Tricks for walking on crunchy ground

[amassi]

If they dont get there until 0600 get there at 0430 and wait for them to come to you. If the winds wrong get out of there and come back when it's right

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[Badseed]

Thats kinda of the problem I am not sure when they get to the hideout. I found them one evening around 8pm and as much as I hate to say it, I fouled up a perfect 40yd shot because my nock had gotten dislodged somewhere and came off the string when I drew back. Disaster! But I played it cool and they never knew I was there they just walked into the brush. The next time I tried showing up at 7 to get into position. No luck they were up eating and something tipped them off. The third time I showed up at 6:30 and the wind shifted causing them to move away. Last night I showed up at 5 and slowly made my way in. By the time I got there they had all moved out except for 2 little forks. If They move out again I am thinking about setting cameras to figure out when the arrive. All I know know is when they leave.


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[amassi]

Where are they moving out too? Can you get to their exit point

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[Badseed]

No I have witnessed three separate exits that I am confident they choose based on where they hear or smell me from.


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[Soj51hopeful]

Scent on the cameras shouldn’t bother them. This might sound dumb, but can you take a rake in there and clear a small path through the oak leaves when they are out of there?

 

[Badseed]

If I knew when they were gone then I would certainly use the rake. I was able to use a rake to soften a 50yd stalk path last year and it worked great.


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[MeatBuck]

I just tested out the boot vs sock method walking over dry grass and oak leaves. There is a slight difference with the socks which seems to be because you can balance your weight on a smaller area so you are crunching fewer leaves and such. However, there is still a crunch which I think is inevitable. My thought is you could get the same noise reduction from using those shoes with the individual toes and anything with a soft sole that matches your footprint which is probably why some people swear by moccasins for bow hunting.

Next thought, I am thinking about setting up cameras close to where they bed 60-80yds, assuming I don’t get a shot next time. Do you think there is enough scent on the cameras to keep the deer from coming back?


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Yesterday two does on the hillside right behind me take my trail right to me, 180’d at 10yds when they smelled me but they didn’t care until then. They had been running around chasing each other but they never acted weird when on my scent trail.
Later a buck fed around and went down same trail, bedded about 100yds behind me in a wash. Never reacted to any scent.
I genuinely think that’s whitetail stuff to worry about.

 

[Southforkguy]

Not much you can do honestly if its crunchy except wait for wind and move super slow. Socks would help. I've been able to use cattle as an "escort". Sounds like a otc az hunt lol

 

[JNDEER]

Some bucks just cannot be had.. that's the end of it.. you will need to keep doing exactly what you are doing and wait for the buck to make a mistake (stay out just a little longer before hitting the brush) to get a chance.

either that or when you can when none of them are around use your foot to clear an area for you to step. get a good quiet trail as close to the general area they are in as you can. Then keep repeating the stalk until they decide to make a mistake. I have spent a lot of time "trying" to kill bucks in specific areas only to realize that area was not "hunter" friendly at all. You have to find bucks you can hunt that live in more hunter friendly environments.

 

[Badseed]

I am far too persistent to accept that the bucks cant be had. Its all up the hunter being prepared strategically and physically. I am physically prepared but my logistics have been off and each time I dont get a shot I learn something new that I can use to my advantage next time. In my mind that is what hunting is. Tonight I showed up earlier and have a better idea of when they come to bed. The problem today was that I was not in a good spot for a shot at the big bucks. Once the bucks left I made two quite spots with a 20-30 degree shooting range which is far more than I have had. I was also able to setup a camera that I will use for data if tomorrow fails. I plan to go out even earlier tomorrow and try again. I did notice one thing, today I didnt wear any scent control spray and it seemed like the bucks were more calm than before when I had it on. It sounds odd but I could start to smell the scent control in my truck from when I was spraying myself outside it with the doors open. I am fairly confident that all the scent stuff is a waste except for soap and deodorant of course. I am looking forward to tomorrow.


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[PHo]

I still-hunt a lot in crunchy terrain. From what I’ve experienced the key to moving without making noise is to move EXTREMELY slowly. A single step should take you about a minute - that’s 60 seconds, even better if you go slower. It should take you about an hour to move 20 yards. If the deer are there from 6am to dark that should give you plenty of time.

 

[def90]

I don’t know of anyone in Colorado that uses scent control, they are going to smell you no matter what you do, you have to play the wind period. As for stalking in, some noise in the woods is normal, go as slow as you can and make deliberate steps watching where you put your feet.

 

[Ramblin99]

This may sound like a foolish idea to you, but I've made it work for me in the past. When I knew where the deer were bedding, I've gone in when they were not present and raked a clean-ish path with a leaf rake to allow me to sneak in quietly. I also do this frequently to quietly get to my climber or a ladder stand. The deer don't seem to care that a path was created.

 

[bguitierez]

Just my 2 cents. Since you know their behavior is consistent. Play the waiting game and let them come to you. Best of luck man.


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[mtjimbo]

As far as my scent reduction process goes I shower up with scent free soaps, scent free antiperspirant, wash all hunting gear including socks and underwear in scent free laundry detergent then place in fragrance free trash bag. My boots are only used for hunting and stored in a plastic bag as week. When I arrive to the hunting location I get dressed and spray down with a layer of scent control spray. I cannot think of anything else I can do to help reduce my scent. I play the wind as best I can also.


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My opinion is that you can do all that and it may help but as long as you are moving/hiking around into the spot you will create more scent

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[SIontheHunt]

maybe try walking behind a decoy. You may need a buddy but if the deer see that a "deer" or "cow" is making the noise it wont matter. If it is rifle season a cow decoy would be safer. Unless you have a horny bull around....

 

[ZGreen]

I don’t think there is anyway to beat scent, if they are downwind of you at all chances are you are going to get busted. The camera idea might work but if you already have them patterned I don’t know if there’s a need to do it. You might just need to wait for the right wind and go from there.

 

[elkman224]

I would hunt them like white tails and try to ambush them. If you keep bumping them they will change their pattern and be gone. Best of luck.

 

[Badseed]

I am noticing that the patterns have started to change a bit and I am starting to wonder how much the moon phases have an impact on this. Earlier in the season when the moon was little to nothing they would be up feeding about 40 minutes before I ran out of light but never in my shot path. Last night I didnt even see them come out but the moon is about 70% full. It is really tough to play the wind where they are bedding. Everyday the wind blows from the west and my only two practical approaches are from the north and west. East and south approaches are not practical because of the dense brush. They are bedded in a corner which makes this even more difficult because they have easy escape routes through the brush. Honestly I think its a waiting game at this point that will require consistency and luck. Here is a photo from the game camera of the buck I am after.

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[Badseed]

What are your thoughts on ozone generators to help reduce scent on hunting gear? Scentlok is having a sale on their small generator and I am debating about trying it out.


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