Trad Gang
Main Boards => PowWow => Topic started by: bowmaster12 on November 07, 2020, 06:17:44 PM
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How do you guys do it? Ive always been a stand hunter and would love to shoot one while walking through the woods. I just dont see how it can be done in the crunchy leaves of the north woods. Do you just scout your way along until you find a good area then sit? I think i can count on half a hand how many deer ive seen while just walking. My hats off yo you successful still hunters. :notworthy:
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I have had zero success still hunting as a bowhunter. I did implement brush blinds and pop up ground blinds into my arsenal to compliment tree stand hunting. I tired of watching hot deer trails by trees unsuitable to hang a stand in. So far, I average about fifty fifty for whitetail shot opportunities from each.
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So this morjing i decided to make a loop that i walked last gun season. Half way through it ive seen 6 deer 2 bucks and got with in 30 yards of two does. I should probably stop walking and start sitting. Now is not the time of year one should be experimenting.
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I'm thinkin Fred Bear once said" If you wanna see deer - walk ... if you wanna kill deer - sit. :thumbsup:
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The only time I have ever walked up close to a deer was on very wet ground when the leaves were not crunchy at all. Now, I hunt only from a stand, sometimes elevated, sometimes not.
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I tried for years here in Mississippi to kill a deer from the ground with my bow. I got close several times, but the deer always busted me when I drew my bow. The deer in Mississippi are some of the most nervous whitetail deer I have ever been around. I always tell people it’s like their on crystal meth.
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I’ll tell you a way I used to kill deer real easy on the ground. The farm I hunted had a farmer used to get upset if he felt we weren’t killing enough does. He’d say that, I’d shoot a doe or so but imo it wasn’t sporting enough.
Anyhow the deer would come off this mountain, cross this hay field, cross a dried up brook. The brook was narrow w high edges. They’d dip in and enter the pumpkin field. Seemed they never used the same area though. Always varied some.
So I’d get into the dried up brook, watch the deer crossing the hayfield, the brook allowed me to move where I needed to. The edges were somewhat thick. They never saw me. Obviously the wind had to be good but I don’t think I ever tried it unsuccessfully. Maybe so I just don’t remember that. Was way too easy. Imo anything so easy is unsporting but this wasn’t about sport it was appeasing a landowner. I didn’t consider this an accomplishment. Just an idea to build off of if you want it
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We hunt mountain deer, and we walk the woodroads.
It's next to impossible to not make noise in the dry leaves.
Small, slow steps... Take a few, stop and look. Think about all of the deer you've seen around your stand.
You want to sound like a deer, slowly browsing through the woods....
It's really simple, but it does take practice :archer:
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I don't know if you'd call it "still hunting" or not, but what has worked for me more often than I had thought it would is to walk slowly and quietly into an area where I know deer will pass on there way from bedding to evening feeding. I feel like if I am careful, I can get quite close to the pine and wild rose thickets they often use for bedding around here. Then just find a tree or a bush that is wider than I am and try as hard as I can to make myself a part of that tree. Its amazing how often it works if you're still. I had a four point buck feed on acorns for over ten minutes less than 15 yards in front of me one evening last week while I kneeled in front of a large tree.
Matt
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I've killed several deer still hunting with a shotgun and rifle. Usually at relatively close range.
I've even had luck on a few deer with a modern bow but it usually was more I saw them walking towards me and hid behind a cedar, drew and released as they went by.
I think you can make it happen on windy or rainy days.
It is not as productive maybe but it beats sitting all the time.
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I don't mind sitting. I make more noise than an elephant no matter how stealthily I try to walk. I have worked with skilled hunters, watched countless videos, read dozens of books and magazine articles about stalking, yet I still crunch like I'm walking through a huge bowl of corn flakes. Unless it is wet, I'll need to stay in a tree.
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I've done a bit of still hunting, and really enjoy it. Generally I prefer a day that is a bit windy. Not crazy, just enough so that it's not dead quiet. Bring a good pair of binoculars with you. They are an absolute must in my opinion. I spend much more time standing and scanning with them than I do actually walking. I always look for the path that will allow me the quietest movement, but sometimes that's not always possible. I've tested this a couple of times, and I've found that deer are much more tolerant of constant leaf rustling as opposed to a crunch from a step. When I walk, I always try and keep one foot in motion. I think that it sounds more like the wind just rustling some leaves as opposed to something walking. About the only useful thing that I learned in high school marching band was how to roll step, and I've modified it slightly for hunting. As opposed to putting my whole foot down at once, I roll my foot down, starting at the heel.
