Thread: How deer react to gunshots?

Hi all
Don’t know why I feel the need to preface this question with the admission that I’m no great shakes as a hunter, I love it, get out regularly but more often it’s an excuse to hang out with the dog, in the peace of the bush with a lot of tea drinking and day napping! So my actual experience is somewhat limited.
Anyways spooked a spiker yesterday at 30ft, was daydreaming as I feel he must have been to let me get so close. By the time I got myself sorted he was running and around 60ft, did something I’ve never done before and will never do again and took a running shot( 80-100ft high hill face behind him as a back stop) clean miss thankfully
Stoked to have seen him, annoyed I was not prepared and furious at the running shot, thought well that’s day stuffed may as well head home. ( for context the area I was hunting was a creek walk of around 90 mins then planned to sidle back along the foothills overlooking that creek to the car so a relatively small area)
Pressed on as was enjoying just being out, and was already composing my question to this forum when bugger me if didn’t sneak in on 2 in a little side creek within 500m of where I’d shot about an hour later, didn’t get an unobstructed view before they too scarpered so no venison.
So finally my question, what have your experiences been to support the idea that maybe shots aren’t as alarming to animals as the suppressor manufacturers would have us believe?
I’m guessing it varies depending on location geography etc wide open flats vs bush etc, human traffic
Cheers
FP