Thread: Falling into the same old rut

Covering ground at this time of the year is full of expectation

Carefully looking for the tell tale signs of Sika and their habitual movements you move between feed/warm areas and cover
Tracks intersecting the two show a population, and familiar signs and locations go in your notebook as the roar draws closer.

Over the last couple of decades an awareness of another situation has also shown itself, the crafty Sika are patterning our behaviour as well !!!
Notes show less activity over the weekends, and the more an area is surveyed the less activity occurs thereafter for the short term, even showing sign more concentrated in heavy Kaweka scrub and windfall in an effort to avoid open areas.
More so the last few years moving between feed areas I have avoided touching foliage and leaving obvious clues of my passing, but Sika are tuned in to their environment and it has still affected them.

Hinds especially seem to be able to modify the families behaviour, until it becomes indelible in their upbringing

It’s always been easier and more comfortable to walk a familiar path or follow the same sequence of valleys and ridges but now waiting days for a wind direction change (enabling entry to an area from a completely different direction)has shown more activity from fawns and yearlings and a more complete picture of family groups and where they are

Applying the same thoughts to the older stags has also netted more meaningful sign/data from Feb 20th to March 10th, (hard antler before they vanish to make scrapes and prepare to get noisy )

Being more thoughtful about what areas are getting scented up and when, and trying not to educate the animals we are seeking.

Has anyone else noticed the same phenomena, the more they look and plan the quieter an area gets ?

Weekday hunts more productive than weekends ?

Just trying not to fall into the same old rut !

It's a weird year up here Andrew prolific grass growth has seen less stags being in areas that they normally frequent.
A lot of grass in the bush and thick pines have not seen huge amounts of velvet stags like normal.

Following comment is re reds, sika maybe different-I don't think its a phenomena I think its pretty standard practice for deer to steer clear of of human activity, especially in the bush where they live,im sure you know this but they don't tend to stay in an area as" their territory"if disturbed,as they will happily move around different spots and camp/feed in a larger area of their general territory.

Sambar do it, I'm certain.
If you hunt an area a few times, they "disappear" for a few weeks.

When setting out and possum trapping a 'line' I'd see reds for the first couple/three days, then they cleared off and left all to me.
Sika know when it's the weekend, they lie low then reappear on Monday.
That's how I used to see it

Hunting reds in one CNI spot I’ve hunted quite a few times (bush with big clearings) I too observe the numbers spotted drop off dramatically after 2 days. They don’t like sharing their patch with smelly humans

Ive always believed animals know when its weekend...might be more vechiles,slammed doors or scent but they know and midweek hunts have always been easier for me..school holidays are a "thing" too.

I was told or read somewhere years ago to avoid lighting a fire, otherwise you are signaling all the local animals that there are hunters in the area.

But then again, a couple of months ago I had deer walk past the hut when I had the fire going!

Keep in mind more hunters are shooting animals from now on so more loud bang noises/choppers flying around through the week and the onset of the roar with past human encounters must be imprinted in their brains its danger season.

I've heard using electronic Sika callers can also be detrimental as if the deer gets scent of you while playing the sika caller they will then associate that particular call with danger and stay well clear and quiet. In addition, if you play a sika caller and they come to your past location when you have long left, they will get scent of you and again associate that call with danger. Hence why they update the callers every few years with different sounding calls as they wise up to them.

Reds on the other hand, they seem to be less wised up than the Sika.

Originally Posted by Cigar

I was told or read somewhere years ago to avoid lighting a fire, otherwise you are signaling all the local animals that there are hunters in the area.

But then again, a couple of months ago I had deer walk past the hut when I had the fire going!

I was sitting back one avo with the billy over a fire when a stag poked his head over the rise thirty feet away to take a 'nosy' - then he casually walked away. I shot that stag and have always felt a bit rotten about it.

Another slightly unusual deer one was I was lighting up a fag after shooting a pig when a hind walked past 12 feet away. She had her eye on me the whole time and I was convinced she was set to bolt the minute I made a move, but I didn't - just watched.

And then there was the time I shot one hind and the other one just wouldn't go away ............
"That's a dangerous life you're living there ......"

And still she stayed - made me feel like a bad bastard for killing her mate.

For the most part deer act in a way we expect, but every now and then they don't.

Good points.
Having cut my teeth hunting the Kiamias especially the falls weekends where almost always a bust.
That was back in the 90 when it was still a gravel road and no big tar seal car park.
Now days with the foot traffic to the top at probably around 10 people a day (I’d guess) it doesn’t seem to matter.
Wind is still the thing that will stuff it up. But yeah weekends are I have also found not as productive.
Interesting observations on those callers.

I’ve read more than once in old stalking books how if you wanted to be good at it you should smoke.
Those authors obviously found no evidence of it spooking deer.
If also seen fresh tracks around a D8 bully on Thomsands track when we went forward to see how to clear the next section.
We left it running too! Had a laugh at that.

Originally Posted by Sideshow

Good points.
Having cut my teeth hunting the Kiamias especially the falls weekends where almost always a bust.
That was back in the 90 when it was still a gravel road and no big tar seal car park.
Now days with the foot traffic to the top at probably around 10 people a day (I’d guess) it doesn’t seem to matter.
Wind is still the thing that will stuff it up. But yeah weekends are I have also found not as productive.
Interesting observations on those callers.

I’ve read more than once in old stalking books how if you wanted to be good at it you should smoke.
Those authors obviously found no evidence of it spooking deer.
If also seen fresh tracks around a D8 bully on Thomsands track when we went forward to see how to clear the next section.
We left it running too! Had a laugh at that.

Yeah - don't know about smoking, I did it for 66 years and at this end of the game it's biting me in the arse - despite me quitting because I ran out of baccy some 5 years back.
The interesting thing about it though - is smoking never affected my fitness, I could walk with the best of them - and wheeze just as hard

Holy shit - that makes me older than I am, maybe I only smoked for 57 years ................. 14 plus 5 plus X = 77

Therefore - X = 77 divided by 14 plus 5
Shit - I smoked less than 4 years ................. ?
Ah - blew that one ............ X = 77 minus 14 plus five = 58.

I smoked for 58 years

I think I used that math to pass the Autism Test