drdi

This is probably a silly question, but I can't figure it out. I've been fascinated by reading accounts of hunters stalking and stillhunting deer. I've been reading articles about stillhunting and been trying it out in the woods this season. I know in general I am not moving slow enough but I am working on that. What I am having trouble with is the logistics. I've read about using binoculars often to scan through the brush to look for deer. I've read about keeping movements to a minimum too. So how do you manage your gun and your binoculars? If I am standing by a tree holding my gun in front of me with both hands, then in order to use my binoculars I have to either a.) sling my gun over my shoulder or b.) set my gun down. I need both hands to use the binoculars to effectively take my time scanning.

Seems like the least movement would be to walk through the woods with my gun already slung over my shoulder, but then if I need to make a kind of quick shot, it's not there.

I just don't get how I am supposed to manage carrying my gun and using the binoculars without moving too much. The land I hunt is flat as a pancake but lots of heavy understory and brush in spots. There are areas I can move through quietly without crashing through brush, but it always seems like if I do spook a deer, it is right on the other side of a thicket from me.

How does everyone else out there manage your gun and your binoculars and switching from holding on to one and then the other?

Champlain Islander

Great question and it is indeed an issue. I almost exclusively still hunt in the northern woods of New England. One solution is to get a safari sling which can be bought from Cabelas or any of the other big stores. It allows your gun to stay in front of you between your waist and shoulders. It allows both hands to be free to use the binoculars and then just raise your gun to aim. You do have the right idea though...slow is best. Always take a few steps and look in 360 degrees all around you. If you make a noise just stop and let things rest before moving again. If it is really noisy with either crusted snow or dry leaves moving slow will often allow you to hear the deer moving.If they are on the move they will certainly be walking faster than you will be so you will hear them first. If it is quiet walking I often walk up to either bedding or feeding deer. Learn to use the terrain to your advantage and using the wind is most important. I find hunting like that to be the most exciting way to go.

crokit

With some practice, you should be able to bring the weapon from a shouldered position to shooting relatively quickly. I prefer to shoulder my weapon by placing it over my shoulder- right side-, then moving my right elbow to the inside of the stock, forcing it to the rear, keeping pressure on the stock with my elbow as I walk. This is very comfortable for me, keeps weapon out of the way, keeps barrel low, don't have to be in constant contact with sling as you do if it is simply just " shouldered. Keeps both hands completely off weapon in order to move sticks/branches etc. out of the way. Try it. I guarantee you'll like it. Only draw back is if you carry a full back pack also.

With your area of hunting being flat w/thickets, seeing long distances doesn't seem very likely.

I would be more concerned with moving quietly/slowly than repeated use of the binocs. If your a beginner, I would concentrate on not moving an faster than 2-300 yards an hour. This will be tough to learn. Get it down to 100 yards an hour. Doing this should get you to seeing the deer before it sees you. Stop often to give a particular spot a chance to pay off. Listen to the birds/squirrels. After 10-15 minutes { or whatever feels right } move on. Practice moving without looking down also. This is much easier said than done however. Easier to do whith snow on the ground.

Through the years, I've foung still hunting the most challenging/rewarding form of hunting, but, to each his own. It is definitly the most mentally exhausting.

Hunter_59

Diddo!! I usually do my stillhunting as a late season bow hunting strategy. Over the years, I probably average about a 99.5% failure rate with a bow. When it does pay off however, there is nothing quite as exhilerating! I hunt public ground, so still hunting during the gun season would not be a good idea. I would still hunt up on a buck that I've spotted during gun season and know exactly where he is bedded as long as I'm not interfering with other gun hunters.
I've killed4 bucks stillhunting,2 with gun, 2 with bow. 1 gun shot was 100 yds. after he stood from his bed that I had watched him enter 3 hours before. The other gun shot was at 30 yds., after I heard a stick crack behind me, he walked up on my back trail and didn't know I was there, 45 cal. muzzleloader kill. 1 bow kill was at 4 yds., he came walking up to me! 1 bow kill was at 40 yds. Common themes through all of these kills, the wind direction was inmy favor, I put myself into a position without any of them knowing I was there, i.e. moving slowly (100 yds./hour)!
Iuse binoculars constantlywhile moving. I either sling my gun over my shoulder or lay my bow on the ground.You can getaway with "slow" movements while still hunting. If you have a nose itch, move slow enough that you can "count the hairs on the back of your hand"! Using the binoculars will let youstudy that object ahead to know if it's a deer leg or a stump that you're looking at. Always look 360 degrees around you! They will come up on youfrom behind. If you have water available, such as a creek or river that runs into or on the perimeter of a bedding area, use it! Put on some hip boots or even chest waders if you need to. Water will conceal 99% of the noise you would otherwise make stillhunting on ground.2 of my 4 kills weremade while I was standing in water! If the ground is dry and the leaves are cracking, you just as well stay on stand and still hunt another day. "Pickthe fightsyou can win!"
From those4 kills, I was within bow or gun range on probably 50 other great bucks! The success rate isvery low, you better be able to dealwith that. Takepride in the ability to get close to your quarry without being detected. If the end result is a kill, then that's icing on the cake and relish in it! It will be few and far between! Good luck!

crokit

One tactic I like to use also, helps when the woods are like corn flakes. I've found through the years that a monster, when on the move on a windy day, { 15-20 mph } will move only when the wind blows, stopping when the wind stops.

This works great for a still hunter also. It takes patience, but it covers your noise big time.

