Stalking or still hunting

[KHickam]

Hey Guys;

I have been a fairly successful hunter - but all the deer I have killed have been from ambush or they just happened to cross the road I was walking down or trail.

I have never really consciously stalked a deer - yes I walk quietly as I can and keep my eyes open but I am wondering if the more experienced stalkers would share some insights?

:thumbsup:

Dan'l

 

[bigbore442001]

Don't feel bad about that. Most of the deer I have killed were taken out of a treestand. I sit up a tree like some big fat owl with glasses and patiently wait.

There is a school of deer hunting known as tracking that is practiced in the large forested areas of northern Maine, NH, Northeast Kingdom of VT, The Adirondacks, Michigan, Minnesota as well as parts of Canada. Basically you follow the track of a specific deer and do your best to get within shooting range of it. That method works in those places where you have vast amounts of land that you can hunt like national forests and paper company lands. It is not practical in places such as southern New England were I hunt. The pattern of land ownership would not make it practical. In addition the hunter density is much greater. I have tried it and the most I have done is push something into another hunter.

 

[Pete Gaimari]

I stalk 100% of the time. I follow tracks which is much easier in the snow. That's why I hunt the later seasons, because i'll have a better chance of snow.

I also do a lot of glassing. Once I spot an animal, and I say animal, because I hunt elk the same way. Anyway, once I spot an animal I try and come up with a plan to sneak up on it.

That's pretty much it for me. Track, look, spot, and sneak.

I find it much more natural and interesting than taking any kind of stand. You couldn't pay me to sit in a tree, but I don't even like taking a stand on the ground unless it's part of my sneak.


It's funny, but I fly fish the same way. I fish smaller creeks in the mountains. The fish are extremely spooky. If they see you, or feel your vibrations the game is over. I need to stay out of sight and place the fly quietly and precisely. I don't get a second cast. It's quite a challenge and I love it. It's not just catching fish. It's how you do it that's important to me.

My hunting is the same way. It's not getting the kill that's important. It's how I get it. Give the animal a fair chance. Let it use it's natural defenses. It's called hunting. It takes a certain amount of skill to hunt. Not so much to be a sniper.

Now please. No negative feedback on my post. It's how I do it. You all can do what you want.

 

[longshot one]

I love to spot and stalk. I'm not sure what type of country you hunt, where I hunt its mixed timber and open type country. I do a lot of glassing and try to spot them at a distance then put a stalk on them. I've blown a few stalks but you sure learn alot.

 

[roundball]

They're really somewhat different activities...

As one example where there's no snow to make tracking easy, while on the move still hunting looking for deer in general I've seen deer up ahead, then stalked that particular deer for a shot.
(Squirrel hunting that way is a terrific learning exercise for deer hunting)

But more often than not here in the fall woods of North Carolina when 6 inches of dry leaves sound like walking on corn flakes, and thick woods visibility is usually no more than 50 yards, deer/squirrels hear/see you coming long before you can see them / get close enough for a shot.
So still hunting is often relagated to the periodic "sitting" part of still hunting...results in much higher odds of seeing deer and/or squirrels and getting shots.

 

[BrownBear]

It depends a whole lot on the species, locale and conditions. In my experiences with mule deer, Columbia blacktail, Coues whitetail and Sitka blacktail, it's mostly spot-and-stalk or long range ambush- basically sitting and watching a whole lot of country or hiking through it with a rifle capable of longish to very long shots. If you've spent a lifetime hunting with handguns or a bow like I have, you get to do lots of stalking in those same locations, but it usually starts with spotting the game at longer range and getting closer.

In tighter quarters, smaller plots of habitat, a species like whitetail with smaller territories, and a whole lot of folks cracking and banging through the brush, it would make lots more sense to me to stand up. I think I'd enjoy that a lot, kind of like duck hunting from a blind, but it is a pretty limited option with the species and places I hunt. Their territories are just too large and their habits too variable.

 

[BillinOregon]

Capper: I like your hunting style -- and that's how I fly-fish the small mountain streams here, too.
I'll admit I'd like to try tree-stand hunting at least once, mainly for a meat deer. But we don't have whitetails around here, and you can grow old and die waiting for a blacktail to show up ...

 

[Supercracker]

I have a real problem sitting still for very long.

One of the best way's I've found to find pigs in the summer is to find a track and follow it to their bedding area. Usually it will be too thick to get into but when it's hot they HAVE to get up and find water to wallow in or they'll heat stroke out. You can then catch them on their way out.

In the winter you can sometimes do the same thing but bust them asleep because they'll try to find a bedding area where they can all get into a big pile with the sun on them.

 

[longcruise]

I prefer to still hunt, spot and stalk or move slowly and call (for elk).

