Ground guys, how?

[bowmaster12]

How do you guys do it?  Ive always been a stand hunter and would love to shoot one while walking through the woods.  I just dont see how it can be done in the crunchy leaves of the north woods.  Do you just scout your way along until you find a good area then sit? I think i can count on half a hand how many deer ive seen while just walking. My hats off yo you successful still hunters.

[JamesD]

I have had zero success still hunting as a bowhunter. I did implement brush blinds and pop up ground blinds into my arsenal to compliment tree stand hunting. I tired of watching hot deer trails by trees unsuitable to hang a stand in. So far, I average about fifty fifty for whitetail shot opportunities from each.

[bowmaster12]

So this morjing i decided to make a loop that i walked last gun season. Half way through it ive seen 6 deer 2 bucks and got with in 30 yards of two does.  I should probably stop walking and start sitting.  Now is not the time of year one should be experimenting.

[kennym]

I'm thinkin Fred Bear once said" If you wanna see deer - walk ... if you wanna kill deer - sit. 

[Sam McMichael]

The only time I have ever walked up close to a deer was on very wet ground when the leaves were not crunchy at all. Now, I hunt only from a stand, sometimes elevated, sometimes not.

[matt steed]

I tried for years here in Mississippi to kill a deer from the ground with my bow. I got close several times, but the deer always busted me when I drew my bow. The deer in Mississippi are some of the most nervous whitetail deer I have ever been around. I always tell people it’s like their on crystal meth.

[Bowguy67]

I’ll tell you a way I used to kill deer real easy on the ground. The farm I hunted had a farmer used to get upset if he felt we weren’t killing enough does. He’d say that, I’d shoot a doe or so but imo it wasn’t sporting enough.
Anyhow the deer would come off this mountain, cross this hay field, cross a dried up brook. The brook was narrow w high edges. They’d dip in and enter the pumpkin field. Seemed they never used the same area though. Always varied some.
So I’d get into the dried up brook, watch the deer crossing the hayfield, the brook allowed me to move where I needed to. The edges were somewhat thick. They never saw me. Obviously the wind had to be good but I don’t think I ever tried it unsuccessfully. Maybe so I just don’t remember that. Was way too easy. Imo anything so easy is unsporting but this wasn’t about sport it was appeasing a landowner. I didn’t consider this an accomplishment. Just an idea to build off of if you want it

[woodchucker]

We hunt mountain deer, and we walk the woodroads.

It's next to impossible to not make noise in the dry leaves.
Small, slow steps... Take a few, stop and look. Think about all of the deer you've seen around your stand.
You want to sound like a deer, slowly browsing through the woods....

It's really simple, but it does take practice

[flntknp17]

I don't know if you'd call it "still hunting" or not, but what has worked for me more often than I had thought it would is to walk slowly and quietly into an area where I know deer will pass on there way from bedding to evening feeding.  I feel like if I am careful, I can get quite close to the pine and wild rose thickets they often use for bedding around here.  Then just find a tree or a bush that is wider than I am and try as hard as I can to make myself a part of that tree.  Its amazing how often it works if you're still.  I had a four point buck feed on acorns for over ten minutes less than 15 yards in front of me one evening last week while I kneeled in front of a large tree.

Matt

[GCook]

I've killed several deer still hunting with a shotgun and rifle.  Usually at relatively close range. 
I've even had luck on a few deer with a modern bow but it usually was more I saw them walking towards me and hid behind a cedar, drew and released as they went by.
I think you can make it happen on windy or rainy days.
It is not as productive maybe but it beats sitting all the time.

[Sam McMichael]

I don't mind sitting. I make more noise than an elephant no matter how stealthily I try to walk. I have worked with skilled hunters, watched countless videos, read dozens of books and magazine articles about stalking, yet I still crunch like I'm walking through a huge bowl of corn flakes. Unless it is wet, I'll need to stay in a tree.

[Trenton G.]

