Before we begin discussing how deer see, I think it is important to explain the basics of vision. Vision occurs when light enters the eye and is absorbed by specialized cell located in the back of the eye. These cells respond to the light and send a signal to the brain which is translated into sight. The color perceived by the brain is determined by the wavelength of light reflected. Simply, objects do not actually have color; they simply reflect light of a particular wavelength that our brain perceives as color. The spectrum of color ranges from ultraviolet on the short end of the spectrum to infrared on the long end of the spectrum. Humans can see the range of colors between, but not including, these two extremes.

One of the major misconceptions about deer vision is that they can’t see color. In fact, deer can some colors, including yellow and blue. There are two receptors in the eye that take images to the brain. They are called rods and cones. Photo-pigments are unique proteins that undergo a chemical reaction when exposed to light and are designed to pick up light and relay color to the brain. These photo-pigments are located on the cones and determine color. Humans are trichromats. We have three receptors which are red, green, and blue. Deer on the other hand are dichromats. They have two receptors which include blue and green/yellow wavelengths only. Deer cannot see red or orange. So, hunters relax. Simply wearing orange during gun season has no effect on whether the deer can see you or not. Pattern on the other hand is important. Stay away from solid unbroken garments, especially those of light color. Deer do see better in the UV spectrum. UV light is the type of light that causes your clothes to “glow” is certain light. The connection with hunting is that many of the products that we use to wash our clothes with contain color brighteners and UV enhancers. While this information does seem a bit alarming, just think about how long hunters have been harvesting deer without this recent development. One might be a little more careful about what products they are using, but there are many other factors that determine a good hunt.

Deer see better than humans in the dark. This is because rods are the primary receptors for seeing things in low light. Rods in deer outnumber cones 20 to 1. In full sunlight the only receptors that assist in deer vision are the cones. During dawn and dusk there is a transition period in the cones and rods with both functioning until darkness. Deer see best when the rods take over completely. During night vision the rods take much longer to recover if they are suddenly blasted by a bright light source. This might explain the term deer in the headlights. Overall, deer vision is a very interesting topic to discuss, but while hunting it is important that you as hunters don’t just focus on this aspect of the animal. It is important that you focus on all senses of the animal to obtain an optimal hunting experience. Written By: Erin Domka