Long range hunting Vs. Up close and personal

[Loyalist Dave]

Ambush hunting of some sort seems to be the only practical way to hunt in a lot of areas. Otherwise, you'll just be pushing deer to someone else.

Jason W, read The Still Hunter by Van Dyke. You'll be surprised at how many deer folks walk past, instead of "pushing" to other hunters.

"Long range" for me is beyond 100 yards. Up close is 50 yards and under, but I use a flintlock exclusively.

LD

 

[Jason_W]

Thanks for the book recommendation, Loyalist.

 

[AR-yoter]

I work my butt off for my deer, gettin into spots where i hope i dont see a deer sometimes, i love stalking but if i get a 300 y shot im gonna have to take it

 

[hardluk1]

I love being close enough to a deer to see the hair twitch, to hear it breath, to watch it look at you while moveing s l o w l y to learn what you can get away with and not, knowing that something is there but knowing what and still just walk away. To hear a deer walking toward you but can't see it yet. Messing with a too small a buck by throwing hard candy down to them and listen to them crunch it up. Haveing moma deer lay down 25 feet away while the twins take a brake from running around in the bottoms. And theres nothing like catnapping and snore loud enought to wake your self up and find 4 deer looking at you about 15 feet out from the base of the tree your in like it school time for the deer and nothing you can do.

Shooting deer at a distance is just feeling your freezer.

Bow hunting or pistol hunting well teach you sooo much about how deer act and what you can get away with and can't do when there up close.

 

[sixgunner455]

Something wrong with filling the freezer?

 

[ZeroJunk]

Our deer bow season lasts about 8 weeks. There have been some years that I only bow hunted. And, more years than not I have only bow hunted for elk.

It is really more a season thing since you will see things that the rifle hunters will simply never see. Especially with elk. And, there is usually not a horde of hunters out there that you have to contend with.

But, if I'm rifle hunting and get a good shot at 300 yards I'll take it. That is what they are for.

 

[hardluk1]

sixgunner455 and your point is.

 

[Art Eatman]

Teasing, hardluk, teasing...

 

[wankerjake]

I hunt where the deer are. If I have to make a long shot I will. If I have to go into the brush I will.

That about sums it up for me.

 

[hardluk1]

ART EATMAN, I know, just wanted to hear the explanation

 

[sixgunner455]

hardluk, *you* said "shooting at a distance is just feeling your freezer." I assumed that you meant filling it, and I am, just tongue in cheek, mind you, asking if you think there's really something wrong with filling the freezer.

As Art said, just a bit of teasing.

If a guy goes out to fill the freezer, then I can't think he's wrong to do whatever he can to maximize the potential to make that happen. I know I like to fill the freezer, and, for me, an accurate rifle I can hit with at a distance makes it much more likely that I'll do that. I like watching and stalking deer, too, but that doesn't turn into a roast or a stew without some shooting, and where I live, most of the deer are these spooking little Coues whitetails that don't really let you get too close to them.

 

[bgr2014]

Long or Short Range

I like them both, long for P Dogs close for deer & hogs and use the proper cal. for each.

 

[bgr2014]

Long or Short Range

I forgot to mention the Brown Bear I shot at 50yrds. talk about raising the hair on the back of your neck, that will do it, lucky for me he ran the other way instead of at me. I don't know if I could have gotten another round chambered. Of course my guide had a 416 Rem. to back me up.

 

[hardluk1]

I know sixgunner455. Just alway enjoyed watching them come close in and the setup of the deer hunt more than the kill with a long gun. Some times you have to work at a good shot but sometimes it more shooting ducks. With they show up your more than likely going to get one. Wait a couple minutes and get another one. Then spend the rest of the season looking for that one fine deer and reading books ,sleeping, bored , god its great.

bgr2014 Brown bear, yea that will get you awake in a hurry What did he square at.

 

[41 Mag]

Which one appeals to you more while big game hunting?

It seems like the current trend is long range deer sniping, sitting in box blinds or tree stands while looking over pastures, clear cuts, and crop fields. While I have no problem with this method (after all, venison is venison) it just doesn't appeal to me.

Does anyone else prefer methods such as tracking/stalking (where practical) or ambush in hunting heavy brush where ranges are very short and you have to make a real effort to cover your scent and conceal your movements?

