woods stelth

[sidelock]

Are you quiet in the woods? I have been in the woods and heard another hunter 500 yds. away tromping through the leaves like a flat bed truck. When I was 14 years old I got my first rifle for Christmas. Next fall my Granddad took me squirrel hunting on a friend's farm. I was hunting alone and watching a squirrel working a hickory. I was waiting for another squirrel to show before I shot when a voice right in my ear said "ain't you going to shoot him"? I nearly jumped out of my hide. It was my Granddad. he had walked up on me in knee high oak and hickory leaves without me hearing and the squirrel was still working. I determined right then that I would learn how to do that------ and I did. I have slipped up behind bedded deer within 6' and walked away without spooking them. I may not be able to do that any more.

 

[Patocazador]

I'm the one you hear walking hundreds of yards away. :grin: I am close to being the most impatient person there is so I get where I'm going and come back the same way. This unbreakable habit has forced me to sit in a climbing stand if I want a chance at a deer. A ladder is too easy to climb down even if it's "just for a minute". The climber takes too much time and makes too much noise so I sit until I see something, hopefully.

 

[Walks with fire]

Still hunting is an art. Noise can be made but it has to sound natural. Dry leaves on a windless day is the hardest conditions to sneak in on; very slow and deliberate process.

Sounds like you figured it out long ago. Swirling winds bust me much more than movement does but slathering up the soles of your boots with skunk essence will cover that pretty well for whitetails.

Have a good season.

 

[satx78247]

I wonder how many over 3-YO bucks think that hunter smell just like "skunk juice" or fox urine.

yours, satx

 

[necchi]

It was my Granddad. he had walked up on me,, without me hearing,,, I determined right then that I would learn how to do that-

He did you a huge favor didn't he?
It's an awareness thing.
Most folks aren't even aware of their footfall let alone where the foot is placed.

 

[Spikebuck]

I try to "stalk" to and from stand positions. It's not movement as slow and deliberate as real still hunting or stalking, but I'm very aware of noise level and try to greatly minimize it.

I do know one thing...changing to moccasins vs hard soled footwear greatly reduces noise. Much, much easier to be quiet when your foot feels everything underneath it.

 

[Walks with fire]

When I was a good bit younger I would hunt from a tree stand during archery season and watch the bucks follow my footie prints right up to the stand; then sniff the ladder steps and look right up at me probably wondering how a skunk climbed up that tree. They would sniff around the ground beside the tree and wonder where he went and then look back at the tree. Comical for sure.

Sneaking up on them is the only way I hunt deer now and I don't care the size of the antlers either; I am thinking back straps not bone. A 3+ year old buck is smart but those old doe covered their butt many a time and are quite smart themselves. The younger doe have led many a big buck into a bad situation.

 

[satx78247]

The "younger" doe has led many a man into trouble, too. = CHUCKLE.

yours, satx

 

[Don Steele]

Spikebuck....Your mention of footwear is SPOT ON.
Reminded me of the time we were following a herd of Cape Buffalo in Zambia and made one of the hunters in the party take off his $500.00 cowboy boots, carry them on his hand and complete the hunt in his socks..!!
Those hard-sole boots seemed to be "booming" with every step.

 

[Vaino]

Going to my tree stand during deer season is in the dark, so it's kinda hard not to make some noise.....which really didn't make any difference anyhow judging by the number of deer that appeared shortly.

When moving during elk hunting, I make plenty of intended noise and toot my cow call.....works well because elk are noisy animals.

Have used "stealth" during the week when very few hunters are about and this tactic was only used in remote areas of northern Wisconsin.....Fred

 

[PaulN/KS]

The "younger" doe has led many a man into trouble, too. = CHUCKLE.

yours, satx

Too true... :wink:

My "stealth" days are past, I'm lucky if I can walk 100 yards without tripping over something. :redface:
:shake:

 

[BrownBear]

It's an awareness thing.
Most folks aren't even aware of their footfall let alone where the foot is placed.

That's the whole secret. Mix in timing in your movements and a keen sense of small breezes, and it's a done deal.

The challenge keeps me going back for more. Even with whitetail deer that patterned well for stands, I'd still be a stalker or a "still" hunter as it was termed in generations past. Our blacktails don't pattern worth a hoot, and that suits me just fine.

 

[swathdiver]

As a boy it was great sport to go into the woods and sneak up on raccoons and fox. A couple of years ago I took my girls with me into the woods and we walked right up on a doe. They are amazed that someone so big can make such little noise, I always come upon them in the house and say "boo"! But I reckon my days of doing that in the woods are about over, like SATX, I'd probably trip over something and crash sending game to the four corners of the woods! Or their hear me huffing and puffing from being out of breath!

 

[tenngun]

I grew up in New Mexico. Between juniper or sage the ground was mostly clear. It was easy to move soundlessly if you were just careful. Found that in all the rockie states I've hunter or treck end in. I moved to the ozarks in 1982. Found I was about as quite as a bulldozer. Of corse everyone knows that moccs let you slip through the woods like a mouse on slippers, yeah not so much. Then I learned even mice were a might noisy on dry hardwood litter. It took a few years to learn how to sound like a tree rat or chipmunk in the woods and it's still slow going. Most of the time I move carefully through the woods then find a ceded tree or dead fall to sit in and wait. Bunnies are about the only thing I get out and actively walk after. Tree rats can hear me coming but you take a seat at the base of an oak and then be quiet in 15 or 20 min the tree rats forget your under the tree.. After shooting and field cleaning ones bit goes and his friends forgot him.

 

[Sean Gadhar]

Are you quiet in the woods? .

Well I never think I am, but I did kill my Bear at under 30 yards because I saw him before he knew I was there :idunno: So lucky or good....I'll take it.

 

[robinsroost]

I learned how to walk in the woods from my dad, who used to routinely sneak up on me. It never ceases to amaze me how much a pair of jakes or toms sound like a buck walking in the leaves. Once I realized that all of the creatures we hunt have four feet, I learned to never take more than two steps before I stopped to look around. Keep yer powder dry.........robin :wink:

 

[Stumpkiller]

Are you quiet in the woods?

Like grim, silent death.

Or at least I try . . . "snap!"

I never sling a firearm and move slowly and quietly at all times that I am in the woods. Pause frequetly and stay ready for a shot at any time while I am looking for glimpses of deer parts. A leg, tine, an ear flick, the line of a back, a tail, etc.

I work at quiet whether I'm walking at work or just on a hike. I drink my coffee black and fill the mug to the brim. Walking with that without spilling is good technique to teach you. Try it.

(Hint - take slightly different length steps).

 

[BrownBear]

...looking for glimpses of deer parts. A leg, tine, an ear flick, the line of a back, a tail, etc....

That's about the most important thing said in this whole thread. You gotta see the deer before they see you, and that's not going to happen if you're looking for whole deer. I mostly watch low, looking for white inside legs, little bits of leg movement, head down feeding ear flicks, and in uneven terrain it's all about deer heads peeking over the edges down low while they're in a fold in the ground. More like rabbit hunting than deer hunting when the ground isn't flat. Nuther good clue is the flat line of a deer's back. Not many horizontal lines in woods and brush.

 

[B.Habermehl]

Using a walking stick helps me a lot. The third leg helps me keep my balance while creeping along. BJH

 

[BrownBear]

Good point, especially in rough terrain!