Stand hunting

[Dale Lilly]

Well .. I have insisted that I would never hunt from a stand or blind. But my guns keep getting heavier and heavier. I think the Santa Fe Hawken I received today weighs about thirty pounds. I am now tempted to admit to being wrong. That is still not my idea of a hunt, but if the Lord lets me live another year I may give it a shot.. Polecat

 

[Bassdog1]

In my area it is about the only option. Most properties have multiple hunters and State Ground still hunting is just asking to get shot. I am fortunate to hunt with others who respect where the others are hunting and try not to blow out the others stand sites. But I would love to hunt a property where I could slowly stalk through the woods while carrying a Muzzle Loader.

 

[Dale Lilly]

Bassdog1. Yeah, my hunting began in Colorado, Idaho and Montana when things were wide open [74 years ago]. I often hunted in leathers but would not do that today [Oklahoma]. Blessings, Polecat forgot Alaska

 

[Ames]

I have a lot of open land for still hunting, but choose not to. Moving around on the ground spooks half the game. They are better at spotting you than vise versa.
My choice is ambush hunting on the ground. Set up near a natural funnel and sit back on a rolled up blanket. Let the game come to you. Same idea as a stand, just 17' lower.

 

[LawrenceA]

Your hunting seems a world away. I suppose it is literally half a world.
Here there is not much other than pigs and the occasional lost buffalo but I do have a camel hunt planned for next year. That will be weird.

My pig hunting down south used to consist of 3 to 4 trips to figure out what they were up to and ensure I was in the right place at the right time.
Now in a different part of the country it is a matter of waiting till the hottest part of the day and then creeping through the dense brush searching for them.
Real slow and real quiet until within range. Considering you are usually within 30' when you see them it can be pretty fast and furious when you spot one or it spots you. A lot of adrenaline pumping, even when nothing is happening, punctuated by sort busts of intense activity!
I have never come across anything that brings you and keeps you in the moment.

I have never hunted from a stand but have set ambushes similar to @Ames

 

[tenngun]

I’ve hunted New Mexico, Colorado Utah, Wyoming, Arkansas, and Missouri. Have always scouted an area, watched for movements noted trails then went and found a place to hide in view of the trails. Like to find a spot near three or four trails coming together. Never used a blind or climbed a tree, but always have found brush or fallen trees creek beds or such to hide in.
Except for rabbit hunting most all my game was taken while sitting on the ground.

 

[OldMaineWoodsman]

As I get older I find myself deer hunting more and more from a stand. Years ago, I really enjoyed still-hunting deer in the snow. Here in Virginia, you rarely see cold temps much less snow during the early muzzle loading season. The ground is like corn flakes. I never liked tree stands and at age 60 I'm certainly not going to start. During my scouting trips I look for solid, wide trees to sit against. In the morning I will sit at one with the sun behind me, and then shift in the afternoon. I tweaked my hunting clothes by finding wool shirts in earth-tone colors. Through the magic of eBay I found two pair of fleece trousers in the old Trebark camo. Because I hunt on public land it receives a good bit of pressure. So, sitting adds that element of safety as well.

 

[Dale Lilly]

The rules have changed for one thing. In Idaho, all those years ago, you would be fined and lose your license for any form of baiting. I never even heard of a formal stand until I spent time in the South. However I certainly hid near trails or watering holes, but stalking was part of the challenge. I once stalked a buck for three hours or more … successfully. Alone, I stalked a grizzly in Alaska [1954] for a while but when I got close I decided my momma did not raise a fool. I sneaked out the way I came in and left the Alaska Brownies to better men than me. Any way you hunt is fine with me [legally]. Polecat

 

[gabedard]

1 or 2 steps into the wind with blacken face - look around every step - the view changes - stop often in strategic locations. Killed many deer very close in heavy cover

 

[appalichian hunter]

I am a stand hunter been one all my hunting life, think of it like some one is hunting you in your living room. If he sits behind your sofa better chance of bagging you than walking around in the room.

 

[Ames]

You are in a stand by the living room ceiling. I'm behind the sofa.
Bottom line. Backstraps and home fries for breakfast!

 

[deermanok]

I am mostly a bow hunter, so a treestand is part of my hunting equipment. Even with the muzzleloader, I still hunt from the stand about 95 % of the time.
At nearly 68 years old, I still lug my portable climber in and out of the woods. I don't go as far in or climb as high as in my younger days but I still enjoy the view from the trees.

