"Deer Cannons": Do They Make Hunting Easier?

[Single Six]

In the fields behind my house, a farmer has set up a "deer cannon" in an effort to keep the deer away from his crops. For anyone unfamiliar with these, a quick explanation: It doesn't actually shoot a projectile, it just makes a very loud noise, similar to gunfire. It's powered by LP gas, and periodically goes off, presumably frightening away Bambi & company. Here's what I'm wondering: After a very short time, wouldn't the deer in the area become accustomed to the noise and just ignore it...therefore making hunting them easier? In other words, if you shoot at one of these deer and you miss, my guess is he'll stay put instead of running away, since he's used to such sounds. Am I right?

 

[Vt.birdhunter]

I think they would become acclimated to it. We have deer and turkey wandering at our range, nothing seems to bother them anymore.

A good dog would be a good tool for chasing off deer from fields.

 

[Art Eatman]

The old family place outside of Austin was in one of the flight paths from Bergstrom AFB. I've watched does when a couple of low-flying F4s would go to afterburner. They wouldn't even look up.

Used to be several does whose daytime bedding area was about fifty yards behind my uncle's backstop for his 100-yard range.

After a subdivision developed nearby, chainsaws, yelling kids and barking dogs were commonplace noise sources. Deer apparently have a comfort range for noises to which they become accustomed, and ignore any noise outside the zone.

 

[mikejonestkd]

I am certain that they would become acclimated to it. We have several deer and occasionally a few turkeys that wander down range at our local private conservation club. They ignore gunfire...

One day the turkeys wouldn't leave, so we stowed the firearms and chased them off the range. nothing is as funny as a group of fat old men chasing turkeys on a Sunday morning...

 

[cornbush]

In SE Idaho they use them to "scare the deer away" from the alfalfa fields.....
After about the first 2 days all it does is keep everyone within about 5 five miles from getting a good nights sleep.
Yes, the deer get used to them and they do no good after just a few days.
A well trained dog works better, one farmer I know has two Austrailian sheperds that will not leave his property, but will keep on a dead run right up to that point and then stop, he has permission from the local GW, no flame war please.

 

[Single Six]

Seems unanimous so far. Cornbush: I really wish the farmer I mentioned would read your posting and get himself some dogs. I neglected to say that this !$?% deer cannon goes off all day and all night, and is driving me crazy.

 

[buck460XVR]

"Deer Cannons": Do They Make Hunting Easier?

For the most part no. Only if you're hunting the field where the cannons are located. Even then, there are so many other variables beside the sounds of gunfire to consider, the advantage is probably moot.

The failure of those cannons to keep deer, geese and other critters outta an area after a day or two of use has been well known for years. The cost of use vs savings in crop/property damage is generally not as efficient as other means. Kinda surprises me folks even use them any more.

 

[Buzzcook]

Apparently this one worked ok. Not something I'd like to pack around though.

http://www.buckstix.com/howitzer.htm

 

[FrankenMauser]

As you guessed, animals become acclimated to the noise.

If you ever talk to anyone in charge of wildlife abatement at an airport, they'll tell you they have to change their tactics on a regular basis. Generally, they rotate through various noise devices such as: 12 ga mortars (explosive payload, that you fire into the air), the LP "cannons", electronic devices, and anything else available to them (such as chasing birds with a truck). ...And they almost always have to combine their scare tactics with simultaneously providing a more appealing area to be in, and trying to make the current bedding/nesting areas undesirable.

For example: One of the Military bases I was stationed at had a huge problem with some kind of bird that nested on the ground. Since this was Florida.... They formed a few small earthen levees around the nesting ground, and let the next tropical storm flood the area*. ...But they also drained a former "Biological Test Site", to provide new nesting grounds a few miles away. (*The flooded area really sucked. It was right next to my work area, and the mosquitoes were unbearable.)

Unless you persistently change tactics to push animals out of the area, they'll become acclimated.

 

[Wild Bill Bucks]

I agree with others as to deer getting used to about any noise, if exposed to it long enough.
About 4 or 5 years ago, I put a stand up in April so it would be up in plenty of time for the deer to get used to it. When I came back for Bow season in October, there was a gas drilling outfit, set up about 50 yards from my stand. They were banging drill stem, and generators running, and so much noise that I could barely hear at all, and I watched deer feeding along the fence, less than 25 feet from the drill sight all morning long.
I thought I would play with them a little, as I could not shoot toward the drill sight, so I pulled out a Bic Lighter, and gave it a flick. Every deer in the group looked up at me . I did this several times, before they finally saw me and spooked away.
I think that natural predators that the deer fear, don't carry cannons, bang pipes, or run chain saws, so I think they tend to ignore loud noises for the most part, as they really don't present much of a danger to them. I think they key their hearing down to the little noises like a stick breaking or a limb swishing, that might represent a danger to them.
We also have deer that seem to live around our rifle range, that have to be run off so we can use the range at times.
I have deer that come into my back yard, and don't seem to be the least bit intimidated by my grand children (Ages 4 through 7) as they play, but if one of my poodles gets out of the house, they leave really quick.
I would say the best way to keep deer away would be a dog, but it would have to be a really well trained dog so that it would only chase the deer for a little while, otherwise a deer will take your dog over to the next county.

 

[Saltydog235]

but if one of my poodles gets out of the house

Don't believe I'da told that one. Maybe changed it to 200lb Bull Mastif or Presa Canaria or at least German Shorthair.

 

[BIG P]

Tried them in south GA. in the bean fields worked about 3 days. They wouldnt get to close to the cannons about 80yards.It did'nt hurt the hunting cant say it helped either. POODLES? I have a bulldog he was a gator but I cut his tail off and painted him yellow lol.

 

[rantingredneck]

I've been at my gun club at times and we've had to call a cease fire as does and fawns wandered into the line of fire to eat grass between the bench and backstop. We've literally had to run downrange and chuck rocks at them to get them to move.

 

[TXGunNut]

Funny how deer like hanging around firing ranges. I've seen a few unscheduled ceasefires called at the Whittington Center, last time I was there on the utility rifle range I called one myself. There's usually a small herd of muley does bedded behind the PPC range backstop, keeps the tower talker from getting bored.

 

[warbirdlover]

We've got wolves on our deer hunting land and they don't keep the deer out. Neither do the coyotes and bears and now one of the guys that bowhunts the land has seen a huge cougar going into it. Still lot's of deer.

This is central Wisconsin btw!!

 

[Wild Bill Bucks]

Maybe I forgot to mention, they are really MEAN poodles

 

[TheNatureBoy]

It will probably work for a little while. In no time at all the wild life will get used to it and won't pay it any attention.

 

[rickyrick]

I was stationed at Ft Hood for a few years...deer get used to guns and cannons and howitzers and rockets ect. ect. ect.


ps.
I thought this was gonna be about a .99 caliber or something LOL

 

[Rifleman1776]

Deer, and most other animals have simple but very sensitive nerve systems. Once they get aclimated to something that does not hurt them there is no reaction. An often used demonstration is with a calf or foal. Hold it steady and try to touch an ear. They shake vigourously at first when the ear is touched. But after a while they don't even seem to notice. But if you touch the OTHER ear they shake because those nerves have not been desensitized. Really, the animal "learns" nothing.

 

[rantingredneck]

ps.
I thought this was gonna be about a .99 caliber or something LOL
__________________

Yeah when I first read the title I thought it was going to be about the ultrashortreallycoolwhizbanguberkillemintheirtracksstonecolddeadmagnum rounds that seem to be popular these days.