The vault door closed, and for the first time in my life I understood what dead silence was. The sound-proof chamber at the University of Toledo made it impossible to hear any sounds from the outside world, only those coming from within. Subtle background noises a human usually doesn’t notice were gone: the humm of a computer, the soft chirp of a bird outside, and it was a bit eerie. For the next two hours, if an atomic bomb went off out there, I wouldn’t know it. The microphones were hot, and I set about the task of seeing how loud, how broad, and just how intrusive common hunter noises really are. Crunchy leaves, dry grasses, brush, twigs of all sizes and varieties, solid and hollow steel, aluminum, plastic of all sorts, and a wide variety of other materials were systematically tested and the data recorded. When I finally emerged from my time capsule, the world was still intact, and some of the big questions regarding hunter noises were well on their way to being answered.
Hunters have always known they should be quiet, but what does that really mean? If you asked a hundred different hunters, you would get a hundred different answers because these questions have been left to guesswork over the years. However, with some real data on hunter noises and whitetail hearing, hunters can now know the actual impact of noises they make. Knowing is half the battle, the other half is what to do about it.
Deer Hearing – The Science in a Nutshell
After analyzing dozens of these hunter sounds, a striking story emerged. At first glance, the graphs of these sounds were as varied as the items tested. I didn’t expect crunching leaves to have the exact frequency spectrum as steel climbing sticks, but I did see a strong pattern: the frequencies where whitetail hear the best, matched frequencies where a majority of hunter sounds were loudest. Second, from the average intensity(loudness) recorded, travel distances were calculated with some astonishing results. Sounds ranged from 100 yards carry distance, to over 1000 yards with some hunter noises(this is over half a mile)! Third, most of the tested hunter noises had frequencies well above what is audible to a human.
From this, a few conclusions were made:
- Hunter noises are heard exceptionally well by whitetail.
- Hunter noises travel very far into whitetail habitat – further than most think.
- Whitetail can hear frequencies we make that we don’t even know we made.
(lEFT – the deer hearing audiogram. RIGHT – pine branch breaking shows it’s peak loudness where deer hear best, around 8kHz)
The main takeaway to all this was…
introducing some sound management to our arsenal is key to improving our hunting areas and hunting success.
So below are some key practices of my no sound regimen I’ve developed over the years that has yielded dramatic results for me, and I believe will take your Deer IQ and stealth up a few notches.
The Deer Hunting No-Sound Regimen
1. Analyze All Gear:
First, my no sound regimen includes analyzing every single piece of my gear. I look for gear I do not need and get rid of it. This eliminates extra weight and the possibility to make noise with it. If you have too much junk, that’s just more opportunity for it to turn into a liability due to its weight or bulkiness, so why have it? The gear that is left goes through a thorough soundproofing process. I wrap as much exposed metal of stands, sticks, buckles and hooks with a soundproofing wrap – foam is best as its closed cells are the best cushion for impact absorption.
There are different options for soundproofing your gear, including hockey tape, moleskin products, and even wrapping with paracord . This eliminates the unavoidable clangs that happen when metal touches metal which are absolute hunt busters. If there are any unnecessary buckles on a pack, for example, I remove or cut them off. These always have a tendency to find something to hit and make noise. Think about backpacks, jackets, and clothing that doesn’t have noisy zippers or velcro, which can be extremely loud. I’ve soundproofed several zippers by removing the metal pull tab and replacing it with a loop of paracord. Whatever you do, get creative and find a way to get silent. Safety is important, but it seems climbing harnesses are covered with noisy metal buckles that are hard to soundproof. I avoid setups that need these, but soundproof every buckle for when I do. So, either get rid of the thing that makes noise, or soundproof it eliminating even the chance to make the hunt-busting noise.
2. Plan Out Routes:
Having well defined entry and exit routes is vital. When I can, I trim these ahead of time and sweep a path so I’m stepping on bare ground. Trim all branches that can brush clothing and gear as well, and obviously know your routes in the dark so you’re not wandering off and making more noise than necessary. I’ve found I make about twice the noise in the dark, which translates into educating deer and drastically increasing hunting pressure. The more I know my path, and have it prepped, the more I decrease this noise factor. I either mark it with a GPS, use well place reflective tacks in strategic positions, or have it well memorized. Also it’s important to say that your entry and exit routes may be different, so again plan these ahead of time putting a lot of thought into which will be the least intrusive route when going in and coming out. Depending on where the deer will be (field edges, bedding, food sources) and time of day you are coming/going, these may change, and usually they are not the shortest routes so plan extra time.
For example, I have a spot in Ohio on a field edge that leads from bedding to a food source. In the evening, I come through the field to the stand, since it is furthest from the deer and least intrusive to where they are (bedding). When I leave, however, I do not go back through the field. I simply slip down and head back off the field closer to bedding, where they came from. This allows a hill to block the sound of my exit, and deer should all now be away from bedding and in the field. For morning sits in this area, I do the exact opposite.
3. Go Slow:
I plan enough time to travel extremely slowly if necessary. Where I cannot trim paths, or crunchy leaves have fallen, just going extremely slowly and being methodical with every step cuts down on noise. I look and plan every step when I’m within 100-200 yards of my stand location. Getting there quickly will do no good if I alert nearby deer. Think of it as stalking, not racing to your stand or blind. This approach allows me to walk past deer frequently that are bedded within 30-40 yards, especially when hunting deep in bedding cover where they cannot see through the visual barrier of cover. Further, I utilize cover sounds (environmental noises) to mask noises I make. This not only applies to coming and going, but also when scouting and especially when setting stands. For scouting I look for windy and rainy days to mask my noise which allows me to be in and out quickly and completely unheard. You want your first few sits to be a total surprise to the deer, and this tactic is essential to accomplish just that.
4. Make the Decision:
Determining to be dead-silent ahead of time is the key to all of this. This cannot be underestimated, as you will rise to the bar you set for yourself. It is constantly on my mind when I am preparing, getting to my stand, setting up in my stand, getting down, and exiting my stand location. It takes extra effort and extra attention at every move, but is the cost of being dead-silent and taking your hunting to the next level. These details of being extra cautious at all times drastically cuts down on hunt-killing noises I make and I’m convinced leads to much more and better encounters with whitetail deer at close quarters. I believe it will for you too.
HIGH IQ TAKEAWAYS AND CHALLENGES:
- Go through all your clothes and gear. What can you do to eliminate unneeded gear or make them more soundproof?
- Think about your entry and exit plans to stands and blinds, and your pace at which you get in and out. How can these be improved to eliminate sound?
- Download the Deer IQ Journal HERE and use it with our podcast to help you become a greater hunter!
