Still Hunting Pro's

[KentuckyTJ]

Well I would love to see harvest pics and read some tales from the still hunting specialists among us. To me that is the ultimate challenge on deer especially. I once killed a young eight point buck that I crested a hill (on the way to my stand) and saw eating acorns. After I saw him I snuck up to within bow range and luckily got an arrow in him from my black widow PSA III. A true rush that I will never forget.

[Burnsie]

Sounds like South Cox has it down pretty good.

[NY Yankee]

Im no specialist but I like still-hunting because I hate "stump sitting" waiting for something to come to me. I like to be up and moving about, seeing different things, hearing the birds sing, trying to stay in the shadows and scouting ares while Im at it. I will sometimes, sit down and listen to the world and look around, eat an apple or get a drink. Then I get bored and get up and move. I have walked up on several deer this way. Some were a surprise and some were a stalk. Ive got to get better at this though as all those were a bust. A couple years ago, I was still-hunting a new place and came to the bottom of a gully filled with big hardwoods. Suddenly, I heard crunching and looked up to see a doe crossing in front of me. When she cleared a big tree she stopped and looked back. It was a perfect opportunity and so I raised the bow, drew and shot. It happened very quickly and somehow, it still seems like a dream. The back straps were very real though.

[Panzer]

Where I grew up in Ohio we had a small stream that ran behind my house. The stream separated two corn fields, and it was thick on each side with brush and trees.The whole thing was maybe 75 yards wide. The farmer that owned the field let me trap the stream and I would enter the stream with hip waders on at his house and wade the stream checking my traps. Well every time I checked my traps I noticed I kept bumping deer that were laying along the bank of the stream. It was such a quiet approach that if the wind was in your face you could get within 10-15 yds of these deer before they would bolt. I eventually killed my only deer from the ground along that stream just by taking my time and letting the sound of the creek drown out my approach.

[centaur]

Far from being a pro, but I have had some success from time to time. Still hunt turns into spot and stalk quite often. I move really ssllooww, stopping often for a while, and watching for movement both with binoculars and my naked eyeballs. I try and use shadows, folds in the terrain and any other cover that can keep me hidden. Some stalks after spotting may take a long time; I missed an antelope earlier this year after a 30 minute stalk, and I originally spotted him about 200 yards out. Got to within 15 yards before I managed to totally flub the shot, but the stalk was great.
I have taken several turkeys with still hunt/spot and stalk, in fact all the turkeys I have taken with one exception have been with that method.  Here's one from last year.
   
I have taken a few deer through that method, too. Here is one of them.
   
I practice in the off season trying to get close, and most of the time I am armed with a camera. These elk were trailed, heard, and then spotted and stalked this summer. Too bad they haven't played the game during the season.
   
Obviously, hunting the wind is critical. Last week, the only elk that I saw in 4 days of hunting came ghosting up behind me in some black timber. I had been standing still for probably 5 minutes, and he got to within 20 yards when I saw that nose come up, and he backed out the same way he came from. I'm pretty sure he never saw me, but he sure did smell something that wasn't to his liking.
No better or more fun way to hunt than still hunting, if you ask me.

[Steelhead]

I don't still hunt a lot.But I do really enjoy it.I killed one nice 8 point still hunting and a few does.I have been doing more of it the last few years.Choosing my routes based on wind direction in areas that are good habitat for stillhunting.Those are my most enjoyable days in the woods.

I think conditions can be of help.After a rain or snow can be beneficial for soft footsteps.A little wind can help as well.Stay in the shadows if possible.I think hilly terrain is nice as you can use the crests to peer over to the other side.Sounds like you killed your buck that way.An area with some cover is good as you will be concealed more.Use cover as you move and stay behind it as you stop.I think the edges of creeks and rivers are good and the edges of swamps.Or where thick cover meets hardwoods.The transition areas.Firetrails are nice for stillhunting as their relatively quiet for footfalls

I think pace is very critical.You have do it agonizingly slow.I once saw a picture of Stacy Grosscup.I may have spelled that wrong.But he killed an amazing nontypical still hunting.He would only cover about 100 yards in an hour or so.Move slowely and methodically.Nothin fast or twitchy.Its kinda challenging to move this way.Its unnatural for us.It kinda tests your motor skills in a different way.You will get into it though.

I find it kinda surreal to hunt this way.You can really get tuned into the natural world.Seeing and hearing all kinds of things if your moving very slowly and keenly.You will sneaking up on birds and squirrels etc.I think it becomes almost trance like and other worldly.

You will get some good scouting in as well and maybe figure some things out for stand hunting as Yankee mentioned above.

