I don't believe they have a sixth sense, what I do believe is they are very tuned into their surroundings and are ultra sensitive to any thing that says DANGER! I'm sorry but you just cannot have your hunting outfit in the house and fry up a pan of bacon before you go hunting and expect to see much. I hang my cloths under the porch outside and I've even put them in a garbage bag with a couple handfulls of cedar bows and most deer only bust me because I make a big mistake in the stand or they see me on the way to it. I'm with Dave on this one, Nope, Nada, No such thing as sixth sense, just hunter mistakes.

No, but I'll wait to see it before I shoot.

Just taking the sense of smell of a deer into consideration it’s easy to understand why we get busted. Wind speed and direction are never constant. Sit around a campfire and watch how many times the smoke changes directions. I would have to imagine that wind does the same thing in the deer woods. Topography and thermals can change the direction of where your scent ends up as well. It’s my humble opinion that once a deer is born they start and keep a catalog of smells that they have contact with. They then associate that smell with something whether it’s food, other deer, predators, or safety. Once you trigger one of those responses the deer may react accordingly. It’s impossible to say what exactly each deer associates each smell with but for the most part a predator hue/smell will most likely cause alarm. IMO I believe that there are way too many variables in beating the sense of smell in a deer to say that you can rule that out 100%. That’s just one of their tuned senses that they have.

Just because it might exist doesn't mean it does.

I agree with this assessment.
now I will concede that the so called "sixth sense" may in fact be a "co-operation" between 2 or more of the basic 5 senses, but there is no doubt in my mind that both humans and animals possess an ability to assess danger beyond the 5 primary senses.

But without seeing the buck, you know it's there from the scrapes and rubs. Likewise, animal behaviors lead us to believe something is there.

Nothing has baffled scientist more than birds and fish. The behavior patterns of these two creatures are very complex and very little can be explain by the 5 basic senses. Hence, we know the sense is there, we just cannot identify it.

Dave, When my wife stops guessing the correct prices of my hunting equipment, I'll stop believing in a sixth sense.

I believe deer have some type of sixth sense because of the way they react to weather changes and they certainly change when deer season comes in. they live outdoors 24/7 so they can tell when the weather changes ever so slightly. It's a born instinct it's in their genes. Some deer have better genes than others.It's the same with people some of us are better hunters than others.It's something that comes natural.Instinct and genes play a big part in it.

I'm with Walt and Dave. You were sniffed, seen or heard. And Shane, if the blaze did it, my deer must be blind. On the ground in Michigan, with only natural logs/brush around, I've had mature deer walk right by within 20 feet while in blaze orange. Same with in tree stands. Had 'em look right at me. If wind was in favor and I didn't move, they continued right by below the tree. I've hunted deer in many states and provinces, and am convinced whitetails don't see color. UV "glowing" is bull, too, in my opinion; don't use the special wash and if my clothes glowed like they claim to deer, I'd never have 'em walk right on unaware.

Dave, Scott and guys,
First a couple things. The importance of fair and accurate and ethical reporting on products is why this magazine continues to be one of the top hunting & fishing mags in the world. I happen to work in the Fly Fishing industry and hunting industry. I've never had to "Pay" to have a product reviewed. You submit your products and or the editorial staff contacts you, no "quid pro quo" with these guys, nor with any other of the major magazines we've worked with.
Now that said, we manufacture the worlds best hunting chairs, www.huntmore.biz and I've do a ton of hunting from the ground in a ghille or leafy suit with my longbow. I've seen deer do unexplainable things and I've experienced unexplainable "Feelings" while hunting. I've just know there was a deer coming, or it's presence before it was there. Sure it could be years and years of hunting... but I don't think so. I get the same feeling grouse hunting, sure it could be my eyes can just recognize "Grouse areas". But I also use to fish on the Big Manistee with a local indian fishing guide. I've seen him stop at runs that we normally fish and then just leave. I've asked him why we left... Doug said he just didn't sense fish being there. I've also seen him re-float a run over and over with plugs because he sensed there were Steelhead still there...

Years ago I read a book called "The Tracker" by Tom Brown Jr. Field & Stream did an article on him years ago... That article and hunting in a loin cloth after coating yourself in mud, fire-pit ash, twigs and leaves is still on my bucket list. Maybe this Fall will be warm enough to do this. BTW, You should have contacted him about this 6th sense issue. Also, my cousins son became an instructor of his school years back. I've done some of they're exercises where you try and sense others while being blindfolded. I'd still love to get Tom or Clint to test sensing other people in the dark or blindfolded while the test subjects are wearing and not wearing a HECS suit. That might be as close as you can come to a scientific test.

Scott Bestul has it correct about not starting directly at a deer, or as we say "think happy thoughts", don't think about venison steaks on the grill! The problem with being a Traditional bowhunter who shoots instinctively, my eyes have to lock on to a "spot" on the deer to shoot effectively. I try to not do this, especially when there are a bunch of does meandering into range looking like venison steaks. Thankfully, most of the time when I pick that spot, the deer freezes in position, sensing my stare, not know for sure what is up. Other times when my heart is pounding out it's electronic signal, a deer that is very sensitive will quietly and quickly walk out of range... why?

So when I saw the HECs suit at a show, I bought one. And IMHO, they work. Sure it's hard to scientifically prove it and do a side by side study. All I can tell you there are a ton of folks who work in the hunting industry that use them and swear by them.

IMHO.

I agree with Bestul. I have killed over 50 whitetail deer over the years. If you focus on one animal in a herd he becomes nervous while the others do not. If it was smell or some other indication of your presence they all would be nervous. I have seen this too many times. I only watch them out of the corner of my eye and do not focus on any one animal. This has always worked for me.