How stealthy are you?
Connecticut
Hi Guys, Just throwing this out there. I find that my age has slowed me down considerably but also found that it's a good thing. Spending much less time in a tree stand. I now enjoy moving from tree to tree and glassing for 10 minutes before moving to the next one. Using the wind and good camo I've been able to low crawl up to within 10 feet of animals (all kinds). We live such fast-paced lives it's like learning a new discipline but I really enjoy it. Had to teach myself that slow is good. I have no military training but have become more of a sniper/hunter over the years. Comments welcome. Thanks, MikeP
I don't know how stealthy I AM, but I know it's a far cry from where I used to be when I still-hunted exclusively. One day I had a line squirrel jump onto the tip of my bow, run across the string, up my arm, across my shoulders and jump onto a lodgepole that I happened to be passing.
I knew how to slow down back then. Living out here, I find it extremely challenging to slow my butt down and be Part Of The Woods.
Haha GF. Been there too. Had a great horned owl try to land on my knocked arrow once but decided to land on a branch one foot away from my face. I was in full camo and had a face net on, We did the staring match for a while before he finally took off.I was in a tree stand.I also found out I had a whole family of raccoons above me once when I was up in a hemlock. They climbed down one by one behind me snarling as the went by. That was a trip. Haha. Nature is so cool. Especially when you slow down to observe it.
Ah, a thread for us older guys. Have I slowed down? Not really. I've always been active and I've always done a lot of still hunting, so going slow is the has been something I keep in practice with. I've had birds land on my arrows, and once while turkey hunting (sitting down) I had a squirrel come down the log I was resting against and hop up onto the end of my shotgun.
I've gotten to within 15-20 yards of feeding deer and I've had bucks walk right past me to get after the doe. Playing the wind direction, moving slow, moving when the deer move or when they're looking away are the keys. I think still hunting is more challenging that sitting in a tree all day and you get to do some scouting as you go.
I had a raccoon walk up to me from a brook I was sitting 20' from, on the ground when it reached my shoes I stood up and it froze staring up at me 4 feet away I almost pooped my pants.Longest minate of my day for sure.I tend to see a lot more animals of all kinds when sitting motionless behind blow downs in swamps lots of fun and seen a lot of foxes this year going to get a good camera and have fun with it.
I snuck up on a couple of table talk apple pies at lunch today..fat bastard...lol......i do ok until I snap a twig,then I'm like a crazed big foot..gotta work on it.
As a rule...I suck. But, every once in a while I surprise myself. Years ago, on a c-c-cold afternoon. The ground was a crunchfest. I stalked a sleeping coyote. I think I could've got closer, but dark was coming, so I moved a little too fast. He bolted when I was at about 30 yards. But I covered a lot of ground getting to him. Should of just shot the damn thing.
I would get caught sneaking up on the ^table talk apple pies^ . The first twig I snap is usually the second step I take.
notme
ah yes, the table talk pie sneak!! I've practiced this method for years now and the trick is to have a tall glass of milk in one hand and a fork in the other. :)
Mike,
During the peak of chasing I'd still go with a treestand in a funnel between bedding and feeding areas but there's nothing like going on "offense" and stillhunting.
Have you adapted your footwear for this tactic? I've found that the hunting boots that really mimic sneakers more than boots work really well for stalking and I'm getting better at learning the best way to set my feet down to minimize the potential for making noise.
As stated above moving when the deer move, not being in a rush and keeping conscious of the wind are pivotal to success.
Early on the hardest thing to do was to calm down when you started to get really close; at first I didn't connect how I'd lost that adrenaline rush (unless a big buck was coming!) when treestand hunting.
Table-talk pies, eh?
Notme. Never had a Table Talk pie snort and run on me. Been pretty good with those encounters. Mike in CT. Agree, there are definitely better times to be in a treestand or ground blind. Yes my footwear is very quiet and I have even worn moccasins in the early warmer seasons. Our native Americans knew how to do this. Closing the distance to a deer within bow range is not an easy feat. I don't think anyone will argue that. But it can be done.
When there's one pie its not that hard to put on the sneak,oh my friends when there's two or more of those little morsels of sunshine I turn into a donut drolling homer Simpson..
Haha! Notme. You always add "lite to this site" You're a funny guy man. We need more of this. Down side is that I'm really craving apple pie right now and have none.
My best Sneaky Bastidge Moment on whitetails was the last day of ML about 10+ years ago.... I was on my knees, glassing up-wind at a slight quartering angle through the laurel in a big funnel and spotted a pretty decent buck headed my way. Trouble was, he saw something he didn't like and swapped ends.
Wind was blowing 10:00 to 4:00, so I grabbed the GPR and sprinted like the last of the Mohicans about 40-50 yards up to my 2:00 a plopped down on my butt in front of a good-sized oak just as soon as I got to a trail.
And after just a few minutes, he did just what I had expected, which was to loop down-wind of the UFO (Unidentifiable Frightening Object) - namely, me - and I leveled him at about 10 paces with a .535 ball.
