# Still-hunting for whitetails



## ahowes (Sep 1, 2011)

I am curious if anyone still-hunts. Everybody I know hunts from trees and I am convinced that when properly done, still hunting provides many more good opportunities at large bucks and deer in general.

I have still-hunted exclusively since 1992 and will never go back to sitting in a tree (and freezing). With bucks/does becoming sedentary when the doe is officially in heat (no more chasing needed), sitting in a tree is pretty boring unless your goal is any buck. I'm convinced that the best way to get action once mating begins is to still hunt heavy cover (EXTREMELY slowly).

Do you still-hunt, and what are your thoughts?


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## Oldcountryboy (Feb 23, 2008)

Once in a while I will. But I live in the woodlands and it's hard to still hunt with crunchy leaves under your feet. But if it's a rainny day, I like to still hunt with the wind in my favor. I will still hunt if I'm knew to the area, but I'm mainly scouting the area out. 

One of the things I do like to do is to quietly walk into a area with the wind in my favor and just sit next to a big tree and wait for the deer to come by. I may sit there for several hours and only move if the wind changes direction. Sit there and rattle horns. It's good to cover yourself with plenty of Dominant Buck Urine before you do any still hunting. Set and rest periodically and watch your back, as there might be a big one dogging you.


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## MaineFarmMom (Dec 29, 2002)

I've spent more time on the ground this year than in a stand, the opposite of the first two years I hunted. It's been dry til this morning so the leaves have been very loud. All I've gotten so far is a partridge. 

It's so warm the deer aren't moving much until after dark. The moon is full tonight. Hopefully cooler temps and darker moon will help next week.


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## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

What with so much posted land here in Michigan and baiting again allowed still hunting in lower Michigan is nearly impossiable even on state forest land. In most cases you quickly come to a fence and/or a row of no tresspassing signs.
Best bet here is to take a stand along a well traveled fall trail and be there early, stay thru lunch and till late evening. The hunters who are afraid of the dark go out when it is light and some what spook deer who will travel the trails. then many go out for lunch and come back in after lunch. Many get bored before the end of shooting hours and leave too, all that spooks deer so they travel the trails.

In the UPPER one can still hunt provided your in an area where it is possiable. Sort of hard to still hunt some areas because of the seeming end less cramberry bogs Cedar swamps so thick you have to praticaly crawl to get thru them and sight distance is measured in single diget feet.
We found that taking a stand there worked best for us also. Some in the Northern part of the UPPER take advantage of the migration routes to yarding areas. Not so many hunters in the UPPER so it is 99% natural deer movement if you call deer traveling to a bait pile natural.

 Al


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## big rockpile (Feb 24, 2003)

I hunt from the ground but couple of my Buddies had Bad accidents this year that would make anyone secound think about hunting from a tree one split his Arm in two and the other Gutted himself.Both lived but only by the Lord watching over them.










big rockpile


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## foxfiredidit (Apr 15, 2003)

Still hunting requires as much scouting for me to be successful as any other type of hunting. I don't use game cams, I can't climb, so tracks and patterns are what I look for. I really like to know where the bedding area is, where they're getting water if the weather has been dry, & where the main food source is. I especially like to hunt old woods roads and deer trails that cross them. If the weather is cold, I like to stalk 2 - 3 year old clearcuts where they lay up in the & sun out of the wind. The notion that a deer will go to water before they go to feed has been successful for me so if there's good water (with sign) in between, that is a good place. Even a trail where they cross a running stream (especially with steep banks) is especially good. I look for the biggest track, then try to find a place to wait, wait, wait, then wait some more. When nearing a place where I think one may be in movement near one of these features, I may only move 50 yards or so in 20-30 minutes, and keeping all movements to very slow and minimum. 

I bumped a nice 8 point last year after I got busted by him. I came to a bend in an old grown up woods road. He was in it around that bend fooling around with a scrape, and as soon as I saw him I dropped down to a sitting position, he was onto me immediately, but did not run asap. I "bobbed" my head up and down....he thought I might be a doe, so I did it again. He looked away to where he wanted to exit the road but looked back at me very quickly. I slipped my glove off and and wiggled my bare hand like a doe might wiggle her tail. He went from standing with his head up to putting his head down to try to make me out. When his head went down, the shotgun came up and before he could raise his head to run, I shot him. I liked that kill immensely. I had tricked him after he saw me. He was rutting though, and his good senses had momentarily left him when he thought I might be a doe. I love deer hunting. Good luck.


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## BarbadosSheep (Jun 27, 2011)

My husband stand hunts. It does require a lot of scouting and he uses game cameras to monitor activity around his stands but he is usually pretty sucessful. I think he took 9 last year....bucks and does. We eat whatever he gets and is our primary source of meat for the year.


