Hardcorehunter16

This year I never used a climber once and I think my skills increased double fold. I did use ladderstands and pegg stands because they are quiet and already out there. Ide often still hunt to a ladderstand, get up in it, wait an hour then go to a pegg stand an repeat. Then the next day start with the pegg stand and make my way to the ladderstand to see if a buck is slipping through at a different time period. Because I got to know the woods my ability to see an animal and know where he was going and how to get to him with out him knowing was a great deal of help. Not being in a stand all day I found a great deal more sign this year. I found where deer trails crossed, where they liked to cross the rivers, and much more sign helping me pinpoint good trees to sit at the base of. Another big advantage was the ability to move on sight. I cant tell you the times when I was in a climber and helplesly watched as a nice buck walked off. On the ground thats no problem. If you have decent stalking skills you can get in close enough for a shot. Its not that I think still hunting is more effective however then being in a tree because stand hunting deffiantly has its own advantages. Its that I have more fun doing it! What happend to me this year in New York has made me a die hard still hunter. The deer there are hunted very hard and when I said I wanted to hunt on the ground the owner thought I was crazzy. He told me the deer here are smarter and will out do me every time. Him and my father hunted all week and saw nothing. I however saw 6 bucks and more then 10 does. Truth be told the deer knew where the stands were and stayed just out of sight of them, which is where I often set up.

So my question is What do you guys perfer? I mainly see stand hunters EVERYWHERE I go. Forums, t.v shows, and other hunting camps seem to have majority being stand hunters. Any reason to this? Majority of old time hunters are still hunters...and very good hunters at that..Infact think back to fred bear and other legend old hunters, They got good stalking their prey..

Now with what I have mentioned I must add that I understand due to different circumstances some people can not use the still hunting method. For instance if you beleave your going to ruin somone elses hunt near by, or if theres to many hunters in the woods it can be dangerous. Also I understand not everyone wants to walk all day or has the ability too.

Chuck7

I thought they were the same thing..still hunting and stand hunting

halfbakedi420

love ta still hunt with the rifle, but when im out with a bow, i get in a stand or a blind on the ground, wait to see if i can get lucky, no luck, ill go jump in a dry creek bed and still hunt like that.
like you said, both have advantages...like in a blind, you can be warm and move around, eat, stay outta the weather

125py

still hunting is slowly walking the woods..stopping and pausing more that walking. You have to move at a snails pace.
Stand hunting is obvious what that is. Climbiing up in a tree/blind and being "still"...not moving and leting the deer come to you.

(im going to feel stupid if you were just being sarcastic...lol)

125py

i prefer stand hunting with a bow and gun. But when its really windy and the woods are wet or snowy then i prefer still hunting with a gun.

Chuck7

"still hunting is slowly walking the woods..stopping and pausing more that walking. You have to move at a snails pace.
Stand hunting is obvious what that is. Climbiing up in a tree/blind and being "still"...not moving and leting the deer come to you.

(im going to feel stupid if you were just being sarcastic...lol) "

no sir..i hate sarcasm...I was being serious..I ws learned that stop ..take 5 steps...stop and listen was called stalking

I thought still hunting meant ..sitting and waiting ..no matter if your in a ground blind..back against a tree..ladder stand or climber..

Learn something new everyday..{ -;
thanks for clarifying that for me.

7.62NATO

125py - I think moving at a snail's pace is sometimes appropriate when still hunting, but not all the time. Deer are used to noises in the woods, and there are lots of noises. What will alert them is when they hear noises that are out of the ordinary. Hearing “step……….step………step…….step” is out of the ordinary. When I am walking areas uninhibited by lots of branches, twigs and other things that make walking difficult, I try to move at a deer’s pace…that nice, even and relaxed pace…stopping about every 8-12 steps or so to thoroughly scan the area. Of course, I move more cautiously when moving into areas where the view will be expanded (lack of trees, hilltop, etc)…you’ve got to be very careful there and make sure there are no deer before proceeding out into the open (binoculars help greatly). I do not even try to make my steps silent, though I am very cognizant of twigs, branches, etc, and do everything I can not to crack one. When I do, I freeze and have a good look around. Now, if you’re in an area where there is no decent path, you’ve got to take it super slow or you’ll make noise that isn’t normal.

Chuck7 – I would say stalking is when you spot a deer that you do not have a shot at, and you need to stalk it to get the shot. I have heard still hunting called “spot ‘n stalk”, though when still hunting, it is not always necessary to stalk to get your shot.

When I still hunt, I often times will sit down for 30 minutes or even more when I find an area that looks promising.

TN308

Being short my line of vision on the ground is very limited therefore I prefer a stand to get a birds-eye view.

Chuck7

Our woods are full of still hunters ..usally between 9:30-10:00AM they come out of thier climbers to 'Still Hunt' { -; ...this helps us who hunt all day alot LOL

BGHunter55

I like still hunting alot with a gun, but with a bow, the chances of getting close enough to a buck with out him seeing you, then drawing back and getting a clear shot(no branches in the way) is a slim chance. Still hunting is great when the deer shut down such as when there is abundance of food making travling far not nescessary or to much pressure, but unless there is snow or its raining where I live, the leaves make quiet nearly impossible so I stand hunt till then. I see it this way, if a deer walks into my stand, there is a great chance I'll see him before he sees me and with a bedded buck, they usually bed so that if I'm anywhere near them, they'll probably see me especially when it's noisy, then that buck leaves his primary bedding area and moves over to someone elses stand which is no good. So it's kind of situational.