Individual hunting methods

[Slamfire]

Another method for the west is with a pard. Each of you takes one side of a draw. One moves while the other watches. When the first mover stops, the first watcher, pitches a rock into the brush below, and moves out slowly. Whoever moves deer knows his pard will see it.

 

[Finnwolf]

NWTF,
I love seeing the pictures you post - you gotta be as much a mountain man as any of the originals - bet you got some great stories. Keep it up pilgrim!
Finnwolf

 

[Finnwolf]

At least she doesn't use an inline!

 

[BigCity]

I hunt a small patch of woods, L shaped, with the widest part being about 40-50 yards wide and the narrowest about 15 yards wide. I usually ground sit on a stool at the ed of the bottom of the "L". this end is about 25 yards. These woods have a working farm on one side, a housing development on the other (at the narrow end) and another farm at the end of the houses. The upper end of the "L" is about 300 yards or so long. There is a stream running thru the length of the woods. The upper end is swampy. It is a natural funnel for the deer with lots of sign around.

Directly in front of me is an open field and hill (with a goose blind on top of it. In my advanced age of 51, I will sit as long as I can. My son usually sits a few feet away from me. When my butt hurts from sitting I will walk away from the woods til i get to the other end and then walk in the woods towards my son. Sometimes they run thru the woods (that is a good thing) and sometimes they take off across the open field (sometimes good but mostly not.) And that is how we hunt in the big city. The good thing is that if it is not too wet out, i can drive my truck right up to the woods for loading.

 

[KyFlintlock]

This is a great way to start the day....thinking of ML for deer!

My all around favorite way to hunt them is stillhunt, it is the most rewarding. Now, if you are talking about most successful way for a nice buck, then a stand hunt at pre-rut or rut has been my best.

There is just something about those crisp mornings and hearing that "ch...ch..." as a deer is moving your way!!!!

I just have to break down and buy me the clothing now!!!

GOOD LUCK
wess

 

[roundball]

That's a beauty...really long tines...congratulations!

 

[Choctaw]

Very nice buck. Now I'm hungry. :boohoo:

I normally hunt from a stand. It seems to be what we Texans do. However, I'm not about stalking when I know where the deer are. If the deer won't come to me...

 

[dryfly]

The first priority for deer hunting is to make sure there are deer there to hunt. Scouting. My favorite method is still hunting. Move slow and quiet through the woods. It the evenings hunt the feeding areas.

 

[laufer]

I can't stand to look at the same tree all day, so I still hunt. 3 steps MAX, stop, look, look ,look and then continue. Turn full circle every so often as they are sneeking out behind. This is for both Elk and Deer. I find that Elk and Whitetail are the same, both like the thickest, nastiest stuff you can find. The difference is that you can usually go back day after day to the same place for a Buck, however a Bull will move on after 1 or 2 contacts with a human. Probably not as successful as a sitter, but a lot more fun in my opinion.

Same here! I do take 'break' every hour or so when i sit on the ground and wait for about 15 minutes. That is when i see the most of the movement, and than go after them.
:front:

p.s. What part od CO you hunt? I am arround Estes Park most of the time, and hade a few hunts in Pikes NF.

 

[OTHERN]

I have hunted various parts of Colo, North of Steamboat, North of Paonia, The grand mesa and South park. I've never really found a place to fall in love with. I grew up in Wyo next to the Black Hills and I still go to the Wyo side of the Hills to hunt when I can draw. How is it around Estes Park?

Othern

 

[laufer]

Too many does and cows, too little bucks and bulls. I harves every year, but it gets crowded more and more.
Moving into the Pikes NF slowly.
:front:

 

[Hoyt]

I used to like to still hunt when I was younger and hunted more open woods. Hunting crowed public land in SW Fl. is another ballgame..for me anyway. One thing I just forget scent control..because if I wasn't soaked in sweat..which I always am.. I got 150% industrial strength deet sprayed all over me..that or a fume of Thermacell going...and it does have an order..just like everything else does. Hunting in the rain forests..I just get up a tree and hope a deer comes by between wind shifts...and just seeing one does not mean you will get a shot..nor does hearing one right under you mean you are going to get to see it..because it can be 30yds. from you.. take one step and disappear into the jungle never to be seen again. You got to really like huntin to hunt in this state.

