Sit or still hunt

[Chiflyguy]

I've got a good sized property I hunt.
All mountains.
I've got stands up but wonder if I'm doing it wrong.
Remember, I'm used to hunting corn field edges.
I'm thinking this afternoon to walk in with the wind to my face, stop 30 minutes, walk another 50-100 yards, wait 30 minutes. Repeat as necessary.
Thoughts?

 

[30-06 type of guy]

what's the topography look like?

 

[Ski]

Nothing wrong with still hunting. Probably 50% of my gun bucks are from still hunting, and about 10% of my bow bucks. I don't have any specific rhythm. Sometimes I walk pretty steady and other times I sit, kneel, or stand in one place for hours.

IMO it's about the best way to hunt a large tract of big woods. Deer move and shift around following food sources and cover. If you don't stay with them you'll have lots of long boring days in the stand. Most times I'm still hunting to find the deer so I can set up a stand. That's how I generally hunt. And lots of times I end up never hanging a stand because I shoot the buck from the ground.

 

[Chiflyguy]

what's the topography look like?

All over the place
Lots of ridges,valleys, bowls,

 

[Chiflyguy]

Nothing wrong with still hunting. Probably 50% of my gun bucks are from still hunting, and about 10% of my bow bucks. I don't have any specific rhythm. Sometimes I walk pretty steady and other times I sit, kneel, or stand in one place for hours.

IMO it's about the best way to hunt a large tract of big woods. Deer move and shift around following food sources and cover. If you don't stay with them you'll have lots of long boring days in the stand. Most times I'm still hunting to find the deer so I can set up a stand. That's how I generally hunt. And lots of times I end up never hanging a stand because I shoot the buck from the ground.

That's what I was thinking.
I figure, get in, hide in a deadfall, look and listen.
These mountains have been great for my health.
Since the season started, I've lost 17 lbs.

 

[Snake]

I think today would be a good day to still hunt .

 

[DMD]

Personally, I've never done any good still hunting. But, I know guys who excel at it. I'd much rather pick a spot with several travel corridors intersect and sit and wait. But, there is absolutely nothing wrong with still hunting, if you do it right. My problem - I just don't have the patience to do it right.

 

[redblood]

Personally, I've never done any good still hunting. But, I know guys who excel at it. I'd much rather pick a spot with several travel corridors intersect and sit and wait. But, there is absolutely nothing wrong with still hunting, if you do it right. My problem - I just don't have the patience to do it right.

i firmly believe the moment i get to the ground, the hunt is over

 

[Ski]

i firmly believe the moment i get to the ground, the hunt is over

When I think the hunt is over is when I put feet on the ground.

I enjoy sitting and can be patient to a point if I'm expecting the buck to appear. But I have to have a reason to be there. If what I expected isn't happening then I feel like I'm wasting time and change gears.

 

[DMD]

i firmly believe the moment i get to the ground, the hunt is over

That's how I am. Exactly. It's just me, because I know people who still hunt and have been successful.

 

[PickettSFHunter]

I just know that I've started still hunting big woods in the steep stuff a lot more and it has really been effective for me. I had some older mentors that just told me that's how they killed their big Mtn deer back in their day. You just have to go slow, pick your routes, pay attention. This is definitely effective when bucks are locked down with does or cruising hard. You'd be amazed at how you can slip on them.

 

[trout]

I hunt mostly from a stand. If the leaves are wet or it is windy, I will try to still hunt ridges.

 

[BigCityBubba]

If you have logging roads then just take a slow leisurely walk stopping occasionally. If you are crunching leaves with every step, they will see you long before you see them.

 

[timberjack86]

Am I reading this right? Y'all call the hunt over when your feet touch the ground? So I take it y'all never hunt from the ground?

 

[muddyboots]

Am I reading this right? Y'all call the hunt over when your feet touch the ground? So I take it y'all never hunt from the ground?

I try not to. I swear everytime I try it and a deer even gets close they look at me almost instantly. I've killed a few on the ground. Most in the rut if they think I'm a doe walking. They come grunting but that's only times I've had it work. There is no way I could draw a bow on a deer sitting on the ground. Don't get me wrong. I still hunt from ground but rarely works. That's for me though. I'm obviously not good at it.

 

[DMD]

Very, very rarely. Now...i try to move quietly and watch as i walk out, but I just don't hunt on the ground. I started out hunting on the ground in the 80s. Didn't have a stand, was petrified of the ones on the market. I spooked so many deer and couldn't get shots from the ground that when I finally got a decent tree stand, i have pretty much never hunted on the ground since. I remember the first time I used a safe, comfortable stand - i saved my money and bought a tree lounge. I packed it in the steep hills of Chuck Swan. First time in the stand, i had three does walk directly underneath my stand and never knew i was in the world. I was forever married to tree stand hunting

Am I reading this right? Y'all call the hunt over when your feet touch the ground? So I take it y'all never hunt from the ground?

 

[Gravey]

Had an uncle that used to almost exclusively still hunt and killed a bunch of deer. If it's wet and the wind is in your face I like to do it although I don't much. Prefer to be in a tree.

 

[Chiflyguy]

Good responses guys.
Ended up taking about a 3 mile round trip walk
I don't have patience either.
I did figure out my stands are in the wrong place too.
Very promising spots for when I move a couple stands in march

 

[bigtex]

It depends on the weather conditions at the time.
If it's one of those "perfect" mornings, frosty, dead calm, etc, i'll sit still till the cows come home. If it's windy, pouring the rain etc i'll sit for the first hour or two then still hunt.
Since all my hunting is here at home I always still hunt on my way back to the house. On more than one occasion after sitting for hours and not seeing anything i've been successful still hunting on the way home.

 

[killingtime 41]

I still hunt often especially during the rut. Move slowly and sit on a stool I carry with my back pack. Listening and watching sometimes calling every once in a while. You learn the lay of the land much better. And on windy days with wet leaves you can be quiet. And sometimes effective. I do stand hunt also though.