Okay, this is NOT musing on hocus-pocus 6th sense sort of stuff, but purely biology.

I was thinking about when I most often actually see animals in the blind. While probably purely coincidental, it seems I actually see more animals when I am very relaxed and not overly excited.. say if I am reading a book, browsing on my phone, etc. Even when holding very still, it seems the more amped up I am and the more I am anticipating, the higher the odds the animal stays in the brush and doesn't come into view. That got me thinking about how show dog handlers often chew gum or mints in an attempt to mask their breath, stating that their dog can smell hormones like adrenaline and that'll throw them off their game. Apparently this is also a factor in how police K9s can seek out the right target - they're smelling the perspiration and all the hormones in it. Similarly, I've read when training a dog to trail wounded game, you want to harvest blood (and some people say hooves) from an animal that knew it was in big trouble before it dropped.

So, do y'all think it's possible that deer and other critters are able to pick up on that? It seems sort of doubtful because they aren't trained or companion animals specifically bred to be in tune with humans... but prey animals have their own adaptations to avoid predators, I would imagine. Anyone?

Or, when you are wound up, you give off more stink, more pheremones, and shift and stir a little more than most?

I see more deer when I'm hunting. That's all I've noticed.

If you re relaxed the deer are also relaxed

Check barometer when you re in the mood and keep track of what deer show up that day

If I am hunting a feeder/food plot it depends on how hungry they are that day. Like Sneaky, I see more deer when I hunt than sitting in the house.

I've seen lots of deer upon waking from a nap. 'Course, with the snoring now, don't notice quite so many.

as said in first post that done gone missing... Think ya might be on ta something... Good thread ...

I was sleeping in the AZ desert and awoken by a cold wet javelina nose on the bottom of of my foot. I never had one walk up to me awake.

Mark

Sig22, that's possible. Maybe it's just me or that I've only taken about 15 deer total, but my heart rate goes through the roof even if I'm just watching one scraggly doe I am always careful to be very still and quiet, though.

To date, I have not seen a single deer from the couch... unless you count those Cabella's video games.. Seriously, I see y'alls point and it probably is just time spent increasing odds of seeing anything. Gotta wonder, though.

Colt, I did see that your post went missing. Weird...

I've seen a lot of deer from the couch inside the house at the deer lease. I just drive right by them on the way to a blind. I'm not sure why.

I like this post

It is like a I try to explain to others, it is a game of numbers. Where the mind part comes in to play is the state of contentment for me. If you enjoy some of the other aspects of being alone in the middle of nowhere and watching nature unfold around you, you will spend more time doing the same. Your odds improve over time.

Waxing prolific while I drink strong winter ale

A watched pot never boils. ....probably applies to deer hunting too.

In Africa our Bushman trackers said to never look directly at game until ready to shoot.

Mark

Like mentioned earlier i think barometric pressure, has some validity. I havent tracked it, but a falling barometer has been not as good. As a rising barometer.

When you are relaxed and in "tune" with nature you are able to notice more of what's going on in front of you. The more amped up you are the more you start making deer out of trees, stumps, etc.... it seems life in general works this way in that the more you want something to happen ASAP, the longer it takes to happen with a higher stress level attached. That's been my experience.

As long as you are still, move slow and in the right wind position, I don't think it means anything. Countless deer have been taken while the shooter had a case of "buck fever" and never knew what hit them. I would also think that animals of prey, would be much more in tune to senses regarding body language and scent from prey animals, just based on how they are geared.

I do believe non prey animals can tell by body language though if they are in immediate danger, easy to see when a full, vs hungery lion passes a herd of "whatever" in those African videos.

If you are hunting correctly, (i.e., playing the wind), then 'state of mind' should not matter. If you are hunting poorly and your scent is wafting over the target, then sure, maybe it matters if your ramped up pheromones carry down wind.

I don't know that I see more animals when I am relaxed, but I have definitely noticed that most of my prey "appears" where I am not looking, like it just got beamed in from the mother ship. I can't be looking at a stop to my right, scan left and then scan back to the right and a hog will have magically materialized right where I was looking 10 seconds prior. Sometimes, they just seem to materialize in the middle of a great big field, but NOT when I am looking at the spot where they appear.

The "not looking directly into their eyes" thing is real - as every bowhunter knows. IDK about the other stuff. Kinda fun to think about though.

^ ^ ^ ^ ^
Edit: as Western points out animals of pray do have a 6th scents... Yet this posts tis worth cool thread...

My personal state of mind won't have the tiniest impact on whether or not a deer or other critter show up in my field of view. The right state of mind will however allow me to enjoy where I am and what I'm doing. And, as the OP mentioned, a good book, comfortable chair and a cup of coffee do a lot for my state of mind, even if, as it has happened a couple of times, deer or coyotes have smelled my coffee and left.

you seem to contradict your first sentence with the rest of your post

ive always heard the "eyes look for eyes" thing and I definitely think animals and humans both can feel when they are being looked at, probably more so in prey animals.

Don't look at me why your saying that

This is how I harvest the majority of my Animals

The difference would be the assumption most deer hunting is done from a blind, or stationary position, I could have articulated it better.

Any professional spotlighter will tell you to look for the eyes.