Admittedly, such methods won't have as high a success rate as hunting over a big field of deer food, but I find it to be a pretty intense way to hunt when you finally do catch up with a deer.

Jason,

Like Art, and MC, I live here in in Texas where we have varied terrain. On my place, I can sit atop of one hill and cover about both of our bottom pastures. This is where I grew up hunting, and it is wide open except for wind breaks of oaks. The deer there do not put up with spot and stalk or still hunting. I HAVE killed a couple that way in some 40 years of hunting, but they were pretty caught up in working the does and not paying attention to anything I did. Growing up I learned real quick if you wanted a deer you had to be willing to stretch things out a bit. They simply didn't walk out there and pose for me.

This said, I also hunt on two of my friends properties. One of them has an 800 acre cotton field bordered by a flood levee, and then another 650 acres of river bottom some 250 - 300yds across a pasture from the levee. I can sit atop of the levee in places and hunt more acreage than I can shoot, and I DO enjoy doing this from time to time with my grandson as we see a ton of deer. We also hunt the river bottoms where we still hunt, sit in ladder stands, and stalk. To me I enjoy it all. From on top of the levee, I have no issues with reaching out to 400 - 500 yds on a calm morning or evening. I know my rifles and loads, and I shoot this far on a regular basis.

In the woods I have left powder burns on hogs literally, and have had deer within feet of me rather than yards. It is simply a matter of being still and paying attention to our surroundings. I do admit that IF I am actually going after a deer, I prefer to stalk them over anything else. However if while sitting out on the levee, the right one pops out, and I have the opportunity, you can bet I will dump him on his nose just as fast.

My grandson and I watched this deer for close to or possibly even over an hour and let him walk due to him not having the mass we thought he should have had. He was a true trophy for that area, especially being free range low fenced,


WE also had this deer within 10 feet or less of us sitting in a ladder stand with only one 4' section of ladder on it. It was needed to get us up over a little rise so we could see back into the thick stuff where he came from. We were actually only hunting hogs, but the grandson 4 at the time REALLY wanted to bust a cap in him. Heck I had to wait on him to get away from us to turn on the camera.


While I have only killed a few deer in the past 10 or so years, I have seen a TON of them which would make most folks shiver, and get goose bumps. I simply enjoy the hunt more than the kill anymore. However I still see a few that get me all goosed up as well, I just haven't gotten them on the terms I want yet.

This is the last one I shot, and I shot at it first with my bow standing on the ground beside a tree with 5 does within yards of me while I drew and aimed, and shot at him at 19 yards.


I still don't know how the grapevine got in my way, but I missed him clean with the arrow. Not knowing it at the time I grabbed my rifle and dropped him when he stepped out from behind a bunch of brush that he stopped behind. I didn't ant to take the chance, of him being wounded, and having to track him in the underbrush. I was actually hog hunting right before Christmas for tamale meat, when it all came together, and was simply in the right spot at the right time. That particular morning, I had an 8 point within 20 feet of me that never knew I was even in the same county, I had a 10 point walk within 25 yards of me, he knew something was up, but just couldn't get the wind right. I had two other bigger bucks than the one I shot come in from behind me and the does with them walked right up to me and when the lead on blew I got sprayed with snot.

So close is fun, but sometimes like others I simply like to kick back and just watch whats going on over a whole lot of area.

 

[RonellCooper]

Either/or. Doesn't really matter. My rifles are set up for long distance shots, and I target shoot up to 600 yards but the closer the shot the better. In the part of Va. that I live in the use of hunting dogs is allowed and this makes for some serious up close (somes tooooo close) and personal bush hunting.

 

[Daniel]

I hunt on foot, and I do my best to get within 100 yards for the shot. I use an open sighted rifle or a shotgun + slugs with a bead; I take shots with a makeshift rest or sitting.

Sure, I could buy the latest .416 super sniper bolt action and whack a pig at 1 kilometer and then get to it on a quad bike, but that's not "fun" for me; it's target shooting as far as I'm concerned.

 

[bgr2014]

He squared 81/2 ft. They guess his weight at 900lbs. it was kind of a funny story after we found him. The outfitter and guide razzed me about shooting his left nut off. Had shot him twice and he was still running away from us and the guide said shoot him again. With scope on 3 power and bear at 125 yrds. he was just a bouncing ball of hair. I shot the third time and he immediatly dove into the brush, guess I would have too.