If I'm still hunting and I find an area that I like, I might spend anywhere from a half hour to the rest of the day there. It's all about being flexible to the situation that you find yourself in.
I always look for part of a deer when still hunting. Very rarely will I actually see the whole deer. Usually a few horizontal lines that are the body between two trees, an ear, or the V formed from the tail again their white legs. Again, the binoculars help a ton with this. Last night I was walking down an old gravel road doing more scouting than hunting, and was stopping every 20 yards or so to scan. At one stop there was a doe 50 yards away from me in the thick brush that I never would have seen without the binos. Even after I knew where she was, I couldn't see her with my naked eye.
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If youare going to still hunt you need to learn how to go slooow. Take two steps and stop then look not way out there but start up close and work your way out. If you cover a hundred yards in less than half an hour you are going too fast. Deer make noise when they are walking but they don't walk fast or steady. How many times have you waited forever for that deer to walk out where you can see it.
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Keep the wind in your face, walk slower than humanly possible. A couple of steps, stop and wait ten minutes or so and look for anything that seems like the tiniest of movement. Listen to what the crows and squirrels are doing, if for anything, just to calm your mind. Notice everything, and appreciate it. Sit for a while and just become part of the woods. You will see deer, and if they have not noticed you, this is when the fun starts. In my opinion, this is the most rewarding way to hunt, if you have access to ample land, and can safely stalk without disturbing other hunters. The added benefit, is that when you do have a shot, it is easier to double lung a deer when your arrow travels parallel to the ground. I've always liked the saying, "walk fast, see little, walk slow, see a lot"
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I learned to woods sneak by stalking squirrels.
Three steps then stand still for 30 seconds. It takes a long time to cover ground but it is the best methods so far. Avoid open areas and stop ne,t to trees to help break up your outline.
Stupid deer help, but there aren't many of them.
In the rut their own activity is a big plus.
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I'd wager successful still hunters with a trad bow, on whitetail deer in big timber, is a small percentage. Mostly because very few do it compared to stand hunting.
Now with pigs and javelina you've got a real good chance.
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I have taken 3 nice bucks from the ground over the past 3 years. I always make sure the wind is in my favor. I have good cover in front and behind me. I have worn my home made gilli on 2 of the 3. Each shot was less than 5 yds with one being about 4-5 steps head on. A friend of mine that frequents this site gives me crap about being lucking, but I beg to differ. After hunting for about 43 years, many hardcore, I believe it is being able to read sign, look at the terrain and figure out what I think the deer will do. I believe anyone can do the same just don’t give up. Being eye level with a deer is an absolute rush.
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Had two does by that tree in the pic. Thought for sure a buck was behind them they came running in stopped and looked back, but he never showed up and the ladies moved on.
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Gary probly has a point... Very few people do it.
There are probly about a dozen or more tree stands around our mountain. Most of them never get used, except maybe opening day of gun season.
The wind constantly changes, and there are no major established feeding or bedding areas.
You could sit for days in a stand, and not see a deer, much less the "Big Buck" you've watched all year.
My son Tyler shot a buck in 2015, with a belly full of corn. The nearest corn field was 2 1/2 miles down the road.
You can't "pattern" mountain deer. So, we go find them...... :archer:
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X2 with kennym.
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I harvested my biggest buck to date hunting from the ground this year. I was wearing a black shirt and no scent control. I just stroll likely terrain features and watch the wind. If I hit a really promising area I sit for 30 minutes. Also if the wind or thermals switch its easy to just walk instead of move a stand. As long as you move slow, hold still when deer are around, and keep your wind good its really effective and allows for in season scouting at the same time :archer:
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"how can you do it" ??
...It ain't easy with your eyes closed"
I will never forget a moment many years ago while hunting Whitetails in the Manistee National Forest in Michigan.
