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Old School Hunters

Anybody. Hunt old school? Still hunt , track , etc??. no food plot no bait. Just have fun enjoy the hunt without cameras etc just reading the woods n see sign?

Count me in.

My Hayward neighbor mostly still hunts on trails he maintains on his land and is good at it. When we hunt together I get on stand and he goes and does his thing around me. Some of his 'trails' are hardly visible but all the sticks that he might step on or branches that he might brush against are clipped off. Some of his trails even dead end at bedding areas. Last year he had a yearling following him. He texted me about it and sure enough when he got in sight of me there was a deer following him. Another time I knew he was going to get to me sometime, I texted him about a small buck that I had by me and that when he gets to me he should point toward it and sure enough he practically walked right up to it without it having a clue. Now don't say we were illegal in communicating that via texts because there was zero chance either of us was going to shoot at those deer.

Then again just yesterday I walked out on our driveway to get the mail, two yearlings were standing looking at me from about 35 yards. I talked to them in a very calm voice, they very slowly walked right to me at about 10 yards being nothing but curious. I talked to them for about 5 more minutes and then they calmly walked off to the side. I continued my walk then came back walking normally, sure enough they were still where I had last seen them. My wife and I got in the car to go to town and sure enough they were still there watching us.

Sometimes. The layout of our land works in such a way that if the wind is right I can start on one end and work my way all the way to the other. I only do it when it is windy enough to cover my walking noise. It's fun and I've had some really cool encounters. One that stands out is two doe fawns close enough I could have grabbed either one.

The day of the red plaid, lever actions and still hunting tracking are pretty much gone sometimes I think simpler was better! And more rewarding! Anybody still hunt out of a wall tent?

After opening weekend if there is a fresh snow we will drive the fire lanes until we see a decent track to get on. A couple of years ago we got on a huge track that took us 12 miles and two days to follow. Never got him but did get a shot at him. It's amazing what they will do once they realize they are being followed. In that 12 miles he ended up making a huge loop and back to with in a 1/4 mile of where we started. Learned from a family that has a video series. The Benoits. I think that's how to spell it. Lots of work but fun.

Not with a bow but heck yeah with a gun. About the only way my ADHD self can deer hunt.

Is there any other real way to hunt? I don't think so. Any animal taken by real hunting methods, actually going out, moving, learning movement, where and why they are there, and then succeeding in a kill is way more of an achievement than any other method.

Pretty tough nowadays in southern WI to hunt the "old school" way due to small parcels of available land, unless you have permission to cross property boundaries. Used to hunt this way in central & northern WI (Jackson, Clark, & Sawyer Counties) when we could roam for miles & miles. It was great & was the way our forefathers & real old timers in the sport did it. You had to use your woodsmanship skills and really "hunt" deer on the ground, one on one, at eye level. You & the deer. No bait, food plots, decoys, limited use of scents, and camo that was not as good as what is available now. Prior to '71 no tree stands. A real challenge. Had great fun & learned a lot, you had to... otherwise you came home empty handed. Still though, no matter how great a hunter you thought you were the deer always had the home field advantage. They taught us lessons every weekend. Got used to eating "tag soup".

Easy to miss those days.

Casekiska, the easiest places to hunt are the small parcel farm country's. They have only a few places to travel. I used to bow hunt them a lot. Big woods is a different story, but when you have the experience of what to look for and put your time in, they are there for the taking. It is tougher now days unless you alway's want to hunt around other sitters.

Lots of great tracking books out there. Hunting big woods Vol 1 and 2 by Hal blood are amazing. He'd be a cool guy to know. Guys saying the art of tracking or still hunting being dead. I couldn't disagree more.

Reading those books and taking pursuit after reading them. Changed the way I thought about whitetails and how they move and bed throughout the landscape. When I was younger I use to sneak into doe bedding areas with my bow, trying to fill my tag. Once in awhile I got lucky.

I remember my first hand me down set of red plaid britches and jacket. I was taught to hunt this way of getting on a track and following it all day long. A couple of bo;onga sandwitches and little debies in you pocket and we were of for the day. My dad and I used to pick up a track at the farm and walk for miles on end. I remember plenty of times we would get our deer right back by the farm that evening. Funny how they always make a big circle for miles and end up near where you started. Great times and great learning. I will never forget those days out in the woods with dad.I wish my pysical abilities were a little better now to teach the grandkids that, but I am only good for a couple hours on my feet now. But I do make them walk and track the few hours I can,sure beats sitting on you but in a blind.

