Hello fellow hunters! I was wondering if anyone on here had any experience still hunting deer rather than hunting from a stand. Depending on my finances when the season comes around I'm afraid that I may not be able to afford a climbing stand and I may resort to still hunting. My question is, has anyone here ever tried still hunting and if so, how different is it from hunting form a tree stand. Are there more things to consider in addition to the noise you make when walking? (ie. adding scents, more scent control for human odor, etc) -JP
dont know about your whitetail deer and im not the best authority, but stay downwind and keep a puffer bottle on you to keep checking the wind if you get onto a stalk. keep your bow up towards your face to break up your outline or wear a good mask or facepaint. The less movements the better. I think as always its best to try and find out what they are doing, find their path if they have one and try and sit and ambush them as they feed into you. If you stalk in, keep your legs crossing over one another so no light shows up between your legs and go heel to toe slowly, keep to the cover as best you can and watch for look out does or other animals, even birds can alert deer with their alert calls. Im not sure if your deer will respond to a call as well as varying seasons but try and call one in if so, sometimes they can even be curious to a moving tree as if another deer is having a rub and come over to you. Just a few thoughts, as to whether they apply to your deer im unsure though, Hope that helps
A ghillie suit is a great way to go. I got my largest buck on a stalk 11/10/2010 on public land. There is a guy in IL who has taken numerous P&Y and B&C bucks with his bow all on the ground. I can't remember his first name, but I am pretty sure his last is Anthony. It might be Mark or Matt. Early season this is a good tactic as long as you have the wind and structure/foliage in your favor.
http://www.ghilliesuitsource.com/suit_bow_hunter_ghillie.html I bought this one and I have stalked up on a few deer and a lot of turkeys it works well just stay low keep your bow ready and watch your step.
as a noob still hunter I can tell you from my experiences is that is 10 times harder than hunting from a tree......BUT.....BUT......the reward is about 100 times greater in my opinion! Even just seeing a deer within close range and them not knowing you are there is almost the same thrill of shooting/harvesting a deer, even a small yearling. Don't get me wrong, i still spend many of hours a season 30 plus feet up a tree in my summit climber!! But this will open up a whole new dimension of hunting for you. EVEN if you only hunt out of a temporary ground blind at first, which I did for five plus years due to lack of funds!! There are so many things to discuss with still hunting, Wind like you mentioned is your greatest ally/enemy. Rather than use a puffer bottle use a few strands of UN-WAXED dental floss attached to the limb of your bow...it will always show the what the wind is doing. I'm going to suggest a book for you to read written by a true still hunter genius.. G. Fred Asbel http://www.gfredasbell.com/GFA_Books_Videos.php#Stalking_Stillhunting you might be able to find it cheaper somewhere online, but I highly highly recommend getting this book! I have yet to take/harvest/kill a deer by still hunting, BUT did manage to get a 20 yard shot off and miss completely due to "DOE fever"?
Ive done it a little my first season bowhunting, and learned real quick I needed to get in a tree! I would second everything mentioned, but would add that you need to get a good pair of binoculars and glass often. Ive done alot of reading on still hunting and what is stressed the most is to move slowly and glass often. If your moving more than 100 yards in half an hour, your moving too fast!
Marc Anthony is who you're thinking about. I was thinking about picking up one of his suits as well. http://nontypicalhunter.com/
Thanks for the tips, guys! Definitely going to do some reading. I may just try and borrow a stand for my first harvest then stalk the rest of the season. Don't want to get too frustrated . If not, guess I'll make me a ghillie with my old uniforms.
Lots of good info here. I stalked in on the red stag in my avatar but it was through tall grass with the wind in my favor. 200-35 on my belly while the stag was feeding. I'll also try to stalk to and from my stands but honestly I don't always have enough patience to go slow enough. Great thread.
I don't have much experience stalking/still hunting other than on a rainy day but from the sounds of it you could simply find a good place to sit on the ground. For many years that's how I cut my teeth on bowhunting. My dad and I had cheap folding stools we would take into the woods, find a deadfall or big clump of trees to get up against near deer trails and sit and wait. No need for an expensive climber, pop up blind, etc. Use what is out there and some decent camo won't do you wrong!!
Get a bungee blind or something similar or make a natural blind. Here is what I use, they make it in Mossy Oak now. http://bungeeblind.com/ Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2
Hogs are great to stalk up on. Put a palmetto frawn in front of you and shuffle your feet slowly in. Again hunting the wind.
How effective do you think a ground blind would work? It won't be as effective as a climber, but seems like it'll work pretty well.
Ground blinds work great. run some paracord between two trees and lean sticks and brush up against it. cut a few branches and mix them in. just make sure you can draw quietly and without interference. leave yourself a few openings to shoot through. set up on a trail if your familiar with the area. Setup a couple ground blinds for different wind situations and you'll always have somewhere to hunt no matter what the wind is doing.
For years my dad has killed deer off the ground with his bow and I have a couple myself. He still hunts that way today while I was bitten by the treestand bug. You do have to watch the wind directions a little more but other than that you have just as good of a chance IMO. The deadfall is the best thing you can sit up against. You don't need to go tying things up (especially if on state land) but you can move brush in to help break up your outline better and even give you something to hide in. A depression in the ground is also a good spot to get down into, especially if there is brush around it. Most think you have to have something to hide behind but if you have good brush or stuff behind you your outline will be hidden better. I have had many sits on state land even where I just sat up against a big clump of trees or even one big tree and deer never saw me. Just have to time the moment when you draw better to keep from being spotted, like when their head goes behind a tree or brush.
THIS!!! best advice you can get! Do not hesitate to try it on the ground....major rush being on there same level
Totally agree with this post! Actually the only buck I saw on hoof, this past season, was while on the ground sitting nestled in some deadfall. I went to hunt a public land spot for a chance to give my normal area a rest. I had forgotten my harness at the house that morning so I decided to leave my climber in the truck and ground hunt. Saw a doe and fawn then that buck came up behind me about 15 yards at my 7 o'clock position. Unfortunately there was no way I was turning around that much and drawing without him busting me. So I sat there in a few minute stare down with him and waited him out. He ended up scooting around me at about 40 yards and never presented me with a close enough shot. That was definitely a hunt I won't forget.
