THE most critical time of hunting

[newhouse114]

Am I the only still hunter/spot and stalk hunter here? I have drawn my bow twice while elk were staring right at me, veeeeerrrrryyyyy slowly. They don't notice the motion. I've done this with Blacktails and this year a mule deer. You must be able to draw smoothly and slowly so extra heavy draw weight bows are not conducive to this.

[Charlie3]

Newhouse I have drawn on a Muley while spot and stalking. It was walking toward me, 20 steps and closing. Got to full draw undetected, but missed becasue my lower limb hit the ground.

I'll be captian obvious here regarding a couple other posts- although no two stands are exactly the same, you cannot know for sure that you were not busted. Deer don't always snort or run when they detect you...they'll just slowly exit stage left and you may not ever know they were there!

My philosophy is that no harm was ever done by sitting too still, so I try to be as still as I can even when it's not too comfortable.

[YORNOC]

Where I hunt...plenty of trees and brush. I almost always have a tree or something that blocks the deer's view for a short period when it is close enough. I draw when it gets behind these objects.
Sometimes I have to hold at full draw waiting for the shot, but usually it works out well. I have had to let down on occasion, sometimes I get busted, sometimes I get another chance.
But I routinely practice drawing and holding for at least 20 seconds which helps me prepare.

[hogless]

I used the bow klaw this week To keep my bow ready when standing and stand dawn and dusk . It is a device that attaches to the lower limb of your bow and grabs your pants leg you only have to hold the string with one hand it leaves your bow hand free

[Bowwild]

For white-tails I've always hunted from trees except 2 blind sits in Texas in 2006.

When I first started in 1970 at age 16 I was under the impression that zero movement was the goal. So, I moved very little, painfully slow. I remember moving my eyes to the side then follow with my head, then eyes, it was torture!  I killed some deer -- more than many of the adults I knew.

These days I move more. The slow move is no fun and I have to remind myself that deer hunting is supposed to be fun (for me at least). So, I move more but still slowly and with stealth. If my hand is ungloved I move it up against my body. I like to wear a very thin camo skin over my head but not over my eyes or nose.

I hang the bow within easy reach until it starts to get light (I like to be on stand at least 30 minutes before shooting light). Then I will hold the bow for the next 30-45 minutes. However, movement with the bow in hand is a bit more exaggerated so leaving it hunt is ok.  

Like the others I'm intent on seeing or hearing the deer before it is in bow range. I have visualized every possible location a deer might come from and I know where my windows are.

I have only very rarely (knowingly) spooked a deer while on stand. But like the poster above wrote, I'm sure there have been some that have spied me without me knowing it.

I will stand if I'm sitting if I can do so without drawing the deer's attention. If I can't stand I have no qualms about shooting sitting down. Heck, most of the time I couldn't tell you if I had been standing or sitting when I took the shot!

I only draw when the deer is looking somewhere except towards me. I always pick my stands with cover in mind. I'd rather tie back limbs than cut them if possible. This way I can restore some of the cover as leaf-fall occurs. I tend to make less open windows than I used too. I also hunt 4-5 feet lower than when I was younger -- 15' rather than 20'-- easier shot angle.

The most difficult thing for me is not to turn my head to look behind me when I think a deer is walking. It drives me crazy not too know what it is. I have mildly spooked (losing the shot sometimes) deer by being impatient this way.

[Legolas]

I take away from these discussions that sitting and shooting is a big arsenal to have in your quiver.
I will plan to work on that. It helps to have a seat height that allows that. You can't shoot from a low seat.