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## jwal10 (Jun 5, 2010)

I am a walker and only have 1 permanent tree stand for the worst weather days. I still-hunt almost exclusively. 1200 acres of woods, orchards and clearings. Lot of deer. All the elk hunting is on the ground, Scout, walk in and call to get close....James


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## Tad (Apr 2, 2003)

I still hunt if the leaves aren't to crunchy. I think opening day is thae best time to still hunt, I have stood does up at 30 yards and they just stant there and look at you. Once they have seen hunting preasure they don't do that. Also when hunting in a small group we form a scermish line we will walk three across and hope the deer start twords the other guys. The person that jumps them just sees the tail but they will often trot right by the guy on either side of you.


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## Bearfootfarm (Jul 13, 2006)

The woods around here tend to be THICK, so still huntiing is tough, but I've done it some on rainy days.

I almost stepped on a *bear *one day doing it


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## joejeep92 (Oct 11, 2010)

I still hunted before I moved out here NC kansas. Eastern Kansas has a lot of wooded hills and ridges surrounding farmland. Perfect for still-hunting and tracking. Out here it is farmland bordered by woods along the creeks which is not so great for still hunting.


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## farmerDale (Jan 8, 2011)

I am a hybrid hunter. I like to sit and wait, but I have shot more big bucks when I slowly sneak along the fringes, or in heavy cover. Dry Leaves!!! No problem we have snow in the deer season here, and unless it has a crust, you can be awefull sneaky. In heavy bush I wait for a good windy day and walk into the wind slowly. The tre tops when they is a rattling, is best. My best day of hunting in my life was on just such a day... I snuck up on a young bull moose, but got bull fever at 60 stinking yards and missed, shot high 3 times. An hour later I snuck up to a cow and calf, but couldn't get a bead on the calf through the bush. A few minutes later I came within 20 yards of a cow elk, and she had no clue I was there, but I had no tag. That day, I got lost in the forest. Gps wouldn't get a signal, compass was pointing backwards, and so I was looking at my map upside down! Once I got straightened out, I snuck up on a 160 whitettail, and dropped him as he crossed a beaver dam, 4 miles from the truck!

Point being, if it is nasty windy out there, get out there and walk! All methods have merit, but walking fo me at least has been more effective than being immobile. Game can be patterned, but in thr rut, they can be anywhere, so that patterned trail, may not be all that useful.

Deer starts monday here. Can't wait!


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## ahowes (Sep 1, 2011)

Great posts, the input is interesting from around the continent.

I took it up a notch this year because I've spent the last two windy afternoons with loppers on my favorite still-hunting avenues. I got to thinking the other day that I get snagged on the same briars and the same amur honeysuckle limbs every day, so why not go do some pruning? The deer won't know what hit them.

I have still hunted for 19 years, but last year I decided to go right into the "sacred" bedding grounds to do it, rather than staying on the outside. It is so thick that you cannot shoot more than 15 yards at any time. It is actually much, much easier than still-hunting more open woods because the deer cannot see you from as far away. I had so many encounters with deer at less than 10 yards last year that I lost count. It can't get any more exciting than to be down on one knee studying surroundings and realize the ten-pointer is 15 yards directly behind you and coming right at you. 

I had so much success doing that last year that I may not hunt where shots are over 15 yards at all until my annual late-season deep woods flintlock hunt over in the Hoosier National Forest. Even then, I'll look for the thickest deep-woods thicket I can find.

My method is this: I take two steps, and I take them very slowly. It's not hard, anyone can concentrate through two steps. Then I ease down onto my right knee and study the surroundings for as long as it takes to verify that there is no deer anywhere in sight (or sound). Then I take two more steps, and repeat. When I bore with that (which isn't often since the deer population per square mile in that thick cover is about a kazillion), I flop down the turkey vest butt-cushion and sit against a tree until I get bored. Then, I get up and continue.
I usually don't cover more than 50 yards in 3 or 4 hours. Remember, it is extremely thick, so my percentage of deer encounters in that 50 yards is usually pretty good and the time flies by.

I'm convinced that with that method, you don't have to be a super-hunter. I am not, I think I've just figured out a winning method.

Tomorrow's the morning!


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## Micheal (Jan 28, 2009)

Two guys that hunt my land decided to get out of their stands and "still hunt". After a few hours of that they gave up hunting for the day - not seeing anything either from their stands nor slowly walking/sitting the trails.
The only problem was with them sitting/krouching/slow moving/etc was that they managed to pick up about a dozen ticks between them - thats all they found at first glance anyway. 
Guess they were a deer substitute; least wise as far as the ticks were concerned.........


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