Do folks stillhunt anymore?

[Boll Weevil]

And I don't mean just hunting your way into a stand and hunting your way out. I mean dedicated hunts slipping through the woods, maybe with binoculars in hand, with a favorable wind/conditions, scouring the landscape looking for the telltale twitch of an ear or flick of a tail.

I seem to recall when I was younger, way more folks (at least in my hunting circles) dedicated at least some of their time to stillhunting. I recall one uncle who killed so many old bucks out of their beds it was far more than coincidental or lucky...that man was a stone cold stillhunting killer. Remember the Benoits up in Maine who would track deer in the snow back in the day? Fred Bear and Ishi sneaking up on critters with stickbows?

I don't know...maybe it's slowly dying with the oldtimers as kids are most often taught to sit and wait in a stand or blind. What % of your time is dedicated to slipping along seeking your quarry?

 

[Safari Hunt]

Seems like tree stands have taken over. This requires a lot of info for getting a deer- feed plots or hardwoods for acorns, trails, water locations, funnels in the woods, etc. Trail cameras help a lot and tell a story for the hunter. I'm looking to stalk some this season. Missed a lot of bow season. Boll Weevil, good topic.

 

[Acorn]

I love to still hunt if conditions are right. The ground has to be damp or wet and the wind right. I've had pretty good luck doing it.

 

[bwgarrett3]

I almost exclusively still hunt. If I had to put a percentage on it I'd say 90%. Very rarely will I do anything else. It's how I grew up hunting and it's what I feel most comfortable with.

 

[EastTNHunter]

The public parcels that I hunt do not really allow for still hunting outside of bow season. Not enough land, and too great of odds of messing up another hunter. If I hunted larger and more open blocks of land then I would, and have done some in the past.

 

[JT262]

Just talked about this the other day with a kid 24 whom scouts with me some he talked about Fred bear he only still hunts and is a great woodsman great topic but it does seem hard to do it on public as I don't want to mess someone up but I think your odds increase with more ground covered just my thoughts killed a good 8 one year while still hunting saw him chasing does let them run by and circled the mountain and got lucky and was able to get in front of him long story short I was very blessed that day only thing that helped me was the good lord and I new the terrain very well and got lucky

 

[JCDEERMAN]

Depends on the circumstances. I like to do this on windy days, preferably in areas I can glass

 

[Chief44]

Man, I cut my teeth hunting like that with my dad. He was very skilled at it and always hunted with a handgun. 44 mag Super Blackhawk. He killed a lot of deer with that old revolver and his "hot" hand loads. Back then we had access to thousands of acres that joined our farm and we rarely ever saw any other hunters. Over the years, those tracks of land have either been sold off or leased so it really cuts down on the area to be able to hunt like that. Boy, I miss those days in more ways than one.

 

[Westcoach41]

I do it all the time. See a ton of deer because of it.

 

[Specializedjon]

I do it some of the time, mainly when my ADD kicks in and I get frustrated with the wind or where I'm seeing deer compared to my stand. I need to do it more to get better at it. It sure changes the way I see the woods and wind, noise, where I'm stepping, cover and on and on. Haven't killed anything still hunting but would LOVE to.

 

[DANO63]

Killed my best buck ever still hunting in 2005.
I just don't know if I ran into him or he ran into me.

 

[rmmonty32]

I do and will but as has been said I prefer a big property to do it on. Nothing better than creeping through the woods with the .35 in hand!!!

 

[Pilchard]

It is my favorite way to hunt. All of the deer I have kilked(not many) except for my very first have been still hunting. I might only move 100yds in a morning and I will sit down if I like what I see. The buck I killed on Nov 7th stood up out of his bed 40yds from me right before I shot him. It was a very crunchy morning too.

 

[DRSJ35]

I do it every year and honestly have seen more deer that way. But the numbers are close with a stand also. But I do like doing it. So I will do it come regular gun. From time to time.

