Visual or audio?

[G-Man]

Are you a visual or audio hunter??no I dont mean firing shots at sounds. 

I find my hunting success improved tremendously when I started hunting thick areas and had to start using my ears to hear an approaching deer before it suddenly would pop into view at 10 yards giving no opportunity to get ready for a shot. Since then I set most of my stands to allow the game to come in from behind me and show visibly after they pass. This allows me to hear get ready and when they appear I'm drawn and ready to shoot with bow. 

I got very frustrated seeing deer long range with a bow in hand and saying to myself I wish it was gun season..  gun season is a bit more visual for me as we tend to have that dam snow that makes everything quiet, it also makes it easier to pick out movement but that works in both directions hunting from a stand can help lessen that but hunting from the ground I dont think it gives me more of an advantage over the deers ability to see me.. 

Anyone else notice a difference as they mature as a hunter and in techniques used? I even have a game ear though I have excellent hearing it makes sounds even more recognizable.  A squirrel sounds like a squirrel and not a deer.....

[Robhuntandfish]

i def use both.  On those days the ground is wet i am cert more visual, but cant tell you how many times i have heard the deer coming before i have seen it.  And have gotten so most of the time i dont even look at squirrel noise anymore. Deer walking just have that certain cadence that you just know.  I often set up where i can see well and shooting lanes etc , but also set to where my back is a really brushy area and will hear them from that direction.  There have been many times that i have heard them sneaking thru the woods and just had gun/bow up ready to go for when they stepped out. 

But it does still amaze me at times when you turn your head and there they are and i didnt hear or see them.  

[The_Real_TCIII]

I hunt thick areas, I see few deer but when I see one it’s typically in range. I love when I can sit quietly and hear them coming


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[smokecreeks guy]

Visual all the way

[kpkot]

In all honesty I think I hunted one day where you could hear them coming. lots of rain or the ground just stayed moist and quiet.

[Moho81]

My opening day gun spot is in a thick area and I'd say I mostly hear them first before seeing them. If I don't hear them first they are usually right in front of me before I know it and sometimes that's to late. 

Most other spots I sit tend be be visual only because I can see much further out. 

[rob-c]

Well depends, on a crisp fall day and there tons of crunchy leaves or a frozen crystal November day,  audio all the way. But when it’s silent for walking my head is definitely on a swivel. But having said that I use my ears more than my eyes no doubt. 

[dbHunterNY]

i'm a slow hunter so i don't rely of visual and audible hunter skills to let me know the deer is running away. lol

[Engraver99]

during bow season and seasons with no snow I rely on my hearing 99% of the time, If snow - then I have to look for them.

[turkeyfeathers]

Completely visual.   Think it works against me a bit in archery.  I’ll learn.  

[ncountry]

50% audio. I probably spend probably that much of a day in stand with my eyes closed.. 

[coonhunter]

I prefer audio by a mile. I rarely hunt where i can see good enough to shoot more than about 60 yards. I like when I see a deer, it is already in range, or close to it. This year has been wet most of bow season, and snow most of gun season, so the hearing them coming hasn't worked out too well. In all honesty, i think I get more excited hearing them coming than i do when I actually see them.

[grampy]

Due to hearing loss, mostly visual these days. 

[OldNewbie]

Sitting in my ground blind, I have a limited field of view. I often hear a footfall or twig snap, then another 3 min later, then another.. when they finally come into view I already have my bow at least on my lap or at the ready.

I do sometimes scan the far woods with binoculars, but more from boredom than anything else. Can't say I ever spotted a deer through glassing that I didn't see first without the binos.

Tried a ladder stand this year and shot a doe from it. Visibility is much better, but its just not as comfy as the ground blind with the padded swivel office chair (a curb alert find). 

[Otto]

23 hours ago, grampy said:

Due to hearing loss, mostly visual these days. 

I am in the same boat.  I really need to look into a game ear, or hearing aids.  

[G-Man]

4 hours ago, Otto said:

I am in the same boat.  I really need to look into a game ear, or hearing aids.  

A game ear is very useful and the fact they cut out and become ear plugs when you fire a gun is added bonus

[Otto]

6 hours ago, G-Man said:

A game ear is very useful and the fact they cut out and become ear plugs when you fire a gun is added bonus

Do you use the Walkers Game ear that goes into your ear canal, or a over the ear style?  

[G-Man]

7 minutes ago, Otto said:

Do you use the Walkers Game ear that goes into your ear canal, or a over the ear style?  

I have a walkers used mostly when wet or snowy out really let you hear like it is crunchy out