What to Do When You Spook a Deer

EDITOR'S NOTE: Will Primos, the founder and president of Primos Hunting Calls, lives in Jackson, Mississippi. His company, which celebrates its 25th anniversary in 2001, has produced "The Truth Video Series" since 1986.

Question: What do you do when you think you've spooked a buck?
Answer: No. 1, if a buck has smelled you, your hunt is over. You can spook deer through their eyesight or hearing, and you still may be able to hunt them. The deer just will know something's not right.

A couple of years ago, I walked to a stand that had a treetop laying on the ground close by the stand. A buck got out of the treetop and took off. I wasn't close enough for the buck to see me, but it heard me. I had the wind in my favor. As the buck got up, he snorted a little and took off. I waited just 5 seconds, blew back and stomped my foot. What that told the buck was, "Hey, don't run. I'm just a deer." The buck turned around and came back. I didn't make the shot, but I had an amazing testimony that you could spook deer through their eyes or ears and still make something happen. But if deer smell you, your hunt's over.

Question: Can you hunt a stand again once you've spooked a deer there?
Answer: Sometimes you can, but sometimes you can't. There are different levels of spooking. We call all deer hunters "spookers" because all deer hunters spook deer. You can't go in the woods and never spook a deer. It will happen. Some bucks have so much sensitivity that they'll never come back to that spot during daylight hours, or they may not ever come back at all. Then others seem to have such strong habits that if you spook them, they'll return to the same area the next day. But your best luck is not to spook them. Try your best not to let them smell you. Don't lay anything on the ground. Climb into your stand very quietly. Don't make a lot of noise. Anything unnatural takes away from your hunt.

Tomorrow: Ten Secrets of Hunting Close