 

[Deer Assassin]

I don't have the patience or skill

 

[tree_ghost]

For those of you who have a little experience at this style of hunting I have a question...are you having the majority of your encounters when you are slowly walking or when you stop to watch for a while? Naturally I would think it's when you stop more times than not. Since I'm out of buck tags my plan for the remainder of the season was to work on my stalking skills on a pile of slick heads!

 

[bwgarrett3]

For those of you who have a little experience at this style of hunting I have a question...are you having the majority of your encounters when you are slowly walking or when you stop to watch for a while? Naturally I would think it's when you stop more times than not. Since I'm out of buck tags my plan for the remainder of the season was to work on my stalking skills on a pile of slick heads!

My hunting style seems to go against the grain of most everyone else. My preferred day would be less wind and somewhat crunchy leaves. There are a couple reasons I say that. First, I like to use my ears and my eyes to locate deer. Second, the more and more I hunt the more and more I realize that deer do not spook on you making noise. Here is my reasoning...deer hear noises ALL the time in the woods! Think about how much noise those stinking squirrels make that drive us all crazy. Deer also hear other deer walking thru the woods all the time. What do they do when they hear something? They "note" where the noise is and pay attention to that location until they have decided whether it is a threat or not. If they SEE it is a threat, they're gone! I do try to make as little noise as possible but not to the point where I'm constantly looking at where I'm stepping. Your eyes should always be looking for deer.

Now to answer your question...

Generally I see more deer while I'm "moving". By moving I mean taking 2-3 steps then stopping for 20-30 seconds. I would refer to it as the "death walk" more than still hunting. haha The majority of the time I hear the deer coming in those 20-30 second gaps. Occasionally, I'll catch movement or spot an "irregularity" in the woods while taking my 2-3 steps. It's amazing how much your view of the woods changes with only 2-3 steps. Now, I'd be lying if I told you I never sit down to hunt. If I find plenty of sign and feel like deer are using a specific area I will sit and watch for a while. Or if I simply need a break to rest or eat a snack I'll sit and watch. There have been plenty of times that I've seen deer during these "sits" as well.

One last thing...I've discovered over the last few years how important it is to step more like a deer. A deer does not have a heels and toes. When I still-hunt I step flat footed, always putting my feet down with heel and toe area touching the ground at the same time. Deer hear other deer walking in the woods all the time but if you don't sound like another deer than they'll be even more on guard.

Sorry for the long read but maybe this will help someone just starting out!

 

[swd]

I like to still hunt during rifle and muzzleloader season. I just do not have the skill or range with a bow at this point to be confident from the ground. All that said, I hunt from ground setups, tree setups, and shooting houses depending on the property and the rules. One of the places I hunt, the owner really does not allow incursions into the woods. He pays all of the bills, so he makes the rules.

 

[FredRog72]

My hunting style seems to go against the grain of most everyone else. My preferred day would be less wind and somewhat crunchy leaves. There are a couple reasons I say that. First, I like to use my ears and my eyes to locate deer. Second, the more and more I hunt the more and more I realize that deer do not spook on you making noise. Here is my reasoning...deer hear noises ALL the time in the woods! Think about how much noise those stinking squirrels make that drive us all crazy. Deer also hear other deer walking thru the woods all the time. What do they do when they hear something? They "note" where the noise is and pay attention to that location until they have decided whether it is a threat or not. If they SEE it is a threat, they're gone! I do try to make as little noise as possible but not to the point where I'm constantly looking at where I'm stepping. Your eyes should always be looking for deer.

Now to answer your question...

Generally I see more deer while I'm "moving". By moving I mean taking 2-3 steps then stopping for 20-30 seconds. I would refer to it as the "death walk" more than still hunting. haha The majority of the time I hear the deer coming in those 20-30 second gaps. Occasionally, I'll catch movement or spot an "irregularity" in the woods while taking my 2-3 steps. It's amazing how much your view of the woods changes with only 2-3 steps. Now, I'd be lying if I told you I never sit down to hunt. If I find plenty of sign and feel like deer are using a specific area I will sit and watch for a while. Or if I simply need a break to rest or eat a snack I'll sit and watch. There have been plenty of times that I've seen deer during these "sits" as well.

