Still Hunting Whitetails, any tips or suggestions?

mt-dew10 · October 12, 2010, 10:10:00 AM

Hello Tradgang members,

Because I am too tall and basically too heavy to sit in a tree stand, I am contemplating still hunting for whitetails.

Does anyone have any general advice, tips or suggestions?

bornagainbowhunter · October 12, 2010, 10:11:00 AM

do a search on guille suits. There are guys on here killin' lots of critters using them.

God Bless,
Nathan

T Folts · October 12, 2010, 10:12:00 AM

How about a ghillie suit and hunting from natural ground blinds.

mt-dew10 · October 12, 2010, 10:20:00 AM

That is a good idea, thanks.

bosteldr · October 12, 2010, 10:45:00 AM

This time of year it is tough to move, leaves under your feet make a lot of noise. Once the rain/damp wether moves in, you can move silently thru the woods. I have also had luck moving close on very windy days. They can't hear you as well.

NoCams · October 12, 2010, 11:03:00 AM

What bosteldr said X 2 ! I scout on rainy days and have walked right up on my fair share of deer. Whatever you do go slooooooow and move your eyes more than your head. Try to stop beside large trees and brush and just stand still for 5-10 minutes before moving forward again.

I have not been lucky enough to do it yet but have had several friends kill bucks during the rut on the ground. They were walking to their evening stands around 1-2PM and were still hunting their way to the stand. The does almost ran them over with the buck in hot pursuit. ANYTHING can happen if a buck is chasing a hot doe. My friend in Atlanta calls me every November to tell me how many deer he is seeing in downtown Atlanta on the interstate. Bucks chasing does.

Talondale · October 12, 2010, 11:11:00 AM

Ray Hammond made a great post concerning this on a different thread. A lot of it applies well to all game. I quoted him here:

QuoteI think the biggest thing new visitors to our camp can do to help themselves is in learning to spot and stalk animals.

Practice sneaking up on squirrels in your yard would be a good thing to do.

At our place, its very flat. The wind swirls often. You MUST learn to carry a puffer bottle (like a sinus spray bottle, filled with corn starch) and "puff" it frequently, to make sure youare working either upwind or crosswind at all times.

A hog's nose is 5 times BETTER than a deer's nose. His eyesight is as good at picking up movement as any critter out there- stationary objects they have trouble with, but they're not stupid and if you're within 50 yards and standing out in the open, you're going to get picked off.

You need to learn how to move fairly quietly- using the toe/heel step, raising your foot at the knee rather than dragging it through leaves like you'd walk down the street- if you put your toe down on a stick- you can pick it up and move it- if you place your heel down first you're committed to completing the step and cracking the branch.

Only pigs, deer, and people crack branches, and the hogs know that. Hogs have a higher order of brain than a deer- in my opinion- and they REMEMBER stuff.

These pigs are WILD pigs- not turned loose farm stock. There's no floppy ears on Hog Heaven....these pigs are wired for sound baby.

The only reason you kill turkeys is cause they don't use their nose- the only reason you can kill wild hogs is because they're gluttons.

Practice walking less, and standing still more. Listening, and using your ears and also your nose believe it or not, to smell where they've been recently will pay dividends.

Look at sign- pigs turn over and root stuff. Learn to tell the difference between yesterday's rooting and this morning's rooting- yesterday's dirt will have a 'crust' on it- this morning's will be fresh and likely still moist.

Listen for sound- hogs make tons of noise if they are moving. If they're laying up- use your optics to pick up dark spots in the distance around stumps, logs, trees, and in depressions taht might be bedded up hogs.

If you stick to the ridges (sometimes only 2 feet higher than the surrounding ground) you can use that height to see into the far distance to pick up pigs before they pick you up...and move quickly after checking the wind to get in front fo them...letting them work toward you....inside 50 yards is the toughest and you need a little luck and a steady breeze to help you close the book on them....but it can be done.

mt-dew10 · October 12, 2010, 12:15:00 PM

Great info guys! Thanks. Please keep it coming.

ThePushArchery · October 12, 2010, 12:51:00 PM

G. Fred Asbell's book

"Stalking and Still-Hunting, The Ground Hunter's Bible"

Packed full of information that you can read and re-read every year before the season.

