Stopping your deer is when you come to a complete halt after chasing it. This can be done by chasing it in a circle, or by chasing it in a straight line, and then coming to a stop.
Deer are known for their excellent sight and hearing senses. Due to this, deer hunters must camouflage themselves and move silently when approaching a deer to shoot it.
Surprisingly, many hunters do not know the appropriate distance to stand from a tree or stump when shooting a deer. If you stand too close, you risk hitting the animal in the head, which does not guarantee a kill. If you stand too far away, you risk missing the shot due to poor bullet trajectory.
The distance between the hunter and the animal when coming to a stop is important because it determines how long of a run there will be before stopping.
Five steps
When you are in the midst of a deer encounter, how far away you come to a stop is dependent on how close the deer is when you first see it.
If the deer is far away, you can take several steps before coming to a stop. This gives you time to assess the situation and determine if the deer is not aware of your presence.
If the deer seems unaware of your presence, then you can continue to take steps until you come to a safe stop. If the deer appears agitated or nervous, then you need to come to a stop immediately!
This is because aggression may occur if you do not. Aggression may mean that the buck will turn around and attack you, so it is best to be safe than sorry.
Ten steps
When you come to a stop, make sure you are at a full stop for at least ten steps before moving. This gives the deer enough time to recognize that you are there and move away.
It also gives you time to look around and make sure there are no other deer coming toward you. It also gives the deer time to leave the area completely.
Once you complete the ten steps, if there is still no movement, then you can assume the animal has left. You can then proceed forward with caution until you verify that the area is clear of any animals.
Remember, when coming to a stop, make sure your foot is firmly planted on the ground before taking off your other foot. This will help keep your balance and prevent you from having to come to a full stop later on.
Fifteen steps
When you come to a stop, how far away is the deer? A good rule of thumb is fifteen steps.
Fifteen steps is roughly twenty-five yards. This is a good distance to be at a stop, assuming you are able to see the deer and its body clearly.
If the deer is running into the field and then coming to a stop, then you want to come to a stop when you can no longer see its head.
This way, you will be far enough away so that if it jumps up and runs, you will have enough time to react.
At this point, it may look like it is far away, but it may actually be quite close. The best way to tell is by looking at its body, not just its head.
Look at its legs and how they are moving- if they are still, then it is probably not going to move any time soon.
Twenty steps
When you come to a stop, most recommendations is that you take twenty steps before turning to look for the deer. This gives you enough time to orient yourself and find the deer if they ran off.
It also gives you a good amount of time to brace yourself if the deer comes back at you. By then, you should have figured out if it was a doe or a buck, what side it was on, and how big it was.
Ten more steps can be added for extra safety, which makes the total thirty steps between coming to a stop and turning to look for the deer. This is a safe distance that gives you all the information you need!
Some people choose to turn immediately after coming to a stop, but this can put you in danger if the deer is still approaching. It is better to have some time to think and react after coming to a stop.
Thirty steps
When you come to a stop, how far away is the deer? Most would say thirty steps, but that can be very difficult to achieve.
Thirty steps is roughly twenty-four feet. So how do you know when you have walked twenty-four feet? You need to know how long one step is!
One step is the distance between your two feet when you are standing still. How long is one step? You need to figure that out, and then double it to get the distance between you and the deer.
If one step is two feet, then twenty-four feet would be one hundred and twenty steps.
Forty steps
When a hunter comes upon a deer, he or she wants to have a certain distance between them. Most hunters want at least 40 steps between them and the deer before they make any movement.
This gives the hunter enough time to make a proper shot and for the deer to flee if the shot is missed. It also gives you enough time to identify if it is a doe or buck, what kind of deer it is, and give it time to run off so you can track it later.
Forty steps is a good general number to keep in mind when tracking as well. This will give you enough time to track it and find where it went so you can follow it!
Keeping track of this number is very important as well. If you do not track correctly, then you may come up empty-handed.
Fifty steps
When you come to a stop, how far away is the deer? Fifty steps is a good rule of thumb. If the deer is within fifty steps, you have a good chance of getting a shot.
If the deer is past that mark, then you need to decide if you want to try and take a shot. How far away the deer is determines if you can get an accurate shot or not.
If the deer is further away than fifty steps, then you need to decide if you want to try and take a shot. How far away the deer is determines if you can get an accurate shot or not.
Depending on your bow type and strength, you will have a certain length of draw length before your arrow releases. If the deer is within that draw length when coming to a stop, then you have a chance at getting an accurate shot.
Sixty steps
When you come to a stop, how far away is the deer from you? Most people would say that when you come to a stop, the deer is 60 steps away.
This seems to be a universal number that everyone uses, but why? Where did this number come from? Is it accurate?
Sixty steps is the length of one hundred yards. One hundred yards is almost one hundred feet, so sixty steps is roughly six feet.
Since most people know how long six feet is, I think that comes into play when determining how far away the deer moves when you come to a stop.
I have heard some other weird numbers like twenty-four yards or one hundred feet.
