ORIGINAL: j3k2c1
I had to leave before I could mention that most of the western game animals have more acute eyesight and hearing.
Well, then why don't we just compare the same animals then.......let's stick to deer because they all have the same sets of eyeballs.
To finish, I would say that by sitting in a stand waiting for a deer to come you are doing more of a shoot than a hunt, when compared to spot-and-stalk hunting.
I never made a comparison of stand hunting vs stalking.........really has nothing to do with what I am saying.
Reasons:
1. Your biggest effort is put into not falling asleep on the stand.
No that is just silly.........can we discuss this like adults??
2. The most physical activity that you will do is going to and from the stand.
Yea.....all those hours of scouting and patterning the deer and finding the perfect spot for your stand depending on the wind must not count.
3. You can't discredit long distance shooting as not hunting when we have more of a physical workout than you do -locating game, getting near game, getting a decent shot position with out spooking the game, etc.
EAAAAAASY there big fella......let's get one thing very clear right now. I NEVER said that long distance kills were not hunting. Don't put words in my mouth. I said that long distance whacks are more dependent on shooting skill then hunting skill. As long as an animal is taken legally it is hunting to me and that person is a fellow hunter.
Now...........First of all your assumptions that I stand hunt all the time are wrong. I do plenty of stalking in not easy terrain. I am plenty physical and have logged my share of miles in the woods. I walk all over the woods locating the game I hunt from my stands in the off season and I have to get much nearer to the game I kill..........you have to get in good shot position with a deer 300 yards away and I have to get my gun up and shouldered with a deer right in front of me...........or draw my bow.........Once again I really don't care to debate the merits of West vs East hunting styles because we both do what we have to do in the land we find ourselves.
4. Mulies, elk, and antelope all spook at distances over a mile for simple reasons as: a cough/sneeze/burp/fart
I just don't believe that..............if you can fart loud or bad enough to spook an animal a mile away you have bigger problems to solve.
the swirling winds are MUCH worse in wide open areas and can carry your scent (even with a cover scent) over 3 miles in every direction that can cause all the game to dissapear for DAYS at a time
Now your farts are covering a 3 mile circle??
We have thought that the deer couldn't see us crouching in the tree line when they were 1.5 miles off.
You were right.......they couldn't.
You should know what your talking about before you put down a method of hunting.
I do know what I am talking about...........evidently you don't. I never even mentioned the West or stalking yet you go off on these tangents like I singled you out or something.
And yes I have hunted from a stand in PA, IL, IO, and VA. Personally I hate it.
That helps explain your hostility
I don't know where IO is but I have hunted IA, PA, and NY..........what does that matter??? It doesn't matter where you are......
I am saying that sitting on a hillside watching a fire lane or open field with kill chances out to 300 yards is more a challenge to your shooting ability rather then your hunting skills.
Put a great marksman that knows Jack Squat about hunting within 250 yards of a food source and he will have a pile of deer in the truck. Put the same guy in a stand or on the ground where he has to now be very still, very quiet, scent aware, and be able to get the draw on a deer inside 50 yards without getting busted and he most likely wouldn't even get off a shot.
I am not trying to say one way is better then the other. I hunt all ways. Bow, shotgun, muzzleloader and getting a rifle this winter to go on some trips to New Mexico to hunt with my brother-in-law.
I am just using common sense and logic when I compare all methods. Archery is hardest, muzzleloader........shotgun........then rifle. All the weapons have limitations and that is what makes you rely more on your personal skill and less on the weapon as you move down the chart.
I don't pretend that taking a deer with my shotgun requires as much hunting skill as when I get one with my bow.........because it doesn't. I have to get much closer with my bow and be much more aware of movements, noise, scent etc.