I tend to use natural ground blinds made on the fly with a pair of single hand use pruning shears, and 1/4" to 1/2" diameter saplings. I cut the saplings at an angle, and stick them into the ground in front of me and off the sides of the tree I am up against.

I can be in the woods and set up concealed within 5 minutes of finding where I want to hunt. This method works well. I killed a doe this year at 5 paces using the on the fly ground blind method...

Good luck to ya!

ThePushArchery · October 12, 2010, 12:54:00 PM

I guess let me add the seat is a huge factor. I hae made them, and purchased them..

There are downfalls to every seat I have tried so far. I am seriously considering the PacSeat seen above. Looks to be the answer to all my issues...

Again, good luck!

dragonheart · October 12, 2010, 01:13:00 PM

Make a ground blind

Zbone · October 12, 2010, 01:49:00 PM

Comparing hogs to deer is a joke.

30coupe · October 12, 2010, 01:50:00 PM

As has been said, pick up your feet (no shuffling) and walk slowly. To that I would add I use a turkey diaphragm call. Move a little, then give a few putts or clucks. I have bumped deer, then clucked a few times and had them stop and resume feeding. I haven't killed one that way yet, but I have gotten inside 20 yards on some that I just chose not to shoot. One was an old slick-head! That's a trick in my book. I was holding out for a buck, so I didn't shoot her. I just wanted to see how close I could get. I was out in the open, but by just taking a step or two, then stopping to give some soft putts I got to about 15 yards.

I finally got tired of playing with her and waved my arms...scared the crap out of her when I did that...fun!

I may give it a try again this year, but I just love the view from a tree stand, so I'm not giving that up any time soon.

yamapup · October 12, 2010, 01:53:00 PM

Ground blinds are great, especially if you can prep them 3 or 4 days before you hunt. Still hunting is really exciting and intense and you have to really use all your senses. The hard part is moving so slowly and stopping,looking and listening. Pup

October 12, 2010, 02:35:00 PM

A lot of cover is not suitable for sneaking around in. Most of the deer that I have taken while still hunting happened when I was resting, sitting on the ground with my back against a tree. I wear a butt pad that hangs from my belt. It makes a downed tree trunk just a bit more comfortable. A huntmore seat parked in between two or three small cedars or balsams makes a great place to hunt from. I sneak around until I find a good place to stop. If I get board or get an idea to move I sneak to another spot and sit down again. a portable seat makes shooting and sitting from the advantage of cover more comfortable and more accurate.

jonsimoneau · October 12, 2010, 02:44:00 PM

Stalking and killing whitetails is extremely difficult. I've done it...but to be honest I rarely even attempt it anymore. At least here in the midwest, it's damn near impossible. It can be done..but conditions must be perfect, and frankly, we don't get too many of those days around here. The best still hunters I know spend a lot more time being still than actually moving. I have a lot of respect for a hunter who really makes an effort to stalk and kill whitetails. The challenge you are about to embark on will be...well...just that...a challenge.

Randy Koleno · October 12, 2010, 02:51:00 PM

You must be vwery, vwery, qwuite (best elmer fudd impression here). More power to you. Good Luck.

Buckeye Trad Hunter · October 12, 2010, 08:24:00 PM

If you're gonna hunt from the ground then remember one thing. If you don't think you can possibly move any slower, slow down. Okay, I lied, two things. Keep the wind in your face.

Adam Keiper · October 12, 2010, 08:32:00 PM

Dampness, wind, and rain are your friends. Use those days to stillhunt or to glass fields and stalk. At least 1/4 of the PA whitetails I've killed were by stillhunting/stalking. One day had sustained 50 mph wind and another was during a torrential downpour. That's honestly my favorite way to hunt.

Killdeer · October 12, 2010, 08:59:00 PM

There is a lot of good advice in that hog thread.
Stalking is a lot different than still hunting. I find it nearly impossible to stalk a deer that I have seen, though I have sneaked up on a bedded buck. Still hunting, to me, is a sneak through likely habitat, slowly moving from "stand" to "stand". These stands are from 20 to 50 yards apart, and take forever to get to.

Keep to the shadows, keep near the tree trunks and brush, and as has been mentioned, use your eyes. If you must move, think about it first. Is it really necessary to scratch that itch? No nose-picking. Every movement should be as slow as a raisin sinking to the bottom of a jar of molasses in February. It is the most exhausting activity I know. I love it.

Killdeer