It really depends a bit on where you are

I live in a suburban area with a ton of deer. Around here they’re pretty damn used to people, cars, etc. not that they won’t get spooked if you start walking towards them, but if you’re being chill they’ll hang around pretty damn close to you.

One time I was hunting, walking around through the woods near me with my bow, turned a corner around some tall brush and there were 3 does standing maybe about 15ft from me. I didn’t have a doe tag so I just stood there and watched. They saw me, sized me up for a minute, then went back to doing deer stuff right in front of me. It was getting late and I was about ready to pack it in so I even talked to them a little, joking that they should go get their boyfriends for me, they didn’t give a fuck.

I work nights, damn near every night on my lunch break, there’s a handful of deer hanging around outside our lunch room, I eat outside when it’s nice, the deer don’t mind me being out there, chatting with my coworkers. Few weeks back I was out there while there were some fireworks going off nearby, the deer didn’t mind that one bit either (though the dogs in the nearby neighborhood were not a fan, the deer were more concerned, though still not too bothered, about the barking than the explosions going off overhead)

My commute is along some fairly major roads. There’s almost no traffic when I’m commuting, but there’s always going to be at least a car or two driving by every few minutes. Those roads are practically lined with deer.

If I don’t see at least a dozen deer on any given day while just going about my business it’s kind of weird.

But when I go camping and hiking in more rural/wooded areas, the deer are a lot more skittish, and I rarely see them even though I know the woods have to be teeming with them, there’s no shortage of droppings, rubs, shed antlers, etc. but the deer aren’t hanging around if they catch a whiff of you.