If you spook a mature buck driving up in a truck or if your walking on foot and he sees you? Or do they have same effect? In both scenarios white tail is up and he bounds away. Also to clarify, when l say “effect” lm referring to the likelihood that he does not return

I think it depends on the area. Some places a buck spooked by a car is a daily occurrence so there is less likelihood it will affect hunting or seeing that animal later.
In some places a car is so alien a deer will skedattle and be gone.

Hard to answer this question in my mind.

I have seen deer watch me walk right past them and not bat an eye, or run off just to turn and watch from a distance and come back later. I have driven right past deer in my utv and they dont move. So deer pressure can make a big difference on how spooky deer are.

On numerous occasions I've watched deer stand and look at me while riding an ATV or driving a tractor. But once I climbed off and they could notice the human form they took off for the next county. And unfortunately, it points to why poachers who road hunt can be so successful.

Walking.

I totally agree with Texas buckeye. If you are hunting where human contact is, like ranchers working they get use to people more . They may run off but come right back. Deer can be curious creatures. Some deer are less curious. The environment will be the biggest factor. My deer lease deer are easier to spook than my backyard deer at home. It’s all in the environment they are surrounded by.

Shooting from fixed box blinds over bait the spot to park your vehicle is always hidden.

For a man walking I would guess it could depend on the wind. Blowing from you to deer worse than the opposite.

You usually can get away with encroachment by machinery way more so than on foot. My deer see trucks, tractors, and combines on the daily.

walking will scare the deer away more than driving past in a truck

Years ago we jumped a mature 8 with a pickup one afternoon while moving a 15' tripod into his area, specifically to hunt him. I killed him out of it the next morning.

But, that doesn't prove anything. I suspect if you bump him in his core area, he'll return to what he knows fairly soon, regardless if you bump him on foot or in a vehicle. Creatures of habit and all.

To me, no real big differences as long as relative silence and minimal movements are maintained after either of those disruptions. In both cases, I have had big deer show back up within minutes/hours...

It's the whole walking upright thing that spooks deer and any other animal.

I've told this before, I had shot a buck on a river bed. I was in full camo, face mask and all, on my knees sort of bent over at the waist as I worked right out in the open. I looked up and 100 yards or so away, a group of pigs are coming right at me. They weren't running, but not walking slowly either. At about 30 yards I picked up my rifle that was on a bipod right next to me and killed 2 of them. They thought I was some non-human creature feasting on the kill.

My farm is also where I live & hunt. I have come to the conclusion its better for me to drive to stand rather than walk. The deer seem to be used to us in motorized vehicles, that said some locations I can walk to with a good chance of not being detected. Also if its a mature buck his return reduces dramatically IMO.

Down at the King, very open there, we would drive by deer and hogs, shift into neutral, jump out, grab bow or gun and go after what we saw.

smell beats sight and truck

From what I have seen, animals get more spooked from a person walking than a vehicle.

I do too.

I’m rushed so just skimmed post. Great question.
Texbuck hit it on head to me.

Everything else being equal deer are much more spooked by walking than a vehicle.

Some vehicles they don’t like, drive a 4 wheeler thru our old ranch you wouldn’t see a deer all afternoon. They didn’t like the sound. But a truck, tractor, UTV, Jeep they paid very little mind, even if they had never seen that vehicle before.

They typically don’t react calmly to foot traffic.

I used to hunt in the Arkansas River bottoms in an area popular with ATV riders. Can’t tell you how many times I’ve watched deer run off into the woods when an ATV approached, only to see them resume their regularly scheduled activities once the ATVs were gone.

on our place neither one would cause a long term issue - I have had a 160 inch buck walk up to my pop up blind and stick his head into the window - funny how it varies from area to area and ranch to ranch

^^^^^

Dang....that buck was doing alright for himself. Got his own pickup.

Surprised he didn't just leave the place.

It all depends on pressure and familiarity.

I think walking on foot is worse.

How deer react to the sight, sounds, and smells of humans often changes once they learn so many are after them. I took my biggest East Texas buck about 30 minutes after several hunters on a nearby lease passed through the area on their ATV's after their morning sit. He came easing through the woods from their direction after things began to quiet down and wouldn't be surprised if he wasn't bedded a stone's throw from their trail. It definitely taught me the value in staying on the stand after others have headed back to camp. And I distinctly remember one season when I watched two young bucks suddenly bolt from a food plot after just hearing a nearby hunter crank his ATV.

Earlier this week, I had been cutting hay for a while. 500 yards, slowly closing to 5 yards from a spotted fawn, I didn't know was ever there. The fawn waited until I was 5 yards from it, before it busted, and headed for the trees.

2019, we were pronghorn hunting outside Marfa. I asked the guide "what happens if we try to close on foot?"
He said "they will haul [censored]. You know how a Pronghorn defends itself."
"Yessir, with their eyes and their speed."
He said "they see pickups every day."