Nope, 99.9% of the time now when I'm walking in I have a stand in my back and shooting isn't possible anyhow.
Obviously I'm not knocked in early morning before the sun comes up, or when its late afternoon when the sun goes down. But when I make my way back to my car later that morning, I always do a spot and stalk, and i'm always knocked. I havent connected on one yet, but I had three close encounters this season while one my way back to the car. I'm always knocked on my way to my stand in the afternoon too. I have a feeling that one of these days I'll drop one when I'm out of my stand. I damn near shot a buck this season while zipping my fly after taking a leak, only to find out he was 20 yards away, I never knew he was there until I reached for my gun (this was during rifle season). I didn't expect to see a deer anywhere near my designated piss tree
Great question! and even better answer... I understand you are talking Longbow,However,I use an Xbow now due to injury. Rule #1 of Xbow hunting is Never walk with a loaded Xbow. We all spook a deer,more often then we like,But the probability of injuring yourself is way higher than whacking a deer hopping outta the brush. We were all taught as very young hunter's "don't walk with an open knife"..just because of the chance something may happen. I wish you health and great hunting,So please, Don't worry about that "Spooky" deer... better yet, start practicing throwing your Bowie knife at it, like in the movies..(jus playn). good luck.
Hmmm...Bullrush I might try that bowie knife thing...I actually have won a hawk and knife throwing contest in the past!! During shooting hours, I have an arrow nocked, but I take my time getting to my stand and have an easy travel route. I also have a bow holster that attaches right to my safety harness or belt. I try to sneak in, but where sneaking is not possible because of leaves or whatever, I try to sound as "deer-like" as possible. Sounds funny I know, but what I mean is instead of walking normally and rolling my feet, I take shorter steps so I can step flat footed. That way all the sound of the leaves crunching is not prolonged by the foot step starting at the heel and continuing to crunch all the way to the toe. I also stop often and look around. I have listened to alot of deer walking in the woods, so I try to mimick what I hear. My strategy has worked pretty good for me thus far so I intend to keep this up no matter how goofy it sounds!:p
