Deer Whistle

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NealS

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2019 RAM 1500 Limited - Has anyone found a good place to mount deer whistles? The front end doesn't have too many nooks and crannies to hide them and keep them safe like in a car wash. I mounted them under the rear view mirrors but they keep breaking off. RAM could/should actually build them into the grill or something.
 

Jim M

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No suggestions, but deer whistles are the last thing I would worry about keeping safe in a crash.
 
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NealS

NealS

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"keeping safe in a crash"??? Sorry maybe I wasn't specific enough. I'm just trying to find a place to install them on the vehicle, a place to mount them where they don't get arbitrarily knocked off, washed off, etc. Happen to live in an area where I would guess 3 deer a week are hit by automobiles.
 

chri5k

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There isn't any real scientific evidence that deer whistles work. Almost all the evidence is anecdotal. Deer / vehicle collisions cost the insurance industry about $1B per year yet no company offers free whistles or discounts for installing them. Acoustical Society of America tests reveal that the whistles they tested did not produce much ultrasonic sound and the sound they produced was mostly drowned out by the vehicle noise.

https://asa.scitation.org/doi/pdf/10.1121/1.1582071
 

Booms

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There is loads of room behind the grill. Open the hood, take the plastic cover off the front, and you can surely find somewhere to install them. :)
 

Groo

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The function of a deer whistle is to scare deer that are near the road. They work. DON'T USE THEM!
My bike came with deer whistles. I almost had the opportunity to discuss the situation with St. Peter. Luckily, the damage was limited to a flat spot on a tire. They were immediately removed from the bike, and have never been on any vehicle I have driven since.

Why would you assume a frightened animal won't ever jump in front of you?
 

Neil E

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I don't know if they work or not, but I do know my dad had 3 run ins with hitting deer by his house, until he put them on his cars, and never hit one again. I do know they look awful.
 

Taylor513

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The function of a deer whistle is to scare deer that are near the road. They work. DON'T USE THEM!
My bike came with deer whistles. I almost had the opportunity to discuss the situation with St. Peter. Luckily, the damage was limited to a flat spot on a tire. They were immediately removed from the bike, and have never been on any vehicle I have driven since.

Why would you assume a frightened animal won't ever jump in front of you?

So you're saying the deer whistles on your bike caused a deer to jump in front of you?
 
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NealS

NealS

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I'd put them behind the grill but it decreases the effectiveness. And in reply to some of your jokes above, I'll assume they are jokes, the object of a deer whistle is to get the deer's attention, not to call it to you, or to make it run toward you. Here in Nine Mile Falls the deer just run through the fields and straight across the roads. They do not look both ways like many of us were taught as children before crossing. In many areas the land owners actually cut back the trees and shrubs from the roads so you might have a chance of seeing them before getting there But then again in many areas the trees and shrubs grown right up close to the roads. When a deer pops out and you happen to be passing by, it destroys the front of your vehicle, sometimes even resulting in death, your death. The deer are usually, in most cases, killed. And at night it doesn't matter much anyway. Deer whistles work by making a high pitched noise that might distract the deer causing it to hesitate, or stop, before proceeding across the road. They actually appear to work and I feel it's safer to drive with them than without. Always had them on other vehicles. With them installed I've actually seen deer standing along the side of the road at night and watching you drive past. Whether they work or not is not the issue I'm concerned with, just wondered if anyone owned a similar RAM that had a good idea on how or where to mount them on this particular vehicle. That's is all.
 

Fatbob Frank

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I've been using them for years in Iowa.
It's whitetail heaven here.
The idea is that they give the deer a heads up so they aren't caught unaware and then panic and do something stupid.
My truck exhaust is loud enough that I'm not sure it's necessary, but I put them on my wife's GC cause that's super quiet.

As for where to put them, I have a brush (deer)guard so there are lots of places to stick them.
 

chri5k

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Maybe here next to the stick figure. This way it would be light and sound.

maxresdefault.jpg
 

John Jensen

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They may not work scientifically but they work in real life. My brother lives in deer country and hit a deer. He began using the whistle and as Neil E said, hasn't hit one since. I have been with him and several times have seen deer heading to cross the road, stop, and stand still while we pass. Apparently the whistle alerts or gets their attention to stop and check it out. I have never seen a deer stop the same way when I am driving my none whistled truck, they just keep going across the road.

NeilS said, "Deer whistles work by making a high pitched noise that might distract the deer causing it to hesitate, or stop, before proceeding across the road" I agree 100%.

I'm sure a deer that has been spooked or escaping from a hunter will act differently and ignore any whistle.
 

Octane

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So the reason the chicken crossed the road is because there is no chicken whistle...
 

bm02tj

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A lot depends on the location of whistle
It needs air flow and has to be pointed forward with no obstructions
 

KeithP

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If memory serves; Deer whistles were introduced in the 70s? I remember having them on a vehicle when I was in high school. Like all things, the originals were probably very effective. But at that time, there were countless knockoffs that were useless. Probably the same today. If you can figure out which ones are the “real” thing and which are the worthless knockoffs then they’re probably worth it if you live in areas with heavy deer population. They are also dependent on air flow. So you have to be traveling a certain speed before they are effective. The only deer I turned into a hood ornament, I did so at under 30 mph. Not sure they would have been working had I had them. I’m pretty sure the deer was moving faster than me. So, it was more the deer hitting me rather than me hitting him.
 
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NealS

NealS

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How do I turn off msg notification on this topic? Only a few actual suggestions to my question. The rest of you changed the subject and act like you are bored, or maybe locked up somewhere and have nothing better to do. I think I found a great place to mount them, on top or below the towing shackles built into the bumper.
 

Octane

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How do I turn off msg notification on this topic? Only a few actual suggestions to my question. The rest of you changed the subject and act like you are bored, or maybe locked up somewhere and have nothing better to do. I think I found a great place to mount them, on top or below the towing shackles built into the bumper.
So you figured it out all on your own....now that wasn't hard.
 
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NealS

NealS

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Yah, but, I haven't figured out how to turn notifications off for this thread yet.
 
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