 

[hardluk1]

bgr2014 Way to go. Now you will be known as a nut hunter.hehe

 

[csa77]

in our propery its just to dense to get shots longer then 75 yards, but I do a mix of both tree stand and hunting on foot.

in my family's property we have small shallow creeks that have carved them self's very deep into the clay, they have a good 7-feet of erosion some places more. I use them as way to move though the property with out being seen or heard or smelt .occasionally I climb up the side and peek out to see if any turkey or deer are around

it works best for turkey tho, I find using a tree stand near a plot I get more deer

 

[sugarmaker]

I prefer still hunting, where brush and saplings replace distance and wind as spoilers.

 

[NM Mountainman]

Still hunting mixed with long range.

When I was hunting with a rifle for mule deer and elk in NM, I preferred still hunting (stalking slowly, stopping to look around frequently) with my scope set on 2x. When I came to a nice overlook where I could see a couple of ridges, canyon, and deer trails, I would turn the scope up to 6x or 7x. Then I would spend 30 min or so, sitting and watching through binocs.

Maximum range: 325 yd. Self imposed limit, basically I limited myself to point blank range, about 300 yd. with .300 Win with 165 gr bullets. No shots at running game unless it is already wounded.

Later, I started hunting exclusively with .44 mag revolver equipped with 2x scope or red dot: Still hunting, some sitting and watching with binocs.: maximum range 110 yds. No shots at running game unless it is already wounded.

 

[bgr2014]

Got some pic,s but can't post yet. Newbie

 

[BBQLS1]

I hunt by staliking as close as the animals will allow. I look them over and shoot when Im sure, though I am sure of 300 yard shots, I MUST look at the "Meat" before I pull the trigger.
I MUST get close enough to decide if they are "Food grade" or I just dont shoot.

In Summer I use a boat (I dont even own a 4 wheeler) and the Tundra is where I find Caribou, and shooting them as close as possible to the river or ocean side is a major goal. I pack either whole Caribou carcasses, or I bone out the spine/hips and fill my Rucksack and walk it all to the boat across Tundra. If I have a partner, I use a small blue tarp and drag the meats to the boat.

In Winter I use a snowmachine, and most certainly the Caribou and Fur can see/hear me, so I get off a mile sometimes away and stalk on foot, either wearing "whiteouts" or more often in a trapesing hesitating way, and imatate a Caribou in plain sight, while getting close enough to pick out what I want and my shooting plan. After shooting, I walk back and get the ride/sled and fill the sled.
Only true Idiots would run animals and try to shoot a running animals from a moving snowmachine, its isnt exactly smooth and shooting yourself is just as likely as crashing.

In Fall , when huge groups of Caribou cross the rivers I use a .22lr from the front of my boat and pick out Prime Bulls from the herds while they swim the wide rivers. No ricochets or pass throughs to wound other Caribou in the bunches, or other people, no meats destroyed, none get away when they make the rivers willow packed edge and we specificly pick and choose the meat that will get us through the freezeup's thin ice, the 24 hour darkness and such. Like slaughtering Prime Beef in the fall, its a "harvest' for us, and Im only a few feet away , so the choice is unmistakeable.

In the 'tracking ' I have to do is to locate the animals, my country is wide open, and so is the Ocean Pack Ice, where my inlaws spend alotta time, lucky enough we dont lose animals to the brush, unless its along a River bank and 50 yards thick belts of dense. Theres few places to hide or ambush animals here, so the 'Stalk' is the primary means, and once the 'Jig' is up, they only get further and further away......

I advocate that while hunting, keep the range within your abilitys. Look over any potential food BEFORE shooting.
I dont mind a long range shot, especcially on animals that I have looked over well and decided on, they often stop or slow down to make a better shot on than one thats spooked and moving, but I save my "Shoot first, look at later" specificly for 'Fur', such as Wolves, Fox and such.

I'm envious. Now I want to move to Alaska!

 

[BBQLS1]

I hunt in Mississippi. Lots of bottoms, hardwoods, finger ridges... not to many long shots. I'll hunt from a blind, stand or stalk. I like it all. I think I would like long distance too. It all has it's own challenges.... and really I like watching the wildlife as much as anything. I generally just want enough for my freezer.