Am I busted or will this deer come back

[if its brown its down]

Today I rattled a deer in on my 3rd sequence. Only to start rattling and see a body through the brush and say to myself “that’s got to be a deer” but I kept rattling anyway. Pretty sure we were staring at each other during the commotion. I don’t know why I didn’t stop and pick my rifle up. The deer flashed his tail once and then disappeared back into the timber. The deer was upwind 80 yards, he didn’t snort. Gut wrenching feeling as it could have been my target deer. Is this deer blown out as he watched me rattle? Should I leave the area alone for a few days or what. I feel like an idiot to have kept rattling. I knew it was an outline of a deer, I just thought my eyes were deceiving me.

[DiabeticKripple]

You’re fine he’s still around

[Curtsyneil]

It’s the rut and I’m sure you will see him again.

[Smoky buck]

All depends on the deer and how rutted out he is

Age plays a role to older bucks act different and less tolerant. I have had mature bucks bust me and never return but I have called back younger deer multiple times in a day

Pressured deer are also less tolerant than deer with minimal pressure

And really different bucks have different personalities because of this there is no guarantee

Myself I never have one location and have multiple target bucks. So my approach is try not to over pressure them and back out if I am busted. I just go target other bucks for 2-3days and return to try again if I still have a tag

If you were hunting off the ground just hiding in natural cover sit in a slightly location when you try again. Smart bucks will look exactly where you got busted if you call them back in the same area

This is my opinion based on my experience but not everyone will agree

[Dom4]

Just my opinion as we all have one with hunting but I would say that he is still in the area but if I went back I would keep calling to a minimum and if calling be very mindful of the wind direction.

[6.5 shooter]

If he does come back, he will be even more cautious and probably try to get down wind this time, so choose your rattling spot carefully.

[58thecat]

Well at the end of the day he may or may not come back around.
Deer, like people have different ways of going about things that can change from day to day etc.
Toss in a hot doe or the sound of another buck etc things may or may not work out in your favour but one thing is for sure you will never know without trying again perhaps a day or so later that’s why you should always have other areas to move in and out of.
Been busted soooo many times only to find the same buck come in to my calls later in the season in the same area or a few kilometres away at a different set up.
Now what I mean by calls sometimes if busted in an area when rattling next time I just doe bleat or disturb the ground as if making a scrape...had one fella that had my number so Next time in that area just used the doe bleat with the odd buck grunt and well he walked in like a ghost...

Good luck.