15 Myths About Deer

Ever hear the one about the deer your grandfather caught? I bet that deer gets bigger with every storytelling. Everyone has a big deer story, and hunters have their own version concerning their favorite pastime. Myths have tended to circulate about deer ever since the first group of hunters gathered around a fire. It’s just natural to maybe embellish. It’s easy to do and usually fun to hype up your own stories. Here are some of the top myths about deer.

1. The right boots keep your scent off the trail. Some people think rubber boots hide your scent on the ground, but it’s not true.
2. Bucks all have their own primary scrape. Can a primary scrape even be defined? Not really, and it’s not true that bucks all have one.
3. Don’t pee where you hunt. While not the most sanitary thing to do, human urine can attract a deer the same way deer urine can. We don’t always encourage peeing around a deer ground blind, but sometimes there isn’t an option.
4. The moon clocks the start of the rut. The moon has nothing to do with deer movement at all.
5. Bucks mark their territory by rubbing boundaries. Sorry, it’s just not true. The does are territorial, not the bucks.
6. Different tracks indicate the sex of the deer. Nope! You can’t tell the sex by looking at claw marks in tracks.
7. You can completely mask your presence with various products. Nothing will completely make you completely invisible to detection. However, set up a bow hunting stand to make it as easy as possible.
8. Rattling only works during the pre-rut. Deer will fight regardless of the time frame.
9. Scrapes will improve your hunting. Scrapes don’t actually have a lot of information that is useful.
10. Rubs are made by small bucks. Again, does are territorial, not bucks, and certainly not yearlings.
11. The biggest racks come in 3 or 4 year-olds. Maybe for captive deer, but for wild deer it’s more like 5 or 7 year-olds.
12. The older the buck, the larger the home range. Actually, it’s the opposite. Younger bucks tend to travel more.
13. Protein isn’t important to a buck until antlers start to grow. Nope! They need protein all the time, just like us.
14. The best shot to take is in the neck. You’re better off aiming for the shoulder. A hunting stand is great for setting up the perfect shot to the shoulder.
15. Bleed a deer before field-dressing it. Not usually necessary, and slitting the throat make a tougher job for the taxidermist.