Weird Saturday at the farm

[jlnft]

As usual on Saturdays, I spent the day at my farm today. Today I had the strangest thing happen.

As I was getting up from the picnic table and walk over to the car, movement caught my eye. I turned to the movement, about 20 feet away was a spike buck(1 1/2 old, 10" spikes), walking right at me. I stopped.....he stopped...I looked at him....he looked at me....and instead of running the other way, the crazy deer walked right over to me! I held out my hand and he put his nose pretty much in my hand. This "crazy" deer just wanted to be petted and played with. He'd put his head down and put his spikes around my lower leg then jump back like a dog wanting to play. He followed me around my 3D range( I have 9 deer, 2 bears, 2 turkeys and a hog target. I could only bring myself to shoot the "non-deer" targets while he was there). He actually stuck around for about 3 hours, until my son and his dog arrived. He didn't mind my son, but the dog, he had a problem with!

I took a few pictures of him and have a few pictures of him on my trailcams, then emailed them to everyone who hunts my property(He's off limits!) We have a gentlemen's agreement on my farm....no bucks under 3 1/2 years old, so he should be safe..........but my farm is only 60 acres!

I know I'm not the "Deer Whisperer"   :cool:   , so I think this deer was someone's pet. In some way, having this deer come to me was kinda cool....but unfortunately this poor deer has no fear of man and that's not good.......Especially starting next Saturday!

Anyone ever have a similiar experience?

Thanks,
Joe

[Gordon Jabben]

I had the same thing happen with a doe on Plubic Hunting Land here in Oklahoma.  We were bow hunting squirrels with my dog and this deer followed us all day.  My dog didn't like it and would chase the doe off but it would come right back.  I'm sure it had been someone's pet.

[Hill Hunter]

a few years ago I was with a buddy, he was pulling stands in southern Ohio the week before gun season. He was up the tree pitching things out, I was on the ground, we were talking and being very noisy, a button buck came walking through the woods as my buddy was coming out of the tree. The little buck walked up to about 5 feet of us, when we stuck our hand out he just stood there for a couple of minutes, then walked over the hill. Gun seasons was 2 days away, we did not hold out much hope for him.

[jlnft]

As I would walk around the 3D range, I'd stop and sit for a couple of minutes and he would lay down next to me. Body wise he was in great shape, probably around 130lbs-150lbs. So he'd been eating well!

[Jake Fr]

thats really cool i think keep an eye out for him he my be ya'll new camp buddy or could be a old friend coming back to visit ya. that is what a buddy had happen with  dog he had been seeing then it just left but i think your experience with him is pretty darn cool

[Green]

We had an instance here last year where a young 8 pointer wandered into our small neighborhood.  He was as y'all describe, "friendly".  He kept coming back every few days and one of my neighbors started hand feeding him.  Well.....three weeks later when the rut hit he pinned her against the wall of her house.  An hour later he attacked two people in the post office parking lot and then tried to attack the neighboring rancher who fired a shotgun into the ground at his feet during the second attack.  That ran him off....lol.  Be mindful of these friendly ones as the hormones go into overdrive.

[Groundpounder]

maybe since you were hanging out with all those 3D deer and they werent running off.he mightve figured you were safe enough.

[KellyG]

That is interesting if he hangs around it would be neat to see him grow. Heck might bring in a less friendly older buck to chase him off heck what a decoy.

[Archer Fanatic]

Several years ago here in the Sidney area same thing happened and a guy got gord by a six point. It was very serious wound.

[ALwoodsman]

Several years ago I was hunting on my family's property.  I was actually walking back to the truck and walked up on a 6 point.  It was about 15 yards away and I drew back to shoot but something just didn't seem right so I decided not to take the shot. I watched it for a second, the whole time it was looking right at me.  Then it came closer.  So I took a few steps towards it.  Then it took a few steps.  Finally we closed the distance between each other and I reached out and touched it on the nose.  It ran off then.  That had to be one of the funniest things to happen to me like that.  It turns out that it was a deer that was raised until it was old enough to be released on it's on.  A friend of mine who lives nearby is a Vet and was doing this type of thing for injured wildlife.  She quit raising deer after another neighbor was attacked by a young spike buck a few years later.  I have another neighbor that lives in a house about 40 yds. from our property line.  He feeds the deer corn year round.  Every morning he will walk out with a metal bucket and throw out in his back yard.  He also does this every evening.  I have seen him feed them out of his hand and even pet them.  I keep waiting for the day that he gets attacked by one.

[Shawn Leonard]

Joe, very cool!! Hopefully he grows into a booner and you get pics.of him then. Shawn

[GRINCH]

Deer are wild animals and should be treated as such,even if he seems tame you cant predict what he'll do.

[ksbowman]

Several years ago I went to move a stand midday during the rut.While I was making alot of racket a pair of yearlings came in to about 10 yards and really looked me over for awhile. I'm sure they had been ran off while a buck and their mama covorted. I finally ran them off on purpose to get them away from me.

[KentuckyTJ]

Cool experience Joe. Yeah I'd guess someone has been feeding him also.

[jlnft]

It really was cool, but the more I think about him, the more it concerns me. The situation just isn't healthy.

1. If he leaves my farm area. he's not long for this world.

2. But...more importantly I'm concerned, as the season moves to the rut, he's probably going to get more aggressive. My kids and grandkids need to be leery of him if he gets around them.

[snakebit40]

I had a similar experience this spring while turkey hunting.

I spotted some turkey in a wheat field from the road so I parked and took off after them. I was about 70 yards from the turkey and saw a doe standing at the fields edge. I thought if I spooked her she would spook the turkey. So I snuck up to her and got 15 yards from her without her moving a muscle. I was pretty proud of myself that I stalked that close to her with no wind. Then I found out why.

I ended up walking up to her and she just looked at me. I shot my turkey (shotgun) and she didn't move. So I ended up picking my turkey up and walked back up to her. Well I think she had Chronic Wasting Disease. I have a video that I'll put on tonight. She looked real sick and was stumbling around.

In the last 5 years CWD has became an issue in my part of the state. I don't know what your area is like with CWD but you might look into it.

[Jim Keller]

Up at my taxidermy shop, someone dropped off a buck this summer. He's quite tame. He even walked into my shop. I have pictures of him in my shop. I sent them out in an email telling the guys " they can't wait to get to Keller's Taxidermy". I'm interested to see what he's like in Nov. I certainly won't turn my back on him then. He's a 4 pt. and only legal for a youth to shoot in our state. I hope he makes it, I enjoy him.

[Jack Shanks]

While hunting mule deer in the open prairie of South Eastern Alberta a few years back I had a button buck walk close to me and then follow me a short distance. I could tell by it's looks and actions it was sick. That same area had an outbreak of CWD. There is no way for me to be certain that is what this deer had but I know it had something wrong with it.

[snakebit40]

Here's the video I took this spring after shooting a turkey.

 

[michaelschwister]

Letting them touch your  heart is a very easy thing to do.  Hopefully he becomes a wild deer, if not he really needs to go. I know it sounds cruel, but wild and strong is what is best for the species, tame and dependant will be their demise.  I feed corn when legal during off season on my property during times of stress.  I know I should not, as strength is through survival, weakness comes from dependancy.