When you are hunting whitetail deer, do you prefer to be totally "invisible" in sight, sound, scent etc. or do you like to "Make it happen" by actively grunting, rattling, using attractant scents etc.?

I actully prefer a combination of the two, but will take "make it happen" overall...especially during the rut. Killed deer each way.

Great poll Dave.  It will be interesting to see the results after a few days.  

Trap

Hey guys, I realize this is kinda limited but regardless of how you vote, feel free to make a comment about why.  For me, I do both mainly out of boredom in the stand but when I'm after a big buck on the public land (pretty hard hunted) I hunt, being totally invisible seems to be the best bet.  Sure is hard to do all the time though.

I would answer make it happen. However I answer that in referance to hunting elk. You dont have to be invisible to hunt them lol.

I've always done well trying "to be invisible". I think this type of hunting is more suited to my character and is my instinctual way to hunt. I often refer to it as my "passive" way of hunting. That said, I have had some really good luck being an "active" hunter and appealing to a deers senses. (I am assuming you are referring to deer hunting)

I think that a hunter, in order to be as successful as possible, should be both an "active" and "passive" hunter dependent on the situation. As much as I know this, I often have a hard time making noise to attract game....Ryan

I mostly hunt elk, and I'm all for make it happen.  I go crazy after a short time in a ground blind or a tree stand.  Well actually, I go to sleep.  I will sit if I have to but I get bored. ADD I guess.

Southeast hunting, mainly agricultural plots and hardwoods. I'm a patience kinda guy these days, love to "disappear" and become one with the surroundings, just to see what happens. When I was younger and far less patient, I had to "make things happen", but I wasn't very good at it so my success rate kinda sucked. These days I just enjoy getting a chance to get in the woods so much that I just want to sit and watch, if I get a shot ok, if not... well that's ok too.

I like being sneaky, but I bugle for elk when conditions warrant it, call spring turkeys, and I am going to try to rattle in a whitetail in a week or so. I enjoy still hunting more than stand hunting, but often stand hunting is more productive. I like doing it all, I guess.

I tell ya what.  I spend Monday thru Friday at work "Making it Happen" all bloody day.

When huntin, I just wanta be invisible.

Both...I hunt public land which seems to be hunted by everybody in NY at times...lol. When I see a few cars parked on the same side of the road I'm more apt to sit most of the day and see if those other guys are pushing deer around. On the days I see no other vehicles around I will sit for an hour or 2 then move to a new location. I'm generally hunting familiar scrape lines so it's mostly just a matter of moving off to another one not too far away.

I hunt for a specific deer so i dont like to educate him that im on him.And sometimes another beast shows up.Just like earlier this year i had a 150 class 10 pt 35 yards away feeding no reason to call him and spook him ,Ive got plenty of time we have seen him 3 times already.  :D

I LOVE Stalking and Still Hunting. At the same time I TRY to become part of my surroundings. Just my slow-slow-slower movement is enough. Won't call more attention to myself with calls or such.

Thanks For Asking

... mike ...    ...

Id prefer that both techniques worked well for me, but they dont. So I chose be invisible as possible.
Ive tried the "rattling grunting scenting" making it happen style of hunting, and around here, its largely unproductive. Either that..or Im not very good at it.
Its pretty low deer densities where I hunt..so disappearing seems to work better.

I know that may sound backwards..but for me, it holds true. Ive hunted this local area my whole life....never seen bucks fighting for a girl. Never seen bucks act dumb during the rut(cept for crossing the road in front of vehicles.)
In fact...if the calendar didnt tell me so...Id never know the rut was happening from my stands.
Pretty sure the ratio of does/bucks is outta whack...and that makes the bucks less aggressive when it comes to those techniques, IMO.

So, letting them go about whatever it is they feel they need to do...and try to become part of the environment, has always worked best for me.

Much prefer to be quiet all the time while stillhunting and blend into the surroundings with dark clothes. When bored, I'll play with the noisemakers. If I had to vote I'd vote "quiet".

i hunt trophies only till somethng else comes along.
really its as mood strikes/ i try to hunt as naturally as my cat. she loves to hunt and seen her use many different techniques.

Hunting What? Elk,Turkeys I wanna make it happen. With deer its super stealth.

I am a still hunter.  The last thing they should know is that my arrow has passed thru their bodies.  They should never know I was there at all.

Cool!  So far it's 74 percent invisible and 26 percent make it happen or about 3 to 1 for super stealth mode.  And for those of you who asked, yes, I'm talking primarily about hunting whitetail deer.

I went ahead and edited that in on the original post.

I never have any luck with grunting or moving a lot. I always see more deer finding a good spot and setting up for an ambush! Makes me feel like a kid when I "played" in the woods......

-Charlie