HuntingNet.com Forums - View Single Post - Stillhunting a bench on a hillside--best way?
Old 11-27-2015, 06:14 AM
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Champlain Islander
Dominant Buck
 
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Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: On an Island in Vermont
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I mostly still hunt and the situation you describe is one I am always looking for. Wind and scent control is important since if the wind is wrong it doesn't matter how well you can see especially in a thicker area with limited visibility. I would work the wind and if you are looking for a bedded buck they often bed with the wind at their back facing downhill so they have both flanks covered. I love to pick my way uphill into the wind very slowly looking for a bedded deer near the edge of the bench. Once I get to the top I'll often creep along the edge looking for animals up ahead. The end of the day I would be focusing near the bottom trying to catch them going to the feed. The secret to still hunting is to use both the wind and terrain to your advantage and go slower than slow. I will move a step or two and then stop and look in a 360 degree view. If deer are moving they will always be going faster than I am and I often hear them coming. If they are bedded or feeding a step or two at a time will often give you the chance of seeing them. My still hunting is actually stand hunting except I am always moving from one stand to another 10 feet at a time. I rarely stay in a spot for more than 5 or 10 minutes unless I see a ton of fresh sign. If there is snow I keep moving until I cut a fresh track that is an animal I want to go for. Then I am moving at the same rate I feel the animal is going. If it is circling for a bedding site or browsing then I slow down. Once you get the hang of still hunting it is productive but you do need big woods without a lot of other hunters.
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