Animal Evasion Tactics

[steve white]

Ever have a game animal become Houdini and just disappear? There can be common threads/tactics involved. For example, I have had white tail deer hide their head in tree foliage and stand stock still, just like Kudu are well known to do, and many times they get away with it! I have had deer play hide and seek IN SNOWY CONDITIONS, when they should have stood out like a spider on a white wedding cake. But they managed to stay just around the bend somehow! I figure eight-ed all around a section of the Matador ranch catching up to a wounded doe who knew the terrain better than I could ever hope to know it. But she couldn't fly, so she left tracks. Once, in Del Rio, Texas a herd of deer got up, turned together like a flock of birds and then went to ground as if they had a signal to duck down--and disappeared from the face of the earth! We saw that they had used a depression that could only have hidden them if they had scooted on their knees 40 yards into a patch of low brush. Amazing. (We were walking out to the lake for waterfowl, so did not pursue the matter that far.)

African game are no dummies, either. I shot a Gemsbok in Namibia that led us on an unending chase, and with a bushman tracker on her tail. She would peek around the corner of the mountain and pick up our pursuit before we would ever see her. Sometimes she would peer over the brink of a drop-off and then move on ahead. The tracks told the tale. All the while she would puff up with blood under the hide whenever she stopped and then spray it out when she moved again. Once again, she knew her territory and knew how to beat us at hide and seek. I don't know why I have been saying "she" as it was a male....maybe because of "her" canniness. That's what can happen if you have a bullet failure or other reason for not turning out their lights.
Ever sight a nice Cape buffalo bull and then lose contact, never to find it again? I have a sneaking feeling it wasn't an accident...

Tell us about how evasive your prey animals have been. Any tips for re-establishing contact when they disappear?

 

[fourfive8]

Animals can do amazing escape acts. When pressured, I’ve watched older mule deer bucks put unbelievable distance between them and the hunters pursuing them. In 1963 or 64 (that dates my age a little ) I remember watching a big buck get pushed out of cover ahead of some hunters and go nonstop, gaining at least 3000 ft altitude of a rough, steep, rocky spine of a mountain then disappear over the top. The hunters spent the rest of the morning poking around the lower parts of the mountain, unaware the deer had gone over the top hours earlier.

I’ve tracked big mule deer bucks that have bailed off over unbelievable drop offs and cliffs obviously fleeing from hunters on their track.

Birds can be masters of stealth. Bobwhites can hide in a fleshy tilled field where the largest dirt clods are maybe 2” in diameter.

Pheasants, if downed but still mobile, can be unreal in their ability to escape. Well behaved, tight healing labs are a pheasant hunter’s greatest asset for retrieving pheasant. No need for classic, wide ranging flushers/pointers when hunting wild flushing, late season pheasants. Many (or most) times those type dogs being more of a detriment than asset

 

[fourfive8]

Found a pic of area I watched an old mule deer buck, some 62 years ago, leave area with hunters in pursuit. The red mark shows deer’s path that went from about 6000 ft elevation to about 9000 ft… disappearing over the top. They had no clue “their” buck had left hours earlier.

 

[Ontario Hunter]

Animals can do amazing escape acts. When pressured, I’ve watched older mule deer bucks put unbelievable distance between them and the hunters pursuing them. In 1963 or 64 (that dates my age a little ) I remember watching a big buck get pushed out of cover ahead of some hunters and go nonstop, gaining at least 3000 ft altitude of a rough, steep, rocky spine of a mountain then disappear over the top. The hunters spent the rest of the morning poking around the lower parts of the mountain, unaware the deer had gone over the top hours earlier.

I’ve tracked big mule deer bucks that have bailed off over unbelievable drop offs and cliffs obviously fleeing from hunters on their track.

Birds can be masters of stealth. Bobwhites can hide in a fleshy tilled field where the largest dirt clods are maybe 2” in diameter.

