Stalking or still hunting

[Josh Smith]

You said tracking. That means whatever tracks there might be happen when you weren't there. You won't see any of this happening and one tree jump and you've lost whatever track there might be. A mark on a tree could be 3 days old.

I'm looking at the ground in your squirrel picture. Hard to track anything on that.

Squirrel hunting is pretty much walking slowly and looking in the trees, and sitting down looking in the trees.

Basically, looking in the trees.

Guess we think a bit differently.

My definition of tracking is reading any sign which points to your quarry - a bent blade of grass, a trail of nuts, a scuff on a rock, or even rocks that are wet on one side, if they're laying in a dry creek bed. Means they've been overturned.

If a wounded deer goes into sand or rock or whatnot, there won't be any tracks - but if hit correctly, there will be a blood trail. I count that as tracking, as well.

Josh

 

[Pete Gaimari]

Lets not mix up deer with your squirrel tracking.

Tracking a squirrel in the snow I can see. You can see how old the tracks are. The long trough is easy enough to see. Other signs will let you know squirrels are in the area.

I think of tracking as leading me to the animal. That's pretty tough with a squirrel. Deer and elk don't climb trees.

 

[Josh Smith]

However, Pete, it can lead you to the tree the squirrel went up.

Then again, at least half the squirrels I've shot have been on or near the ground at the time.

Squirrels do follow established trails and a routine just like any game animal. Additionally, they spen a lot of time on the ground, especially during the winter months.

Josh

 

[Bill Hall]

It's so ingrained in me to spot and stalk, I'm sure if I saw a deer from a blind and couldn't get a shot, I'd be out of the blind or down out of the tree and going after it. It kinda feels like that's "against the rules" back there, or something. Or maybe it's been tried and never worked! :rotf:

Right! Brown Bear, if you grew up anything like the way I did, the terms "stalking or still hunting" just meant "hunting". Bill

 

[BrownBear]

Brown Bear, if you grew up anything like the way I did, the terms "stalking or still hunting" just meant "hunting".

Now that's funny! I was born in your state and spent my early years in hots spots like Silver, Pie Town, Hatchita, Quemado, Gila, Cliff, Bayard, Deming and Lordsburg.

I bet we did learn to hunt much the same way! :rotf:

 

[Pete Gaimari]

The difference is, you didn't have Grizzly chasing you then. :grin:

 

[jaw69]

Not Squirrel Ive Hunted, and I have killed 100s of them They follow no established route and dont follow game trails It is there nature, Going here and there looking for nuts. Hunting them is just as Capper said Stalk Stop listen and look till you hear or see them then go getem.

 

[rawhide]

me to capper! most of the big game hunting I do is stalk hunts. almost a must here in western wa. so dad blasted brushy! lots of under brush and you can't see in the stuff more then 50-60 yards. so I look for sighn then follow it. and yes I did say big game (deer elk bear) I also duck hunt but thats a whole other ball game. it's out of a blind box. over deks.

 

[jbtusa]

Sit and wait. Today's animals are so spooky that odds are you'll never sneak up on one during hunting season. They're so hunter smart nowadays that they know the dates of the hunting season before we do!

 

[Pete Gaimari]

me to capper! most of the big game hunting I do is stalk hunts. almost a must here in western wa. so dad blasted brushy! lots of under brush and you can't see in the stuff more then 50-60 yards. so I look for sighn then follow it. and yes I did say big game (deer elk bear) I also duck hunt but thats a whole other ball game. it's out of a blind box. over deks.

Yep! You have to use a blind for ducks. I love any kind of bird hunting, but we don't have any in my area. Plus my eyesight won't let me do it anymore anyway. I do miss it though.

 

[Pete Gaimari]

Sit and wait. Today's animals are so spooky that odds are you'll never sneak up on one during hunting season. They're so hunter smart nowadays that they know the dates of the hunting season before we do!

We have stupid Muleys here. I snuck up on one yesterday, and it's still rifle season. Everytime i see deer on my hikes I try to get close as if i'm hunting. It's good practice. If I had a tag it would have been a dead deer. I got within 60 yds before it walked off.

 

[hoochiepapa]

Amen, Bill! They go hand-in-hand. They are the same thing.
No negative comments to my post? Puhleeze!

 

[hoochiepapa]

You mean you don't track ducks?? :rotf:

 

[Josh Smith]

Not Squirrel Ive Hunted, and I have killed 100s of them They follow no established route and dont follow game trails It is there nature, Going here and there looking for nuts. Hunting them is just as Capper said Stalk Stop listen and look till you hear or see them then go getem.

I dunno. You talk to anyone on any gun board I'm well known on, and they'll tell you that I'm the squirrel fanatic. I get as excited about squirrels as most do about deer.

Squirrels do have established routes. They are usually game trails used by a number of critters, but they use 'em. Next time you're out, look along a hedgerow for trampled grass going in one direction. Often there will be branches and such from shrubs over these trails too low for a deer to walk.

If you watch in the snow, the same path is taken time after time. The tracks begin to overlap.

I think I'll take a camera out next time instead of a gun.

Josh

 

[Pete Gaimari]

Hedgerows and grass is not something you'll find in the Rocky Mountains. Maybe in town, but not out where we can hunt.

 

[Kentucky45]

This thread went from the discussion of stalking, and the different types of hunting methods, and why we do or don't hunt those different ways, to some really strange stuff.
I've mentioned why I don't stalk much. Hard ground allot of the time, very little snow. Also why I don't like stands. When I still hunt I don't cover as much ground as some hunters might. I hunt very slowly. No hurry. I'm not just tying to walk up on or locate a deer or pig. I'm moving slow so that an animal feeding might come my direction and come within range. I'm hoping to see him coming before he sees me. One thing I've decided is not only do deer know when season begins and ends in many heavily hunted areas, they also learn when the hunters are in the woods. They know when vehicles come in and go out. They know when campsites are set up. They know when hunters hunt. Not all hunters, but most, hunt what I call "by the clock". Especially tree stand and blind hunters. They get up early, hunt from daylight until about 9:30am, go home or back to camp, come back out and hunt for about 2 1/2 hours until dark. That leaves the middle of the day wide open for game to move and feed. In the full moon deer feed at night and then lay up at daylight. Then they feed some around the middle of the day. In the dark of the moon deer lay up at night and feed some at daylight then lay up until the middle of the day and feed again. Allot of big deer have been killed at lunchtime. I'd be out still hunting right now if the wind wasn't swirling in every direction. Midday hunts can be very productive. Some will disagree with my theory on bedding and feeding times, and it's OK if I'm right and your wrong. K45

 

[Josh Smith]

Cornfields, man. Along the fences there, along the barbed wire. Excellent for rabbits.

Hedgerows along the edge of a woods, or forest trail. You can see where they enter, and go from there.

 

[Pete Gaimari]

You said grass?


Cornfields?

We have cattle.

 

[Pete Gaimari]

We might have different definitions here. This is how I see it.

Stalking...You glass looking for animals. Of course you can spot one without glassing too. Once you see an animal and start to move in on it. You're stalking.



Tracking......You don't see an animal, but you see tracks. You follow the tracks until you see the animal. Then you stalk to get close.


Both can be put in the same category of......Hunting.

 

[JMinnerath]

You said grass?


Cornfields?

We have cattle.

:rotf: cornfield?
Oh yeah, Josh is back east.