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Hunting by cattle?

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BOWSTRING

New Member
Just wondered everones take on hunting by cattle. I remember hearing a long time ago that the cattle don't bother them and will feed in the same pasture with them. That's doesn't seem right to me. The pasture next to me has cattle in it. Not sure how long they've been in there but last night and this morning they were all hanging around the fence line and mooing there heads off.
After a evening hunt and early morning hunt with about 5 hours in the stand. I didn't see a single deer.
Last weekend we went out and saw deer both morning and evening. The only thing different was the cattle.
My food plots look good but untouched and one has acorns falling on it. There are alot of corn and beans around so that would explain the food plots not getting much action.
Just seems whenever the cattle are close the deer are not around.
I would think the deer would be spooked by them due to them being very noisy. I think I had this problem a couple years ago with some other problems like bulldozers and huge burning brush piles that covered my stands with ash. That was a bad year.
Anyone else have this problem?
 
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Anyone else have this problem?
</div></div>

Not I...

I have hunted deer for years right in cattle pastures and always find them crawling with deer.

Step in a cow pie on the way in for cover scent... /forum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/wink.gif
 
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: bowstring</div><div class="ubbcode-body">They're not in our timber but I have done that before.
Have you seen them together? </div></div>

Yep...feeding out of the same feed bunk sometimes

Bedding right with them in overgrown pastures

Crawling in the calf creep feeders along with the calves


Maybe something is going on where your hunting but I suspect it has nothing to do with cattle... /forum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/smile.gif
 
I believe you. Maybe they just bedded somewhere else. Did have coyotes running around last night. Maybe that had something to do with it.
 
Cattle sucks, I would find a new spot without cattle until the rut comes. I guess it really depends if it is a thick timber you can barely walk through or a CATTLE grazed timber where there isn't an ounce of cover left. Cattle ruins my grandparents timber every year, you see tons of deer and mature bucks until the cattle is let into the timber when the crops are out. Then they find a sanctuary elsewhere and do not primarily bed on the farm. Once the rut comes it doesn't seem to matter much, they will pass through just fine. If I had a dollar for everytime I have watched the cows come off the crops into the timber in the morning and seen deer fleeing, I would be a very rich man.

I guess it all depends on the farm and situation.
 
Yeah I haven't had great experience with cattle either. Deer and cattle certainly hang around one another at times but I've just always attributed my bad luck to the thought that cattle make quite a bit of noise in the timber. I figure the deer don't like it cause they're not sure if it's cattle moving or a real danger. Just a theory, I have no idea.
 
Except in rare cases I think they tend to avoid cattle. Cattle make a lot of noise and smell which diminishes the deer's ability to use its survival instincts. They just don't seem to like it when there is that much movement and activity around them. At least my experience would bear that out.
 
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: moosehunter</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Cattle suck. But I like thier poop........... </div></div>

ummmm
/forum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/grin.gif


i have no love for cows either....
 
Lots of food available now all over the place. They don't have to move far to find acorns dropping and alfalfa is also a great food in the fields.
 
There are always cattle in a spot I hunt this time of the year. I always double check with the farmer to see if he'll have them out by the end of the month, so it doesn't ruin the spot for the rut. My problem is I only have permission to hunt three other small plots and none of them are setup for a NNE wind...I couldn't even go hunting this morning due to the cattle and wind direction.

I've never had any luck hunting near cattle. I'm not sure I've ever seen a deer in the acreage I hunt, when the cattle are in there.

The cattle can ruin some prime bedding spots rather quickly.
 
I've hunted for years with cattle. It's not easy. What I've noticed is that the deer put up with the cattle until they bed. They don't like to be bumped from their beds by cattle so they leave the property to find a spot unmolested by cows. The farm I hunt is about 160 acrees with more than half timber. There's usually over 100 head until the first part of Nov. Sometimes it helps you to get to your stand because you can use the cows as camoflauge.
Last year, while using a decoy, there was a calf that just couldn't figure out how come he couldn't scare my "dec" into running! He'd touch it with his nose and then he'd take off running about 15 yards and then slowly come back and do it all over again. That happened about 3 times, then he got bored. I was trying not to laugh in my treestand!
 
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: JakeWym</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I hate hunting near cattle. </div></div>

I've tried it and hated it every time. Most times the cattle spot you walking in and mozy over thinking you are going to dump some grain or something for them. Hanging around all night staring up at you giving away your location. Nope, I don't waste my time around cattle anymore.
 
I've noticed and had the same experiences as dbltree has. Maybe I need to pay more attention to detail next time, but cows have never been a problem when deer hunting for me. Maybe its because I'm always close to cows when hunting, so I don't know any different.

Its always fun seeing a 5 month old calf trying to challange an old grumpy nanny.
 
I think what guitarzan said Would seem to be the problem. Usually I'll get a couple does that bed down in the bottom of the timber. But that was were the cattle were that morning. Even though they are not in our little timber 15 acres they were only 30-40 yards from were they bed so that could have kept them from going there.
The other time I hunted a pasture it seemed when ever the cattle were near the deer weren't.
Maybe it has to do more with what the deer are used to. There's only cattle in the pasture next to our timber maybe 2-3 months a years if that. Maybe if they were always cattle in there they would adjust. It's about 40 acres maybe more.
Thanks for the input everyone.
 
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