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Still Hunting Report & Questions

Got out still hunting for the first "real" still hunt. Covered about 150 yds in about an hour an a half and was walking on grass and patches of snow that had been soaked down in a rain in previous days and were now frozen and a bit crunchy. But there were winds gusting at times so I only moved during the gusts. It was noisy, but not excessively so. At 150 yds I stopped cause the wind died down. So I leaned up against a small 6" diam tree (too small I was to find out). After 15 minutes I decided to try my grunt call set on young doe. About 10 minutes I hear a deer coming in, crunching along. I slowly turned, but then realized the deer was fairly close, maybe 40 or 50 yds away. This was heavy cover. The deer seemed to be trained on me the whole time - pretty sure it did not wind me as I was downwind for where it was and where it came from. At any rate, as I slowly tried to move, it spooked, snorted, and was off. That pretty much was the end of the hunt. Still, it was a great time of hunting. But I have a few questions.

1. Should a person sit or kneel close to the ground when they stop? In my case, if I had been near the ground behind a big tree, I would have probably gotten this deer.

2. Should a person use grunt calls at all? This seemed to allow the deer to quickly locate me.

3. Should a still hunter refrain from any type of scents? I was putting some of this down too, although in this case I do not think it was a factor.

4. Is about 100 yds/hour a reasonable rate of pace? And how slow should all movements be? I was trying to move very slow when I moved.

5. Any tips for heavy cover? This is often what I have for this type of hunting.

6. Do you always hunt straight into the wind?

7. I assume any conditions that allow you to move without detectible noise are acceptable for this type of hunting, right?

Thanks for any input you can provide.

1. It depends. When a deer comes in close when im still hunting it depends what cover i'm in. If its waist high weeds i sink down to only when my head is showing, and wait till there in range. I like being infront of a tree for cover instead of being behind one. It allows you to shoot and if it covers your body and your camo matches it its hard for them to get your silhouette.

2. I try not to when one is in range unless im stopping it for a shot, they will find you easily if your on the ground grunting or using any calls

3. I sometimes put a rag dipped in tinks tied to my boots when walking, hasnt hurt my chances or gave me any.

4. depends on weather/winds/ noise. That is a good rate for all weather really. If its windy and raining i will move faster because i can be more quiet. But its not usually the noise that alerts the deer, its you moving.

5. Be ready for anything to pop out, thick cover can be hard. You wont be able to see them before they see you most of the time. Keep your eyes peeled.

6. yes

7. It depends, if your trying to make up time and get to a spot where you know deer hold, and you know nothing really hangs out where your going through at the moment its a good idea to pick up the speed. But even if the leaves are soaked and you make no sound you still have to move reasonably quiet. They see your silhouette moving before they will hear you most of the time.

Here in the larger Vt woods I still hunt as my usual way to hunt. The object is to cover ground, looking for sign and deer. I go as fast or slow as necessary to cover ground and try to see them before they see me. I always try to use the wind and am not overly concerned with noisy conditions since when noisy I can often go slow enough to avoid detection and they make quite a bit of noise when they are moving. If deer aren't moving I use the terrain to my advantage and try to slide into a spot where I can glass the ridges where they often bed. Still hunting is really fun when you have snow and can track them and hopefully catch them napping. It is a numbers game and sooner or later you get a chance and you have to be ready because it all goes away quickly when you are on the move. i have had some luck with dragging a scent line but for the most part my success has come when I see them before they see or smell me.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MZS (Post 4014007)

..........

1. Should a person sit or kneel close to the ground when they stop? In my case, if I had been near the ground behind a big tree, I would have probably gotten this deer.
>>>The more concealed you are, the better. If you're downwind then he's looking directly at you because he can smell from behind. Unusual but it happens I guess.

2. Should a person use grunt calls at all? This seemed to allow the deer to quickly locate me.
>>> Always will make him look in your direction. Grunts can be used to call them in but more so to stop them for the shot. If you're calling to call them in then be seriously concealed. Even in a tree.

3. Should a still hunter refrain from any type of scents? I was putting some of this down too, although in this case I do not think it was a factor.
>>> Use scents to position your deer for the shot. Rarely will they work to bring them in. Occasionally, you may get a lesser dominant buck to follow a scent trail. That happens but not regularly enough for me.

4. Is about 100 yds/hour a reasonable rate of pace? And how slow should all movements be? I was trying to move very slow when I moved.
>>> Good rate of movement. Slower is better.

5. Any tips for heavy cover? This is often what I have for this type of hunting.
>>> Create shooting lanes and use tree stands or tripods if you have to hunt IN heavy cover. Better, don't get into heavy cover. Rather, post stands at the entrance or exits to/from heavy cover.

6. Do you always hunt straight into the wind?
>>>This is the Nexxus of hunting a creature with better senses than you and I. Quartering/crossing wind works too. Never follow your scent cone.

7. I assume any conditions that allow you to move without detectible noise are acceptable for this type of hunting, right?
>>>Remember this: Most deer will have the wind at their back or quartering to and will watch open approaches to their location. Especially while bedding. Exceptions to this are mountainsides where thermals rise in morning and descend in evening. These are exceptional times to be moving laterally.

Thanks for any input you can provide.

I need to add ten letters. Done.

Thanks for the comments.

If you drag a scent line, won't they tend to follow your path and be downwind from you?

Quote:

Originally Posted by MZS (Post 4014234)

Thanks for the comments.

If you drag a scent line, won't they tend to follow your path and be downwind from you?

Yes. I will drag a line across my stand's shooting lanes then tie off or put away the drag line. Then I will double back to my stand from an angle.

No drag line (thus scent line) directly to my stand. I'm trying to position him for my shot.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DeppedyDogg (Post 4014281)

I like that idea. I had some luck EverCalm this year for filling antlerless tags, but during the rut I had a really nice buck seem to zero in on me cause I had the cover scent on me. So for later season getting into the rut and gun season I will keep that product tightly sealed in double plastic bags and only apply it away from where I am. When still hunting perhaps I will apply before I move on and then seal it up.

Sometimes I will clear a small little foot area when I know I am going to stand there for 15 minutes. I try and make the sound of me clearing the spot out sound like a squirrel rooting around. Leaves rustling are about the most harmless thing you can do, it's our definitive step patterns that get us busted.

Thanks for all the replies. I must say that this type of hunting is really enjoyable, even if I do not get a shot. Sneaking and crawling around and getting into areas that otherwise I would not be able to get into without spooking everything out. Also, this type of hunt is great for scouting an area - you have lots of time to catch details you might miss otherwise.