doetrain

I agree there is a big difference as you have pointed out. I guess the thing that is the same is the thrill of getting in close and harvesting a Deer which requires some patience and stealth even if it was unplaned or at least not in the same manner as it is done out west.

KCMO Cityboy

Last year while I was sitting in a tree I spotted a couple of bucks sparring about 380 yds (rangefinder) away. The larger buck ran off the other one and then he bedded down. All I could see was his antlers. I hopped down from the tree, removed my boots (the wind was in my favor, thankfully) and stalked up to him. Was able to spot him at about 80 yards, marked his location with some nearby trees, and then crept up using some tall grass as cover. When I got to where I thought he was, thinking I was about 20 yds away I could not find the guy anywhere. I was going bonkers knowing he was close by. Kept trying to visualize where he would be based on the previous spot. He had to be on the otherside of the tall grass so I stood up a bit taller to see him. Not there. I sunk back down and then I actually heard the buck exhale through his nose. He had to be 5 feet in front of me! My heart started racing and I started to position myself further away. As I backed away that other buck that I had lost sight of popped up about 40 yds away (cuz he could see me!) and off ran the big buck. I was only able to draw back but no shot was offered. That stalk was FUN!!!

doetrain

KCMO, I bet that was a heart pounding moment being that close,it's hard to believe you could ever get that close to a deer period much less a mature buck. I have hear of them sneaking up on us a close range and I know that happens because my first year I had a young buck walk right up close to where I was standing in a brush pile not more than 10 yards away. It got my heart pounding for sure.

minnesotadeer

I have arrowed all of my deer from the ground. I use treestands too but nowhere near as much as ground blinds, sitting in ones I've built myself using deadfalls and the surrounding landscape, and stalking. I've only managed one stalking, a yearling doe, but that was more exciting than any of my other hunts as it was through the October woods. I had the howling wind to silence the steps I made through leaves and lots of trees to stop behind as I closed the distance on her. I shot one buck on the way to my blind. That wasn't a stalk but a "holy smokes, there's a buck off to the left." Stop, drop and draw. It was all instinct and it happened so quickly. I like having many ground blinds set up in hotspots before the start of the season so they become part of the landscape - plus the "natural" ones. It's not still hunting but I can move around to several throughout the day as I hike through the countryside. Good luck!

PREDATE

Most of the thick, brushy areas that I hunt are not so suited for spot & stalk, but some are interwoven with paths and hedgerows. In that case I will do more of an "ambush" if a deer is spotted or heard. It's a good way for me to do some in season scouting as well. I'm looking for any deer sign and a "plan" could jump in my lap at any moment. It's a great experience especially when getting to know a new area.

MountainHunter

I almost always hunt in a tree, but a few years ago, after seeing a group of four, a group of three and a single deer all out of range throughout the morning, it was about 11 am, and I was debating on getting out of the woods, since I had planned only a morning hunt.

Then I noticed what I thought were two black-winged birds on/near the ground, flapping their wings about 35 yards off through some trees. They just seemed to keep flapping their wings and not going anywhere. I wondered what they were…maybe turkeys? It was hard to tell through the branches. Then I realized they were two deer, bedded down, with their dark ears twitching to keep the bugs off.

I watched them for about 20 or so minutes, when one of them got up and started walking around. From its size and the careless way it moved, I guessed it was a button buck, which I have decided not to shoot this year. The other deer stayed bedded as the button buck moved around and eventually wandered off. I waited and watched for about an hour and she never got up. I knew I needed to be headed out of the woods soon, so I decided to see if I could convince her to get up by grunting and bleating on my deer call. She looked around but did not seemed inclined to get up. After about half an hour, I decided to try to stalk hunt her.

I waited until she seemed to be looking the other way (it was hard to tell for sure through the thick branches), then carefully climbed out of my tree stand 15 feet above the ground, down my climbing sticks, which happened to be on the opposite side of the tree from where the doe was bedded down, carrying my bow. When I got to the ground, I saw that she hadn’t moved. To get within range of her without wading through think, noisy leaves and sticks, I had to first go down a trail that angled away from her, then back up another trail that angled in her general direction.

I followed the first trail away from her and saw from the top of her ears that she had not moved. Then I started down the trail towards her, being very careful not to make any noise at all. I got to about 25 yards away, where there was a trail of sorts that led straight to her. But then I saw that, about 25 yards straight up the main trail that I was on, there was another, large deer standing. I couldn’t see if it was a doe or buck, as its head was obscured behind an oak branch. I froze and waited. After a couple of minutes, the large, standing deer slowly walked off into the brush to the right and just beyond the bedded deer.

I turned my attention to the bedded deer, which was still lying down with her head up, mostly looking the other direction. She turned her head sideways a couple of times, but never looked straight at me. She seemed to be focused in another direction, but I didn’t have a shot, because of the way she was bedded down. I took a couple of careful, quiet steps towards her to see if I could get a better angle. But then she shifted, and almost got up, getting her feet under her, which presented a perfect broadside shot at what was now 20 yards. I first checked to see if I could see the other deer that had walked off. I didn’t, and started to move my right hand with my release towards the nock on my bow. She never looked directly at me, but then the deer saw some signal from what I assume was another, unseen nearby deer that must have spotted me, and she bolted. No shot. Not a “successful” hunt by many people’s standards. But very exciting!

mofire

I have taked 4 elk, 4 Mulies, and more than I can count of Javelina from the ground. I have also taken 2 deer from a tree stand.