Sometimes it can lead to a stalking opportunity.

I think its exhilarating and challenging and a lost art in the world of treestands and portable ground blinds.

I shot my buck from my knees.As I was able to get down after the deer put his head behind a tree.I saw him just like you as I was peering over a slight rise and saw his antlers.I did not want to be standing.Crouching low he moved into bowrange at 20 yards and turned his head to look the other way and I made a fortunate shot quickly.Practicing from shooting from your knees and quickly, would be beneficial IMO.It can happen fast and its kinds hairy.

I am no pro but have had some luck.Mainly
I enjoy it a lot and think it can maximize the enjoyment of the bowhunting experience and make it more interesting,challenging and exhilarating if something goes down.

Your thread has me itching to go stillhunting.I will be in November!

[Brianlocal3]

Again like others I'm no pro, but have taken a few still hunting. I move slow ( not as slow as is best I'm sure) but about the speed of a meandering deer , I stop often for a couple minutes.

Once I was up on a ridge looking down into a creek bottom and saw a group of does. The only way to get to them was go drop down into the bottom and approach.

The hill sides were very steep (I always have a turkey diaphragm call with me in the woods, always! Most times its in my mouth) well like a graceful dodo bird I fell down the side of the hill LOL. I IMEDIATELY  starting clucking and kee kawing while staying low (read that as pulling my clumsy butt up). The deer settled down after a few minutes and went back to feeding.

I had eyes on the group and I got to within 20 yds, as I drew back I got busted by a doe I didn't see 10 yds to my left. She snorted and the main group skittled back to about 40 yds. The one I drew on was broadside to me so I released, got her in the boiler maker and found her about 60 yds up the ridge!!

It was amazing

[Bjorn]

It is the only way I hunt. Look for solitary animals whenever possible- if it is a group the sneak is way way harder and you have to know where each of them is all the time, don't move until their eyes are out of sight, look for ambush opportunities where they walk to you, don't walk AT them, don't stare, be very patient and above all be prepared to fail.

oops, somehow I got a double post.

All of my deer have been shot on the ground and about a third of them were either a stalk or head them off at the pass thing, except for one.  I was still hunting a bit of public land and saw three deer coming down the draw. I was in the thirty yard wide flat bottom of it. They seemed like they were heading towards a trail above me a bit, but there was a thick line of brush on the edge of the draw.  Someone had propped up a silo ladder against a tree in the bottom of that draw.  while the deer were heading sort of towards me I climbed about two thirds up that silo ladder until I could see a clear shot over the brush and stuck a leg through it and stood sideways on it. The group of deer along with the large bodied eight pointer with drop tines were on the next trail up the hill. I picked a hole through the branches, drew with the buck and gave it a little lead. The 2018 with Delta went through the buck and went up into some branches beyond. The buck broke and charged off about 40 or 50 yards then his legs went out and he skidded on his side to a stop. I stood motionless for a few minutes then my arrow slid out of the branches and fell to the ground and all was silent.  That buck weighed 232 pounds dressed out. Sorry no digital picks I am a film guy mostly.

No specialist here either! I have stalked up on a lot of pigs and javis, but never on a deer.

Bisch

[elkken]

my best stalk ever .... this was on a DIY hunt in Idaho

I had seen this buck twice during the week of hunting and to say he was impressive to see is an understatement. The height of his horns, back tines to his skull is 31" . He was bedded with two other nice bucks when I first saw him, but he had already seen me and i never had a chance that day.

The next day my hunting partner had a chance at him but MISSED, thank you Lord !!

Heading out on the last day to hunt I told my partner I was going to kill that buck ! I knew pretty much the location he was staying in and hoped he was still in the neighborhood. The previous night we had a good snow and the weather had calmed to a steady wind and intermittent flurries.  

