Hunters Must Have a Knowledge of Deer’s Auditory Range for Sucess.
A successful hunter must have an understanding of a deer’s hearing range. The type of sounds you are making while hunting is more important than the volume.
In hunting camps everywhere stories abound about the almost supernatural hearing ability deer have. Invariably there will be tall tales about a hunter missing an opportunity at a big buck because they were busted by the buck’s keen ears. Deer being spooked by the safety of a weapon being clicked off or the sound of an arrow dragging across an arrow rest are some of the usual suspects in these campfire stories of blown opportunities.
Although some of these accounts of a deer’s incredible hearing ability may have some validity, more likely than not a spooked deer is a result of several other factors above and beyond the hunter being heard by the deer. Knowing how well a deer can hear, but more importantly what type of sounds to make while hunting will help stack the deck in your favor the next time you go head to head or rather ear to ear with a whitetail.
Deer Hearing Sensitivity Research
In 1997 a study conducted by Dr. Ken Risenhoover at Texas A&M University set out to define the hearing range of the whitetail deer. Using anesthetized whitetail deer Dr. Risenhoover and his team attempted to define a deer’s hearing range by attaching sensors to certain parts of the deer’s head and interpreting the electrical responses obtained when sounds at different decibels and frequencies were introduced into the deer’s ears. What this study discovered is that, based on the electrical responses, a deer’s average hearing range is between 0.5 kHz and 16 kHz depending on the decibel level, with the maximum sensitivity in the 1 to 8 kHz range. That being said how does this hearing range compare to humans?
Human Hearing Sensitivity
C.R. Nave with Georgia State University gives a brief synopsis of human hearing sensitivity in the 2005 Hyper Physics Concepts website page. In this synopsis, it is stated that human hearing sensitivity is rated between .02 kHz to 20 kHz. It can be assumed that these numbers are a fairly accurate representation of the averages found in the human hearing range because unlike with the deer, a human can provide feedback on what they hear. With a deer, the numbers are a scientific “best guess” situation but are thought to be accurate.
Applying the Research in the Deer Woods
Based on the studies it can be assumed that the average hearing of a deer is not any more acute than the average hunter. The difference is that deer are much more in tune with their environment and due to the physical attributes of their ears are able to more precisely pinpoint the location of a sound. Unnatural sounds ring loud and clear to a deer. Metal on metal sounds involving weapons or tree stands is not natural in the woods. Likewise, hunters walking through the woods in a one-two, one-two cadence are similar to a predator and thus cause alarm. Bottom line: Keep your sounds subtle, natural, and non-threatening and the last thing a deer should hear is the crack of your gun or the whoosh of your arrow. Good Hunting!