Posted: 10/3/2007 3:59:42 PM EDT
| Anyone still hunt deer? All the elder hunters I talk to say they always had seen more deer this way vs. staying in the blinds. Anyone have any tips? |
|
Still hunting is the only way I have ever hunted. You will not see or get as much game as you will from a well placed stand. That is a guarantee. I don't have the patience to sit in a stand all day, so I slowly (very very very slowly) walk through where I think the deer will be. Those are the two main keys. Move very slowly, stop and look often, and go where the deer are. You need to know what the deer like to eat, where the thick cover is where the deer bed down, and the like. Also, there really isn't any point to still hunting if there is a layer of dry leaves on the ground. The noise is such that you don't stand a chance, so just move to where the deer will be moving through (on the way and from feeding spots and such) and setup there and wait. Ditch those combat boots and pickup a pair of mud boots or LL Bean Maine Hunting Shoes. They make all the difference in noise and feel. Branches don't really snap naturally in the woods, and that will definitely get the deer's attention. That should get ya started. Good luck! |
|
I do most of my hunting from treestands and blinds, but I will occassionally set out on foot. A few tips: 1. I only still hunt after a rain or when there is a soft layer of snow on the ground. 2. Tennis shoes are a lot quiter than hunting boots. 3. Move extremely slow. I usually limit myself to 150 or so yards per hour. 4. Don't use a high-powered scope, if you are even using a scope at all. 5. Wear plenty of orange. 6. Scent eliminating clothing may help. 7. The most important thing---use the wind to your advantage. Good Luck! |
|
Still hunting is hard to do right, but two of the three bucks on my wall were taken still hunting. Go slow, if you have to look at the ground to place your next step, you are going too fast. I see much more game while still hunting, but I still see a bunch of tails. I cheat and use well worn trails or logging roads when I can. Having a piece of property you can still hunt on is pretty close to heaven. |
That is the only way I hunt, like others have said go SLOW, watch where you put your feet. Stop and look and listen every ten steps or so. Wear boots that aren't noisy as well as your clothes. Wool or fleece is best, any gore tex type clothing is too noisy I have found. When coming to a clearing, scope it out really good with binoculars and wait and just observe. It's all about silence and paying extreme attention to details. 
|
| Went looking for rubs and scrapes this past weekend and was surprised that even though I made a lot of noise, we still got a good view at a buck. He made all sorts of noise to warn the other deer in the area, but we still got a look at him. I think I'm going to still hunt across the funnel and then if I don't see anything there, I'll head them off where they bed down. I can't sit in a stand all day to wait, but I can be very focused on moving quietly and stalking. Thanks for all the tips, I just need some compact binoculars. |
|
If I'm not sitting behind the binocs or spotting scope, then I'm still hunting. Spot and stalk is the funnest method of hunting for me, but from what I've seen, you can't apply that to every part of the country I just don't see how you guys can sit and watch one piece of ground for a day, half a day, or even an hour. Boring. |
|
Only time I stillhunt after the leaves have fallen is after a good soaking rain or during windy conditions which help mask the noise. When those leaves are still on the trees and you do everthing in S L O W M O T I O N and watch the wind & learn to see what all is really there & keep as much as you can in the shadows you can be successful. Its really hard to slow down and not hurry up & get to that next tree thats right over there. You have to remember the woods are alive and there are lots of eyes & ears that you have to fool. Some will use a diaphram turkey call to pretend the noise isn't from the creature that walks on its hind legs. And don't forget that you stink. You might fool their eyes & ears but not their nose. You will learn more by doing it than reading about it so just do it.
|
| I've killed a few deer still hunting. We had a 100 acre field behind our cabin that was often planted in peanuts. Mornings I wanted to sleep in after a long night I'd walk the edge. I did see a lot of deer. I have to be honest, I had a hard time keeping slow. I'd start out very slow, covering a few yards a minute but after a while I was walking at a normal pace. We leased the land and I knew where everyone else was hunting that day. I wouldn't try it on public land. |
| i do some of this once in a while. if it seems like things arent moving, ill get out and try my luck still hunting. i have spooked a few does on occasion, still never saw a buck while doing this. then again though, my hunting land is crap so i dont expect much luck in that area no matter how i hunt- stand, still, or pushing them |
|
All the above tips are really good but remember this type of hunting has places where it works and places where it doesn’t. If you are hunting public land or if you are hunting private land where there is a possibility of other hunters your risk of getting shot goes way up. That said, still hunting is a great way to go after deer, for me its more fun than a tree stand. |
there are very few hunting accidents when the victim is wearing the appropriate colored clothing. very few. so few, i wouldnt let it phase the judgement to do it. Almost all accidents occur getting in and out of the vehicle with the firearm or in and out of a treestand, along with not wearing blaze orange appropriately. |
| The only better thing for me is tracking snow. I dont like to sit at all. My best deer have been taken by tracking, but I have some very nice ones taken by still hunting. I can go out and sit anytime of the year and see critters.... to me hunting means moving and looking. I dont get many deer still hunting in archery season.... but the ones I do get are trophys.... even if they are just a doe or young buck. |
Check out this website http://www.benoitsbigbucks.com/ Anyone who deer hunts in the northeast should have heard about this family. They are the godfathers of still hunting/ tracking large bucks. They sell books and DVD's which give some of the best instruction I have ever seen. Even had the pleasure of going to a seminar when they spoke and I can tell you I have harvested a large buck the past two years using their techniques. |
I WISH we could sit next to feeders up here! If it does not naturally grow in the area and a Warden finds it near your stand.....you be in some trouble 
|