I've done a bit of still hunting, and really enjoy it. Generally I prefer a day that is a bit windy. Not crazy, just enough so that it's not dead quiet. Bring a good pair of binoculars with you. They are an absolute must in my opinion. I spend much more time standing and scanning with them than I do actually walking. I always look for the path that will allow me the quietest movement, but sometimes that's not always possible. I've tested this a couple of times, and I've found that deer are much more tolerant of constant leaf rustling as opposed to a crunch from a step. When I walk, I always try and keep one foot in motion. I think that it sounds more like the wind just rustling some leaves as opposed to something walking. About the only useful thing that I learned in high school marching band was how to roll step, and I've modified it slightly for hunting. As opposed to putting my whole foot down at once, I roll my foot down, starting at the heel.
If I'm still hunting and I find an area that I like, I might spend anywhere from a half hour to the rest of the day there. It's all about being flexible to the situation that you find yourself in.
I always look for part of a deer when still hunting. Very rarely will I actually see the whole deer. Usually a few horizontal lines that are the body between two trees, an ear, or the V formed from the tail again their white legs. Again, the binoculars help a ton with this. Last night I was walking down an old gravel road doing more scouting than hunting, and was stopping every 20 yards or so to scan. At one stop there was a doe 50 yards away from me in the thick brush that I never would have seen without the binos. Even after I knew where she was, I couldn't see her with my naked eye.

[degabe]

If youare going to still hunt you need to learn how to go slooow. Take two steps and stop then look not way out there but start up close and work your way out. If you cover a hundred yards in less than half an hour you are going too fast. Deer make noise when they are walking but they don't walk fast or steady. How many times have you waited forever for that deer to walk out where you can see it.

[guspup]

Keep the wind in your face, walk slower than humanly possible. A couple of steps, stop and wait ten minutes or so and look for anything that seems like the tiniest of movement. Listen to what the crows and squirrels are doing, if for anything, just to calm your mind. Notice everything, and appreciate it. Sit for a while and just become part of the woods. You will see deer, and if they have not noticed you, this is when the fun starts. In my opinion, this is the most rewarding way to hunt, if you have access to ample land, and can safely stalk without disturbing other hunters. The added benefit, is that when you do have a shot, it is easier to double lung a deer when your arrow travels parallel to the ground. I've always liked the saying, "walk fast, see little, walk slow, see a lot"

[Wheels2]

I learned to woods sneak by stalking squirrels.
Three steps then stand still for 30 seconds.  It takes a long time to cover ground but it is the best methods so far.  Avoid open areas and stop ne,t to trees to help break up your outline.
Stupid deer help, but there aren't many of them.
In the rut their own activity is a big plus.

[GCook]

I'd wager successful still hunters with a trad bow, on whitetail deer in big timber, is a small percentage.   Mostly because very few do it compared to stand hunting.
Now with pigs and javelina you've got a real good chance.

[recurvericky]

I have taken 3 nice bucks from the ground over the past 3 years. I always make sure the wind is in my favor. I have good cover in front and behind me. I have worn my home made gilli on 2 of the 3. Each shot was less than 5 yds with one being about 4-5 steps head on. A friend of mine that frequents this site gives me crap about being lucking, but I beg to differ. After hunting for about 43 years, many hardcore, I believe it is being able to read sign, look at the terrain and figure  out what I think the deer will do. I believe anyone can do the same just don’t give up. Being eye level with a deer is an absolute rush.

[bowmaster12]

Had two does by that tree in the pic.  Thought for sure a buck was behind them they came running in stopped and looked back, but he never showed up and the ladies moved on.

[woodchucker]

Gary probly has a point... Very few people do it.

There are probly about a dozen or more tree stands around our mountain. Most of them never get used, except maybe opening day of gun season.

The wind constantly changes, and there are no major established feeding or bedding areas.
You could sit for days in a stand, and not see a deer, much less the "Big Buck" you've watched all year.
My son Tyler shot a buck in 2015, with a belly full of corn. The nearest corn field was 2 1/2 miles down the road.

You can't "pattern" mountain deer. So, we go find them......

[kopfjaeger]

X2 with kennym.