Still hunting-how to?

[Duck_the_Dog]

I understand the concept. Move slowly and stop periodically to scan for deer. I was wondering about specifics though. How slowly do you move? 100 yds an hour, two hours, etc? How long do you stop and how often? What types of cover and/or terrain do you look for? What are the best times of the day or season?

I ask all this because I've always been a stand hunter but now that I mostly hunt state land, I actually have more acreage to work with but the deer get shell shocked pretty quick.

sent from somewhere out there....

[ncountry]

I am not a great stillhunter myself. (not enough patience). A fellow I know kills his deer every year on stateland stillhunting. it takes him all day to walk 3-4 miles .

[DCHunts]

My grandfather has taken down some great deer over his 80 yrs and he did most of them still hunting/ stalking. He always said a good way to describe how slow he would go was 3 steps and scan. Take 3 visually planned out quiet steps and then scan. And then scan again for anything that catches your eye. Put the binos up and investigate anything because that buck could be bedded anywhere just waiting for you to go by. You are going to have some good tips in response to your question. This is just my 2 cents. I'm interested to see what others have to say. Good luck!

One more thing he always stressed to me was even when you aren't seeing deer. Approach every crest, ridge etc. as if you know there's deer and your trying not to spook em. It works for me to stay mentally into it as I have really bad ADHD so I get distracted rather easily

Edited November 30, 2013 by dchunt

[ncountry]

One more thing he always stressed to me was even when you aren't seeing deer. Approach every crest, ridge etc. as if you know there's deer and your trying not to spook em. It works for me to stay mentally into it as I have really bad ADHD so I get distracted rather easily

 

Yes , this is what always gets me I will sneak and and scan for awhile and then I cannot take it anymore i pick up the pace. inevitably within 1/2 dozen steps the deer explodes out of the brush.. ( didn't know I had ADHD until watching a program once that listed 10 indicators and i aced every one )..lol

[DCHunts]

I was diagnosed in middle school and the changes once on the right meds was pretty obvious. There was no arguing when my grades went up as I was able to focus on work. Now some argue that you eventually grow out if it as an adult and some don't believe it exists period. But for me anyway once we go it under control my life was a lot easier. Sorry to get off topic lol

[Terry]

I use a pattern to keep me moving slow. A 1-3 count if you will. I take one slow step and then three complete 360 degree field of view scans. Counting like this is how I keep from wanting to pick up the pace.

[Localqdm]

Great discussion thread, I'm not very good at it myself.   did take a buck this yr still hunting when really windy/snowy last sat.  He was bedded on the leeward slope of a ditch (wind coming over his back and him facing downwind) and I approached from cross wind on the opposite side.  This seems to be the best approach to me, walk cross wind in a fairly open woods, hillside expecting them on the top 1/3 elevation, especially points.  wind to their back, facing downwind.  

He was bedded with a doe and long story short, she saw me he didn't.   I really was blessed cause I didn't deserve it, after I got busted, he came back into the ditch cause he really didn't know what the doe was upset about, and his instincts wouldn't let him cross the open field with her or cross the road.  

 

I would like to know how others do it in thick brush.    I can only see still hunting the edge of open woods where you reasonably could get a shot off.  Seems impossible to sneak up on them in heavy cover and be able to shoot before you get busted.

[Jennifer]

I understand the concept. Move slowly and stop periodically to scan for deer. I was wondering about specifics though. How slowly do you move? 100 yds an hour, two hours, etc? How long do you stop and how often? What types of cover and/or terrain do you look for? What are the best times of the day or season?

I ask all this because I've always been a stand hunter but now that I mostly hunt state land, I actually have more acreage to work with but the deer get shell shocked pretty quick.

sent from somewhere out there....

 

So to answer all your questions: It depends! There is no true answer for every situation. A lot of it is going to come from experience, knowing the land, learning deer, and weather.

 

Generally the only constant is to move slowly and always break up your footstep pattern. Plodding along at a regular pace, even if it's slow, sounds unnatural to critters, unless you are lucky enough to have a day where sneaking is possible.

One step, scan, two steps, scan for longer, one step again, etc.

Since you are talking state land and not using a stand much or not at all.... If you know deer are up and moving (naturally or being pushed), it is worth it to set yourself up in an area that will visually break you up. Think of this as a natural ground blind. I know lots of deer have met their end when guys set up at a deadfall, log pile, rootball, etc... in an area where deer are known to travel!

 

If you can find a pinch point... the head of a draw, or an 'edge', where terrain and flora changes from one type to another, these are often good places. Think of an area where you might put a stand, a travel corridor, and find a good place to sit or stand on the ground where your outline will be broken up. This gets deer for a lot of guys.

