Stalking

[BrownBear]

And all this time he's talking about stalking hizzown tame rabbits on private land in Maryland! :rotf: Thanks for the snikker.

I grew up hunting coues whitetails to the west of you. Some of the "rocks" we used to sneak around were probably fossilized sit hunters still waiting for their first sighting. :wink:

 

[roundball]

:wink:

 

[Curt]

Take up squirrel huntin in the same area,that way you learn more about the lay of the land and a lot more about how a flintlock works. Sittin on a stump just never appealled to me much unless others were in the same area. But you say 600 acres is whats there so you got alot of space to roam .Keep its location to your self or it will be over run with others,but that may be fine with you. BTW need any company. Curt with an extra rifle to loan.

 

[coloradoclyde]

I have stalked lots of deer and other animals. I have even stalked a wildcat stalking a squirrel.
I got close enough to a turkey one day to touch it. I have even caught rabbits, squirrels and woodchucks, opossum, muskrat, grouse, raccoon, etc...with my bear hands. Killed countless animals with bow, slingshot and blowgun.
Skittish animals is a sure fire sign of people that don't know how to stalk, tromping through the woods like a marching band.

Stalking is hunting.....sitting is fishing.

 

[LRB]

I usually shoot from a tree stand or blind, but once tried a trick on three grazing deer in a small grassy opening in woods of mature pines. At about 100 yrds I spotted the three, and carefully closed the distance to about 75 yrds by keeping trees between us. I then dug out my turkey call and began duck walking towards them clucking the call. Every time they would look at me, I would cluck the call, and they would go back to grazing. I got to about 30/35 yrds and just watched them for a while, clucking now and then. Finally shooed them away as it was the day before season, but since have used a turkey call to calm suspicious deer. It usually works as long as you are not seen, or seen to be upright.

 

[coloradoclyde]

Deer fear neither turkey or squirrel.

I have done similar by whistleing

 

[Walks with fire]

The only time I sit when hunting deer is as a poster on a deer drive and I hate to hunt that way. The deer are always on high alert and constantly on the move; I really don't like it but deer drives are quite effective here in PA.

If the woods are noisy with crunchy leaves you can still stalk very effectively but you must go ultra slow and look very carefully. High winds make the woods noisy but the deer will be on high alert as well. The conditions that I like the best is a heavy snow storm; I almost always take a deer when hunting those conditions and there are seldom other hunters out then as well.

I spent most of my life sneaking up on whitetails and I love it; stalking is really quite easy once it's done for a few years to gain experience. Get out there and test your skills whenever you can. Pay attention to their bedding and feeding habits and the times and conditions they move in. Learn that 600 acres inside and out. The same locations will consistently hold deer but you may need to approach those locations differently depending on the time of year and weather.

Footwear for me is anything from Pac boots, knee high rubber to leather boots. It doesn't matter just move slowly and quietly and look hard at any place a deer could be out of sight but see you. Just start hunting that way and you will learn and it's going to be a whole lot more rewarding than sitting on your butt in a tree stand or blind.

If I had to sit to hunt deer I would quit.

 

[Patocazador]

Stalking is quite effective for most hunters in certain areas with good visibility from afar. In other areas with dense cover stalking is effective for people with lots of patience. I am NOT one of those people, therefore I can't stalk.

 

[coloradoclyde]

stalking is effective for people with lots of patience

:shocked2:
:rotf: Yep! cause people that sit in one spot all day have no patience. :youcrazy: :rotf:

Better grab some coffee. :wink:

 

[Patocazador]

If you're in a blind or up in a tree, you can relax and wait, scratch your head, wipe your nose, even read a book. Stalking requires discipline, patience (being perfectly still for several minutes sometimes), and stealth.
Impatient people move too fast, whereas patient people can take their time, analyze the situation and act accordingly. That's too much like work to me and I can't do it.

 

[coloradoclyde]

:thumbsup: :haha: Some might call that getting lazy but it also takes patience and discipline to sit perfectly still and let bird land on your hat or let a squirrel climb down your arm or sniff your feet. It also takes discipline to sit there and enjoy nature,... to not pull the trigger....to let it walk by.

 

[LRB]

I don't let many walk by. Only if too small.

 

[roundball]

BrownBear, I assume you also spend some time at a few other similar ML forums as I do.
Curious if you've noticed on any other forum like this one, where a few members routinely make claims about their hunting prowess, all the deer and other game they've killed with sidelock muzzleloaders, etc, etc, etc...but strangely never post and share any photos with fellow ML enthusiasts to go along with the claims. I don't know of another forum where this occurs...wondered if you did?

 

[longcruise]

If you're in a blind or up in a tree, you can relax and wait, scratch your head, wipe your nose, even read a book. Stalking requires discipline, patience (being perfectly still for several minutes sometimes), and stealth.
Impatient people move too fast, whereas patient people can take their time, analyze the situation and act accordingly.

I agree heartily! :thumbsup: The attributes of a good sitter and a good stalker are the same, IMO. I'm not the patient type and it shows in how long I can sit still and how well I stalk.

I tend to still hunt or call (I don't consider still hunting stalking) and have gotten better as I've gotten older. Especially since injuring a leg. :haha:

 

[coloradoclyde]

BrownBear, I assume you also spend some time at a few other similar ML forums as I do.
Curious if you've noticed on any other forum like this one, where a few members routinely make claims about their hunting prowess, all the deer and other game they've killed with sidelock muzzleloaders, etc, etc, etc...but strangely never post and share any photos with fellow ML enthusiasts to go along with the claims. I don't know of another forum where this occurs...wondered if you did?

If you ask me directly I would be happy to answer your questions. :grin:

 

[Walks with fire]

I have never taken a photo of a deer, fish or other harvested game animal. It's nice to see others pic's though. It's just not my interest. Somehow I guess they have to Prove how good they are.

The "Trophy" hunters are the ones I get a charge out of. They claim they don't eat the meat and they are in it for the big rack but yet they pop the first mid-sized buck they see. Probably do multiple tags as well. I never could ever understand why someone would want to kill something that they didn't want to eat? I think if I were going to claim to be a trophy hunter I would probably go for many seasons before I dropped a hammer. Many of them don't hunt anything really they just plop down and wait to ambush something that comes along. Bucks are dumber than a rock during the rut; big challenge.

Sitting in a tree stand, ground blind or on stand in the same spot all day would actually require more patience than I have; especially if it's up north where it's very cold. I hate stand hunting but if that's your favorite way to hunt then go for it.

It's also another thing to have months to sit in the woods deer hunting. Most of us that hunt actually work for a living and don't have the luxury of many hours in the woods. At best it's a couple of days here and there.

 

[THBailey]

"I'm....looking forward to my first ever deer hunting coming up this fall."

If you are going to be hunting this area by yourself I would suggest you find an experienced hunter to team up with and that you both look the place over before the season. And it is nice to have a second person to help with the chores when a deer is downed. As you no doubt gathered from the above posts there are many different tactics for the hunt. What works best at a given location depends on the lay of the land, deer density, their habits, weather conditions, etc. An experienced hunter can help pick a good strategy.