When you see deer dont use your horn

I used my horn today and I guess i scared the herd and they scattered in the street,almost hit one.

Yes, you probably scared the poor things to death!!!! Now don't ever do that again! Here in my part of Kansas(northeast) we'd be happy if we had 'time' to honk. Usually just lucky enough to dodge the dumb things.

tankyuong wrote:

I used my horn today and I guess i scared the herd and they scattered in the street,almost hit one.

That is worst thing you can do for deer. If you scare deer, they will scatter in all directions and they become even more unpredictable.

Deer can do some amazing things, I was driving just north of Junction, Texas doing about 65-70 MPH pulling an empty trailer. I saw a deer in my rear window - running in the same direction of the car the deer was about 30 yards behind the car and 15 yards to off the road. Since I was going about 65-70 MPH, I thought to myself there is no way he could ever catch up at this speed. Well the deer speed up and eventually dived in front of the car so I had to decide do I loose a radiator or a head light 4-5 hours from my house. I chose the head light and veered left and the deer hit the corner of the car taking out the headlight. Everyone asked if the deer was alive or dead, it was too dangerous to turn around with the trailer ... and if the deer was still alive I could have strangled it

So if you think you are safe from running and scared deer ... I would strongly suggest you re-evaluate. If a deer is in motion especially unpredictable motion... I am stopping or slowing to a crawl. Predicting what the deer will do is futile. There is a lot less protection on the SWing then my old minivan.

The animals aren't any brighter here in the UK.

I stopped next to one once, when I moved to slowly drive away from the daft creature, it turned and ran straight into the side of the van.

As already stated they are sooooooo unpredictable. :rendeer:

A few years ago a deer ran into my friend's minivan driver's door while she was driving about 30 mph. To this day, she tells the story how deer "attacked" her.

Deer are unpredictable indeed. Wife hit one and I hit one with the same car, same fender. Actually they hit us by coming in from the side on both occassions. Yesterday we were on a ride with the swing, two came out in front of us which is pretty normal on small backroads and tree lined. One that we did not see ran along the road directly in front of our freinds which were behind us on there 650 Burgman. When we stopped for a break he stated his displeasure in returning home on more back roads.
Hitting the horn seems to just spook them and I'm not so sure that deer whistles might do the same thing. Watch for em'. Dick

They're totally unpredictable. Too bad they can't be as smart as pronghorn antelope. I've never seen one of those run over.

They scatter in random directions when spooked. The best you can hope for is that they'll stand still.

dickie wrote:

Hitting the horn seems to just spook them and I'm not so sure that deer whistles might do the same thing. Watch for em'. Dick

I have live in deer country 27 years ...

In my first house ... I swear the deer knew the hunting calendar better than then hunters. The deer would come down from the mountain into our yard just when hunters would go up to hunt ... they would come down and eat the apples off my trees.

In my second house, the deer bed down right in my yard every night ... it is not unusual to have over 20-30 deer bedding down in my yard.

That is why I got my HID headlights, because the OEM headlights did not provide enough peripheral lighting to see the deer on the side of the road. I would not see some of them till they I was right next to them .... the HID headlights solved that problem.

Most deer whistles only work at 30 MPH (some more) ... it does not scare the deer. If you watch the deer closely, you will see they will generally stop what they are doing and turn their head to see what it it (some will raise their heads too). This is where the majority of people misunderstand the deer whistle ... the do not run away scared (as I said before you do not want that). When they turn their head you can see their eyes from headlights thats all. The key is what do you do when you see the shining eyes!!! If you do nothing ... then the deer whistles will not work. The deer whistles are not a force field!

If the deer has any movement or is skittish ... then I am slowing or stopping.

The next thing I am looking for is the direction the deer is facing ... the deer cannot see when it is looking in the headlights, if it moves the deer is running blindly .. so I am slowing down, moving over and ready to stop.

I will keep watching the deer as I go by ... if there is any movement then I am stopping cause now they are unpredictable.

The worst time of the day for deer are just after dusk and just before dawn.

The worst time of the year is during "rutting season" ( where the girls and boys come out to play) October-November ... you will see a lot more deer and they will be a lot more "skittish" ... I have to be even more careful.

During the late-fall and winter, it is not unusual for me to be driving in the dark both ways.