Reading whitetail sign and designing an ambush is an art unto itself. Whitetails lend themselves to that type of hunt. Mule deer and elk, not so much! Mule deer may travel generally through the same areas as a matter of habit, but not to the tight trail system that a whitetail will use.

I think that still hunting whitetail deer must be one of the most difficult hunting puruits there is!

 

[biliff]

I'm predominantly a mule deer hunter with the occassional bear thrown in. Out here (Oregon), I find a good vantage point and glass until I see something then put a stalk on. If conditions have the critters bedded down during daylight (like when its really hot) then its a matter of moving thru likely bedding areas (sage flats, creek bottoms, etc.) Mostly its jump shooting but sometimes you spot 'em before they move out. Helps if you're cognizant of the wind. Also helps to know the high percentage areas vice walking aimlessly across the countryside. Unfortunately, the only way to get to know where the high percentage areas are is to do a lot of aimless walking across the countryside. Figure it out while your young, makes hunting easier when you get old.

 

[roundball]

"...Figure it out while your young, makes hunting easier when you get old..."

Now that I can relate to...things seemed to have hit a plateau and hunting has never been so productive and enjoyable since getting on in years...very little wasted effort or expense anymore.
And, some days I can enjoy a half day in the beautiful fall colors and cool weather with a Flintlock, and if I don't get a shot that's OK too...nothing to clean or drag out !
:wink:

 

[Bill Hall]

From what I gathered from reading forums like this, the advantages of one hunting method over the other is mostly due to the terrain differences between the East and West.

In the west, unless you're around a well used water hole or tank, you could sit in a tree stand or blind for weeks, waiting for an animal to walk by. There is just too much open, public land for the animals move around in. There are well worn game trails, but you could grow a long beard while waiting for an animal to use it and walk by you. The best method I've found for this type of terrain is to search out the "Honey holes" that deer or elk may be hiding in. These places may be a small stand of timber, a certain saddle, or an entire canyon. Sneaking through these areas involves alot of stopping and picking apart everthing around you, looking to the front, to the sides, and even behind. I even like to get down on the ground and peek around, seeing things from a different perspective.

I never hunted Eastern terrain, but I'm thinking that if someone tried this sneaking approach, they would just run deer to another hunter's stand.

Back when I hunted in the rifle season, we would try to get in a strategic spot before sunrise, and let the other hunters run deer to us. Then Katey bar the door, it was like a war zone! (Don't miss those days :shocked2: ) During ML season though, it's a whole nother ball game. Less hunters and alot less "rapid fire" going on. If hunting pressure is an issue, it's best to find where the other hunters refuse to go and "sneak" hunt that area.

Plus, I'm like Supercracker, I can't sit for very long. I need to be active and find something to kill. Bill

 

[smokehouseman]

Amen on the tree thing! I can't say I haven't thought about it, but on of my weak points is falling asleep if I have to stay in one position very long and sure as can be I would fall out of those trees. I've got to be moving.

 

[Bill Hall]

Well guys, don't tell anybody, but sometimes when the sun comes out, I find myself snuggling up in a pile of pine needles and "resting" for a while. No place to fall, except asleep. Gets rid of the first day hunting jitters. Bill

 

[kayja]

deer spend every waking hour of their life sneaking around and staying out of sight, so there aren't too many people going to stalk them

 

[Pete Gaimari]

deer spend every waking hour of their life sneaking around and staying out of sight, so there aren't too many people going to stalk them

That's not true.

 

[Dave K]

I depends so much on your terrain. I know some people will show disdain for treestands. But, where I live in flat land Ohio, the wood lots are small and the fields flat. Even getting to the woods, is a ordeal. Heck, just parking your hunting wheels in a barnyard, they watch you coming. Skulking around a woods and most will "still be hunting" without a deer when they are 90 yrs. old. Then I have been in other areas where the thickets and the terrain, make stalking/still hunting much easier. There are valleys to follow and ridges to keep between you and your prey. Hunting in the fashion of stalking/still hunting has so much to do where you hunt.

 

[Pete Gaimari]

Sneaking in is always better when it's still dark, and before they're active.

I hardly ever hunt much past sunup.

 

[Idaho Ron]

I spot and stalk for deer and elk. I have only had two antelope tags and I used a water hole to get close then. The areas I hunt for deer are real flat and almost no cover. Getting close is very tough. Ron

 

[Supercracker]

deer spend every waking hour of their life sneaking around and staying out of sight, so there aren't too many people going to stalk them

That's not true.

I stalked up to within about 40 yds of 3 does that were at a feeder before they realized what I was and bolted.

I had a longbow and was helping with a hog problem at a froofy subdivision. It was built in the middle of a swamp and then they were surprised when pigs were rooting up their landscaping and chasing their yipper dogs. haha