Spot and Stalk Deer in CT
Connecticut
New to the site so I am not sure if this has been discussed before BUT I was wondering how successful people have been with spot and stalk hunting for deer in CT. I keep reading and hearing that the way to harvest whitetails is via a tree stand. I am new to hunting (just got my bow in January) and the idea of sitting/standing in a tree for hours on end is not something I am looking forward to. Any help is appreciated!
Pak
Pak - welcome to CT hunting and our site. I've been hunting state land in CT for 48 years so I have a bit of experience with all different methods of hunting deer. Here's what I do, and it's neither right nor wrong, it's just that everyone has their own way of hunting.
Early season - I like to still hunt. CT woods are too thick to spot and stalk like you can for elk out west using binoculars to scan the ridges a mile away. Moving VERY slowing, looking for sign, and using this time to mark good locations for a stand later in the season. I've taken several deer this way, you just need to move VERY slowly.
The Rut - I carry my stand in EARLY in the morning and climb a tree that I picked earlier in the season. Wherever there are doe, you'll find bucks during the rut, so patience is the key.
Post rut - I do more still hunting looking for where the deer moved to after being pressured during the hunting season. I try to hunt archery only areas to lessen the hunting pressure, but I find the deer change their patterns after having an arrow or 2 flung their way.
Good luck this season. There are a lot of good guys on this site that are willing to help and they know their stuff.
Bob
Welcome bud..bbb and steve (he'll chime in later) both learn from a not so old mohican indian named chithrufeathers...hmmm,come to think of it,maybe thats why they own casinos now...any hoot,go slooooooow..if you think youre going slow gow slower...keep the wind in your face..spot n spook is a blast...
My spots are small I put out cameras find what time the deer come thru and sit I seldom sit for more than 3 hrs 99% tree stand .
APak - Welcome to the site. Lots of good advice here. A good way to practice in the off season is to go to some 3D shoots. They are like walking on a golf course with different animal targets to shoot at, and will help you get very good at estimating yardage, which will come in handy with spot and stalk hunting. The distances to each target are unknown and the shot situations vary quite a bit. A quick way to get up the learning curve ( and to not lose so many arrows) is to take your best guess at the distance for each station and then use a range finder to see how close your guess was before you shoot. The range finder will disqualify you from winning a trophy, but who cares about that. By the end of the round you will already be much better at yardage estimation.
Another fun way to practice is to go to Halls in Manchester and try out their DART system. It is an interactive video system that plays realistic footage. All shots are 20 yards. You shoot at a video screen with blunt tips and when your arrow hits the screen the video freezes and shows you where you hit the target. It helps give you experience watching a moving animal and deciding when the best moment is to take a shot.
For spot and stalk practice, you might want to try woodchuck or squirrel hunting. Probably a lot more shot opportunities and a good way to practice.
I think it was one of the Wensel's that said:
You can hunt like a wolf (push in a pack)
You can hunt like a cat (slow and stealthy, or ambush)
Or you can hunt like a bird of prey (from above)
It all depends on your personality. When I stalk, I'm more like a bull in a china shop. I'm a bird of prey or an ambush cat.
APak,
Welcome.
I don't spot and stalk, because getting within bow range, I find to be near impossible. Also, until last November, I had time constraints and limited land size to hunt. Therefore, I hunt for the best possible place to locate a treestand. You don't pick a tree because the view is nice, or, the distance from you vehicle isn't too far.You have to ask yourself, why would a deer pass within bow range of this tree? Having found a great location, the next most important thing, is to determine what time to be there. If it is pre-rut, an all day sit could be quite exciting. And, in some cases, you can actually call the deer to come closer to you, no lie. I look for funnels and travel routes on which to locate my stand. I do still hunt deer, but that is only with a firearm.
What kind of bow did you get? Have you ever been to a 3D shoot? Is there a club local to you, where you can practice shooting? Have you caught and cleaned fish?
Pak - ignore "notme". He's got it backwards. It's not spot and spook, it's spook, spot and swear! I also use this method to find out where the deer were a second before I saw them. And think of the expensive arrows you'll save by not shooting them at the deer and you get to got out again. Not to mention you don't have to get dirty dressing out the deer and dragging its fat ass back to the truck.
Have fun with it.
Follow BBB and you only have to shoot a deer every 16 years .LOL Pal
Thank you all for your suggestions and comments. I will probably do both, stand and stalk, and figure out what my style is...just like you all have.
I bought my bow from Hall's in January. A Bear Wild RH #60. They gave me a coupon to use the DART system and I did that with a buddy of mine. Very cool. I was never into video games but that got me hooked.