 

[Stony Broke]

It would take a tough guy to hunt sitting on the ground in the woods around my area....the chiggers and whatever crawls in the grass here would eat you alive ! I spent a little time tracking some deer in the last week, and I am itching like crazy from my waist down to my toes

 

[Nazgul58]

Hunt my own property. I have a tree stand, it is difficult to install but for 2 people so lots of room. Depending on the arthritis, I have just as much luck sitting under a tree facing the trails that are slightly uphill. Spent yesterday about 50 yards from the house in a small folding chair that keeps your behind off the ground. Have scored there before, the deer come from the right, wind is usually right. Saw one but he decided to go uphill.
At last at our place still hunting is best. Lots of leaves and uphill both ways makes moving quietly difficult.

Don

 

[watopeka]

I get you on that to, but blind hunting can be fun to , it often gives you a chance to watch nature, this year i watch a big bear for 2 hrs , close season, then i had a Canadian lynx hunting a rabbit then a bobcat trying to make a meal out of a porcupine that was a show and watch deer acting up and the fun of it and not one looks the same the more you see them i have to invest in a good camera.
So now i make the best of it and no regrets

 

[GANGGREEN]

I live in northern Pennsylvania. I own property and have gotten to the point where I do almost all of my deer hunting here on the farm or on the neighboring lease (and usually within a couple hundred yards of my own boundary line). I suppose I prefer still hunting, but it's simply not always as effective and when the weather's abundantly pleasant, I'm not at all averse to sitting in a stand.

With the flintlock, I don't mind sitting on the ground since you can usually get ready before a deer's right on top of you, but I've also been known to use treestands. I prefer a more comfortable climber to a lock-on stand or ladder stand (although some of them are fairly large and comfortable as well). If you know the property and hunt logically, a stand can be at least as effective as still hunting. I try to do what makes the most sense, but we frequently and typically have a bit of snow for our late flintlock season and after sitting for an hour or so, I'll almost always spend the rest of my time still hunting. I think over the years I've probably killed a few more deer still hunting than stand hunting, but I'd guess it's starting to even out more over the last several years.

 

[Art Caputo]

While I have shot deer from stands using muzzleloaders(and stick bows), For the last few decades I have much preferred still hunting in the Northeastern woodlands. This entails hunting an area that I understand the prevailing wind currents, have scoped out known dear paths, and am familiar with the deer movement. My movement is exceptionally slow, quiet and methodical amounting to 90% looking and listening and about 10% actual movement, choosing an inconspicuous position that breaks up my outline when observing. It may take me an entire day to cover less then a half a mile of distance. The key is to “intercept”, not stalk the deer. When successful, this method has been very rewarding to me.

 

[GANGGREEN]

No doubt true and the most successful hunters (with a bow, rifle, muzzleloader, etc.) will always understand their quarry better than the average guy and will always be in tune with their surroundings. That said, I've successfully stalked a fair number of deer as well and have walked up on them in their tracks or shot them in their beds. Even as a teenager, I was fairly successful at stocking deer with a bow, but I don't do that anymore, partly because I rarely hunt with a bow anymore and partly because the range is so limited and I simply don't have the patience. One would think that we become MORE patient as we get older, but I've had Lyme disease twice and one of the odd symptoms that I've had is that I have a very short attention span these days and I find it much more difficult to concentrate so I do hunt from a stand a bit more than I used to.

While I have shot deer from stands using muzzleloaders(and stick bows), For the last few decades I have much preferred still hunting in the Northeastern woodlands. This entails hunting an area that I understand the prevailing wind currents, have scoped out known dear paths, and am familiar with the deer movement. My movement is exceptionally slow, quiet and methodical amounting to 90% looking and listening and about 10% actual movement, choosing an inconspicuous position that breaks up my outline when observing. It may take me an entire day to cover less then a half a mile of distance. The key is to “intercept”, not stalk the deer. When successful, this method has been very rewarding to me.

 

[Essayons!]

In my area it is about the only option. Most properties have multiple hunters and State Ground still hunting is just asking to get shot. I am fortunate to hunt with others who respect where the others are hunting and try not to blow out the others stand sites. But I would love to hunt a property where I could slowly stalk through the woods while carrying a Muzzle Loader.

"Man, I shot the strangest orange deer this morning".

 

[Essayons!]

I have a lot of open land for still hunting, but choose not to. Moving around on the ground spooks half the game. They are better at spotting you than vise versa.
My choice is ambush hunting on the ground. Set up near a natural funnel and sit back on a rolled up blanket. Let the game come to you. Same idea as a stand, just 17' lower.

Ground blind hunting was common in the days past. Usually I will transition to walk hunting if all is quiet. Like using natural ground blinds from branches etc with my back against a tree. Walk hunting depends on the land you are hunting as many others have mentioned.