I agree with the premise that the number 1 problem today is being restricted to smallish acreages. In the 60's & 70's access was no problem, "we" had hundreds of acres we were free to roam.

But, primarily with a rifle, still hunting was my favorite. I learned something new each time out under the tutelage of my mentor...my dad. Bowhunting is, obviously, more difficult but still doable...not to mention fun, proactive, and rewarding.

But in todays hectic, fast paced lifestyles, the art of true "stillhunting" is becoming a thing of the past. Most guys I know start out well intended but lack the patience and woodsmanship to pull it off...after a short time they're no longer hunting, but hiking.

So...most of the unskilled "stillhunters" are doing exactly that at season's end...still hunting ;^)

I do except I have replaced the horse, scouting and compass with a Ford F-150, GPS, and trail cameras

The only property I still hunt on is one I don't care if I screw it up . Otherwise I hunt trail's .

I'm going to try something old school this year. I am not going to hunt the 9 day war. I will wait for black powder season, head to the big woods and try tracking in the snow.

No baiting from me, but a lot of scouting.

Good plan Two Feathers, I'm doing the same.

the days of levers and pumps decked in all wool are still going in NW WI. With the low deer numbers in the North the hunter numbers have dipped dramatically on our great public land. I encourage any of you that are able to change tactics and get back to basics. Still hunting in new areas each day is so refreshing after hunting the same trees during the bow season. For inspiration I attached a link to the Red plaid gang instagram account

https://www.instagram.com/redplaidgang/?hl=en

Still hunting during muzzleloader does sound fun.

Hats off to the Red plaid gang!!! Every read some of Mert Cowleys books a Hundred hunts ago of Orange ? Good reads.

I have Merts Palace in the Popple I thinks it's called. Another fun read.

What a great picture! Really brings back memories. Thanks for posting.

Sweet picture no scopes on the guns unnoticed .

Mindbender, yes Crowley's book are good to read. Takes one back when deer hunting was much different and the unknown factor came into to play making it a good time to be out there

One good thing about still hunting / tracking the view is constantly changing and your woodsmenship is honed!

I have food plots and love my deer cams. I get just as much out of working/planting the plots and getting pics as I do hunting now. I only hunt out of stands/blinds as walking around during daylight has only pressured the deer and made them go nocturnal in a hurry.

This is what the old days are about. Much alive in the northeast. Somewhat dead here in wi. Out of all my favorite books I've read. These are my favorite. True hunters in my mind.

My preferred method when hunting large tracks of public land with gun or longbow. However, it may take me a day or so to slow my pace to become part of the woods. Its something like trolling, still hunt likely areas, speed up when no sign is encountered,sit and wait if you feel your near a deer, done right it is very fulfilling. To get in bow range one must use his eyes and ears, play the wind and think like a deer. Also learn to read your topo map and pay attention to your compass.

Nocturnal- I've read/watched all those ad well. Impressive guys to say the least. It amazes me how they can track a buck through the woods without snow. One advantage thay have is visibility. Most places in WI that have large enough tracts of land to be able to track deer you can't see very far. The Northeast is more open.

Your right skook..

A common denominator, both the Benoits and Hal Blood not only hunted large tracts of land but most tracts were recently logged. as for applying this tactics to Wisconsin public land; today's logging practices for the most part do not open up large tracts of land to forest regeneration. Logging still helps,,deer also have a trail system that may be used for years find this trail system and still hunt this area. But it is tough to find, I found the best scouting time is during or after the deer gun season. Don't expect to fill the freezer but it is the most rewarding type of hunt

Don't expect to fill a freezer? Are you talking about tracking, backwoods?

Backwoods, thats exactly it, they usually get away but at least you can be haunted by the hunt the rest of the year. This pic is from 2007 when they didn't get away for once. We didn't fire a shot opening weekend then my brother shot the wide 10 Tuesday afternoon still hunting w/ our buddy going super slow. At first light Friday morning my buddy shot the high 10 getting on his track that was still smokin. Crept over a knoll and caught him feeding. Both bucks were shot within 30yds

just filing a tag with a bow or gun by tracking, by a stand with no other aids is tough, but when I have an opportunity to go north for a few days that's the way I like to hunt.Its very rewarding if one can get close to a buck this way and maybe get a shot. I harvest deer in central WI; I hunt deer up north. I usually have a route I still hunt that features a pinch point, edge of a swamp or creek,etc. With care this is a great scouting tool and it allows you to learn the travel patterns and find buck bedding areas. The best scouting time is after the deer gun season or in spring before green up.I use this information to expand or refresh areas I can hunt.

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