Trad Gang
Main Boards => PowWow => Topic started by: mt-dew10 on October 12, 2010, 10:10:00 AM
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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?
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do a search on guille suits. There are guys on here killin' lots of critters using them.
God Bless,
Nathan
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How about a ghillie suit and hunting from natural ground blinds.
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That is a good idea, thanks.
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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.
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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.
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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:
I 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.
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Great info guys! Thanks. Please keep it coming.
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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!
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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!
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Make a ground blind
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Comparing hogs to deer is a joke.
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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.
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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
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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.
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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.
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You must be vwery, vwery, qwuite (best elmer fudd impression here). More power to you. Good Luck.
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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.
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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.
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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 :campfire:
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Find funnels and main travel corridors and set up around them with a little ground cover.
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I have gotten a number of deer while still hunting from row to row in cornfields. It is a bit harder these past few years, it seems the corn is shorter and the rows are narrower than they were back in the 60s and 70s.
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Another recommendation for G Fred Asbell's book, Stalking and Still-Hunting. Go PAINFULLY slow. Literaly 90-95% of your time standing and looking. Only 5-10% of the time moving. Use the wind to your advantage and if it's loud or crunchy find a spot for a blind. Even if it's just sitting in the pines within bowshot of an apple tree. You'll be surprised what will walk up on you. Good luck.
Sean
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Look more, walk less
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When it's dry and noisy in the woods, try to sound like a squirrel when you move. Never take three steps in a row without breaking up the rhythm... step step, pause, step. I use a walking stick, and frequently deliberately use the stick to make a sound along with my feet, so I don't sound like a human. If you sound like a squirrel, or another deer, you can get amazingly close without being completely silent.
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I have still-hunted up within 20 feet of several whitetails- but- I couldn't see them but they saw me.
It is very difficult to actually stalk into shooting range of a whitetail- you may be in the right place/right time, but that is a very different thing than actually approaching deer and they not knowing or allowing you a shot. They almost always see you if it is anything but thick cover. And then you can't get a shot because even though you are close enough you can't see them.
Its your movement, that undercuts success.
Example: I knew a bucks favorite bed. He felt safe there and most approaches where through an old cut and very noisy. I waited until a rainy day and approached over moss covered dirt, through pines, above his bedding spot. It was the only approach that allowed silence. The downside was some of it had open patches. I was silent. I took two hours to cover 50 yards. I got very close. He still saw me though and all I saw was his magnificent rack floating away through the forest.
Whitetails have very good eyesight for movement.
Still-hunting will put you into deer, but not because you are "sneaking" up on them. You are actually allowing them to approach you because they don't know you are there yet.
A great way to hunt! Good luck!
Joshua
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Thanks gentleman for the very good insight and information. I will undoubtedly employ some of the suggestions and advice given.
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Originally posted by Buckeye Trad Hunter:
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.
This is perfect info. Also, if you are thinking about the ground blind, LBR has some that are very reasonable and very spacious. for under 150 you can have one delivered. Go to the sponsers classifieds and look at new hunting blind. I got one and set it up last weekend and it was simple and sturdy. I brushed it in well with cedars and it looks like part of nature. Brushing them in is the key. Hope this helps and good luck!
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I just LOVE Stalking and Still Hunting! Do I get a deer every year using this method? Nope. But I wouldn't have it any other way. Hey... It's only hunting. Shouldn't it be fun? You Bet!
Try to locate an old video tape called "Eye Level Bucks" with Mike Lapinski. Covers a lot of points.
... mike ...
*** PS... Killdeer and Bonebuster are right on target! ***
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If conditions are right, still-hunting with a bow, CAN be done.
The best advice I can add, is when you think you are moving slow enough...slow down! When you spend some time still hunting you should be tuckered out. Flat out spent. You must throw away the clock, and live by the time kept by the critters. You must have nothing you must go do, and you simply must accept the fact that you probably won`t even come close to getting a shot. It is time well spent.
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Originally posted by cpnhgnlngct:
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.
1,000 times yes. If you do nothing else (and are really interested), you ought to read this book.
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Keep the wind in your face.
I like still hunting parallel to a deer trail, stopping for a long time at each good piece of cover.
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Okay, some of what I have has been covered. Some was learned in the Corps other from experiance. I am no expert, that said I have taken few deer, hogs and turkey still hunting.
1)play the wind, goes with out said, always know is direction
2)Look more than walk. All animals have a hard time picking movement when body in motion. Stop and study whats around you. Before move plan your move.
3)when you look around, study everything, remember you need to see the animal before he knows your there, look for movement, straight lines, or something out of place. Look for sign, one day was walking through slowly, looked down and seen water on leaf, knowing it hadn't rained figure it was a deer moving, stayed on course and followed fresh tracks, she busted me, but noticing it made a great experiance in stalking
4)When you move slow and deliberate, plan your steps, look down at the path and know where you are and where you want to end up and move slowly. Take two and three steps and stop.
5)When you stop always try and stop next to a tree, bush or shrub to help conceal you. Preferably in the shade, for harder for all animals to pick up shape and movement in shade than light.
6)If you think you seen movement, you did! WE have tendancy to talk ourselves out of things, animals don't they realy on instinct. If you seen something, you did, but was it a squirrels tail, a bird or an animal you are afer, see next
7)to me the most important is the hardest, PATIENCE! Whe you go stalk and animal, forget the clock, animals don't wear them, and the only thing on your mind is move when the animal tells you to, If you are thinkging its been 10 minutes, maybe I can get by with doing this, you will be busted. Many great stalker, are known for waiting for long time to move when the animal moves.
8)Study the animal, is it nervous, eating, moving with others (always look for second or third animal). There behavior will obviously dictact what you may get away with
9)On deer a turkey call helps in certain places, and yes turkey's can be stalked.
10)Use Terrain, use the dips and draws to advantage taking the wind into consideration. blowdown and/or fallen trees for long sighting stops. If can circle around a hill, to get better advantage of and animal position, the longer road usually has better pay off.
11)Dirt is our friend, may people are afraid to get down and crawl on all fours or belly. there are plenty of times when its better, low sillouete, more control over movement. Funny how a turkey with two legs sounds like a person making alot of noise walking, but a four legged animal like deer seems to appear out of no where without making noise, instead of on contact with earth, there are three, huh, imagine that
12)concentric rings- I heard this along time ago and read it several times as well as seen it. If one animal in the woods gives off alarm, will set off a small chain reaction with others, like a squirrel barking at you, then the deer you are stalking is little more alert to something wrong, then deer bolts, bumps another deer, then they run into turkeys they run yada yada. Works both ways too, many times as am sure others will relate, sit there and out of blue hear a squirrel bark at something, then look here comes a big buck.
Just some of what I have experianced and found works for me and few others I got into it. Remember, to have fun, many busted stalks taught me alot and great memories. Go Slow
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Thanks for the great info. I have ordered G.Fred Asbells book and should get it by next week. I think the patience part of still-hunting will be my biggest challenge...
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I think the turkey call idea is awesome! have not thought about that?. Not much still slippin around here - to thick too noisy - Montana should be good slippin country.
But even hanging out in a ground blind a cluck or purr might help place deer at ease.
Gonna try it!
J