Does Squirrel Hunting Effect Deer Much

I’ve got a 7 year old that I’d like to take squirrel hunting but I’m concerned about how we would effect the bow hunters, if at all. I’ve got permission to hunt some woods but other people will also have permission to bow hunt the same property. I’d just like to take him out and hopefully get a squirrel or two while he tags along with his BB gun.

I’m just curious what people think this will do to the deer. It seems like every woods has deer hunters in them so I don’t know how I could ever find a woods that I could squirrel hunt that somebody else would not be deer hunting. I would not hunt the woods knowing a guy is in his stand but we might hunt it on a different day or at times the guy is not on his stand.

Any thoughts?

Thanks,

Boone

It will affect the bowhunters, but I think most people would agree that taking a kid hunting trumps most causes. I would just try to stay away from the areas that bowhunters may be in and make sure you wear some blaze orange. I know this bowhunter hates squirrels. I shoot squirrels on our home farm in the morning, then bow hunt it in the evening.

No it wont have any effect at all. Now if someone was to run coon hounds through an area it has a big effect. As long as you go in and sit in an area and dont walk around aimlesly it wont have any effect at all.

Stay in the open uplands in the oaks in the late morning and it wouldn’t bother me if you walked right by that time of day. We have a lot of open public lands with oak scrub near us and I take the kids out there during the day. Taking a kid hunting is always a good thing.

I think it will affect it a lot especially if the deer hunters are practicing scent free tactics. If they stomp around in their work boots and jeans all the time then it may not make a difference. But i would think a deer would be spooked at the unknown scent of people.. Then again, it’s your 7 year old, cudos to you in getting him started early!

Or, you could ask those hunters what they think.

If it is in an area that people are in often it will not matter. The deer are going to be used to that.

You were able to get permission from the landowner, so take advantage of it. One or two walks through the woods is not going to bother anything.

Its funny hounds got brought in to this, my brother coon hunts and I have been with, walked to the tree and when leaving a nice buck was bedded about 15 yards from the tree and never moved happens all the time.
Not trying to start anything a deer just doesn’t leave the area and not come back unless it’s all the time.

I grunt,snort ,wheesed in a small 8 pointer one time that walked under my tree, I could have reached down with a 10′ 2″x4″ and touched him. There was someone back in the woods a few hundred yards away that was hunting squirrels with a 22. The buck stood there looking for the deer I was mocking and every time the 22 went off you could see his nerves twitch down his side. The gun would go off and he’d twitch, this happened 3 or 4 times and he just stood there and finally walked back down the trail he came in on, the shots didn’t do anything more then that. I think unless you get right on top of them its normal sounds to them in the fall and winter.

There are a lot of variables. I guess it depends on how big the woods is and how many deer are in it. Most deer circle back after being spooked out and will return soon after you leave. I’d hunt during the middle of the day when there will be the least bow hunters in the woods.

Without betting too far off topic the same goes for running hounds. I’ve watched our coyote hounds spook out many deer. They just get out of the way and as soon as the hounds are gone they go right back where they were. Maybe coon hounds are different because they stay in the woods longer.

Had coon hunters run the piece 3 nights during our bucks only season by Genoa MN about 10 years ago. I found the remains of 7 freshly skun coon-no deer seen next day found 3 more skun coon no deer-next day more skun coon found a total of 14 fresh coon kills over a three day period and i believe our party was shut out on the deer that year so yes coon hounds do move deer out of the area.

Thanks for the advice. I was surprised that there weren’t more comments saying the squirrel hunters would have a big, negative effect on the deer hunters. I know my buddy feels he can only bow hunt a stand two or three times before the big bucks know he’s there and figure him out. I don’t know if he’s wrong or right, but he thinks the big bucks are keenly aware of human intrusion into their home area and won’t tolerate it.

Thanks,

Boone

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Thanks for the advice. I was surprised that there weren’t more comments saying the squirrel hunters would have a big, negative effect on the deer hunters. I know my buddy feels he can only bow hunt a stand two or three times before the big bucks know he’s there and figure him out. I don’t know if he’s wrong or right, but he thinks the big bucks are keenly aware of human intrusion into their home area and won’t tolerate it.

Thanks,

Boone

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I would say yes and no. A mature buck will figure out a hunter real quick. That doesn’t mean they will leave the area though, they will just avoid the hunter.