deer hits

So in last three months I have been unlucky enough to wipe out a deer with a jeep liberty my plow truck with and with out the blade on and most recently last night with my fuel mizer the Geo tracker. Not having good luck as of late so getting to my point. Does anybody have any good known to work products that deter deer from running out. I live in the sticks 20 or so miles from town. And no there is not much to change in my habits as I'm self employee and do most my personal running shopping late at night after eleven pm. Seeing that riding season is here along with the recent wrecks my wife is trying to convince me to park my collection of bikes at night....

 

In my experience the only sure way to drive them off is to have an orange cap and hunting license. :roll:

 

Lol yea or sitting with a bow lol

 

http://deerwhistle.com/ guess it is better than nothing.... though I'm not sure anything will prevent them from jumping the road at night. I might suggest, if you live remote enough, some spot lights front mounted at 45 degree angles from the road with there own on/off switch. You might be able to get a better warning with the eye reflections.

 

I live in deer country (my brother hunts them during the season by putting a lawn chair in the back yard, sits down, and starts firing). None of the tech promoted to keep deer away works. I'm just cautious and beep the horn a lot *early* when I see them.

Or, you could add more deer crossing signs. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CI8UPHMzZm8

^_^

 

If I'm driving at those times when they most seem to be out, usually after dark and before 2am, I will try to get a vehicle ahead of me by about 6 seconds. That vehicle in front will either be the one that get's hit or will show you where the deer are. Other than that just slow down so you can avoid.

After first moving back here I was hit by 3 deer, a small yearling that got right back up and ran away, a doe that hit my rear quarter panel, left behind a chunk of fur and also got up and ran, and a buck that was hit by the SUV in front of me and then bounced of my fender and no more running for him. Since then my strategies have kept me safe, but I've seen several people in front of me be not so lucky. Urban deer hunting is becoming necessary around here now as they are becoming too numerous.

Several riders in our area have been killed in deer impacts also, always after dark and usually on a rural road. One thing I've noticed is the deer seem to cross at low points or high points on the roads and not in-between. Also where the trees get closest to the road seems to be a popular route for them.

 

My buddy had deer whistles on his car. Put a buck right between them. So I'm convinced that they don't work. Dennis Kirk has electronic ones. They're expensive and I don't know they work.

 

I do what MercuryMan does.... try to get a car in front of me, or run my high beams as much as possible. Slow down some at night too!

 

I've got deer whistles on the front fender, has worked for me. They are supposed to keep dogs away also. Friend of mine hit his neighbors dog on his way out for work (broke his wrist), put the deer whistles on and the dog stays away. Either because the whistles work or he doesn't want to get hit and kicked again. :lol:

 

Here's the thin about deer whistles and other techs to keep you safe from the long legged rats...there is no independent scientific study that says they work. There's anecdotal both ways, there's studies *from the companies that make them* that have an opinion too, but nothing from independent labs.

As with everything, I see anecdotes, even my own, as interesting experiences, but I don't base decisions on them. If I'm going to bet my life on something, I trust science, not belief, stories, or marketing.

If I didn't, I'd have a couple hundred pounds of fishing lures in my garage that are GUARANTEED to catch fish! Oh, wait...

 

I've got a set (of just simple whistles) on my car, and out in the boonies it does appear as though deer react to my approach by perking up their ears then running the other way. And sooner than if I didn't have them. Appears.

Which didn't keep my from HITTING a rather large deer that came bounding into traffic a year or so ago. In that situation, I doubt the deer could have heard the whistles anyway, there were multiple vehicles all moving at 45mph+ within its field of hearing.

So I can say I THINK they MAY help. Or not.

I'm considering one of these for the bike: http://www.xp3hornet.com/products.shtml

 

Maybe all the deer that get hit are deaf? Darwin, here we come! ^_^

I think people should take every precaution they can to make themselves safe (I'm the bunny in the kilt afterall). I just don't trust the tech to do the job until it's proven that it does. Just like not trusting a PO when they say "Put on new brakes last week and did a full overhaul, runs perfect". ^_^

 

DON'T ride the bikes after dark. It's as simple as that.
Having hit a deer with a car, and known a guy on another forum who was killed on a bike, I would say earnestly it's not worth the risk.
Don't do it.

 

I often have no choice. So the challenge becomes minimizing the risks.

 

Why no choice?
Only one car, etc?
I consider riding after dark a big enough risk that I prefer not to do it for the most part. If I lived in heavily-forested deer country, I would absolutely not ride, ever, after dark. You might not get a chance to second-guess yourself.

 

I prefer to use freeways from dusk on. With the wide grassy areas and lots of vehicles I'm hopeful I might see them in time.

 

I live out in forest and farm country. Deer are plentiful here I'm twenty miles off highway only county two lane to run on. Running bike at night is not a choice some nights I leave early and end up in town late. I do slow down no matter what I'm running bike truck or suv. Try to shadow someone but in a desolate area with low traffic its not always possible. Was looking for info on deer devices and if they work hoping that the whissles I bought today work...

