Was wondering if any of you still hunt at sun rise and sun set when it is normal to sit?
If so are, is it as productive as sitting?
Also what type situations are you hunting?
I was without my stool the other night and getting so I can't sit still without it (it's heck getting old !). I ended up still hunting to an apple tree that had a few apples left on it. No deer, but on a previous similair hunt I meet a nice buck at that same tree- no he saw me first! Two nights later I posted a friend behind a bush near the apple tree and he got a shot - no he missed!
My thought is that if I don't have a good reason to sit in any one spot I feel I might as well still hunt and maybe find that good spot to sit the next time out.
Penny for your thoughts, thanks guys.
BION, I like your thinking as I too hate to sit. But, any movement doubles or triples your chances of being seen. You;re in their living room. Have been real close to deer while stillhunting. Scared a few too.
I've not done much still hunting honestly. I'd rather sit and wait for the deer to come to me. But, I can see where you'd want to do it mid-day between sits and perhaps you'd locate yourself a better spot for the evening or next day's sit. I just don't feel like I'm quiet enough while moving to be an effective still hunter.
Actually to be most effective still hunting, you would want to be moving at the time the game is moving. So basically the same time most people are sitting. Midday is when some do it, but you are mostly trying to stillhunt bedded deer, which is much harder than moving deer.
Mike Ciccone hunts this way all the time...I don't believe he ever sits. He may come along after seeing this thread and offer some insight.
if its quiet terrain like hard packed trails or logging roads I can see it and I've un intentially done it but if its noisy terrain like leaves and brush I hold tight!
its interesting if anyone does this alot and is successful during what we in Mass call the witching hours...
I prefer to still hunt, but there is kind of a hybrid version we use on mule deer in open country and that is to spot them, figure out (take a wild guess) where they're going and get there before they do. I've killed two bucks that way (with wheels) but I just couldn't get ahead of them this year. It tends to work best when there are just tons of deer doing a lot of moving and this year I should have done classic still hunting in broken timer. (Have another shot in the snow, tho, this week.)
I just don't like to sit still for long periods of time, although for whitetail I do think stand hunting is far more effective. And sometimes it can be for mule deer that forget they're mule deer and fall into a habit.
Thanks Joe... Stalking and Still Hunting has got to be the hardest way of hunting. Think that's why I do it. Haven't got a deer this way in almost eight years of tryin' but can't beat the "almosts" with a stick.
All hunting areas are different. You MUST know yours well in order to ambush game on the move or hunt head to head as I do. Understand what I am sayin' here. I love to "hunt deer" at eye level and up close. That's why I use a longbow during archery season... Then... Kill 'em with a non-bow other times. ;)
Rain, snow, wind and heavy cover make the art work in the hunters favor. Dry, clear, still days are tough for still hunting, sometimes... Cut my teeth tree rat hunting this way. You couldn't pay me to sit in a tree stand or store bought blind... But that's just me... Did I say I didn't kill a deer in eight years?
... mike ... :archer: ...
Hello
Much much harder on the ground with a stick bow but much more fun ( for me ) .
I hunt red deer over here that why i hunt mostly
during rainy days .
A good cedar thicket works for still hunting about as well as any, especially on a frosty morn or with dew on the ground. Killed my first deer with a bow(wheelie) while still hunting through a thicket as such on a frosty morning on my 24th birthday. Only one I ever got with a bow while still hunting though. Nice 8 pointer. Saw him before he saw me. That's the key.
The deer locally tend to move near sunrise and sunset, so it only makes sense to let them come to you at those times. In between, it makes more sense to be on the move and run into them.
Though I have had deer walk up on me at noon or most times mid-day. It also depends a lot on the wind and ground noise. Shifting winds and dry leaves can make still-hunting very frustrating. But if the deer aren't moving, then sitting isn't very productive, either.
At a prior hot spot I learned to pattern the hunters. I got in deep well before light and the 20 minutes before light crowd pushed them to me. Then, at 10:00AM when they got up to pee or go into the truck-stop for coffee there was another round of displaced deer movement. One of the best spots was 100 yards in the thick stuff below a well ATV'd logging road.
I spot and stalk especially those hours; the animals are more focused on feeding and are relaxed and they grow bolder especially in fading light.
I love still hunting in the morning or any time of day. It might take an hour or more to move less than a hundred yards. Usually step or two maybe three then stop look and listen. Every step brings things I to view. You have to stay focused and expect to see game any second. Everything in the woods makes noise when the leaves are dry. Try to sound like a squirrel. Just a step or two at a time. I have found that in TN if you are seeing small game like squirrels and chipmunks going about their business and not spooking them you are moving at a good pace. Pay attention to the wind for sure. It can be your friend. Hunting on the ground is very challenging but very fun and rewarding when things come together.