One last article that I was working on. Decided to post here on TG.
As a hunter, “getting close” can be accomplished with any weapon. For myself, I really didn't understand the meaning of getting close until I picked up a stickbow. Just to give you a little background, I’ve hunted extensively with high powered rifles, compounds and stickbows. When I was hunting with rifles, my caliber of choice was a 7mm Remington Mag. My max effective range was 300 yards. During my compound days, I was shooting a 70lb compound and felt proficient in the field up to 60 yards. In recent years, I’ve been primarily hunting with a recurve and longbow and to be honest I’m confident a touch over 15 yards. With all these weapons, I did practice at further distances and have taken longer shots in the field, but the yardages posted above depict a good idea of how close I need to get. In addition, I primarily spot and stalk and the terrain I hunt is really conducive to long range shots.
Would I still be able to hunt with my 7 mag and stalk up to 20 yards? Of course I could, but the question is, “Would I?” Given my personality and hunting style, it would be a “NO”. I primarily hunt highly pressured public land and I strive to fill the freezer as our family and friends love to feast on wild game. Given my weapon of choice, I’ll usually stalk up to a point in which I’m comfortable with the shot and take the shot from there.
Let’s take for example the valley that I’m currently hunting. If I had my 7mm, I would hike up in the dark and head straight to one of the vantage points at the top of the ridge. The top is wide open and you can see for hundreds of yards. I would glass the typical areas and chances are I would find an animal within gun range. In most cases, I could probably take a shot from where I was glassing. From sunrise until an hour or so later, I’d probably have an animal in my crosshairs. In this first scenario with my rifle, I would still need to scout, know the terrain and understand the animals, but in my opinion I wouldn’t have to put in the same amount of work. Please also remember, I’m not looking for “The One”. Pursuing one specific animal is a huge challenge but not what I’m after. As mentioned, these areas that I hunt are highly pressured and there are no “trophies”. I’m just chasing legal, mature animals that I can take home to fill the freezer and in some instances, the “trophies” are the worst ones to eat.
Now if I took my compound into this hunting area, I might take the same initial approach. Hiking up early and locating the animals. The difference this time is, there would be a lot more stalking involved. Being on the top with a bow makes it a touch more difficult as the terrain is open during the dry season. You still have varied types of cover, but you’ll need a good game plan to get under 60. The animals are a bit more active in the morning and although they feed, getting to their bedding area seems to be their priority. If unable to pull off a stalk in the morning, I would typically descend and try to hit up their bedding areas. There’s a good chance that I would be able to find them. The tough part would then be the swirling winds, thick vegetation and steep cliffs. The bonus with the compound is that if the winds swirl or if they bust me for another reason, the animals will typically run out of the pocket and head to the next ridge. The ridges are narrow and steep, but many times, a ridge to ridge shot is between 40-60 yards. An honest example would be of my wife. In this area, typically she would be able to harvest over ten animals with her compound in one season as opposed to zero to two in a season with her recurve.
A stickbow in hand has dramatically changed how I hunt this valley. Three things that I’ve always paid attention to (but now in much greater detail) is the lay of the land, stalking technique and last but not least, knowing the animal. Let’s just start off by talking about the lay of the land. I feel like I need to know every inch of the Valley as if was my backyard. Animal trails/beds, topography, types of vegetation, and ridge to ridge crossing points are just a few examples. It took us a few years, but we climbed and crossed every single ridge and it has paid of to this day. On my last three successful hunts this year, I was able to locate the animals with my binoculars, knew exactly where they were and how to get there. For the first animal this season, I spotted them feeding one ridge away from me. With a rifle, it was an easy shot as they were just calmly feeding. I could've found a very stable rest and taken a relaxed shot. With the stickbow, I had to climb the ridge that I was on and actually pass them in terms of elevation. Then I had to drop down into the pocket as there is only one place to cross. Next I had to climb up the side of the ridge and drop down in elevation to get into stalking distance. Luckily for me, the wind was in my favor! Once I was in stalking distance, I spotted a few above me. (Definitely a compound shot as they were about 50 yards and I knew I could've gotten closer, but probably only to 30 as I would've lost cover.) Wanting to get a closer opportunity, I bypassed the ones above me and headed for the few that were feeding in the grass. At that point I couldn't see them, but still heard them which helped to confirm the direction that they were heading. I snuck up the the edge of the tall grass as I knew I could get a shot once one of the them exited. If everything worked as planned, this would be my intercept point. Sure enough, one of them came out and presented a 15 yard shot. Because of my quick ambush set up, he didn’t see me and presented an even closer shot.
Stalking has even changed for me. When hunting with a compound, I’ll usually sneak up to a comfortable distance and if the animal isn't alert, I’ll take the shot. Usually that ends up somewhere around 20-45 yards. These days, I try to stalk up to about 30-50 yards and then wait. That’s when knowing the terrain and knowing the animal really helps. If possible, I want to set up and have the animals come to me. Of course it doesn't always work, but that’s my first choice. Watching what they're feeding on, their direction, wind direction and an ambush location. At this point, camo doesn't help me much. If anything, a good head cover is sufficient. I need to try and be fully hidden and watch my every movement. Keeping tabs on the animal, wind and trying to make it to my ambush/ intercept point without being heard or seen become my main goal. How far I stalk up to them, then wait for them really depends on the type of animal, it’s demeanor, the terrain (cover) and wind. I rarely hunt the top ridges as I would with the rifle.
Knowing the animal is just as important as anything else I have described. Knowing when they feed, when they travel, how far they travel, their senses, how skittish they are, etc. These animals tend to bed mid morning until about lunch, then they'll start to feed around two in the afternoon. The times vary with the phase of the moon, but generally I prefer to stalk them in the afternoon. If possible, I’ll catch them near their bedding area or I’ll try to find them feeding as they tend to feed heavy in the late afternoon. It’s also important to pay attention to heavy rains and wind. These are two things that they really seem to dislike and will impact their daily habits. Paying attention to these things usually puts me in the thicker areas of the valley where they can bed and feed, while I can hide in the thicker vegetation. Reading the animals will also tell you when to move and shoot. You're so close and your arrow is so slow, that animals still have the upper hand at a rock’s throw.
Trying to spot and stalk to get under 20 yards has definitely increased my hunting knowledge. As mentioned before, you don’t need a stickbow to get close, but for me that is what it took and the lessons I learned were numerous and invaluable.
Topic: Spot & Stalk w/ Stick & String... (Read 5149 times)
