Here are a few tips on how to still hunt, or stalk deer, rather than climbing a tree or sitting down. Slow down and then slow down some more, be very alert and remember the deer can see your movement better than you think.
There is always room for improvement and I have managed to get pretty good at still hunting. If I could off a few words of advice. 1) Still Hunt when the woods is wet. 2) 1/4 into or against the wind. 3) wool clothing is expensive but warm and super quiet. 4) Don't walk heel toe. Walk on the balls of your feet and only set your heel down when you stop. 5) LL Bean Hunting boots. They are warm, water proof and the soles are thin enough you can feel everything so that you snap a lot less twigs. Ive still hunted a few farms this year and managed to get with in 10 yards of at least 6 deer. The weird part was i didn't shoot any of them, because they weren't a big buck. I have also switched from a scoped rifle to open sights or my favorite is a red dot sight. Good Luck!
I’ve been still hunting for years and here’s a couple more tips, I often hunt off of dirt roads and take advantage of a car going by taking a few steps while they’re making racket, do the same if a noisy plane flies over. another thing I’ve done although it sounds a little far fetched , since there are a slue of wild turkeys round here (east central Ohio) and when they come through the woods they sound like an entire kindergartner class on mountain dew, I’ve walked through the woods chirping and clucking with a diaphragm call in my mouth and didn’t even try to be quiet. Really have no idea if it accomplished not spooking the deer but thinking outside the box never hurts!
I'm same area, and haven't thought about this. I usually try to clear pathways with less leaves before season and make a little leaveless path that I can follow
Stumbled across your videos when I was searching for muzzle loader stuff. Really like your style - it's like going hunting with a friend (even though you're much younger than me). Plus I'm in West TN so the landscapes look very familiar. Great videos! I've really enjoyed them. In one I noticed you using evercalm - what's your opinion on it?
My last hunt I decided to do a sitting ground hunt in a new spot near a trail. I had a deer walk right up behind me. Snorted and stomped then ran. Man, that was an amazing hunt ! Just to find a good spot and get that close. I was thinking of you , that time you did a still hunt. Thanks for the tips. Mark
@@CatmanOutdoors Then you're going to love this. I had a couple of nice bucks come up behind me while I was squirrel hunting; ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-8DOqfEdOIz4.html 😂 90% of the time, I was looking at them through the flip screen of my camcorder with my back to them.
Hiya, I like too still hunt just after a good rain, or when it's raining very lightly, keeps the crunch down, otherwise I just find a good spot and sit down with brush behind me. good luck. Shakyjake out!
I'm far from an expert because I've only done it a couple of times now, but I've snuck up on deer every time. I'm quiet, but I try to make my steps sound like deer steps. Short and quick and on my toes. 5 or six steps, then stop and listen. 5 or six steps, then stop and listen. When I feel like I'm getting close or I hear something I don't move for 5 or 10 minutes. I'm sure there's tons of ways to do this stuff and mimicking a deer and actually creeping up on one without them knowing you're there at all are two different things. My bushcrafting buddy told me that they are going to know you are there regardless, so it is better to sound like a deer than to sound like a human.
In Fred Asbells book on still hunting he recommended ll bean boots, moccasins, converse all stars, kayak shoes pretty much anything with a thin flexible sole. Last year I hunted one day in a pair of converse with a pair of black socks over them to muffle the leaf noise a little more. The bean boots look like the way to go in my opinion, I just haven't gotten around to getting a pair yet.
Great video! Fun to see folks doing what I did as a teen. Course the only folks who had a blind were those who built them in trees and back then we couldn't see the benefit as much as you were always tied to one spot. A ground blind was finding a dip in the ground and dragging a small tree and some branches in front of you. Coming from Northern Wisconsin found some of my best hunting was still hunting after an early fall rain before the leaves got to "crunchy", thick pines where your trying to catch the deer coming off their beds... those pine needles are generous enough to help cover some poorly laid steps.... and of course a fresh snow which deadens sound, until you misstep of course and your foot finds that one branch buried under the snow. LOL! Anyway, liked David's comment on the squirrel. Sometimes your going to make noise so if you have to make it, especially in the leaves, you may want to consider sliding your feet a bit. It does sound more like a squirrel foraging and that's common to deer everywhere that I know. Again, great video.
I still hunt every year. My friends dad did it while smoking a cigarette and he would get deer all the time. Take a couple of steps wait for a couple minutes then take a few more. Go from tree to tree is a great tip too.
My Favorite way to still hunt is Late Season Muzzle Loader with fresh snow on the ground wearing solid white clothes, under the orange of course. Take three steps at a time then glass everything looking for an ear or an antler any little body part to give away the location of a bedded deer. It’s a very fun/challenging way to hunt. I have been very successful using this method and have always really enjoyed it. Good Luck and Thanks for Sharing your videos.
