Number One Way How NOT to Spook Deer

In this video, Jeff Sturgis of Whitetail Habitat Solutions shares what he considers the number one way you can NOT spook deer.

He knows whitetails and he knows hunting, as is obvious during the intro, which is a bit long-winded if you’re the kind of person who wants someone to get right to the point, but it’s all good info.

That said, I’ll bottom-line it for you: Sound. Be quiet in the woods! Don’t make a lot of noise, because most of the time that is a huge factor.

He says it should start at your vehicle, and he couldn’t be more correct. Many times I have had to convince my fellow hunters to be as silent as possible at the vehicle. A lot of noise — especially human voices — will certainly deter mature deer from showing themselves, and will often repel deer so that you’ll never even know they were there.

Naturally, it continues to the tree stand and beyond. I once complained to a fellow hunter about a noisy latch on the door of a permanent deer blind, and his reply was, “Well you’re getting into your stand!” As if making noise is a given anytime you get into a stand. Well folks, it’s not — and keeping quiet can go a mighty long way when you’re hunting mature deer and especially mature bucks.

I like how Jeff closes his monologue:

Hunt like a predator, be as quiet as possible, and it’ll really pay off in the deer woods this fall.

Russ Chastain

Editor & Contributing Writer Russ Chastain is a lifelong hunter and shooter who has spent his life learning about hunting, shooting, guns, ammunition, gunsmithing, reloading, and bullet casting. He started toting his own gun in the woods at age nine and he's pursued deer with rifles since 1982, so his hunting knowledge has been growing for more than three and a half decades. His desire and ability to share this knowledge with others has also grown, and Russ has been professionally writing and editing original hunting & shooting content since 1998. Russ Chastain has a passion for sharing accurate, honest, interesting hunting & shooting knowledge and stories with people of all skill levels.