thanks for the info. this will be a learning expereince for me. ideally i would avoid cattle but i fealt this opportunity was too good to pass up. 2700 acres, though mainly pasture land, and just two of us hunting it. he bow hunts and ill be only gun hunter. its his family farm that they have had for many generations he he annually takes a 150 inch plus buck off of it. along with the cameras, just trying to determine where the cattle will be at that time and how much of that should factor in on where i should hunt.
Welcome Guest!
Anyone hunted much around cows
- Thread starter rwinn56
- Start date
If deer wouldn’t go in a pasture with cattle here, then there would be no deer except in the National forest.
Be careful where you place cameras. I had cows that decided my camera was a good scratching post. After the strap broke it fell and became something to walk on. Scratch one camera. )pun intended)
Throwback
Chief Big Taw
Hunted around cows my whole life. There's good and bad.
Generally they are a nuisance more than anything. They freak out if you walk by them at night going to your stand. next time they'll follow you to your stand instead. They can help though, the biggest buck ive ever killed was bedded down near where I was going to hunt, and a herd of about 12 heifers followed me to the stand which helped mask my footsteps. after i got settled in they moved off and bumped him up and i shot him. I never knew he was there like 50 yards away till he stood up. no way he would have sat there if the heifers had not been there that morning.
they will rub against your stands, chew on your ground blinds ,etc.
generally i try to avoid hunting the pastures with cows in them.
and turkey hunting? LOL good luck with a decoy if there are small calves around. Most curious critter there is, is a 200 pound 3 month old calf.
Generally they are a nuisance more than anything. They freak out if you walk by them at night going to your stand. next time they'll follow you to your stand instead. They can help though, the biggest buck ive ever killed was bedded down near where I was going to hunt, and a herd of about 12 heifers followed me to the stand which helped mask my footsteps. after i got settled in they moved off and bumped him up and i shot him. I never knew he was there like 50 yards away till he stood up. no way he would have sat there if the heifers had not been there that morning.
they will rub against your stands, chew on your ground blinds ,etc.
generally i try to avoid hunting the pastures with cows in them.
and turkey hunting? LOL good luck with a decoy if there are small calves around. Most curious critter there is, is a 200 pound 3 month old calf.
I forgot to add this.
Wear rubber boots and step in some cow piles as you are walking to your stand.
Great cover scent if you can tolerate it.
Wear rubber boots and step in some cow piles as you are walking to your stand.
Great cover scent if you can tolerate it.
Miguel Cervantes
Jedi Master
I hunted with a cow once. Had to tell her I really prefer hunting alone.
It was a touchy few minutes.
It was a touchy few minutes.
I hunt around cows all the time. Deer don't pay them the least bit of attention around here. The main aggravation is that cows are very curious and want to be your friend. I was hunting on the ground a couple years ago and had a cow try to eat my hat.
Yep.
And if you find a nice persimmon tree on the edge of pasture, the cows will eat those too.
They will hang around and wait for them to drop.
Neighbor has cows. The deer will go into his pasture but not around the cows. Saw this 3 times last year. The deer will be 100+ yrds from them and move away when the cows start to wonder their way.
Dont really know why but have seen them in the same general area as horses though.
Dont really know why but have seen them in the same general area as horses though.
I see them in amongst the cows quite frequently.
swamp hunter
Senior Member
I got a couple hundred..maybe 500 on my Lease. Woods cows.
They make great trails for the deer and hogs to follow and you can slip right into thickets cause they go everywhere and just crash stuff out of the way.
The deer don't seem to mind them cause their both in the woods 24/7 but they ain't snuggled up to each other either.
They make great trails for the deer and hogs to follow and you can slip right into thickets cause they go everywhere and just crash stuff out of the way.
The deer don't seem to mind them cause their both in the woods 24/7 but they ain't snuggled up to each other either.
Those cows are probably the old Criollo breeds, the Rakestraws, Crackers, and Pineywoods cattle. When I was a youngun, there were still a few in the lower Oconee River swamp. Those things were wilder than deer.
livetohunt
Senior Member
In the Midwest where cattle are everywhere, deer avoid them if possible. I've seen deer encounter cattle and they give them a very wide berth and sometimes run past the area with cattle..Last year I had cows from a neighboring farmer get out on my place late season..They ate a corn plot and deer avoided that area like the plague while the cows were there(trail cams).
Deer down in Florida are probably more accepting of cows since they`ve associated with them longer than anywhere else in the country.
OmenHonkey
I Want Fancy Words TOO !
I Hunt in KS and have never had any issues with hunting on a working cattle farm. I hunted some public land that had cattle on it too and saw some giant bucks. I would have no issue with it personally.
Keith Karr
Senior Member
I think you will be fine Rance and hope you have a great hunt !
The guy you are hunting with will be able to recommend some good spots to hunt.
The guy you are hunting with will be able to recommend some good spots to hunt.
Jim Boyd
Senior Member
I see deer in the same lots as the cows but they are never associating with each other. The deer are crossing the pastures, following a fence line, following a timber line, etc.
I see tracks where they both walk through the same open gate but do not think they do it at the same time.
Outside 90 degree corners of pasture fences, for me, get immediate atttention.
Jim Boyd
Senior Member
240-260 lb deer (or larger) are not scrawny in my book.
Plus, I like to keep my leases!!!
.
dixiecutter
Eye Devour ReeB
You may have said a mouthful right here Nic. It would be silly to say a deer is scared of cows, but I can tell you outright- if you sit over the pasture in my Blakely place, you'll be the only person in a square mile that doesn't see a deer. And it's a very nice little pasture tucked away and surrounded by woods that are loaded with deer. So maybe it is a regional thing.
swamp hunter
Senior Member
Cows been running on my Lease for at least 100 Years..maybe 200.
Them deer would be bunched up on the road shoulder if'n they were scared of cows.
Nothing like seeing 25 pairs of eyes at zero dark thirty in the flashlight beam...your just hoping they'll run away , and when they do it's a D 9 Cat Dozer mowing stuff down.
Covers your Entry noise and scent real nice.
Them deer would be bunched up on the road shoulder if'n they were scared of cows.
Nothing like seeing 25 pairs of eyes at zero dark thirty in the flashlight beam...your just hoping they'll run away , and when they do it's a D 9 Cat Dozer mowing stuff down.
Covers your Entry noise and scent real nice.
Buckstop
Senior Member
Have hunted KS just north of OK a few years. All on cattle ranches. Ranchers generally rotate the cows from pasture to pasture, so there is no guarantee that cows will be on all the sections that your hunting when your there. Deer generally give them some distance but if the pasture your hunting is large enough, its not as much of an issue. They can can be pains though, as they generally associate a truck with feed and tend to start walking in the direction you drove in from, from way way off to check. Same thing with pop-up blinds when the sun comes up and they think they're looking at a hay bale. Sometimes just have to move or end up sitting in the middle a herd watching nothing but cows behinds.