 

[woodsman]

We have about 1100 acres, mostly wooded, that we lease as a still hunting group. We have aprox. 40 ladder stands scattered throughout the place overlooking trails , choke points , oak flats, etc. Alot of days, I start at dawn and take a stand, then about 10am, I'll still hunt my way to another stand and sit for a couple of hours. I may move once or twice more before settling in for the evening hunt. This helps break the boredome of sitting one stand and keeps me out there longer thus bettering my chance of connecting. Tony :front:

 

[Darkhorse]

I hunt on a 5,000 acre lease. I have numerous stands set up on proven travel areas and if possible a couple each at the better spots. I strictly hunt the wind. With multiple stand locations I can often hunt where I want and still have the wind in my favor.
I am a stickler for scent control and even have carbon suits and knee high boots. But I don't think nothing but the boots work if the wind is wrong. I've been busted to many times. Maybe, just maybe, all that stuff will give you a few more seconds.
If it is cold during the pre-rut and rut, then I'll stay on stand a looooooonngggg time.
But I like to ease through the woods also and every couple of years I get a buck cruising in the early afternoon or a doe or two while still hunting. But its still not my "Go To" plan.
Out west I glass and stalk or sit in proven spots and wait. But thats hard to do sometimes. I don't hunt the dark timber and aspens in Colorado anymore. I have a spot that is BLM land in the western part of the state that can be a real honey hole. Its not secret but not a whole lot of folks go there. Its too hard to access.

 

[Keith]

I like to still hunt best. Stand hunting is the most productive though so I try to mix it up a little. I'm not patient enough to sit all day in one spot.

Hoyt, does that Thermacell thing work as a bug repellant? I have seen them and wondered if it was just a gimmick.

 

[Hoyt]

Keit..it flat out works for mosquitoes. They can be so bad I'm suckin them down my throat while trying to get my stand hooked on a tree...and soon as I get the Thermacell hot..they are gone and stay gone long as it's on.
I don't use it too much though. I'll use to get rid of them good..then turn it off. Soon as they start bothern me again I'll turn it back on.
I got a small one that didn't cost but $10.00..you use a lighter or match to get it going. The big ones have an internal ligther with push button on and off. If you got mosquito problems Themacell is the thing. No more bug spray.. you won't need it.

 

[Bob J]

We have about 1100 acres, mostly wooded, that we lease as a still hunting group. We have aprox. 40 ladder stands scattered throughout the place overlooking trails , choke points , oak flats, etc. Alot of days, I start at dawn and take a stand, then about 10am, I'll still hunt my way to another stand and sit for a couple of hours. I may move once or twice more before settling in for the evening hunt. This helps break the boredome of sitting one stand and keeps me out there longer thus bettering my chance of connecting. Tony :front:

Sounds like a cool way to hunt! I've only done the "all Day" thing a few times. Hope to try it more this season. 4 months, 2 weeks till muzzleloading season :: :haha:

 

[roundball]

We have about 1100 acres, mostly wooded, that we lease as a still hunting group. We have aprox. 40 ladder stands scattered throughout the place overlooking trails , choke points , oak flats, etc. Alot of days, I start at dawn and take a stand, then about 10am, I'll still hunt my way to another stand and sit for a couple of hours. I may move once or twice more before settling in for the evening hunt. This helps break the boredome of sitting one stand and keeps me out there longer thus bettering my chance of connecting. Tony :front:

Sounds like a cool way to hunt! I've only done the "all Day" thing a few times. Hope to try it more this season. 4 months, 2 weeks till muzzleloading season :: :haha:

I've tried all day hunts a few times years ago...very tiring getting up at 4:00am, trying to hunt till dark, etc....can't do it from a tree stand, too confining...climbed down and ground sat, would fall asleep, etc.
But the past 8-10 years or so, I've mainly hunted long morning hunts 'on stand' from first light till 11:00-ish...go have a sandwich and a nap, then usually to a different stand from 3:30pm til dark.

 

[Bob J]

That's how I got my gobbler last year. Hunted till about 10:30 am. Came to camp and had some brunch, back in woods at 12:00. Big tom came to the box call at 12:30 (came in from the hard left at fast pace, never even noticed my decoys)- KaBoom! 18 yard shot. My largest bird yet, 10 incher with the 10 ga.

 

[Stumpkiller]

I'm in the woods more than an hour before sunrise (no shooting allowed in NY until sunrise) and stick until 15 minutes after sundown (no shooting allowed after sundown). Now you know why I don't favor tree stands. It also takes me at least a half hour to walk to my favored spots and an hour drive to get to where I park my car from home. I'm stupid enough to spend 11 hours in rain or -10