The (deer) eyes have it

Some years ago, while deer hunting in southwest Kansas, I sat on a stump at the end of a scraggly old tree row overlooking a rolling pasture full of deep washes.

My stump was just a few feet from the deepest of those washes that ran parallel to the tree row. As I remember, the day was overcast and bitterly cold, but I knew deer used those washes like turnpikes, so anticipation made the air a little warmer.

In short order, a group of deer containing a nice buck came down the wash beside me, and the buck jumped up onto the bank in front of me and stared me down. He looked young but had a magnificent sprawling rack that looked out of place on his lean, lithe frame.

At barely 30 yards, I could easily see weeds dangling from his antlers. But alas, it was the first day of the extended antlerless season, so with only a doe permit burning a hole in the pocket of my Carharts, all I could do was admire and observe.

I wore no camouflage at all, only the brown coveralls and blaze vest and hat, and I had taken no real pains to blend myself into the terrain, so as this “wall hanger” tempted fate to stand and stomp his foot at me I had to wonder “What does he see? How do I look to him?”

How many times have you asked yourself that question, as wildlife, mainly deer, just stand and gawk at you, when you figure darned well they must see you perfectly?

Last weekend, as I thumbed through the recent issue of Field and Stream, an article titled, “The Big Game is About to Change,” by Bill Heavey jumped out at me. In this article, Bill brings to light new research on how and what deer actually see.

Surprisingly, even the researchers seem to agree that until deer eyeballs can be transplanted into human eye sockets, all findings are still educated guesses. Having said that, here are some recent research findings about deer vision.

First of all, deer eyes function the same as humans, but they possess little ability to distinguish between certain hues and colors. It is believed they see blaze orange as a shade of gray, but because of the makeup of their eyes, they see the color blue very distinctly.

To us hunters, this means we are better off (and safer too) dressed in blaze orange from head to toe, than to wear a camo jacket and blue jeans. I used to have a pair of blue insulated coveralls, and I’m glad I wore them out!

Secondly, deer pupils are horizontally shaped, giving them a completely different field of vision than our own. They have a tremendously wide field of view, much like the wide angle lens on a camera, and this horizontal shape naturally orients their eyes to pick up movement at or just below the horizon, where a predator is most likely to appear.

These findings also indicate deer seem to have a hard time picking up movement above the horizon, lending credence to the belief elevated hunting stands allow for better concealment. Their eye design also helps them pick up movement at a distance, where it will do them the most good, and they do see very well in low light.

The most interesting part of the article involves findings by Dr. Karl V. Miller and his students at the University of Georgia. Using a hand-raised doe named Nellie and black and white targets of various shapes and sizes, they tested Nellie’s visual acuity, or in other terms, her attention to detail. Very surprisingly, their findings support the belief that a deer’s ability to distinguish detail is horrendous.

Their tests and measurements determined Nellie could see the details of a motionless object at 20 feet no better than a human can at 100 feet.

I’m a firm believer in trying to wear the correct camo for the setting and the season, but all the research suggests a deer couldn’t care less what camo pattern you’re sporting, so as long as it breaks up your shape it’s doing it’s job.

To sum all this up, movement seems to be the culprit when a deer spots you, not what you’re wearing, unless of course you are decked out in blue from head to toe, and then, if the research is correct, you may have a problem.

Remember, all the research referred to here deals with a deer’s sense of sight and promises no excuses or do-over’s if a deer catches your scent, in which case you’re toast.

I’m working on a government grant to become the first ever to have deer eyeballs transplanted into my head. (I figure they fund stranger things than that.) When that transpires, I may be a little late with this column for a week or two.

But, hey, then we’ll know for sure if any of the research is true, and you’ll read it first right here in Exploring Kansas Outdoors!

Steve Gilliland is a syndicated outdoors columnist, and can be contacted by e-mail at stevegilliland@embarqmail.com.