As a modern hunter, I dedicate myself to knowing all I can about my quarry. A Chinese general named Sun Tzu once said that if you know your enemies and you know yourself, you will not be imperiled in a hundred battles. While, as a deer hunter, the whitetail deer is hardly an enemy you actually fight, in a way, hunting does pit you in battle against the whitetail deer, and knowing everything you can about them can make a difference in whether you are successful or not. Here are a few important, but often overlooked facts about whitetail deer.
One of the most overlooked facts about whitetail deer is that they, like cows, are ruminants. What this means is that they ingest their food, store it in their stomachs, then regurgitate it later to further chew it. Because many hunters do not realize this, they expect deer to be constantly feeding, when actually, whitetail deer eat for an hour or two, and then find a safe place to chew their cud.
Whitetail deer can also see almost 310 degrees around them, meaning their peripheral vision is excellent. They can see even slight movement around them, and any movement that they see can frighten them and make them flee. They also have excellent low-light vision, which is why deer tend to be very active at night as well.
In addition to their very impressive range of vision, deer are able to move and fix their ears in a particular direction to pick up sounds. They are very sensitive to sounds, and a misstep while on the hunt can mean that a deer may have already seen or heard you before you can even spot him.
Whitetail deer also have a very sensitive sense of smell - even the faintest scents can lead them to believe that there is a predator after them, and this will make them flee. This makes it vital that a hunter be careful with the scents that he brings to the hunt. Odors from the foods we eat, the soaps we use on our bodies and our clothes, can be scented by the whitetail deer. A good many hunters, in fact, wash themselves and their clothes with unscented soap, and then take their hunting clothes in a sealed bag, where they change into them in the field.
These are only some of the facts that could prove very important in your hunt for whitetail deer, and, if you are a serious hunter, only the beginning of what you should learn to give you every advantage you can while hunting them. Know your quarry well, and you will soon become the master of this sport of kings, the noble hunt of the majestic white tailed deer.