Otherwise, still hunting might be the way to go. A cool thing about still hunting is that it is also a very slow scouting mission, each time! You can really learn some new things about a property this way.

 

I often stop for anywhere from several minutes to even a full 5 minutes in-between steps. It depends. If it is a calm day with good visibility and it's crunchy, I will pause for longer durations to listen and look. If it's blowing wind and other bad weather, I speed up just a little. This is personal preference and not a rule. Do what works for you!

 

It's important not to get yourself into a weird body position when you do pause, otherwise you might have a heck of a time if you need to pull your gun up for a steady shot! Says the person that ended up face-first in the snow one year...!

 

The best times of day are any time of day. If you have the deer patterned for an area and you know they are up and moving more during some times of the day, those might be the best times to sit still. Even then it's a crapshoot, because deer change their patterns all the time, sometimes for obvious reasons (rut, feed, people pushing them) or just because they are deer and who can figure them out anyhow.

If you know that other hunters in the area are sitting still at certain times and walking at others (let's face it, a lot of guys will sit in the morning, walk out around 11-12, then walk back in for an afternoon hunt), you might even try the opposite patterns. Still hunt while they sit, sit while they walk. Again this is one of those things that no one has an answer written in stone about.

 

If it is windy and nasty, that is a good day to still hunt your way into a deer bedding area, using the wind to your advantage. Deer will prefer somewhat more sheltered bedding areas on these days-- in general.

 

Above all else, deer do things we don't expect them to, so do your best and enjoy yourself!

[Jennifer]

Great discussion thread, I'm not very good at it myself.   did take a buck this yr still hunting when really windy/snowy last sat.  He was bedded on the leeward slope of a ditch (wind coming over his back and him facing downwind) and I approached from cross wind on the opposite side.  This seems to be the best approach to me, walk cross wind in a fairly open woods, hillside expecting them on the top 1/3 elevation, especially points.  wind to their back, facing downwind.  

He was bedded with a doe and long story short, she saw me he didn't.   I really was blessed cause I didn't deserve it, after I got busted, he came back into the ditch cause he really didn't know what the doe was upset about, and his instincts wouldn't let him cross the open field with her or cross the road.  

 

I would like to know how others do it in thick brush.    I can only see still hunting the edge of open woods where you reasonably could get a shot off.  Seems impossible to sneak up on them in heavy cover and be able to shoot before you get busted.

 

I don't still hunt thick brush unless I have a lot of cover noise (heavy wind, ice pellets, etc). Others may do it but I haven't had much luck with it. I will hunt the edges of it, though. My dad always taught me to 'hunt the edge' where terrain/cover changes. I've found this to often be quite good advice.

 

This won't work for property you don't own or don't have permission to trim on, but in the off months it is worthwhile to cut some thin paths (just wide enough to sneak) through thick brush. It'll help one to still hunt and deer will also use them as travel routes.

[Duck_the_Dog]

Wow! Great advice everyone. Thanks!

sent from somewhere out there....

[hunter49]

  All good advice here, walk slow, scan around slow. I always try to stop & stand next to a tree. Notice most things in the woods are vertical so look for horizontal, the  back of the deer. Look for a wet nose, eye, ear, tip of an antler, white throat patch, flick of a tail, moving legs & feet under the trees, etc. Pick up your feet & don't snap the twigs under them.  I like to look out as far as I can see then scan the woods working my eyes back in closer. Learn to use the wind in your favor.  Work at it, its fun.  Good luck!  jmho.

Edited November 30, 2013 by hunter49

[Water Rat]

Right on the money , hunter49 .

I would add to stay in any available shade when possible.

[Terry]

A cool thing about still hunting is that it is also a very slow scouting mission, each time! You can really learn some new things about a property this way.

Very true! I have killed more than one buck by changing my pattern after finding a change in his pattern while still hunting. Things like a new rub line that wasn't there a week before. Scouting during the season is more productive for me than pre-season and still hunting is the best way.

[MACHINIST]

I try and fail every year,it might be because I am not very good or it may be tht I loose patients after about 200 yards and then its 5 steps,stop,scan for a second then 5 more

[cdmckane]

I've never been good at it, but I try to work on it.  Mostly during squirrel season, on state lands.  I sure don't want to screw up my prime private spots practicing!  Hopefully, one of these days, I'll be more adept at it to actually try it during deer season when I can actually shoot them. 

[NFA-ADK]

Great information and advice!  On average I cover about 3 miles for a full day not including the hike to the area I still hunt in.  If you find a good spot spend more time trying to evaluate the tracks and sign.  Is this a track from a bedding area or are they going to a feeding area, are doe present, choke points, food source, water etc.  The more info you can gather when still hunting the better your chances of success.  If you use a day pack bring extra clothes and socks in case you find a great spot and want to stay until dark or if it rains...  (Always bring rain gear!)  Don't ever quit due to bad weather it is the best time to still hunt.  Pack a lunch so you don't have to leave the woods!  That extra time saved is invaluable and keeps you in the woods hunting all day. 

