Stillhunting is my favorite way to hunt, very difficult with a traditional bow. The woods around here are usually pretty open with a lot of mature trees, unless it gets logged. The big area I have permission to hunt on the mountain near my house was logged 5 to 6 years ago and it is growing back thick, especially the logging roads/trails. Nice part is the area wasn't clear cut, so it is a good mix of cover and open areas to feed, lots of acorns all over this year. The new growth provides great cover with the leaves still on, making it much easier to sneak around unseen, I have been committed to ground hunting only for the early season, and maybe more.
Up until last Tuesday I hadn't seen a deer since the first day of bear season, saw 3 does and had 2 withing 30 yards but season wasn't open and I didn't try to get closer. Never found any bear sign where a nice boar was hanging out a year ago. Had been out several times since deer opened on 9/27, trying different spots based on the wind, mornings and evenings. One section has a good amount of buck sign, rubs and scrapes, for early October, actually saw some in September.
Got up early but didn't head out until after first light, nice thing about still hunting is I don't feel the need to be hiking in the dark like when using a treestand. Plan was to set a trail cam on a scrape then hike in further to hunt... now there were 2 scrapes and rubs all around.
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Set the cam and hiked a short distance back up to the main trail which is also getting overgrown, after marking a couple potential trees to climb with different winds. Then went on to the end where the old landing has been for years to load the logging trucks, also growing in with small pines there.
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Beyond the landing it was getting pretty thick and I really slowed down and started hunting, heading north into the light wind and toward a saddle between two ridges. With the open hardwoods you really have to look everywhere and move super slowly or risk getting spotted, this cover allows faster movement at times and I was covering ground... 100 yards every half hour instead of an hour maybe, "still" is the name of the game and movement needs to be minimized. I was working through the open areas, using the aspen, birch and beech saplings for cover. I took this picture at 7:58am, not knowing what was about to happen.
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Took a few more steps and was standing there and heard a deer running toward me from downwind, quickly pulled an arrow from my hip quiver and nocked it, turning to face back left where the sound was. Next, I see the deer passing at about 20 yards, then turn right toward me still running. I look and see no antlers but a good sized deer, she passes by and stops right where I am facing, maybe 6 yards away in the saplings. It's thick but there is a clear path to the vitals, no time to think: I raise the bow, get to full draw, pick my spot...and next thing I knew she was running off and I heard her crash. Fastest hunt from first sensing a deer to shooting, over in less than 20 seconds.
She was standing right there, had no idea I was standing nearby, never saw me. Took this right after I shot.
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Made it less than 50 yards back where she came from, no need to track just walked straight to her and spotted the white patch.
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Nice start to the season and first kill with my new super recurve from Scotland, the Border Archery Ghillie Dhu. It's short, light and fast, great for stillhunting the thick cover. 44# at my 29" draw length and really slings a 510 grain arrow, tipped with a 150 grain Stinger Buzzcut.
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Hiked out to get my cart, then almost a mile back in the get her out. Needed to hurry, was a cool start in the 40s but quickly warmed into the 70s by late morning. Had her home, skinned and quartered, and on ice by 1pm.
Congratulations. It's great when it all works out like that.
Congratulations Jeff . Thanks for sharing your experience 👍🏻
Sounds like a perfect morning! Congratulations>>>------>
Awesome!!
That is impressive!! :thumbsup:
Good stuff JJ; Congratulations.
Shick
That's great, congrats.. :thumbsup:
Great story and photos. Hands down, my favorite way to hunt as well. Congrats! :clapper:
Congrats.
Still hunting with trad bows is def one of the hardest but most enjoyable ways to hunt imo.
:clapper: that's awesome!
I like still hunting as well.I see so many things that I would never see on stand.Its pain staking.But your involved in the hunt thn when in a stand.Very rewarding when successful or not.
Congrats on your fine doe!
Way to go sir! :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
Good job! Love to still hunt.
Congratulations!
CONGRATULATIONS, Jeff!!!!! :clapper: :archer: :clapper:
:clapper: :clapper: :clapper: :clapper: :clapper: :clapper:
Thanks all. Have more energy than I've had in years and really putting my time in this year, was getting better last Fall and it paid off.
Now I'm on to bucks and have a few good ones located, just have to compete with the gun hunters now, muzzleloader opened yesterday and rifle starts next Saturday. Found a scrape in mid-September when bear opened, went back and put a cam on it, after pissing in it, and first pictures I got were a mature buck working the scrape late September. It was covered with leaves last week when I grabbed the cam. (Deer like this make me wonder if I even need to go to Ohio.)
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That's not even my best spot and it's not far from a busy road. The area where I shot the doe is loaded with buck sign, lots of scrapes with some really nice rubs; stillhunting has been paying off with some good scouting at the same time. Have been adding a bunch of stand sites for the climber to my GPS.
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Today was opening day of rifle in the Northern Zone of NY. I was up early and hiked way up and back into a spot I found on the ridge above where I shot the doe, nice semi-flat halfway up the hill near a large rub (picture next to hand). Took my time hiking in, have to go through some thick areas where the regrowth after logging is really filling in. Made it there about 15 minutes before first light, got set up in my climber in a nice double oak, NW wind sends my scent out over a steep bank, I hope.
Not as cold as expected, around 40 instead of the mid-30s forecast, light winds and partly cloudy. No deer but around 8:20 I heard noise and spotted a small coyote headed down the hill toward me, grabbed the bow and got ready. It was quickly right behind me, had the bow up, mouse squeaked to stop her, drew, aimed and released. Small target, shot was a little high but lethal, watched the coyote bite the arrow off before scurrying down the hill to die.
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Rub to the right, broken arrow and blood on the left.
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Hunted until noon, sun was out and decided to climb down, pack up and search for the yote. Took a little while, expected it to be just out of sight, wrong, went down the hill and found a freshly dug out patch of leaves. Then I noticed a faint trail of disturbed leaves and tracks, continued on and finally found her in the saplings. Small female that won't have pups, too many of them around, not many trappers left. Second kill for the Ghillie Dhu.
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Good shooting, top notch tracking. :clapper: Great area you're hunting! :thumbsup:
Wow great start for that bow! Congrats on the doe and coyote!
Good for you, Jeff!!!! I'll pass on a deer to kill a yote, too damn many of them :readit:
Conratulations, Jeff ! I hunt the Adirondacks as well, and I know how difficult it is to arrow one, while still-hunting. Job well done!
Great story to read. Its apparent that can you shoot that new super curve; nice shot :archer2: