Last year I had some great December success hunting on the ground. New set up, behind a tree with no shelter at all. Loved the experience and the fact I did get a buck was icing on the cake. Do you guys have any tips for this time of season, ground hunting? I may take shooting bipod and a seat possibly, but that's it. Just straight up hunting from the ground on private land, some rolling hills with pine trees or open farm fields. Want to change up my method and hit those spots where normally I don't venture.
Take it slow. More looking than walking. Keep the wind in your face or blowing across your nose. Even with the crunch of the leaves, you can sneak around undetected if you keep those things in mind. Last week I stalked a doe for 90 minutes hoping there was a buck trailing her somewhere. I walked when she walked and stopped when she stopped. I was 50-100 yards away from her the whole time and she even bedded down once. She never had a clue I was around. Good luck Sent from my iPhone using Michigan Sportsman
I had friends who stalked, they told me , best time was if the ground was damp , ( quiet), and walk into the wind. They also said you take a couple steps and stop and look as mentioned above. one guy also told me if your busted, that many times if you just freeze, they will drop their heads and go back ignoring you. I always wanted to try , but I would think you would need a lot of land , maybe not
I love still hunting. I see more deer, more everything while still hunting. Wear light, form fitting clothing, lightweight well broken in boots, and pack light. Spend more time looking than moving and use binocs to check around. Even in heavy brush, binocs will help ya see so much more. If I find an area that looks good I'll stop and set for a half hour or so. There's some great books by Tom Brown Jr. that detail tracking and stalking.
You don't necessarily need a big piece of land to still hunt, it sometimes takes me an hour to go 100 yards. The last buck I shot was in a small bedding area. Look ahead and plan your steps. Move when the wind rustles or when the birds or critters are making some background noise. If you're doing it right you can walk right past squirrels and birds. They'll sit there looking at ya like they can't figure out what you are, as if they've never seen a person moving so slow.
One thing I like for this is boots thin enough to feel a branch before I break it so I can decide what to do.
I like a quartered away wind. Most deer bed facing downwind. I've had good success doing this in corn and marshes
^^^ This ^^^ You aren't really trying to get anywhere still hunting, so slow down. If you think you're moving too fast, you are. As the old timers always told me, you should be spending 99% of your time scanning, and only moving the other 1%. And don't forget to watch behind you... if you're going slow enough, where you've been but can still see, was a long time ago. Just because there wasn't a deer there when you passed, doesn't mean there isn't one there now. It's not uncommon to have a deer come up behind you. They also always told me that you never lift a foot off the ground, until you've already decided where you're going to place it next. My favorite times are during or right after a new snow, or when it's raining. I also like some wind, as I feel the cover noise is helpful, and you'll usually see a deer before you'll hear it anyway. The worst times are when it's been really dry (think crackling leaves), or when there's snow on the ground and you just had a warm up followed by cold temps... crunchy snow sucks. When you're scanning, you aren't necessarily looking for deer. You're looking for anything that doesn't look normal. What works best for me is scanning for horizontal lines. I also like to stop a lot, and sit against a dead-fall, uprooted stump, some type of backstop to breakup my silhouette... might spend 5 minutes, or an hour, before moving on. Mid-day, look low. There's just something fun about spotting a deer on its bed looking the completely opposite way, with no idea you're watching it.
Things I like to do. Hunt an area I know fairly well. Hunt during wind or rain. never have a destination in mind. Take well planned out steps. Think how fast a snail moves and go slower. Still hunting is not a hurried endeavor, you are trying to walk up on deer that are feeding bedding or rutting. Knowing deer patterns and their habits within their habitat is crucial. Still hunting is not haphazard. Its a planned out well thought out type of hunting.
Walk like a deer but use your two legs. Walk fast for a short distance were you do not step on branches. Stop and wait two minutes near a tree for a block.
When your eyes fry , quit for a while. Resting them briefly can help , but if you're bumping animals you're going to fast , or not seeing them first. It can take multiple brief stillhunts to get used to dissecting everything looking for bits of deer and seeing them first. Even then , you will still bump some. Some bed with the best vantage an area offers. Moving when deer are also moving gets interesting. Not saying you should be still at such times , but it is quite different than bedded deer. You still want to see them first. L.o.l.. Consider shot placement on bedded deer before you encounter one you want to shoot. And if they are very close and facing you they can jump out of reflex. I've had a couple hairs land a couple inches from a boot after a shot when the deer sprung. That's close!