BigTiny

I still hunt a good bit. Everyone is right about the success rate being low, but I enjoy doing it. Also, an injury keeps me from sitting a stand or blind for too long, so there you go. The wind thing is a great tip, whether the woods are crunchy or not. I also use a turkey mouth call, since where I hunt has lots of turkeys who are constantly rummaging around. A few clucks here and there, nothing major. It also has the added bonus of attracting coyotes, if you consider it a bonus. I use an adjustable tactical sling that allows the weapon to hang at my side. It is adjusted so when I shoulder the weapon, the straps are tight, which helps hold the rifle steady from a standing position. I just can't bring myself to carry shooting sticks.

drdi

Thanks for the tips! I'm ok with the low success rate. While VERY slowly moseying through the woods, I walked up on a huge 10 point during our early ML season this year. Unfortunately I only had a doe permit. But it did get me thinking of trying this on my home farm. The deer have been pressured pretty good by this time of year and I figure some still hunting during the middle of the day beats sitting still in one spotand not seeing anything. At least the scenery changes someeven if ever so slowly. I'll sit by the food sources first thing in the morning and last thing in the evening and stillhunt the midday.

JNTURK

in CA that is about all i do is still hunt...or spot/staulk with terrain permitting.......if the area you are hunting is as thick as you say it is and you "spook a deer, it is right on the other side of a thicket from me.".......it may not be the best terrain to still hunt.....there are areas that this is very effective and areas it is not effective at all....couple things you can do IMO

if this area you mentioned in the original post is your land...during the spring get in there and cut some good size walking lanes..also clear the underbrush so you can walk quietly..this will ensure u to get very close.......the object of still hunting is to see/hear/smell (yes it is possible) the deer before they know you are there.....in very thick brush that is almost impossible....

the posts before about how to hold your gun and bino's are very good...i usually sholder my rifle and have both hands for bino's and my hands also help me get over logs, move brush, etc. to stay quiet....again the theory is to see them before they see you...if you accomplish this then getting your gun ready to fire will not be an issue...

another thing you can try is "sneaky peeks" these go over your feet to keep you walking quietly..if ground is not wet and land permits it they can be very effective...

also, if you do jump a deer still hunting and the deerhas no idea what you are..other then something that is walking in the woods...there are great odds that the deer will only go a little ways (20-50 yards) from you and stand still to see what you are when you move...this is whe you need to stay still for as long as possible until you hear the deer moving again..then try to get where you can see him/her again

Dirt2

I like stillhunting. In the course of a season, I spend about 50% of my time stillhunting. Stillhunting can be more effective than standhunting in some areas. Basically, a stand hunter has only one way to succeed - the animal must walk past the hunter. A stillhunter may have the animal move past him, or he may move to the animal even though it is lying still. This difference may allowone to seeseveral times as much game stillhunting as one would see on stand. The tradeoff comes in shot opportunities. No matter how slowly you move, some of the game you see will see you first and blow out without offering a shot. On stand, you will likely be offered a shot by a much higher percentage of what you see.

Stillhunting will be a better tactic than standhunting if the following general situation exists: low deer density, big woods environment, and unconcentrated, moderate-quality food sources. Basically, I've just described country where the classic funnel theory loses a lot of its traction. If you don't know where the deer are going to feed (because they could feed just about anywhere), if you don't know where they are bedded (because bedding options are limitless), and there just aren't that many deer in the country to begin with, then you have the recipe for some long hours on stand without seeing squat. Stillhunting will probably yield more deer sightings and more shot opportunities.

With my rifle, I carry it 80% of the time tucked in the crook of my right elbow. The stock protrudes past my ribs behind my back, and the barrel naturally hangs down over my feet. I tuck my right hand into my stomach near the belly button. My left hand is thus free. I can manipulate my binos with the left hand, or use it to support my right forearm. With the rifle tucked this way, I can carry it for an hour or so before fatigue sets in.

I agree with others that stillhunting is the most mentally exhausting form of hunting. Unlike on stand, you must keep your mind 100% focused on the hunt. I'm a big daydreamer, so I have to work at stillhunting.If you daydream even a little, that's when the big buck explodes from underfoot. I will usually cover 100-300 yards per hour, and try to stillhunt in 2-3 hour blocks. I take breaks by sitting down over a good looking spot, or by just breaking the stillhunt pace and hiking along for a while. Generally, I'll choose two or three "stillhunting arcs" on the map the night before the hunt. These are lines, a quarter to a half mile long, that cover good hunting areas. I hunt one, then move to the next, and so on.

My typical pace is a very robotic, 2 steps and stop, look for one minute, go 2 more steps, stop for one minute, repeat... I'm going to try a more reflexive approach next season, where I pick a likely vantage point5-20 yards ahead and walk quietly to it without a major pause, then sit down for5-10 minutes, thenrepeat.

Anyhow, hopesomething here clicks for you!

Jimmy S

You have been given some good advice on this subject but I do respectively disagree with one point.

Still hunting is NOT the most mentally exhausting form of hunting.
While still hunting, the scenery is constantly changing always given the hunter a certain degree of optomism.
Plus most still hunters rarely get cold beause they are constantly (to a degree) on the move.

Try sitting in a treestand 20 feet above the ground when the temps are in the teens and the windchill is below zero.Trying to stay focused and constantly alert can be tough. Deer can walk by and neither the deer or the hunter is aware of the other.

Some may say conditions like that are not days to be in a treestand, but I do. The success rate over the years does not lie.