Still Hunting

[NorthCoaster]

Do it a lot in my neck of the woods. Grew up doing it, but was never good at it. Then I feel into the deer stand trap and that's nothing more than blind luck most of the time. As I get older, my responsibilities weigh on me more and if I'm sitting in a stand I get stir-crazy and lose interest fast. So I've forced myself to get back on the ground to move around to stay in the game and keep focused. But if it's calm and crunchy, then I'm forced to find a spot to sit. Rarely ever tote a stand around anymore. I'll find a stump or tree to lean on or tuck into a pine tree/brush pile.

 

[NorthCoaster]

Snuck up on this one 2 seasons ago. 30yds, dropped him in his tracks! No monster, but had a great hunt that morning!

 

[hh76]

Didn't realize so many did it, too.

I usually sit still for opening weekend of the WI gun season, that way I'm not walking into other hunters on public. Starting Monday, I put on a lot of miles walking around trying to catch something unaware. So much more exciting than sitting in a stand, and allows me to see a lot more areas.

 

[FLATHEAD]

I feel like I'm actively HUNTING when slipping around on the ground.
Sitting in a stand feels like I'm just passively hoping something walks by.

 

[NorthCoaster]

I feel like I'm actively HUNTING when slipping around on the ground.
Sitting in a stand feels like I'm just passively hoping something walks by.

Exactly! I live in an area with a very low deer population densities and endless forests. If I don't actively hunt to find where they are that day, I can spend a whole season in the best looking tree stand set up and never see a deer. If I'm on the ground still hunting, even if I don't see anything, I can learn so much about what the deer in the area are or aren't doing and eliminate large areas of unproductive lands I don't need to waste my time in anymore that season. Spending the day walking the forest can educate you so much more on what the deer do, that it can set you up for much better success down the road.

 

[hh76]

Another time our hunting group still hunts is when we are moving between each other's stands.

For example, if my brother and I decide to eat lunch with my father, we will both still hunt from our stands towards my father's stand. Kind of works as a mini deer drive, while not spooking the deer too much.

 

[Cedarsavage]

Don't have whitetails in my area but this is a popular technique for blacktails in the PNW. I'm hoping to start implementing it more. The ground here is usually wet and you don't have a lot of deciduous trees so it's probably a fair bit easier here than back east.

I've done it for practice in the off-season or while scouting and walked up on some decent bucks, but never with a tag in my pocket.

Super impressive that guys are regularly killing whitetails like this.

I think the wet conditions are ideal. That hunt, it rained all day the day the before and there was a little snow left, so ideal quiet conditions.

 

[Cedarsavage]

I feel like I'm actively HUNTING when slipping around on the ground.
Sitting in a stand feels like I'm just passively hoping something walks by.

Same, you can sit along time without seeing a buck here. The first year I started doing this I had sat 20x in a row without a sighting, started moving and got into way more deer, then killed one on the last Sunday of the season.

 

[Cedarsavage]

Do it a lot in my neck of the woods. Grew up doing it, but was never good at it. Then I feel into the deer stand trap and that's nothing more than blind luck most of the time. As I get older, my responsibilities weigh on me more and if I'm sitting in a stand I get stir-crazy and lose interest fast. So I've forced myself to get back on the ground to move around to stay in the game and keep focused. But if it's calm and crunchy, then I'm forced to find a spot to sit. Rarely ever tote a stand around anymore. I'll find a stump or tree to lean on or tuck into a pine tree/brush pile.

I try not to sit unless I'm pretty sure I'm gonna kill one that day. They change so much here, that sometimes it seems like hunting sign, you're "behind" the deer. That's a dandy buck btw. I'd imagine we hunt pretty similar areas if you're in NE MN.

 

[NorthCoaster]

Yes, if you’re in the Yoop, it’s basically the same forest. We have a lot of black spruce bogs up here, not sure if they are as prevalent in the Yoop or not?

 

[Cedarsavage]

Yes, if you’re in the Yoop, it’s basically the same forest. We have a lot of black spruce bogs up here, not sure if they are as prevalent in the Yoop or not?

We don't have as many of those but lots of evergreen, maple, poplar and not a ton of transitions/clear cut type hunting. Clear cut as in easily discernible.

 

[FLATHEAD]

I think the wet conditions are ideal. That hunt, it rained all day the day the before and there was a little snow left, so ideal quiet conditions.

I LOVE slipping around in a light rain. I've had my best luck during these times.
And a light wind is good too, I think I get away with more movement because
the limbs, leaves and trees and moving around.
And, on a side note; when I have to poop it's not such an ordeal like in a tree stand.
The WORST is dry conditions with no wind. Almost impossible. But a fresh fire break
around a cutover will work in a pinch.

 

[bobinmi]

I love doing it when conditions allow. Public land around my area contains more hunters than deer most times and the 300 acres of private that I have access to doesn't lend itself well to still hunting unless the corn is still up.

 

[156821]

There is nothing better than still hunting in the right conditions on the first snowfall of the year. Just awesome

 

[Cedarsavage]

I LOVE slipping around in a light rain. I've had my best luck during these times.
And a light wind is good too, I think I get away with more movement because
the limbs, leaves and trees and moving around.
And, on a side note; when I have to poop it's not such an ordeal like in a tree stand.
The WORST is dry conditions with no wind. Almost impossible. But a fresh fire break
around a cutover will work in a pinch.

Agreed, dry day, south or no wind is definitely a scouting day.

 

[camping1601]

Yes when the conditions are right for it and there are few other hunters around.

 

[Lowg08]

I suck at it but learning it. Getting bettwr

 

[SCHUNTER73]

I love doing it, especially in a swamp with some water in it. Get the wind right and it is amazing how close you can get to an animal. It definitely got me interested in deer hunting again after I got bored sitting in a stand.

 

[Cedarsavage]

I love doing it, especially in a swamp with some water in it. Get the wind right and it is amazing how close you can get to an animal. It definitely got me interested in deer hunting again after I got bored sitting in a stand.

Interesting is a great way to describe it. We just have so few deer that it's so easy to get bored sitting, but I typically have alot more interactions still hunting. Hopefully this year is wet again last season was so dry I didn't do it as much.

 

[Newtosavage]

Fun way to hunt with a rifle. Damn near impossible with a bow. I reserve a couple weekends late each winter to still hunt the bottoms of a nearby National Forest. After Christmas, most of the city people have cleared out and you can actually get in some 4-5 mile days in those woods without bumping into anyone.

I would never, ever attempt still hunting on public land in the first month of the rifle season around here. Great way to get in a fight, or worse. Even head to toe orange I don't trust the crowd that had their new rifle "bore sighted" at Academy and then went straight to the woods to hunt.