 

How fast I go depends on how much I like the area but I try to go a few step stop and scan, if I brake a branch or twig I stop for 15 min.  The more promising the area the slower I go stopping every few feet for up to 15 minutes or more.  Some area I just hike through.  Every time I approach a ridge or opening I approach very slow and scan for long periods.  When I stop I try to lean on a tree or sit on a log preferably in some type of cover.   In thick cover I tend to move a little faster but try to be as quiet as possible.   

 

Best time of the day.  All day...  Shot one around 10 AM, 12, 1 and 3:30 PM.  If I only hunted the prime times I would have never taken a deer.  

 

Cover and terrain should be evaluated on topo and aerial maps before you go to the area.  I like to hunt ridges, transition areas that meet with choke points and if possible food sources and doe, let the tracks and sign tell you where to hunt.  Lake, pond, swamp and river edges offer good spots to pick up a track and get an idea on travel routes/area use. 

 

Best season is the chasing/seeking phase into the rut.  Late October through November.  But many still hunters do it all season.

 

Enjoy the challenge it is one of the most invigorating ways to hunt but watch out, it's addicting!!!  Great way to scout a area then after enough info is set you can set up a ambush or try to still hunt the opposite way deer are traveling if wind allows it. 

 

Good luck! 

 

 

[Pygmy]

One of the most useful tools for the stillhunter is your binoculars.

People think of binos as long range, open country tools...Not necessarily...

They are EXTREMELY useful in dense, close cover while stillhunting...Use them to focus THROUGH brush, and look into every nook and cranny, between trees, etc. You will be amazed at how much more detail you will see.. Take a few steps, then scan everything you can see with the binos...Spend 5% of your time moving slowly, and 95% of your time LOOKING carefully.. High powered glass can be counterproductive. 6 x 35 or 7 x 35 is ideal..8 power should be considered max for this type of hunting.

[Jeremy K]

One thing i can add that i have witnessed many times in the woods and i always do when walking , if you step on a branch and it snaps then don't keep walking , every deer i have ever witness break a branch always stops and stands motionless for what seems to be over a minute.

[Ford]

One of the most useful tools for the stillhunter is your binoculars.

People think of binos as long range, open country tools...Not necessarily...

They are EXTREMELY useful in dense, close cover while stillhunting...Use them to focus THROUGH brush, and look into every nook and cranny, between trees, etc. You will be amazed at how much more detail you will see.. Take a few steps, then scan everything you can see with the binos...Spend 5% of your time moving slowly, and 95% of your time LOOKING carefully.. High powered glass can be counterproductive. 6 x 35 or 7 x 35 is ideal..8 power should be considered max for this type of hunting.

 

Binos indeed. Absolutely lost without binos, any type of hunting.

 

Usually I take 10 steps and look around 5 minutes.

 

There have been times, when I have moved 10 steps in 30 minutes, like if I almost know deer are in a certain area.

 

Last deer I shot was maybe 25 yards, walking right past me while still hunting.

[azhuntress]

I have walked up fairly close to deer before (where they can't see you like in thick

brush or if they are over a ridge) by walking with a two step approach. Put

your weight down first on your toes and then put your heel down. Each footstep

then sounds like 2 feet and the other footstep makes it sound like another 2 feet, which

together sounds like the sound of a deer walking. It's a pain to walk that way but it

has worked for me a time or two.

[LIWaterman]

Try to walk like a deer...don't get caught in an open area. Pick out a spot you want to get to and get there. I don't know how many times I've been caught mid step in the middle of an open patch, surer than sh** a deer is standing at 50 yards. Open timber seems to work best for me. Somewhere you can dodge behind a tree but also see two hundred yards.

[Localqdm]

The nastier the weather, the better the day to still hunt, in my opinion.   Strong wind, white out snow, driving rain, etc would make the best conditions.

[ncountry]

The nastier the weather, the better the day to still hunt, in my opinion.   Strong wind, white out snow, driving rain, etc would make the best conditions.

 

That is usually when I will go on walkabouts/stillhunting. rain or high winds

[LIWaterman]

Try to walk like a deer...don't get caught in an open area. Pick out a spot you want to get to and get there. I don't know how many times I've been caught mid step in the middle of an open patch, surer than sh** a deer is standing at 50 yards. Open timber seems to work best for me. Somewhere you can dodge behind a tree but also see two hundred yards.

[outbakjak]

if you think you are moving too slow.slow down