Best SBM on Elk is harder to call because - frankly - there have been a lot more, like the time I caught one leg of an Elk out of the corner of my eye.... It was 50-60 yards out, about 35 yards up the ridge from me and coming my way, so I sprinted back the way I had come.... About 100 yards, probably, and then humped it up the ridge until I was about 20-25 yards above the trail that I figured that Elk had been on. I wasn't sure if they would catch my scent as it wafted along on the thermals or not, but figured it would be better if they caught "old" scent coming from down-hill while I sneaked along on the up-hill/down-wind side of whatever herd was coming my way.
Never did spot the bull in that bunch, but I did peek out from behind one really big Doug Fir to find a nice, mature cow just a chip-shot away. At the time I figured maybe 15-18 yards, but the more I pace off distances in the woods, the more I think it couldn't have been much over about 12. And she had NO CLUE I was there. That was PHUNN!
But more exciting was the time that I spotted a couple of raghorn bulls about 35 yards out one morning. I was caught out a good 4-5 long steps from the nearest tree, so I just froze there while they kept feeding towards me. Somehow, very slowly, I managed to get an arrow out of the Catquiver and onto the string, then get my bow up while the larger of the two closed to within maybe 7 steps. Then he stopped and lifted his head high for a thoughtful chew on a mouthful of grass while he contemplated the strange-looking stump before him; it was making the oddest sound. Kind of a Ta-TUNG - Ta-TUNG - Ta-TUNG.... Which was my bowstring vibrating every time my pulse slammed into my fist.
It's kind of a weird feeling looking UP at an animal that you think you're about to poke with a sharp stick. Especially when you're standing at your full height.
Anyway, after a minute he turned to his right and took a few paces down-hill as I picked a spot, swung through, and grazed a 2" lodgepole with one blade, which was just enough to send the arrow over his back and well off into the woods. I keep hoping I'll find it up there some day, buried in a tree.
That was actually probably good luck, though. I'm not sure, but that may have been the first year we had a 4-point (one side) minimum up there, and this dude was just a fork. With about 30" main beams.
Then I sneaked up the hill and caught up to the herd that "my" little bull had been kicked out of...
Which is a whole 'nother tale!
I thought this post might generate some good stories. I once stalked a big mature doe and took a shot from my knees at about 30 yards. Unfortunately my shot hit her right through then neck with the arrow still sticking out on both sides and she bounded off. Since it was late and getting dark I backed out for a sleepless night, but recovered her at first light the next day. Bad shot but the broadhead did it's job. Tree stands are great but stalking up close is a real rush!
I agree SWK. I shot this doe right after the season opener in September. It was warm but lots of cover. I was glad I recovered her and got it cooled down quickly. It was quite a haul. I used a wheel barrow (before I got a game hauler) Haha. Also late season stalking with the ML is something I love to do but this after all a bow site and the extended range of the smokepole doesn't have as many limitations. I was hoping to get up on the snowshoes this year for ML. Not even close. We have zero snow on the ground up here in Hartland. Guys in the south of the state have it this time.
Tree stands are effective.
Stillhunting is GREAT!
I'm with SWK, though - if you want to really hunt the ground around here, you kinda have to get out earlier. Once these leaves crisp up, you're getting close to running SOL unless you have the patience to break up the sound pattern of your feet by taking lengthy pauses between steps. Does give you plenty of time to glass, though....
And yeah, you have to get back in odd the beaten path to avoid being under so many tree stands... the way people tend to get possessive about a spot makes me nervous. But I guess you just need to spend a lot of time glassing for other hunters so you can give them a wide berth.
I'm hoping to learn how to make a good ghillie.....
Took my Husky for a nice long hike today. Still plenty of acorns on the ground. Like walking on marbles in some spots. I know the harvest numbers were down this year but with good food sources still available they will winter well. Next season could be great!
Man, I sure wish they'd bring back an early, flint&roundball-only ML season.... Even if it were on a long-odds lottery basis. I'd MUCH rather hunt with a 20% probability of tagging once every five years than hunt with a 4% chance every year.
Not a big fan of round balls GF. I lost a deer to one once. The solid copper Powerbelts perform great for me, load easily (no patches) and hit like a sledgehammer, but I do understand the intent of traditional MLs (flintlocks, etc.) They are cool for sure.
Once managed to get within 15yds of a beded deer in late fall/early winter. However, I blew the deal because I didn't know she was there and decided to take a break and lean on a tree. My head poked a bit from behind the tree and she hit warp speed.
Like a lot of other hunters, I grew up learning to hunt from my dad, who never used a tree stand. In my teens I thought he moved painfully slow. If we bumped deer he would stop and sit the rest of the day right where it happened. Some days we didn't agree on tactics. But, when I started to venture out on my own I would bump deer and devise a plan to cut them off somewhere else. It rarely ever worked because they never really run as far as you think. He was right, sit still, you'll see a lot more. Over the years I learned the key to still hunting is knowing when and where to slow down and when to keep on trucking.
Big
your dad was a smart hunter! It took me years to understand how deer move and why. To have someone like your dad show you the ropes is worth more than any treestand or state-of-the-art bow.
Yes, I agree with BW and BBB. Sit still after an encounter like that. Sometimes the deer you push will calm right back down if they weren't sure of what happened. You can get out in front of caribou and cut them off, but whitetails are different. Great input guys. Keep 'em coming. " the key to still hunting is knowing when and where to slow down and when to keep on trucking." Exactly!