I headed up the hill at first light, the terrain was rolling hills and sage brush, pretty much open country. Staying off the ridge lines and moving slow I began to glass every hill and sage. This was a wintering ground so there were good numbers of deer and you had to be careful not to spook too many and get them all going. About an hour into the morning I finally spotted him feeding going up the hill with another small three point. I set off in that direction,checking the wind and looking for a good line of attack. He and the small buck fed across a flat and up over a hill and I lost sight of them. I marked the line with a big rock and headed for the hill, along the way i ran into two groups of does and had to hunker down and let them feed on by before I could continue on my line. Not trying to rush things really was a good choice, when I got to the crest of the hill about 80 yards away was my buck, bedded down. The small three point was right next to him with his head down on the ground fast asleep. Must have been chasing girls all night ... I had a steady wind in my face and some nice soft snow to glide through I just had to go super slow and not push down too quickly on the snow and make it squeak. I had a small cut to my left to go down and use as cover and I was not far from the Boise airport and the departing planes made pretty good cover noise. When I got to with in 40 yards I only moved when a plane was taking off and I patted down the snow in front of me with my hand to avoid any noise. I was now in a low crawl and my goal was to get to twenty yards. At twenty yards the buck was still looking mostly up hill and quartering slightly way. The little buck had raised his head a few times but was pretty much sleeping through the entire stalk. I was shooting my 52" Cascade Nighthawk Magnum and that little bow allowed me to keep a lower profile for the shot keeping behind a sage bush. To my horror, I MISSED .... the big buck jumped out of his bed and ran about ten yards to the left looking up hill, he had no idea where I was. I quickly nocked my second arrow and now at thirty yards put it right thru both lungs. I have still hunted most of my 56 year hunting career except for tree stands for whitetail. This was my most exciting and memorable.

 

[wapiti792]

I will chime in and say whitetails are tough! I have killed a half dozen or so by still hunting. My favorite time to sneak and peak has to have 2 variables:

1. Right after a rain or a slow mist with wind. The woods are moving so you have some help from Mother Nature. My favorite is a ridge or draw where I think a buck might have taken a doe.

2. The rut. Bucks here put does at the end of fencerows and drainages in fields. I love to slip around, glassing then find that scenario.

It is big fun! I have never killed a giant that way, but I have been close to a couple. I also counted coup on a good one a few years back but for some reason turned my nose up at him.
 
*little feller

 
* right after a shower, backstrap boogie

[Barry Wensel]

Coincidentally, I just wrote a piece for Bowhunter magazine about still-hunting. It's in the October issue, which I believe should be out now or any day now. Everyone thinks I just treestand hunt. I actually slip/sneak around more than most people realize. I love doing it during less than prime-times, i.e. October, nasty weather, etc. But I have strategy to my still-hunting and don't just go for a walk in the woods. I put a lot of thought into planning my days. I plan my hunt and hunt my plan. It's also an excellent way to check out new areas and uncover new honey-holes without disturbing your absolute best spots. bw

[RC]

Its the only way I hunt pigs but rare for me to leave the house to slip hunt deer. Thats a tough job here in south Ga. I`ve killed a dozen or so slip hunting but they were luck not planned. RC

[ron w]

It's the least productive but certainly the most fun way to hunt. Up in this neck of the woods your deer sightings will be cut by 80 percent.

[Cyclic-Rivers]

If you plan your route right and the wind is good for that specific route, you will find, while still hunting, deer will more than often walk up on you instead of you on them.  It's good to have an arrow easily accessible at all times but not on the string because often, it happens quick.

Its enjoyable but challenging to get in the right mode.  stay slow and stop in the shadows and next to cover.

Bring a pruners with you so you can get past picker bushes easier without a lot of noise.

Have fun.

[KentuckyTJ]

Originally posted by Steelhead:
I think conditions can be of help.After a rain or snow can be beneficial for soft footsteps.

Good point Steelhead, I will wait for a rain to give it a go. My main worry is laying down a human scent trail and maybe knowingly or unknowingly bumping out the mature deer I am after from over pressuring them. I also won't venture into my core sanctuary area.

[Michael Arnette]

Man it's tuff with whitetails! I'm no pro but have killed a couple does on the ground still hunting. As the big bad hunters have mentioned planning is essential as well as terrain. Also, it's never a good method for a bluebird day with whitetail...wait until it's nasty, windy, rainy, ect and be downwind of deer.
I also find its tough to move slow enough, I find the wearing a watch is helpful while glancing back accassionally to gauge your travel. If the deer are likely to be bedded I find its best not to move faster the 75-100 yards an hour...painful yes but worth it.

I have killed a string of deer because of the placement of my climber tree stand.  I put it where I could watch song birds and could see the distant hills with the sunrises and sunsets. I shot all of those deer either sneaking to that stand at sunup or mid afternoon or away from it late mornings, none from the stand.  The only fancy thing that I did was, if I had to begin my hunt with the wind at my back, I did a wide hook to get the wind not at my back.  The other rule I have if I can hear my arrows in my back quiver, I am not hunting, I am hiking.
Open woods can be tough, you have to see the deer before they see you.  At such times and when I am lucky I pin my back up against a tree, a tree cluster is better. If the slope has an erosion ditch, I stay in that ditch as much as I can, it gives a back drop and isolates your scent flow.