 

I have been pretty lucky not to many deer where i live now to citified. When i lived in fl we had more problems with wild hogs they will mess you up to.

 

No kidding I lived down in glen St Mary area a few years back and seen many dead hogs lol there worse I think as they are low and will roll you

 

I'm in deer country. If any of those whistle gadgets work, I would have heard about it.

Good headlights, and slow down.

 

Just need a friend to ride with who is a good shot! Seriously though I used to get these little deer whistles for free from my local State Farm agent. Deer in N.E. Iowa are pretty thick lately too. Either those whistles work somewhat or I'm lucky.

 

Being citified doesn't guarantee anything. I live in a city of 100,000, 2 miles from the Detroit city limits. I've seen as many as 14 deer at a time in my back yard. Closest I ever came to bagging a deer with my motorcycle (under 10 feet) was in a very urban area about 3 miles from home - after my ride back from the boonies.

 

I can't believe what i'll be typing in a moment, but oh man, going the speed limit helps.
Not to be a wise ass but today I saw truly working mechanical hands on a girl who'd lost them. seriously they worked pretty damb good, and despite all of the scientific miracles these days apparently bikers still need to seriously drive safely.
The whistle things are hype, all uncaged persons cruising the motorways are responsible for themselves until the matrix starts controlling everything else. Bright lights may or may not help there is no scientific evidence so hopefully everyone drives safe at night.
Kind of like cancer, no answers. First time I wish something was like herpes.

 

Deer whistles only cost 5 bucks, if they don't work, you haven't wasted much. If they do work, it's well worth the money.

 

If you not an avid deer hunter, then you must educate yourself on the moving and feeding times of the deer in your area. Also as hunting season and the rut approaches deer tend to change habits, trails and feeding areas. Really, being super aware and watching for signs of deer can prevent a terrible accident. Also, if there is one deer, there are certainly more nearby, you see one cross, another one probably isn't far behind. Bright lights at night and watch for eye reflections and get prepared to stop or avoid when you see them.

 

Yes I hunt alot lol they are just looking for me to get some revenge lol
Got a set of the whisles mounted on fender will see if they work. I'd rather not test them tho..

 

Creating the ultrasonic frequencies (deer whistle) is bound to alert some deer that something is coming, but deer are not much different than people in that they don't all always do the smart thing. Sometimes they will just be following the leader and cross anyway. But it can't hurt to spend a few dollars to alert the smart ones your there. Here in NWA we have almost 1 million people living in 3 counties and the deer are still literally everywhere at night.

In the event a dumb one remains in your path and your riding, your best bet if you can't avoid and a collision appears imminent, as hard as it may be to contemplate is to intentionally low side and let your bike take the impact alone. I pray to never have to make this choice. The collision I witnessed with the buck and SUV was brutal. Looking at the front of the SUV you would have sworn it had a head-on with another truck!

 

Often thought that my self as I almost always at night always dress for the slide not the ride just ran home with the things on only seen a few deer all going away hope the things work as they are now fitted to everything I own and extra sets in shop for the ones not road worthy as of recent events

 

I steer around the deer when i go out !!

 

i figure if all the deer are in my yard they are not on the road

 

right about there

 

Lmao @ polock took that photo 10 ' from my deck last night of rifle season last year . 30 min before dark . he was a nice 4/4 blacktail for sure . Too bad i dont hunt on my property and he was all swollen in full rut tending my does . Looking forward to some great fawns any time now !!

 

Its the herd of 60 elk that scare me at night even in my big dodge deisel !!

 

I do exactly half of my job commuting at night, late. Country two lane with lots of blind corners. I've been commuting the same route for 15 years so I (mostly) know where the deer like to cross.

I slow down to 5mph under the speed limit and always use my high beam and auxiliary light.

I'm 50/50 on active and passive deer whistles. Our work trucks, delivering overnight parcels, have hit deer with them and without them. They are cheap enough so you might as well try them.

If that doesn't work, start a campaign to advertise venison as the other red meat!

 

In my experience, deer quite often ( not always, maybe 50-50 ) will stand still at the side of the road, if they're not agitated. Which makes me think the deer whistles may MAKE a deer run across the road, when he normally would have stayed put.

So it ends up being a toss-up. They may run away, or across the road. Deer aren't smart enough to calculate direction and velocity of traffic, so they'll do whatever they damn well please.

Just yesterday morning, passed 2 groups: 1st group stayed put, 2nd group was crossing. I was in the cage, heading to MSF course.

 

That would be logical if deer behaved in a predictable manner. Without independent scientific research, how do we know that the deer whistles aren't more likely to make deer on the side of the road that would normally just ignore a vehicle instead bolt indiscriminate of direction, making them MORE dangerous?

EDIT: Doh! PJK already made that point above. I gotta start reading to the end of the threads, dammit! :lol:

 

Yes noticed a few run this am on the way to drop kids off at school in the war pig so yes they seen to stir them up or that might be the 40 in swampers pounding down the road also lol