Stalk deer or Stay put

[WinkingTiger]

What has a better success rate during hunting season.
Walking slowly around the woods and "stalking"
or just stay put and don't move or make any noise.

I was wandering around the woods all last weekend with my bow and I didn't see anything. The only time I saw something was at 6:30am right when the sun came up.

I am definitely getting a tree stand for next season.

 

[Chawbaccer]

If there is any pressure where I am hunting or the surrounding area I pretty much hole up and let them come to me. If there isn't much activity I get restless and have to roam a bit.

 

[Blackfork]

Sit and wait

I've killed a few deer walking over the years- usually jumping them while I was out doing something else. Killed a doe this year walking and followed some does to a pasture and had a big buck walk up on me last year. Most shot out of stands and blinds watching or rattling horns.

I think the best strategy is sitting and waiting and watching.

 

[rcmodel]

I don't have any statistics to prove it, but I would guess a tree stand or blind on an established trail or scrape has about a 1,000% better chance of producing a deer then trying to stalk one.

Deer have so much better vision, smell, and ability to stand still and disapear that you will have a hard time of seeing one until he moves.
And by then he is waving the white flag at you as he runs over the next hill.

Course this all depends on hunting pressure, cover, and customary hunting practices in your area of the country.
But here in Eastern Kansas, a stand is the only reliable way there is to kill a deer. Trying to stalk one when he already knows you are in the heavy woods with him is just not going to work very well.


rcmodel

 

[JR1]

I've done both and been successful both ways. If you are a new hunter, I'd recommend getting a stand or blind of some sort and going and sitting several times. Don't be afraid to move the stand around some to get a feel for deer movement in your area. Soon you'll discover the productive areas.

There is a time for still hunting (slowly stalking through the woods). Especially windy days can be good. Wet days are very good as well. Just know that it is more than just taking a hike. It is about stealth and watching every detail around you very carefully for the least little movement of a deer.

When you think you are moving slowly enough, slow down some more. For example, last Saturday it was terribly windy and I felt like moving. It took me two+ hours to cover less then 1/4 of a mile of thick woods. And I was probably going too fast. I did, however, have the privilege of watching 5 does and 1 buck on that walk. Only one of them ever knew I was around.

 

[Art Eatman]

If you can sit still, sitting beats wandering around.

Walking hunting in sneaky-snake fashion is a skill thing. You really have to know how to walk quietly, avoiding any sort of rhythm in your steps. That's not something you can learn without some lengthy practice out in the boonies.

Just getting any old deer is much easier from a stand. If you really get good at sneaky-snaking, odds are that you will have more success on better bucks than from a stand.

 

[Deer Hunter]

Here in East Texas, it'd be almost impossible to try to stalk. Everywhere you step, you're crunching 10,000 years of crunchy stuff under your foot. I've tried it before, and while I've snuck up on maybe one dumb doe, I'd much rather find a nice place where I know they are wandering about and sit. Plus, there's so much underbrush that it makes stalking impractical.

 

[eliphalet]

When you can move through the woods and see most critters before they see you or walk over a ridge, hilltops or figure another way to surprise things then there is a good chance you can do better moving around. I do think the terrain and type of foliage, your experience and other considerations will play into that equation also. The more your out there the better you'll get at it but if your new or the area is very hard to move in then I would suggest still hunting is best for you.

 

[MDHunter]

Depends....

On the hunter, the terrain, and other factors...but you said you were bow hunting. I like to still hunt (typically cover under 100 yards in an hour), and have been able to see a lot of deer while still hunting. Now getting a shot at one with my bow - that's a different matter! Hard to come to full draw with a deer within 45 yards or so (about when I would draw to prepare for shots within my own 30 yard limit) without them seeing you!

If you're bowhunting, you may see some deer walking SLOWLY (emphasis on SLOW) through the woods, but your chances of getting a shot are better in a stand.

Michael

(Did get my first squirrel with a bow earlier this year, 12 yards with a blunt tip!) And I was still-hunting deer at the time.

 

[Dan360]

I think hunting technique should match the game. In Washington, we have blacktail, whitetail, mulies and elk. I hunt differently depending on the species and the time of the day. I almost always attempt to stalk mule deer because of the open country. I'll normally sit on a trail for whitetail because of their habitual nature. Blacktail are as hard to predict as anything, so its mostly glassing clearcuts and then walking the timberline around the clearcut to jump a deer. For elk, you almost always have to spot and stalk because of the timber. You have to be able to do a little of everything and adjust to conditions to be totally successful.

 

[Orr89rocz]

i've sat in stand and watched hunters approach from a far towards my area while there were deer bedded down by my stand. Hunters approach as quietly as they could but still made noise. the deer were up and running away well before the hunters ever knew they were there.

Now i have done some stalking where i was able to approach deer during archery season and get in range somewhat. but thats rarely achieved. only in the rain where the ground was so soft.
I also have seen a buck bed down 50 yards from me and i closed 20-25yards to get within range. took me about a half hour to do so but i got in range and stepped on a twig by accident. Buck stood up and i arrowed him right there.
if the deer are pressured, they are VERY spooky. early seasons tho you can get away with some noise

 

[Snarlingiron]

I agree, it depends. I have shot slightly more deer stalking, or more appropriately stated quietly walking than I have from a stand. Last year was a perfect example. I was drawn for a cull hunt (does and spikes only) on a wildlife management property. I hunted the first day from a ground blind. It was wet, sleeting off and on, colder'n blue blazes and windy. I didn't see anything all day. Next day, I decided that if I was going to get anything I was going to have to go and find it because it wasn't going to come to to me. I started a slow stalk through the woods. Step, step, pause, scan, step, pause scan, so forth. I looked across a draw and saw what appeared to be a deer rump sticking from behind a tree. I looked through my scope, and sure enough it was a rump. I waited until the deer bolted from behind the tree, I saw no rack and took her. So, it depends on conditions, the terain, your skill, the wind, etc. etc. I probably wouldn't have attempted the stalk if the weather conditions and wind were different, but this time it worked. There have been many times when it didn't.

 

[birdbustr]

More than anything I think it depends on where you are hunting. If you are hunting on public property or on a hunt club where there are others hunting, then stalking may get someone really pissed off if you walk up on their hunting area. If hunting public land stalking could get you killed with some of those idiots.

If you are on land that you know that you are the only one there, you have the option, or the luxury to do either. Got to envy that situation. That is a truly sweet way to hunt.

 

[jeepmor]

In PNW Coastal and Cascade ranges, it's usually spot and stalk. Easy to be quiet when it's pissing rain. Hard to be quiet wading through Salaal shrubbery. It's hard to see even 50 yards most the time unless you're in clear cut territory.

In Eastern Oregon, this year for example, it was pretty dry and crunchy in the woods. Stalking quietly through the fields proved successful for me this year on deer. I'd enter patches of trees and the noise level would go up. I would then move even slower because I noticed if I was slow enough, it didn't make the deer bolt off. They would move, but not just up and scoot, just kinda move away from the noise and look back curiously as to what was in the woods with them. These were mule deer, and they are considerably dumber than whitetails. We saw whitetails also, but they move farther away and pretty much scamper off much sooner.

I don't like the stand hunting concept for myself simply because I get bored and fall asleep, but that's me. I missed out on a couple coyotes last winter because the sage brush I was hunkered down in was nice and comfy.

If you're going to stand hunt though, which I've considered, you need to spend more time finding a good spot to improve your chances of success. Wandering around, you may or may not stumble upon game, sitting in the wrong place, game may never stumble upon you.

 

[1911 guy]

Depends.

Are the deer not yet spooked and keeping to normal routines still? Is the rut on? How much hunting pressure? How well do you know the area? Do the deer "live" there, or pass through from feed to bed? What time of year and what climate do you hunt in?

Too many variables for a black and white answer. Where and when I hunt, I usually sit and wait. When the variables start to change, I go find the deer.

 

[MCgunner]

In my experience, still hunting only really works where there is less cover, savanna type habitat with space between cover, and lots of game. In heavy cover, scouting for game trails, bedding areas, feeding areas, and placing a tree stand or tripod to elevate your self is going to significantly increase your success. Get on stand, don't fidget or move around, stay there. Patience is the key.

I prefer to spot and stalk as I'm not inherently a patient man, but I've learned to be patient when I need to be. You simply cannot spot and stalk or still hunt with any success where I'm hunting right now, so I have tripod stands. The rut helps, dry years the feeder can help which is legal here in Texas, but it is by no means a magic deer magnet. If you can hit the rut, even without rattling for 'em, you can see a lot more game regardless of how you're hunting and especially those dominant bucks.

Another thing, what works on whitetail isn't necessarily what you'd do for mule deer and vice versa. I've only ever spot and stalked for Mulies. They don't live where you can't spot and stalk them and their habits are different than Whitetail.

 

[Aries-]

personal choice really. the hunt camp i goto we get about equal kills with stalking and sitting.

this year i got a shot off (missed busted front sight didnt notice till after) i was sitting next to a tree. and 2 doe's walked up and started eating about 50 yards from me. i had done a "look around" and looked back and saw a wagging tail.

 

[oklahoma caveman]

well i do both. just depends on weather and how i feel. iv probably killed an equal number both ways. i get more out of stalking tho as it seems to me that it is harder to do and therefor much more of a challenge and rush when you get that shot. more rewarding