Do hiking trails disrupt hunting area?

[WBouldin]

So i am continuing my scouting of my unit in the Sierras and based from what im seeing on Google Earth, there is a nice looking area that looks very promising from my desk. However, I have noticed that there is this little trail going around it. They call it the Pacific Crest Trail...ever heard of it?

What are your thoughts on a major trail going through the hunting area? I have two thoughts and want to see which holds more water here:

1. Deer are used to seeing people and therefore may not be as easily spooked

2. Deer stay the hell away from there even if they are granola eaters that pose no threat.


What do you all think?

Heres a screen grab of the area, you can see the green line is the PCT

 

[Little Big Man MT Chris]

my guess is no, animals like all of us get used to the area they live in, living in NW Oregon Logging country there is roads all over the forest , with trucks all year round , then during hunting season the deer and elk r so used to all the logging traffic they tend not to run off when the hunters roll by till the shooting starts, so i would guess hippies on the trail wont run off the animals when they've been in that area there whole life. im no expert on this subject , just my opinion from what ive observed in the area i get to hunt most, i took a blacktail and a an elk last year, both were out in logging clear cuts by the road and were to curious for 2 seconds to long

 

[Gerald Martin]

Couple hundred yards from the trail.... What trail? If it's hikers and not hunters it won't affect deer very much.

 

[ShootsManyBullets]

If you wear patchouli oil you should be able to get within archery range of almost anything on that mountain.

 

[zachthebowhunter]

My girlfriend shot her bull last year sitting on a hiking trail in Montana! And I've seen plenty of deer near them and they just act like normal deer. See you, watch you for a second, move off. If you get off the trail a mile or so, you see more deer and way less hunters. Especially of the terrain is rough around their. Just my experience.

 

[jvanhoy]

One of our best archery mule deer spots is easing down a trail that's hiked and biked all summer. Mule deer will let you walk right by and not even bounce off most of the time. They're so much more layed back than whitetail. Back home i could never get away with it.

 

[sbhooper]

They give you easier access to get to areas where you can then leave the trail. Nothing wrong with them and that falls under multi-use land.

 

[Rooster52]

Have seen several deer sharring a hiking trail along with a few elk on the trails.
Had an outfitter tell me you will never find elk on a horse trail,two days later I called in a spike and a 4 point and they came in right down that horse trail I had just walked in on.

 

[Dinkshooter]

Of my 3 last Bulls I shot one while kneeling on a trail and another while laying 30 yards off the trail. true story.

 

[TahoeWesternHunter]

I hunt off the PCT too. Depends on where in CA. I hunt D3-5 because it's OTC and 30 minutes from me. Parts of the PCT get used everyday by 100+ hikers, other parts are much less. My experience is getting away from roads is far more important than the PCT. Deer densities are really low where I hunt but I use the roads to get to the PCT and then hike out from it.

 

[Bomber]

2. Deer stay the hell away from there even if they are granola eaters that pose no threat.

Hey, man! I love me some granola, but I definitely pose a threat.

 

[Little Big Man MT Chris]

Hey, man! I love me some granola, but I definitely pose a threat.

Bomber ! Did u get my pm reply on my Blacktail units , wasn't sure if I sent it correctly

 

[Trial153]

I really think its location specific. Some places deer pay trails no mind at all, and other places through interaction they learn to associate them with people. I don't think association always necessarily equates to negative association. Awareness may be a better term.

 

[Tbob]

I've hunted off the PCT plenty of times in WA State. I was worried about the same thing as you, but in my experience we still saw plenty of deer/elk/bears right off the trail. I also noticed how many deer/elk tracks were always walking right down the trail.. Like others have said, we used the PcT to get to an area and then we bail off the trail a bit and start hunting. We now know just to be quiet hiking in and out on the trail as we usually see them on the trail as well..

 

[hank4elk]

I have hunted off it in the mid & south Sierras a few times.
Depends on season as most folks are gone after school starts.But after the 1st heavy snows they will move down.
I used to hunt a small wilderness & used the trails to get to good areas. Must have taken half a dozen bucks right on the trail & most of those where within 4 mi of my truck.The deer would move down to the lakeshore after the summer throngs were gone. Hunting got good behind the ole cabin too...lol

 

[Antcap]

I recently had a tag here in the hills next to Reno where there are lots of roads and trails. More times than not I spotted deer using them to get from point A to point B. Deer can be lazy and will take the easy route whenever possible. I've never gotten soo close to animals as I did during that hunt. They don't spook as easy and they don't tend to run as far from you. They seem to act more like curious antelope. Once you're outta sight you're outta mind, unlike most deer that will run to the next county ��

 

[BuffaloRCody]

I hunt public land in Tennessee. There are horse trails that are in use in these areas that hikers and bikers use as well. I have been 50 yards from the trail and heard the people talking as they went by and at the same time , have a deer under my stand and they never pay any attention to the people. They are used to people using these trails and knowing this, you can use this to ur advantage.

 

[MoGreen]

One time in Colorado I posted up before dark right next to a pack trail. Why? Cuz I kept seeing elk there. About an hour before dark a couple guys with a team of horses came by
(outfitters tending drop camps I assume). 10 minutes later I looked across the valley and had two raghorns out feeding in a little meadow. I took one. As long as travel is just going through and not getting off the trail to bother you then I don't think they are much of a big deal.

 

[duckhunt]

I shot a deer here in Iowa sitting 20 Yards off a hiking trail.

 

[bornintherut]

now that is hilarious!!!