Something I've been wondering - Noise effects?

bclark1 · June 20, 2005, 01:54 PM

This fall will mark the first time I've hunted deer on my parents' farm in WI. One thing I've wondered: They're big on wind chimes, and the house is on top of a pretty big hill so there's often a decent breeze and sound carries well. Still see deer around, and it certainly doesn't bug the turkeys that practically walk up to the porch, but I was still curious if chimes could ever upset or spook animals. Proof's in the pudding in that they don't seem to have moved out since we moved in, but I just wanted other opinions too.

Capt. Charlie · June 20, 2005, 02:22 PM

It's been my experience that game of almost every kind can get used to darned near anything. They'll spook at new sounds, but if they've grown up with it, they pretty much ignore it.

Art Eatman · June 20, 2005, 02:58 PM

Wildlife become accustomed to noises which are common to a location. It doesn't matter if it's jet afterburners or chainsaws or kids' voices; it's whether or not these noises have become a commonality within the deer herd's environment. This is my firsthand observation on my small "old family ranch" just outside of Austin, Texas. Bergstrom AFB jets; a subdivision which was built on a neighboring place.

Texas Parks & Wildlife's biologists have stated that a deer's attention span as to some strange noise in their vicinity is roughly twenty minutes or so. After that time, if there's no repetition, the deer will resume feeding or will go back to the earlier activity. I assume, however, that a really older buck will move well away from the source of the noise. He, more than does or younger bucks, has come to associate any strange/unknown disturbance with danger.

Art

Rojoe67 · June 20, 2005, 03:12 PM

I agree 100% with above posts too.....

To add to this, many deer I have hunted and watched are as curious as a baby learning to crawl around and check out it's unique environment. I think most living things can adapt very quick to changed environments. I talked to a logger once, he told me the deer were sucked into the new sounds of saws and skidders. He said he was going about 20mph down a logging trial when a mature buck started running along side his skidder. He told me that buck kept it up for some 300 yards and at a few times brushed up against the vehicle. I think the human scent would be a larger warning signal to most game verses the sounds and objects that change in an enviroment for the wild.... Just my take and nothing more

Long Path · June 20, 2005, 06:02 PM

Agreed with the above because of the logic, and because of my own observations:

I've seen deer never bobble as a loud ranch pickup rolls by with the ranchhand on his errands across the place. Now, if he stopped the pickup, they'd get alert real quick and hightail it away.

I've several times hunted deer in a pasture near a very loud pump jack. Ever heard one of these things? They run 24/7/365, and never seem to run real smooth. Backfires, popping, chugging, and odd exhaust smells are the norm. Yet I've seen whitetail cropping seedlings less than a hundred yards away, barely twitch an ear when the thing backfired.

All creatures are adaptave, not just man. (We're just the fastest at adapting.)

June 20, 2005, 01:54 PM	#1
bclark1 Senior Member Join Date: January 5, 2005 Location: Ohio Posts: 1,531	Something I've been wondering - Noise effects? This fall will mark the first time I've hunted deer on my parents' farm in WI. One thing I've wondered: They're big on wind chimes, and the house is on top of a pretty big hill so there's often a decent breeze and sound carries well. Still see deer around, and it certainly doesn't bug the turkeys that practically walk up to the porch, but I was still curious if chimes could ever upset or spook animals. Proof's in the pudding in that they don't seem to have moved out since we moved in, but I just wanted other opinions too.

June 20, 2005, 02:22 PM	#2
Capt. Charlie Moderator Emeritus Join Date: March 24, 2005 Location: Steubenville, OH Posts: 4,446	It's been my experience that game of almost every kind can get used to darned near anything. They'll spook at new sounds, but if they've grown up with it, they pretty much ignore it. __________________ TFL Members are ambassadors to the world for firearm owners. What kind of ambassador does *your* post make *you?* I train in earnest, to do the things that I pray in earnest, I'll never have to do. --Capt. Charlie

June 20, 2005, 03:12 PM	#4
Rojoe67 Senior Member Join Date: January 7, 2005 Location: Wolverine State Posts: 767	True.... I agree 100% with above posts too..... To add to this, many deer I have hunted and watched are as curious as a baby learning to crawl around and check out it's unique environment. I think most living things can adapt very quick to changed environments. I talked to a logger once, he told me the deer were sucked into the new sounds of saws and skidders. He said he was going about 20mph down a logging trial when a mature buck started running along side his skidder. He told me that buck kept it up for some 300 yards and at a few times brushed up against the vehicle. I think the human scent would be a larger warning signal to most game verses the sounds and objects that change in an enviroment for the wild.... Just my take and nothing more Last edited by Rojoe67; June 22, 2005 at 09:23 PM.

June 20, 2005, 06:02 PM	#5
Long Path Senior Member Join Date: May 31, 1999 Location: N. Texas Posts: 5,899	Agreed with the above because of the logic, and because of my own observations: I've seen deer never bobble as a loud ranch pickup rolls by with the ranchhand on his errands across the place. Now, if he stopped the pickup, they'd get alert real quick and hightail it away. I've several times hunted deer in a pasture near a very loud pump jack. Ever heard one of these things? They run 24/7/365, and never seem to run real smooth. Backfires, popping, chugging, and odd exhaust smells are the norm. Yet I've seen whitetail cropping seedlings less than a hundred yards away, barely twitch an ear when the thing backfired. All creatures are adaptave, not just man. (We're just the fastest at adapting.) __________________ "Welcome to The Firing Line, a virtual community dedicated to the discussion and advancement of responsible firearms ownership."T.F.L. Policy Page Will you, too, be one who stands in the gap? ____________

June 20, 2005, 02:58 PM	#3
Art Eatman Staff in Memoriam Join Date: November 13, 1998 Location: Terlingua, TX; Thomasville, GA Posts: 24,798	Wildlife become accustomed to noises which are common to a location. It doesn't matter if it's jet afterburners or chainsaws or kids' voices; it's whether or not these noises have become a commonality within the deer herd's environment. This is my firsthand observation on my small "old family ranch" just outside of Austin, Texas. Bergstrom AFB jets; a subdivision which was built on a neighboring place. Texas Parks & Wildlife's biologists have stated that a deer's attention span as to some strange noise in their vicinity is roughly twenty minutes or so. After that time, if there's no repetition, the deer will resume feeding or will go back to the earlier activity. I assume, however, that a really older buck will move well away from the source of the noise. He, more than does or younger bucks, has come to associate any strange/unknown disturbance with danger. Art