that I killed with a bow, I was standing on the ground wearing a blaze orange vest AND hat, standing in the open on the edge of a greenfield. IMHO, having something behind you to break up your shape and preventing being skylighted are way more important than blaze orange. Move like cold molasses and they don't notice it as long as they aren't looking straight at you while doing so.

When you breathe you expel scent. The mouth will give out more scent than the nose. You can also control how much scent you output and hope the deer will have a high threshold scent level before they get anxious. Also, you can use cedar branches and pat your clothing that you dressed with before going in, in order to cover some human scent. I too had deer close by while standing next to a tree, wearing orange, and just finished urinating, but the wind was in my face and I had a good background to cover my human shape. That deer is now in my freezer as he came to 15 yards broadside in front of my Mathews Creed bow.

[bowhunter1]

after i get in my stand i take ALL of my orange off and put my camo hat on. will see someone coming long before they see me, and just put it on . how many times do you see THE MAN in the woods? now when i am moving to and from my stand i wear vest and hat for the fools who see something moving and just shoot oooo ya one more thing STINK A LITTLE STINK A LOT. it dont matter you are NOT beating a deers nose if it gets your wind.

[Bullzeye]

Deer have extreme peripheral sight compared to us, but the image of what they see is not all that great. The reason they pick up movement so well is do to this awesome peripheral sight.

I'm sure most of you know this trick, Ive done it countless times and works real well in early and late light. Your on the ground and a deer comes upon you, the wind is in your favor, the deer spots you and you swing your arm and hand just like a deer moving its tail side to side. Many many times the deer looks at me and then returns to feeding, proving to me their sight is weak since they know something is there but without being able to smell me and with the movement of my arm just think I am another deer.

[Waif]

My best success wearing orange is that blended with black blobs. Its like a double bib front and rear of wearer.
Turning a head can and has got me busted. Once grabbing my facemask to kill a bug that flew under it a doe spied me through a tiny window in the pine I sat in 12 feet up and twenty or less yards away.
Multiple deer over the years caught my hat profile when turning head. A tall toque that despite a camo pattern stood out to them I noticed,repeatedly. It tilted all most a fold at midpoint.
Solid orange hats do not appeal to me,even when I could climb trees at one point I.m on the horizon to an approaching deer.I do wear one when to and from stand and when jacket is removed as bib comes off to remove jacket.
While it seems deer see similar to color blind humans they see a bit farther on color spectrum,and u.v. is loud to their eyes,but a big thing in my opinion is camo designed for our eyes more than theirs.
It has improved, but if I wanted to hide from hunters make my pattern that of a smoky morel mushroom just beyond violet color!

[taz3]

I certainly no expert, but I did notice that they don't go to flight until all 3 senses are alerted. Once they see, smell, and hear you, they bolt, threatened or not. 3 times this year I walked right up on deer and just stopped and stayed dead still, they don't do anything until all 3 senses go off. If I just stood still, while wearing bright clothes or hunters orange they just kept themselves on alert mode.

I think it is physiologically difficult for us to realize they don't see color as we do, so it tends to play on us too.

[Boo]

I certainly no expert, but I did notice that they don't go to flight until all 3 senses are alerted. Once they see, smell, and hear you, they bolt, threatened or not. 3 times this year I walked right up on deer and just stopped and stayed dead still, they don't do anything until all 3 senses go off. If I just stood still, while wearing bright clothes or hunters orange they just kept themselves on alert mode.

I think it is physiologically difficult for us to realize they don't see color as we do, so it tends to play on us too.

While flight on all three or two but just one will put them off and cause them to avoid you and may trigger flight.
I've sat against a fence post on snow wearing a dark green top and black pants and drew in a mulie in 2 occasions within arms reach. The wind was in my favor and I stayed absolutely still. The moment I moved my arm it jumped 3' in the air. The other occasion I yelled "hey" and the same result, up in the air and gone! In both occasions only one sense was activated. I've also had deer just about jump out of their skin when I was close and the wind shifted which tells me at although smelling you at 100 yards will put them on alert, getting a stronger smell (closer) puts them in flight mode.
Taz, I'm not disagreeing with you but there is more to the story that we don't know.
BTW, I thought it was a cool idea to grap the doe's nose but in retrospect being stomped was a possible

From my past experiences I don't think colour is an issue in a tree stand but like someone else said speed of movement is.
I bought a tripod stand last year and being so exposed and all I can't see using it where I have a 360 degree view without being made. I can only see putting it in or beside some trees. Once you're skylined you are subject to inspection by the deer because you stand out like a sore thumb. I can only see using my tripod stand in the open if I get a blind to surround me.
I really think that of all the deer's senses the ability to detect movement is on of their bigger keys to survival and that it triggers flight before any other sense does.

[Lake shooter]

after i get in my stand i take ALL of my orange off and put my camo hat on. will see someone coming long before they see me, and just put it on . how many times do you see THE MAN in the woods? now when i am moving to and from my stand i wear vest and hat for the fools who see something moving and just shoot oooo ya one more thing STINK A LITTLE STINK A LOT. it dont matter you are NOT beating a deers nose if it gets your wind.

Again, baloney, with all due respect! If a hunter doesn't want to practice religious scent control, what you say is true. For those seemingly very few of us who choose to do the work and put in the effort, really good scent control works, but 99.9999% of those who hunt aren't willing to do what it takes, so, they get busted when deer are downwind. This means by default that for them and in their experience, any deer that gets downwind is a bust. That doesn't make it law and the holy truth!

[ch312]

You're thinking way too much about this. Just wear whatever orange you like, keep movement to a minimum, control your scent, and play the wind.

Far too many hunters have fallen victim to the excellent marketing strategies put fourth by camo clothing companies and now believe you cannot enter the bush without the latest and greatest camo pattern. Just look at all of the hideous and unrealistic camo patterns worn by hunters "back in the day" which worked great before the mossy oak and realtree days.


Orange does not negatively effect your hunt and a deer is going to see you moving whether your wearing blaze orange or the best $500 camo suit head to toe.

[strum]

"If the wind blows in their nose they will smell you no matter what you are wearing or doing to eliminate the human scent. "

I know that there are many who believe this to be true, but it's pure baloney in MY experience.

The first 3 deer that I killed with a bow, I was standing on the ground wearing a blaze orange vest AND hat, standing in the open on the edge of a greenfield. IMHO, having something behind you to break up your shape and preventing being skylighted are way more important than blaze orange. Move like cold molasses and they don't notice it as long as they aren't looking straight at you while doing so.

try that hunting around here..youll be eating baloney not venison

[Boo]

"If the wind blows in their nose they will smell you no matter what you are wearing or doing to eliminate the human scent. "

I know that there are many who believe this to be true, but it's pure baloney in MY experience.

The first 3 deer that I killed with a bow, I was standing on the ground wearing a blaze orange vest AND hat, standing in the open on the edge of a greenfield. IMHO, having something behind you to break up your shape and preventing being skylighted are way more important than blaze orange. Move like cold molasses and they don't notice it as long as they aren't looking straight at you while doing so.

try that hunting around here..youll be eating baloney not venison