Hunting Washington Forum

Big Game Hunting => Deer Hunting => Topic started by: npaull on December 05, 2014, 11:24:20 AM

Title: Observation on deer habits
Post by: npaull on December 05, 2014, 11:24:20 AM: Random observation- I must have walked hundreds of miles on old dirt roads hunting. And while I've seen loads of predator scat on those roads, I'm pretty sure I've never once seen deer or elk droppings on a road unless it was so old and overgrown as to be unrecognizable. Anyone else noticed this?
Title: Re: Observation on deer habits
Post by: MLHSN on December 05, 2014, 11:26:38 AM: I'm not sure about logging roads but the 600' road I cut in between me and my in-laws house is covered in tracks. After hunting season that is.
Title: Re: Observation on deer habits
Post by: Tbob on December 05, 2014, 11:37:29 AM: I see fresh tracks and pooh of deer and elk all the time behind locked gates on roads.
Title: Re: Observation on deer habits
Post by: nwwanderer on December 05, 2014, 11:52:21 AM: Depends on population, lots of deer and it is everywhere, trails, roads, lawns (especially lawns, a favorite sleeping spot), ridges, knolls, and stuck to the lugs of my boots.
Title: Re: Observation on deer habits
Post by: Turner89 on December 05, 2014, 12:08:41 PM: Quote from: npaull on December 05, 2014, 11:24:20 AM
Random observation- I must have walked hundreds of miles on old dirt roads hunting. And while I've seen loads of predator scat on those roads, I'm pretty sure I've never once seen deer or elk droppings on a road unless it was so old and overgrown as to be unrecognizable. Anyone else noticed this?
I've noticed the same thing. Obviously have seen lots of tracks, and I know they use the roads all the time, but I can't remember seeing crap on the road itself.
Title: Re: Observation on deer habits
Post by: boneaddict on December 05, 2014, 12:14:54 PM: I see it all the time :dunno:
Title: Re: Observation on deer habits
Post by: jackmaster on December 05, 2014, 12:18:01 PM: i see lots of elk crud on the roads, maybe deer have a little more couthe :chuckle:
Title: Re: Observation on deer habits
Post by: Alchase on December 05, 2014, 12:18:24 PM: Quote from: boneaddict on December 05, 2014, 12:14:54 PM
I see it all the time :dunno:

:yeah:
Title: Re: Observation on deer habits
Post by: PolarBear on December 05, 2014, 12:22:28 PM: Quote from: boneaddict on December 05, 2014, 12:14:54 PM
I see it all the time :dunno:
:yeah:
This year we saw the biggest pile of bull elk crap that I have ever seen square in the middle of an active logging road that had been graded less than an hour before.
Title: Re: Observation on deer habits
Post by: headshot5 on December 05, 2014, 12:43:43 PM: Not sure, but I see a lot of human poop in roads. :chuckle:
Title: Re: Observation on deer habits
Post by: Turner89 on December 05, 2014, 02:36:50 PM: Quote from: boneaddict on December 05, 2014, 12:14:54 PM
I see it all the time :dunno:
I have very few elk in our area, so really can't speak for them, but blacktail for some reason don't do it much.
Title: Re: Observation on deer habits
Post by: npaull on December 05, 2014, 03:05:59 PM: Yeah perhaps I should have been more specific I'm speaking about black tail particularly. For some reason they virtually never defecate on roads.
Title: Re: Observation on deer habits
Post by: steeliedrew on December 05, 2014, 08:21:14 PM: I have noticed the same thing about blacktails. Maybe the pretty large amount of predator scat on the roads in blacktail country has something to do with it? Although they definitely use logging roads. I find their tracks quite a bit on the roads.
Title: Re: Observation on deer habits
Post by: Firedogg on December 05, 2014, 10:06:29 PM: Saw several piles of dropping today on the logging road while out looking for bucks and only finding does. A few of them were fairly fresh and not even flattened by traffic although there weren't many vehicles up there today. The ones that hang around the house are not shy about dropping a load right in the middle of the paved road.
Shoot, there's even been a load or two I've seen in Eatonville in front of City Hall (they must not like small town politics).
Title: Re: Observation on deer habits
Post by: Special T on December 06, 2014, 04:28:54 AM: I normally see coyote scat in the wheel tracks. I figured they were using my 4x4 to help defend thier territory with scent!