One last thing...I've discovered over the last few years how important it is to step more like a deer. A deer does not have a heels and toes. When I still-hunt I step flat footed, always putting my feet down with heel and toe area touching the ground at the same time. Deer hear other deer walking in the woods all the time but if you don't sound like another deer than they'll be even more on guard.

Sorry for the long read but maybe this will help someone just starting out!

I have nothing to add to this post other than it is spot on with how I approach still hunting. It does however prevent me from getting cold or falling asleep and it is my preferred method.

 

[Pilchard]

I keep the wind in my face and move painfully slow. I also carry a shooting stick to make sure that I can stop anywhere to shoot and still have a solid rest.

 

[T. J. Mercer]

I almost exclusively still hunt. If I had to put a percentage on it I'd say 90%. Very rarely will I do anything else. It's how I grew up hunting and it's what I feel most comfortable with.

I'd be curious to hear a few more experiences.
1) how often do you "catch 'em napping?"
2) how close do you typically get?
3) what's the closest you've been able to get?
I predominantly bow hunt, and though ol' Fred Bear might stalk a grizzly with a recurve, it just seems nearly impossible to do that with a deer.
*side note, if you've never seen that video, you should. Balls of steel. Ice water in his veins.
You're out east, so ...
4) More topo terrain the better? Or worse?

Thanks!

 

[Snake]

When I was hunting larger tracts of property and the conditions where right I would still hunt alot , killed my last buck in Giles still hunting back to my stand . Windy or wet conditions where the times I'd still hunt . Killed a nice ten point in Lincoln Co. once when he bedded after trying to get on him @ about 300 yds but the wind kept me from being steady enough to try a shot so I stalked him jumped him and a doe and shot as he was about to jump the fence .

 

[bwgarrett3]

I'd be curious to hear a few more experiences.
1) how often do you "catch 'em napping?"
2) how close do you typically get?
3) what's the closest you've been able to get?
I predominantly bow hunt, and though ol' Fred Bear might stalk a grizzly with a recurve, it just seems nearly impossible to do that with a deer.
*side note, if you've never seen that video, you should. Balls of steel. Ice water in his veins.
You're out east, so ...
4) More topo terrain the better? Or worse?

Thanks!

1. Only a few times that I'm for sure about. Other times I've jumped deer up out of their beds. When this happens they usually only run a few steps and stop to see what "spooked" them...giving an opportunity for a shot.
2. My shots are rarely over 100yds. 75% are in the 60yrd range. I have had some 20-30yd shots tho.
3. The closest I ever got to a deer was a young doe. She came out of a thicket and walked so close to me I literally could have stuck my hand out and touched her. I have not seen that video but I will definitely watch it. There was a time I spotted a big boar in a field and stalked up to 40yds of him before I let an arrow fly...that's a whole different story tho! haha
4. Yes, I definitely use the terrain to my advantage. I hardly ever walk up wide open hollers...yes, you can see further but so can the deer. My second biggest buck was killed by walking up a very small/narrow holler that paralleled a big open holler. I heard him walking out of the wide holler. I turned and got my gun ready as his antlers were coming up over the ridge top. He stepped up 20yds away from me on the ridge. I'm convinced I would have jumped him if I went up the big holler. Terrain can be bad if you do jump/spook one because they can be out of sight in a split second!

 

[Jaahspike]

And I don't mean just hunting your way into a stand and hunting your way out. I mean dedicated hunts slipping through the woods, maybe with binoculars in hand, with a favorable wind/conditions, scouring the landscape looking for the telltale twitch of an ear or flick of a tail.

I seem to recall when I was younger, way more folks (at least in my hunting circles) dedicated at least some of their time to stillhunting. I recall one uncle who killed so many old bucks out of their beds it was far more than coincidental or lucky...that man was a stone cold stillhunting killer. Remember the Benoits up in Maine who would track deer in the snow back in the day? Fred Bear and Ishi sneaking up on critters with stickbows?