Ive still hunted all my life, ive killed hundreds of deer walking around, ben busted by hundreds too. They will def smell you if the winds at your back, shot nice bucks still hunting, mossy areas , or edges of fields, you can be quiet, or after a rain
This is really good guidance/advice on still hunting. Your emphasis on the STILL is exactly right. Most people walk too fast and don't stop often enough or for long enough. As you point out, when they do that, they give the advantage to the deer. Thank you for yet another fine video.
I grunted a Buck in one time, real nice buck, didn't have enough points, he stood there for 8 minutes staring in my direction, I was in a tree he never pick me out, but he stood there long time looking
Mike Hubbard Their issue is they dont have depth of field. Everything is sharply in focus. And they cant focus on a specific object like we do. They see everything as a whole. So any movement they catch.
way to dry out there to still Hunt. my favorite time to still Hunt is after a good rain or during a good rain. but good video, keep up the good work buddy.
yes, but you have to be careful, before using drones for scouting and locating wounded deer you should know if it's against the law or not before you use it... my friends and i had always thought of a simpler way to find out or locate a wounded deer is, if he's dead or still alive..well, we start to use drone for this and it works beautifully,cause you can fly over marsh, crp fiels, etc, thickets that's hard to get into or jumping a deer from it's bed and as long as you're not to low, the deer will stay still...you can see if a shooter is in the area and set up a ambush for it... we used drone to locate a wounded deer or see if any shooter buck is in that area(marshy cattail)..you'll be amazed how many deer you'll see with drones, but just check with you dnr and law enforcement if not, the fine can be harsh... drone scouting is the only way to go in marshy cattail places, big crp fields, tall grass field etc, cause you'll see them bedding without disturbing them.. once you spot a shooter climb higher to get an idea where his traveling route and go from there.
Great job; you did some very fine still-hunting! This is a good video and people will learn from it. I did not start hunting until my 40s but really like it and have read many books. Anyone interested in improving at still-hunting should watch this and read other articles and read Boyd Iverson's book Blacktail Trophy Tactics II even if you do not hunt blacktail deer.
When it's that dry & noisy out there, I do the opposite. I move quickly from point to point and where I can, I hop rocks & stones. See, walking slowly is how predators stalk. You walk through quickly and you're mimicking something that's not walking like a predator. Of course, I will only move when the wind is blowing or there's a flock of birds flying overhead & squawking and/or when squirrels are scurrying about to cover my own sound, but moving fast is best from point to point then wait there for your next opportunity to creep.
Live in middle TN. No deer this season doing my usual sit at a pinch point area so I’m going to try still hunting. This was great advice. You did great.
If you can control your human scent and walking with little noise !!!! I hunt on the ground back up against a tree and your 100% right they usually do see you before you see them
Good job in this video. Many good tips. Many hunters say a hunter can't stillhunt (still hunt) in crunchy leaves but you can. Deer do it. Humans can do it. Just like this young man said, very slow, one step at a time, looking for a flicker or slight movement or part of a deer. Good job. Enjoy God's creation the way this guy explained it. Slow down. Patience. I have taken two nice Blacktail bucks in Oregon with pure still hunting, and come on other deer that way. It is great - my favorite. My friend calls it hunting, mano a mano.
when i still hunt i wear rubber boots i walk the creeks deer can't hear you walking in the water, at the same time i look for deer crossings on the creek banks, once i find a deer crossing i comeback to the crossing(s) until i score.
Finally! This is what real hunting is like on public land. I’d rather watch this guy get busted by deer that have not been manipulated and tamed. I don’t care about your 6 year venture to kill a deer you raised on your land. To me , manipulating the pattern of deer on privately owned and managed land where trail cameras do the actual hunting just is not the same. I’m not saying they don’t put in the work and should not be proud to kill such magnificent deer. However, you drop most of them guys off in a WMA swamp bottom and they would leave finding every common excuse never to hunt public land again. No deer, hunters everywhere, too many rules etc.... Keep up the good work The big ones are in there, they just are a hell of a lot smarter and completely relying on their instincts for survival.
You are spot on. I killed a large spike buck in Pa. that I know for a fact ( because I watched them ) 4 people within 2 hours walked past him not more than 15’ off the side of a old logging trail. Yes where he was lying was in the open with about 10 1 1/2 inch saplings that he had rubbed on. I at firs thought someone else had wounded him but, no only hole was the one I put in his neck.
Great job, a lot for people to think over and discuss. If your reading this read others comments too. Good stuff from a lot in here. Plan your hunt do everything in slow motion. One thing he does is wear a cap get a short bill hat l've picked up other hunters by seeing the bill of the cap move. Keep your face covered thin neck garter so not to hinder your vision. Also how I spot other hunters.
