[Eagle103]

I seem to recall reading that some old timer, maybe Elmer Keith, used to do this successfully. Never tried it myself since I'd probably be stuck in that position for a few days if I did it over any distance. Has anyone tried walking on all fours to keep from startling our four legged friends, primarily deer?

[bang_bang]

I've spooked dear before and stooped over to lower my profile. Sometimes it works, sometimes it don't.

I've heard the same thing somewhere, I think a hunting magazine.

[351 WINCHESTER]

Walking on all fours may get you shot or shot at as someone might think you are a hog or a bear maybe.

I have a good friend that used to weigh just shy of 400 lbs. Somehow he climbed up his tree stand before daylight. A hunter came by as the sun was rising and almost shot him thinking he was a bear.

[X-Rap]

That might be true, especially in Keiths younger days when the game maybe wasn't as spooky.
A good friend of my dads had a horse hide they called Dobin that two guys could get under and they actually had stories of it working back in the 60's.
I think indians used hides as cover to sneak up on prey also.
As someone posted, it also might be a good way to get your ass shot to.

[Harve Curry]

On this site awhile back a poster used a buffalo hide over some sticks to sneak up on a buffalo bull he wanted. Search should find it, good story. As a hunter and outfitter I've caught hunters looking at me enough through their rifle scopes enough as it is, once even looking down a notched arrow. So I stay upright as much as possible and pull off my boots to walk with several layers of socks on when I need to be quite.

[sbarkowski]

I've done it and it worked suprisingly well. Although I dont think the deer really cared that I was there in the first place because it watched me try to out smart it for a good 5 min.
check out my previous post. http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=405390

[Eagle103]

I was wondering since it's easy to spook deer (no cover) on the way to one of my stands that overlooks a food plot on the edge of a soybean field. It's not uncommon to see 20-30 does feeding there this year but decent bucks have been hard to come by.
I understand the not getting shot concern. You'd be a fool to look like a deer, especially on public land around here. People get shot standing upright with blaze orange on.

[interlock]

I don't want to hijack this thread, but i do want to tell you about a rather strange happenning a few years ago........

I am a police officer in rural lincolnshire, England. One of my friends Graham, covers another set of villages about 20 miles away. we share the same radio net.

we get quite a lot of calls to wierd things ie aliens landing, ghosts and big cats (according to the nature manuals there are no big cats in the UK, but we know differently.....)

Occasionally our armed response guys have been out looking for panthers etc.

I also am part of a scheme for destroying injured animals at the roadside using my own firearms.

Some years ago on a cold and frosty morning Graham gets a call over his radio. "please attend at ****** road, anytown. Mrs Smith reports seeing a bear walking down the street in an easterly direction"........

The radio operator then calls up the armed response guys (we are not all armed). and discovers they are engaged on an operation against armed drug dealers.

5 minutes or so later i get called up,
"Bravo Mike 13, can you straight away go to your home address and standby"
So if i trot to my home address thinking this is odd. I then recieved a call from the duty Inspector on my mobile phone, "have you got a gun big enough to kill a bear?"
reply: "yes i will use my .30-06 with 180 gr bullets" (hope it's not a really big one).
Inspector: "take your rifle and meet with other units at Anytown police station"
Me "ok sir, can i keep the skin?"
Insp. :"just bloody get there!"

Anyway i turn up at the station and everyone is looking really worried. The informant has been recontacted and is positive she had seen a bear. So i get sent out with graham and rifle to shoot this bear.
We slowly make our way up the minor road to see an ambulance up ahead with blue lights on about 200 yards past the bears last sighting.

I thought "oh ****, the bear has got someone, we better get there"

We drew up at the ambulance and got out. I knocked on the ambulance door and it was openned by a paramedic who was treating an elderly lady with a broken ankle where she had slipped on the ice.....

she was wearing her fur coat. she had walked up the shops for the morning paper and fallen over on her way back and had to crawl home past the original informants house.

interlock (intrepid hunter of fur coat wearing senior citizens)