Pheasants, if downed but still mobile, can be unreal in their ability to escape. Well behaved, tight healing labs are a pheasant hunter’s greatest asset for retrieving pheasant. No need for classic, wide ranging flushers/pointers when hunting wild flushing, late season pheasants. Many (or most) times those type dogs being more of a detriment than asset

Even with a great dog pheasants can disappear. My Lab works close and is a stealthy pointer. Thanksgiving Day she set me up beautifully for a rooster that fell in the open just out of my sight around a Russian olive bush. Ellie saw it go down and was after it instantly. I could have double tapped that rooster but he appeared to fold up dead when hit. But Ellie lost it in deep fluffy snow. We even came back after dinner for a second look though frightfully cold. Evaporated! Yesterday, again viciously cold, we were back to same patch for final hunt of the year. I missed a rooster (rare this year!) because my hands wouldn't work. Ellie was working the thick stuff along the canal to push out anything else hiding there. She disappeared for five minutes and I was getting very cold so called her back. She came to me and went on point at a thick clump of Russian olive not three feet away. I backed off so I had a clear view of both sides when the bird flushed. But it didn't flush. Ellie worked around that clump three or four times, always coming back to the same spot and locking up. That bird was right in front of her nose. "Get him outta there!" So in she goes literally crawling on the ground. Came out with a rooster sans it's tail feathers. We were less than a hundred yards from where the bird fell on Thanksgiving so this must be the escapee. I killed it and stashed it next to a dead tree (forgot my upland vest in the trailer so hunted without it - orange not required for bird hunting in Montana and big game season just closed). Picked the bird up on our walk out. Had the camera ready then when Ellie found it.

Cleaning it last night I discovered both wings were operational! He had a superficial wound to one leg and a flesh wound to breast slightly infected. And a #7.5 pellet just under the skin of hip. Some other idiot using way too small shot had dinged this guy weeks (months?) ago. Ellie just got him cornered in a spot he couldn't escape. I've had Lab's that were quite adroit at catching pheasants or grouse. But those were flushers. Ellie is the first pointing Lab I've owned. She prefers to lock up on them. I've seen her get so close her nose is almost touching feathers. Most Lab's would be right on that bird. Sadly, her stealth has cost me a couple of cripples that managed to sneak off in thick stuff while she's frozen on point. Gone before she can redirect and catch up. If there's been a lot of pheasant activity in the area she can lose the scent trail. Even great dogs can lose birds.

 

[Happy Myles]

Ontario, you have had some great dogs and your relationship has been very special and loving. Good fortune all the way around.

 

[Ontario Hunter]

Ontario, you have had some great dogs and your relationship has been very special and loving. Good fortune all the way around.

Thanks. Good to hear from you. Been a while. Hope all is well. I let little "Puppy" hunt yesterday. She's not built for that cold and snow but it was our last day before leaving. At age fourteen this will probably be her last season. But I've been saying that for the last four years and she's still going strong hunting like a dog half her age. Most of the time now I keep her with me as she can overdo it if left to her own ambition and get pretty sore at night. She did fine yesterday. Anyway, the dogs tend to bump each other out of range if both are hunting at once. Like you, Puppy is a cancer survivor. Prognosis was not good when tumor the size of softball was removed next to her pancreas four years ago. But here she is! Remember Pearl who not only survived but recovered 100% from glioma brain cancer? That was unheard of in both man or beast. U of Minnesota is still doing research on her DNA. Yes, I have been blessed ... in some things anyway. Had more than my share of miracles ... and not just with dogs.

Keep well, my friend. Enjoy the holidays.

