How many of you do much stalking or groundhunting with a bow. I don' t do much, just don' t feel as though I can get close enough to get a good shot.

I don' t stalk much but I have shot deer from natural ground blinds. I' m sure it' s possible to stalk but I think it would take more skill than I' ve got.

I' ve hunted from the ground a few times this fall since I didn' t want to put my treestands up on public land as early as I did last year. I like not having to worry about setting up my climber or hunting the same spots over and over. I' ve seen lots of deer when hunting from the ground. You just have to keep your movement to the absolute minimum and watch the wind. I would much rather hunt from a treestand though.

i have never truly stalked with a bow, but i do keep an arrow nock on the way to my stand. i shot a doe opening afternoon on the way to my stand. she never new i was there.

I mix in still hunting quite a bit. However, My tactics are not to sneak upon a deer, but to sneak into areas that I know they move through and feed. I carry a small folding stool for sitting.

Still hunting can be tough, but it can also up your odds of being where the deer are when they are not near your stand.

The small folding stools work great . I put them where I see deer moving and there is no place for a stand .

I' ve tried it and I don' t like it.

I don' t have the confidence in it or the patience for it.

I would love to still hunt, but I dont have the patience for it either. Takes a whole lot of skill and lots of patience. I can sit in a stand for 4 hours easily, but i sure cant walk around and eyeball everything to try and decide if its a deer before my next step.

Stalking deer with a bow is probably one of my #1 favorite passtimes. I practice all summer, and apply it to hunting in the fall. I usually do spot-and-stalk, but I also do still-hunting (which is actually harder). After many failures, here are some important tricks I' ve learned:

1) Watch the wind. This one is obvious, but hard to do when you' re stalking a moving deer.

2) Always assume there' s a deer behind the next bush. Never let your guard down. So many times I' ve been stalking a few deer I spotted, couldn' t find them, started walking, and jumped them.

3) Be aware of your surroundings. My most common problem is letting myself sneak up on a deer without knowing it. Next thing I know, there' s a deer looking at me and a tail bobbing away. Make sure you look around every couple steps.

4) Keep it quiet. Do your best not to step on branches, pine cones, etc. Grass brushing you doesn' t seem to bother them near as much as sharp sounds like snapping branches.

5) Find the deer before they find you. Often, this involves sitting in a stand until you spot one. Sometimes, it' s just quietly still-hunting when you know there' s deer around. If a deer sees you first, the odds are it' s over.

6) If a deer spots you, don' t panic. Stand completely still. When the deer looks down, slowly get on the ground and do a belly crawl to the nearest tree.

These are just a few things I' ve learned. I' m still working on honing my skills, being that this is only my second year bowhunting. Hope this helps!

-Spike Buck

Stalking is one of those things that is difficult to accomplish but shweeeet when it works in your favor.

I have bagged only one deer on the ground with a bow. It was on my way out and I was walking out with my buddy while he dragged a small doe. He didn' t really need any help so as we happened upon two deer I was ready within a minute to shoot.

A minute is quite a long time in the sheme of things but it was pretty dark and they just would not leave. They just stood there and I aimed for the white on her neck.

I hit her and dropped her in her tracks. Don' t ask where I hit her, you can figure that one out.

Anyway, that was really a lucky situation, I was quiet and downwind but in most situations you have to be constantly ready and very patient.

Don' t let them see you before you see them. That is paramount in stalking deer.

Good Luck! The rut' s is just about here!!