You don't have to be completely quiet, animals make sounds in the woods too. The biggest factor in my opinion isn't what you're doing while coming into the spot you're going to be hunting at, it's what you're doing while at the spot. If you spook them while coming in, chances are that they will come back sooner or later. Scent also plays a big part in still hunting because they have get in closer than usual.
I come across a lot less deer when trying to sneak through the woods but I find it more fun than just sitting in a tree stand waiting all day. At the end of the day I think it's a personal preference between each Hunter themselves as long as you have respect for the animals life I hope you all have a great hunts
You offered up some good tips but it's damn near impossible to sneak around in the woods when the leaves are that crunchy. One tip my old man taught me was when you walk put the ball of your foot on the ground first before the heel. Humans have a distinct sound when walking normally and will spook a deer.
Get an ASAT leafy suit. That camo is amazing. Ive had does and bucks look right at me from 10’ and not even notice me. And even if they catch some movement they seem perplexed as to what you are. Most of the time they will move towards you trying to figure out what you are. Its night and day from any camo Ive tried. All you need is the top and the face mask. And if they get real close. Sqint your eyes so they cant really make eye contact. It has improved my spot and stalk bow hunting success alot. Amazing stuff. Up where I hung everyone wears it
Your way ahead of the rest son I'm nearly 60 years old and being still And stealthy is the key. I don't worry to much about smell or scent they use there eyes and ears mote that there nose. But any thing that they hear if it's sounds out a place they know it or looks out a place they know it I hunt on the ground but use what already there to hide behind because they've seen that and so they don't pay as much attention to it. If you stalk go tree to tree stopping in front of big trees to hide your outline. But be slow only take as few steps as you can cause they will know its a human by the way you walk they hear it,,,
Best still hunting is on a real windy day with enough snow to track em up. Works great. I’m talking wind till it slaps the tree tops together. Let’s you get right up on them.
Nice, thank you for posting your experience! I'm new to hunting and only want to practice still hunting for deer here in Central NC. Gonna start practicing the fundamentals of movement/wind/thermals etc What's been your approach to camouflage and silhouette? Is it worth making a DIY ghillie hat to break my head/shoulder outline, or what about buying blaze orange camo instead of wearing flat colors?
A ghillie suit is a good idea for close range, but being still is always the best camo you can get. Often times you’ll see a deer suddenly that you didn’t notice before, and you saw it because it moved. They are flat brown colored, no camo, but they blend in really well just by not moving.
Good kid thats how i hunt most of the time hit the. Cattails and if you can hide they can..I step on deer in thick stuff being quiet as hell shot em in the head ..stepped on turkey pheasant and even a sleeping coyoty once. Keep it up.... .
I usually walk in slow and find a big oak or pine to sit down by. I had a nice 7 point walk right beside me last year and it didn't even know I was there. I let it go because I was wanting a doe.
I've shot more deer by stalking. I love it Here's a tip. If you bump a deer when stalking. Take off running after it. They usually will stop in a few hundred yards to check back trail. Giving u a shot. And if ther running they don't here u running. Be looking he will stop broadside. It works!! Your welcome
AOD 2 I r shot 90% of my deer still hunting. Shot biggest buck by bumping him. He was bedded down by a log. I raised to shoot and he took off. I ran after him and when he stopped to see what bumped him I was ther ready. Great job in your harvest!
Better yet, whistle , or even yell if they are further away. "HEY STOP!!! "Turns a deers head 75% of the time, i usually get a shot right there. If not once theyve stopped theres a chance theyll walk away vs run.
to know when not to still hunt is a consideration as well. one needs to keep foremost inmind that generally speaking the hunt is at a disadvantage and much emphasis should be put on thinking and shooting like lightning.
Still hunting turkeys and deer I have had great luck by mimicking a turkey or squirrel scratching at the leaves looking for food. Really makes the deer and birds more calm.
I'm a firm believer in getting in a tree finding good sign and setting still eventually a deer will cross you but still hunting =spooked as hell deer set tight and wait on them it will happen after all we are out there to leave our phones and all the cars of life and enjoy gods work . Happy hunting brothers
nGcAl78 nEw-w-0 if you do it right you don’t spook deer while stillhunting. You cover a lot more ground over time than you do in one stand, and it may teach you something about the deers movement that you wouldn’t have known by sitting in one spot. It takes a whole lot of patience to move slow enough, which is why I don’t do it too often.
If there's one thing that I hate, it's when I'm hunting in my tree stand and all the sudden I hear Davy Crockett crushing leaves and sticks trying to still hunt and spooking all the deer away lol
