I love to stillhunt and stalk PA whitetails during the archery seasons. When the conditions are damp, or better yet, windy, I'm always on the ground sneaking about. It's a great feeling to take an active, go get it approach. I usually connect with one by stillhunting or stalking once every year or two.

Simple things help. Wear quiet footwear. Seems obvious and simple enough, but it's tough to find a pair or boots without heavy lugged vibram crunch-crunch soles.Wear flexible boots with soft rubber soles that let you feel the ground. Avoid boots with skinny heels, too.Skinny heels are a bear to keep your balancewhen you're perched on one foot and holding still or inching forward. (This is a plague of many rubber bottom Bean-type boots.)

Every single movement you make should be slow and deliberate. Place the outside heel ofyour footdown first, and then slowly roll it forward and flat, while taking notice to potentially noisy sticks or ground cover beneath. Shift your weight forward only after your foot is set down. If you stillhunt for long hours, expect some thigh burn.

Pause frequently and peer into the brush. Bincolars are very handy for this.

If you jump something, don't give up. Deer will often run ahead just a few tens of yards and lay down again if they aren't spooked badly. Wait a few minutes and move forward slowly for another crack at them.

Try not to silhouette yourself against an open background or skyline. Hug creekbeds, brush, fencerows, and the like when you can.

When you getnear the end of a patch of woods, don't give up and stomp off. Deer often like to bed on the edge of the woods and might be just a few yards ahead. (I've let my guard down on several occassions when I had deer within 15 yards and didn't know it until I returned to a normal walk.)

On the flipside, if you know the hot and cold areas of your hunting grounds, you can optimize your hunting time by walking through the dead areas and only stillhunting the hot ones.

Wind and rain are your friends. Don't stay home because of strong winds or light rain.

One of my favorite tactics is to try to intercept moving deer. Several times a season, I end up doing 1/4 mile wind sprints to try to cut moving deer off. I'm often too late orsometimes spook them, but it's great when everything comes together. Nootherhunting methodgets your heart pumping so hard (literally).

A successful PA stalk...