 

[fourfive8]

For late season, wild flushing birds I dreaded when we had hunters show up with high powered, over bred flushers and pointers. The locals we hunted with only hunted a couple of labs and we usually brought one lab. Without exception, those flushers and pointers were always a PITA. The last thing you need for wild ass roosters are dogs out front chasing back and forth flushing. It’s like adding a 30 yard or more handicap to your shooting distance… if lucky. Many times those roosters would start flushing 100 yards away with the only birds holding being the hens. The most beneficial dogs were mellowed, experienced, tight healing labs for retrieving the occasional running cripple or birds dropped into impenetrable weeds or thickets. I guess if you hunt early season or on those hunter mill, stocked coop farms, using flushers/pointers is ok. But, hunting 10 + guns abreast with dumb birds holding for stiff tailed pointers at five yards, flushing on cue then being shot at by at least 2 or 3 hunters for group bag…. Not my cup o tea.

 

[Ontario Hunter]

For late season, wild flushing birds I dreaded when we had hunters show up with high powered, over bred flushers and pointers. The locals we hunted with only hunted a couple of labs and we usually brought one lab. Without exception, those flushers and pointers were always a PITA. The last thing you need for wild ass roosters are dogs out front chasing back and forth flushing. It’s like adding a 30 yard or more handicap to your shooting distance… if lucky. Many times those roosters would start flushing 100 yards away with the only birds holding being the hens. The most beneficial dogs were mellowed, experienced, tight healing labs for retrieving the occasional running cripple or birds dropped into impenetrable weeds or thickets. I guess if you hunt early season or on those hunter mill, stocked coop farms, using flushers/pointers is ok. But, hunting 10 + guns abreast with dumb birds holding for stiff tailed pointers at five yards, flushing on cue then being shot at by at least 2 or 3 hunters for group bag…. Not my cup o tea.

Yep. And those guys with the big running dogs working on the horizon think their mutts are so great. "My dog can cover three times more ground than your Lab. He's finding three times more birds." Maybe, but I'm getting five times more shots because most of the big running dog's birds are out of range. Late season roosters are typically jumpy. Sometimes I have to pull both dogs in behind me and try to work the birds myself. Hunting in the wind helps because the birds can't hear as well. Windy and snow on the ground is ideal. Then it's very hard for them to hear us. But still need to keep them working forty yards or less, preferably less. flush. No way I can get to their points before the birds flush if they're locked up a hundred yards out. Fortunately, I very rarely encounter anyone with (or without) dogs when I'm hunting uplands. Guys out beating the brush hunting pheasants are the ones who cheese me off. If they shoot something (big "if"!), how do they expect to find it?

In my opinion flushing dogs (e.g. Labs and springers) are really more fun to hunt over ... IF kept in range. I know when they're birdy, just don't know when the bird will get up. Very exciting. Not sure my pulse rate even jumps up any more when Ellie is on point. Well okay, a bit I guess as the bird takes off.

 

[Hunt anything]

I wasn’t hunting deer but waterfowl on a back water hole off of the Tallapoosa River in Alabama. Deer season was in and my buddy and I heard some hounds running fairly far away from us but getting steadily closer. After a few minutes my buddy says he sees a nice whitetail buck headed our way at a slow trot. He is well ahead of the hounds and we weren’t sure if they were trailing him or another deer, the buck enters the water about 100yds across the hole, he gets about 15 feet off of the bank and wades slowly around the perimeter of the 2 acre or so hole and gets back on land about 20 yards away from us in our boat blind tucked up against the bank and walks off like he didn’t have a care in the world!
Maybe 10 minutes later the hounds show up along his trail and meander around the spot where he entered the water but soon lost interest and went back the way they came.

 

[BlueFlyer]

We were out cutting firewood in an open paddock that backed onto State Forest. The State Forest is regularly hunted with hounds for Sambar deer.
It was mid morning when a Sambar cow ran out into the paddock with her small calf followed by 3 hounds (Fox Hounds). The Sambar cow came into the paddock about 200m and then turned to face the hounds with the calf by her side. The hounds came up to 5m of the cow and then it was a Mexican standoff. The cow then charged at the hounds stamping her front feet. That was too much for the hounds, they bailed and trotted back the way they came baying as they went.
The cow & calf then settled in a patch of scrub for the rest of the day.