After a long sit in a ground blind fashioned of burned out pine stumps I was able to wait it out. I watched a nice 4-pointer work his way up the ridge just up hill / upwind of where I sat.....and waited.
He laid down in a spot that overlooked the two-track about 100 yards below the ridge....down wind (or upwind based on the thermals) of where i saw him last
I knew approximately where he was but still-hunted up the ridge and up wind for at least an hour to finally see hm in his bed...
In the stupidity of my early years I knocked an arrow and set out to hunt that rascal.....and took a shot that missed just slightly under the vitals..
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Like others have said to have to pick your days. The leaves must be damp, not dry and crunchy with a soft or moderate wind. Walking with the wind is useless. And of course it pays to know the area will likely have deer verses walking randomly through a piece woods. If you can find a old logging road in good area that would be a good place to begin cause their easier to be quiet on. The only deer I've shot still hunting was off a old logging road last year. a small buck during the rut.
G Fred Asbell has a good book on all facets of ground hunting.
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Agree with GCook. The deer population in the northwoods Wisconsin where I hunt is about 10 per square mile. And the deer are spooky as all get out because of wolves. Very difficult to still hunt them there. I do a little of it (only on windy or wet days). Even then, I'm mostly looking for a good place to sit. I carry a hammock seat in my pack for the purpose. Can set up quickly and quietly about anywhere.
On the other hand, in southern Wisconsin, where I used to hunt before CWD, the deer population runs to 50 or more per square mile, and they're used to people. Much easier to get within range of them there while still hunting.
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Orion where in northern wisconsin doyou hunt? I have a place on Pelican lake. Grew up hunting public land around there
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Wind is good. Calm not so much ,unless its wet. A trick I picked up a while back ,I put a turkey call in my mouth. If I make a little too much noise, I'll cluck a bit .I still get busted at times, but it also got jumpy deer to calm down and go back to feeding
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B 12, is Pelican Lake in Oneida County? Hunted that county when I was younger. Been hunting Douglas County the past 40 years or so.
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Orion yea it is, not far from Rhinelander
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I haven't killed any deer with a bow yet. My only big game with a bow was a bear this year, while sitting. But this is public land in CA. I see more bears than bucks these days anyway.
That being said, I see and get very close to does all the time, though we can't usually shoot does. I think the closest I've come is about 10 yards on a bedded doe. I had a squirrel run up my leg last year while still hunting. This year, I had a squirrel blow by me about 6" away while stalking in on a deer I was hoping to find antlers on. Neither were aware of my presence. Sometimes, the more crunchy the leaf litter, the easier it gets. Yes, they can hear it. But if you go really slow, they often ignore it. Between the birds, the deer, the squirrels, the bears and every other critter out making noise, you just sound like woods noise if you're heading into the wind & take your time. 2-4 steps and wait a few minutes.
A few weeks ago, I took a nice buck with a muzzleloader. The deer were so nocturnal that I'd listen to them walk up on me in the dark (posted) and sneak off after they caught my scent downwind. One walked by camp while I was cooking dinner... Plenty came through in the middle of the night, too. But by shooting light, they were bedded up. It was a great lesson in hearing their footsteps, which I can try to mimic. As frustrating as it was, it was cool to have to focus solely on my ears to detect what's around me for hours at a time. My shot opportunity wasn't until I was hiking out and was beyond archery ranges. But the deer didn't much notice that I was there at all. It helped that the buck was pretty distracted by a doe...
Asbell had a great tip in one of his books -- use the ball of your foot to hit the ground first, then land the heel a split second after. Then the next foot the same way. Sounds like 4 legs instead of 2. I use it when I think deer might be within 50 yards or so. Seems to work. If I sound too much like a deer, they start looking for me and then the game is up. They're pretty darned social animals -- even our blacktails & mulies.
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Keep at it....ya never know what you might sneak up on.....
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Only did it successfully one time. A friend was walking casually thru the woods and kicked up a buck which trotted past me. I knew he was coming so I crouched down on one knee next to a bush, and made a nice double lung shot through his ribs as he passed by.
I could have done it in some Colorado mountains right after a rainstorm. I walked very slowly up on two small mule deer bucks. They were busy feeding and I got within about ten yards. But, I was elk hunting and did not have a deer license anyway.