1newhunter

whats the better technique walking and stalking or setting up a blind and waiting it out?my buddies are setting up a blind or using a tree stand, wewill be using rifles andi will have my 11 yr old son with me and think he would enjoy walking the woods more, as would i, but which tech. would bring better odds of bagging a buck?

MO-KS_hunter

For someone new (and most experienced hunters) sitting still, with the wind in your favor, keeping quiet is the best way to catch a buck.

Steelcity

for sure sitting still is the way to go, if he wants to walk to stay warm let him drive some deer, but if he wants to bag a buck then setup shop and wait, i dont know what the hunting pressure is like where you are but patience is one of a hunters best tools

PABuck_HNTR

I agree with the other guys. I fyou want a chance at a buck then hunt from a stand or blind. I have taken many does while stalking ,but I can't ever recall getting a buck that way.

Jimmy S

According to Jerry Chiapettia who created two excellent videos ("Successful Whitetail Deer Hunting" and "Way of the Whitetail") taking a stand, being quiet and always alert is your highest percentage of being successful.

Note: This technique does not include drives.

Killer_Primate

That question can’t be answered, due to the way that it was asked; it is too broad of a question.
However, normally a good mature buck will not fall victim to a new hunter, who is eleven years old and still hunting for the first time. But, if the hunting pressure is such that the bucks in the area become nocturnal, you don’t have much of a chance sitting and waiting during daylight hours. In the scenario that you mentioned, I would have to answer a few questions before I made a decision on how we’d hunt. For example; can we walk quietly today? Is my son dedicated enough, or have the attention span that will be needed to pull this off? Are the bucks going to be on the move, or will they be hunkered down? Are the property lines, wind and sun going to help me get a buck or limit my chances? All of these types of factors must be considered before making a choice for that hunt on that day.
That said, who is going to teach the child to still or stalk hunt if he is always made to sit in a blind or a stand? You probably don’t want your child to be on these forums one day asking “How do I get to my stand quietly?” Nothing says “my daddy didn’t hunt with me” like that statement.
I take my kids hunting as often as I can. I have four of them, and this will be the first year that my youngest son goes along with me. He’s 2-1/2 years old, so I’ll have to take him along for some really short, most likely evening hunts, during firearms season. I usually only take one child at a time, and we hunt the way that I would hunt if I were alone. I try to be on the ground, but sometimes that isn’t going to work. Property too small, leaves too crunchy, etc. My youngest daughter went on four hunts last year. She was four years old and sat in my pack for each hunt. Occasionally she’d be on my shoulders looking over black berry sticker bushes for deer. We were still hunting an area of thick cover. We had a system, that if she were to see something, she’d tug on my ears and then point my head in the direction of the animal. She got to see some deer, but we didn’t get one of them, but still one of my greatest memories. When hunting with children, or even alone, but especially with children, you can’t look at hunting success cut and dry, black or white, dead deer equals success/no dead deer equals failure. It is family time that is to be enjoyed and valuable skills passed on. I would rather teach my children some cool stuff that they can use for the rest of their lives than sit them in a ground blind and tell them to be quiet. That said, my seven year old daughter and I shot a small buck out of a ground blind last year on her first hunt of the season. But, there was really no way to walk quietly that day.
Good luck and enjoy,
KP

Roadkillwarrior

Well If it is a rainy day or has rained not to long ago I prefer to stalk deer since the woods isn't so"crunchy" and you can sneak quietly. Also, I prefer to stalk when it is windy. Other wise I stick to sitting in a tree or blind where Im less likely to screw up a hunt.

Bullwinkle358

I hunt mulies in the western states. I believe there is no "better" technique. It depends on how well you know the area and thearea you're in.

I like to sight & stalk or just blindly stalk & when I come up to a good area (beds, water, well used trail, etc), I find a place to sit &watch over itfor a few hours.

StillHunter90

I prefer to stalk/still hunt butif your new you might want to sit for awhile then if nothing happens give the stalking a try to get in the practice. You will see and hear more deer while stalking but unfortunately while your learning it will most likely be more flags and rear ends.But you have to start somewhere to get good at it. Eventually youll be able to pick out the deer before they pick you out. Stalking is definately more exciting and more rewarding in my opinion.I cant sit for more then a couple hours. I love to chase.

zrexpilot

Stalking can be very productive, but you have to know how to do it, were talking taking up to an hour to move 100 yds.
2 people doing it and a an 11 year old on top of that, I dont think you can keep him quiet enough. But on that same note I learned to stalk with my dad at a much younger age. Depends on the child.