I don't know...maybe it's slowly dying with the oldtimers as kids are most often taught to sit and wait in a stand or blind. What % of your time is dedicated to slipping along seeking your quarry?

I hunt this way several times every year! Matter of fact I did that the other day and found a new spot and saw an 8 point chasing! I love it. I also have ADD so sitting still in my stand for hours on end is difficult

 

[Boll Weevil]

1) Wind in my face is good but crosswinds can be just as good or better depending on terrain and thermals. Windier days when deer might hunker down can also be good.
2) How close? I'm a MS native and lived/hunted in several states where shotguns w/buckshot is legal. I've killed a truckload of deer what were close enough to be stone dead when I squeezed the trigger...less than 30 yards. Closest was maybe 20ft.
3) Easing through planted pines is one of the highest probability scenarios. Pinestraw can make for quiet movement; wet/damp and it's perfectly silent. In a stand of straight/vertical pines the horizontal line of a deer's back/belly/head/ears really stands out. It's dark in a closed canopy pine stand and a deer's grey hide, white ears/belly really stands out.
4) A lot of people stillhunt during the middle part of the day when deer may be moving less/bedded...I prefer when they're moving more. A moving deer is easier to see before he sees you than when he's stationary/bedded.
5) I carry a little stool or folding chair and sit often or lean against a tree for long spells. I can't tell you haw many deer have just walked up on me while I was sitting/standing still.
6) 360 scan often. A deer with no clue you're there is perfectly calm in their movements and can get by you pretty quick if you aren't watching.

I learned from elders that have either passed on or are too old/don't hunt anymore. They were woodsmen, patient, and perfectly tuned in when they slipped along. Their ability to mimic nature in their movement was uncanny.

 

[Ski]

For me it depends on the objective. I still-hunt public ground quite a bit because I rarely ever target a specific deer on public. It's exciting that at any moment I can see a deer I've never seen before, and he might be a good one.

On private property where I have some target bucks picked out to hunt, I stay out of those woods as much as possible, and am very careful to not leave any more scent than possible when I am there. Still hunting would be a disaster on the private spots I hunt here in midTN because the privet is so thick I can't move without leaving a blanket of human odor. After a couple hunts the property would be significantly compromised for weeks, if not the rest of the season. And I see more deer from a stand because I'm above them. Otherwise I'm on top of them before I even see them. With the deer numbers, if I sit in a stand for more than 2hrs without deer, something is wrong. Stand hunting is just more effective for that situation, terrain, and objective.

Contrast that with where I grew up in southern Ohio. It's mountainous terrain with steep ridge lines and wide open hardwoods. Deer live in the green briar, laurel, and paw paw thickets on a shelf or head of a hollow. I set stands but rarely hunt one for more than a couple hours. I might hunt 3-4 stands per day, hunting my way between them. Other days I hunt ridges, zigzagging back & forth so I can hunt both sides of the hill at the same time. I look down to the shelves. There's so little undergrowth that I can cover a lot of ground without leaving much scent behind. And a lot of the terrain doesn't get used by deer so they wouldn't catch my ground scent, anyway. It's a completely different set of conditions than where I live in midTN, so I hunt it differently.

 

[Boll Weevil]

Agree with you Ski...different areas dictate different tactics. I makes little sense to try and stillhunt a 3 year old clearcut. Kinda the same with really open ag ground with only skinny hedgerows. Definitely gotta pick and choose when and where carefully.

 

[T. J. Mercer]

Well I'm inspired.
I'm climbing down to see what's lurking about.
Unfortunately, I'm at the back edge of a small piece of land and don't have permission to hunt the 140 acres to my north, just a dozen or so around me.
Shame, but I've seen nothing yesterday or today, despite having buck after buck after buck walk past on Tuesday.

 

[recurve60#]

I do 90 percent of the time. Ive killed one deer from a tree in four years. The rest was on the ground.