A SIXTH SENSE? I returned to the same ranch the following autumn with my two sons with the intent of tagging a couple of those bucks. However, I had no intention of letting them shoot a buck as it ran to the sound of the landowner’s ATV. Even if I did, it wouldn’t have mattered. The deer didn’t come running, preferring instead to wait for the cover of darkness to come to the corn, despite that the ranch’s deer were rarely hunted. Do whitetails have innate ability to know when something poses a risk or when it doesn’t? There’s no way to tell, but it sure seems that way. As Salamone suggests, urban deer seem to know when a human in their woods is hunting them and when he isn’t. That’s why we need to take all the precautions we can, no matter where we hunt. It’s okay to relieve yourself under your treestand, but if you must drive an ATV, park it as far away from your stand as you can. And leave the cigarettes in your pocket until you kill a deer. The odor of smoke might not spook deer, but why take a chance?