Right now I am reluctant to join a club ($$), as I am brand new to this, but I am definitely interested. I will be looking for some 3D shoots in the summer.
I love that the hunting community is so open to assistance. If any of you want to get together so I can pick your brains and learn from more experienced hunters that would be greatly appreciated. I am tackling this myself. None of my family or friends hunt. My parents got into fishing over the past few years but I have yet to attempt (I do have a bowfishing arrow) but plan on it this summer.
Personally, I would never spot and stalk white tail deer in this state. I like to bowhunt unmolested deer and I would say stalking a white tail on most days is a losing proposition, which equals pressured deer. Sorry I just think there are better ways to skin this cat.
If you put your time in scouting and having a couple cameras out you can try and pattern the deer a bit. That may help taking a few hours out of sitting. Early season it's first couple hours of light and last couple Hours. But come late October early November I'm in a tree all day. No patterning them then. Good luck this season. What part of the state do you plan on hunting?
PAk - where are you located and are you hunting state or private land?
Shawnm put together a dinner event with a group of us a little while back and while I couldn't make it all of the guys that did go said it was a great time. We're going to try to plan a cook out this summer, so keep an eye on the site for those plans.
APak, spot and stalk is very satisfying as is still hunting. If you don't know the difference, do some research. G Fred Asbell has some good books, but the best one I like is simply called Stalking Deer (don't remember the author). The stalking deer book is actually about still-hunting. To confuse you even more, still hunting is not done still. It's kind of like mobile stand hunting. You take just a couple of steps (not passing the toe of your standing foot with the heel of your stepping foot) and scan for a couple of minutes and then do it again. For a right-y always end with your left leg slightly forward so that you are in the best position to draw. Stay out of direct sunlight and always in cover. During the motionless 2-3 minutes you have time to look down and plan your next steps. Short steps in this manner minimize movement and make it soundless to nudge sticks out of your way with your toe. Don't be afraid to slowly bend down and crawl a bit if need be. If you feel like your sixth sense is telling you that you are in a good spot, stay a while. Traveling well below 100 yards an hour is the way to go. Any faster and you will spook deer. I have taken deer with long bow, recurve and compound this way, not using any commercial or improvised blind. I even spotted (from a tree stand) and stalked and killed a deer while being recorded from the tree stand (by a cameraman) and with a gopro camera on my bow for TV. I would say it is as thrilling and satisfying as killing from a tree stand..... times ten. Luke (Dr. Deer)
Someone should probably point out that, as a brand new hunter, a tree stand will increase your odds considerably. You will learn a lot, (an awful lot) by observing deer, observing relaxed deer especially. Seeing tails as they run away not so much. Still Hunting and Stalking can be incredibly rewarding, but you will spook many, many more deer than you will get a shot at. I'd suggest that you plan to spend as much time as possible in a tree, or in a blind, or at least standing still. Observe and learn. It's all fun, and when you figure things out and everything goes right it's incredible. Down the road, when you have a bunch of skills in your bag of tricks you can graduate to the harder stuff.
What Dr Deer described is stuff for experienced hunters, a newbie would have a better chance of winning the lottery than climbing down from a stand and stalking and killing a deer. I mean, Dr Deer does hunt where they have those half blind, mostly deaf deer, and he's part Injun, but still. :-)
Oh, Don't blame us if you become obsessed and have trouble thinking about anything else. You have been warned.
When my legs where good and I was able to use a stand, I preferred to be a tree huger. Now days, I hunt from the ground. Either from a make shift blind from natural cover or my pop up blind- best of luck this upcoming season.
The terrain and vegetation in CT does not lend well to spot and stalk. That is more of a Western thing where you can glass and view from a distance and plan an approach, usually at bedded deer.
Still Hunting is another matter, it can be done in CT but as was said above you will spook way more deer than you will have a shot at. Odds are really bad, even if you have an opportunity at a shot, you still have to get your self drawn and hope the deer didn't see you drawing, If you alerted him drawing, chances are they will end up jumping the string at best you will miss at worse you will mis but wound. New to hunting, I would focus on a stand either tree or ground blind. You'll have more opportunities at relaxed deer.
I agree with everything Ace said. Also, if all you have is small parcels, it's kind of dumb to bumble about, leaving scent and disturbing deer whilst running them off your property. Remember: every step you take leaves scent and unless its raining, the stink will be there for days. Places I primarily stand hunt, I rake a path in the leaves (while exiting, and not every time) to minimize my noise going in and out and scent left behind. Agree withBB, you learn a lot about wildlife behavior (from a tree stand) and develop the ability to remain more composed when hunting. Also, you get to try calling "seen" deer and judge their response.
