Still Hunting, a lost art?

[WapitiTalk1]

With any mode of elk hunting (rifle, ML, archery) there are times when plain old fashioned still hunting can and should be deployed. What do successful still hunters do to well, be successful? How fast do you move, how often do you check the wind, is quiet clothing fabric important, is personal scent reduction important, what makes you stop and look/listen/smell while still hunting, etc.?  What percentage of your hunts have still hunting tactics mixed in?  Just curious to hear some tried and true methods that have worked after you switch over to still hunting mode. Thanks in advance for the discussion. RJ

[WSU]

I still hunt a lot.  The most important things are, in my opinion, to hunt the wind and go extremely slow.  I check the wind constantly and struggle to go slow enough.  Slow meaning that each step is deliberate and you pause often.  Quiet clothes are important.  I haven't done much for scent control.  I don't really know if it works or not, but have myself convinced I'm screwed if I don't have the wind in my favor.

[WSU]

One other consideration is that only certain locations allow me to be successful.  For example, I can't still hunt quietly enough through dense underbrush like salal.  Some locations are made to still hunt.  One example is a place I hunt with a series of benches.  It's perfect to sneak along and peak over without being detected.  Another is a place in eastern Wa.  It has trails running everywhere and a location with 50 x 50 yard patch of blow down.  I KNOW there will be deer bedded there.  It's perfect to slowly sneak in and spot them either in their bed or before they know what I am.

[buglebrush]

I grew up almost exclusively still hunting.  I would spend hours and hours easing through one little patch of whitetail brush.   Now I am primarily an archery elk hunter, and have most success being super aggressive with my calling and movement. 

I would say that you almost cannot move too slow.  Avoid patches of sunlight.  Have a good pair of Binos, and the most important thing is stay low.  I spend a lot of time hunkering down motionless.  Amazing how many more animals you spot and how much more invisible you are when you stay low. 

As to clothing I personally will always wear wool or fleece when still hunting.  If I am still-hunting it is probably pretty brushy country and it is pretty important to have quiet clothing IMO.   

[OutHouse]

I am just getting into east side elk, but I can comment on how it works for me deer hunting. With still hunting there is so much to talk about, but I will try to narrow it down. 1) If you worry about the wind, it will be hard to go where you want to. Keep windage in mind, but put your eggs in the de-scent basket. Buy de-scent products. Do all of your clothes, socks, shoes etc... and spray it on everything else including bow, binocs, accessories etc..You can even get de-scent tooth paste, but I have opted with not breathing through my mouth. I have had deer down wind and not even know I was there because of my de-scent routine. Wind hasn't ruined me in a long time.

2) Only take two steps, then look up and scan your surroundings. This cannot be emphasized enough. Your scenery changes a lot every few steps (especially in timber) so an animal could come right into view with only a single step. Take light steps, and think about getting shoes or boots that will not make much noise.

3) Where face paint (especially for archery), and as soon as you see an animal you must fight the urge to stalk toward it. When you see the animal, do nothing. Watch and see if it will come to you. If it isn't coming within range, then contemplate how you will close the distance. However, before you move forward, wait and look around to make sure there aren't more animals you haven't yet seen. This has happened to me a lot where you start to close the distance and another bedded buck jumps up and ruins it.

4) If you cannot get close enough, or worry that you will probably spook the animal under the circumstances, then don't move forward. Wait for another day, because an animal spooked by a predator on the ground will run a long way--perhaps out of your hunting area.

5) Still hunting should only be done at a place and time when the animals will be on their feet, and where there is adequate cover for you to move around without sticking out like a soar thumb. Bedded animals are extremely hard to stalk.

Remember that still hunting is extremely difficult. Don't get frustrated if you scare some animals. My most exciting still hunts did not end with an arrow in a buck. Last year I was staring down a big 4 by 4 who just never got close enough. He came within 50 yards but I cannot shoot accurately at that distance. Hope this helps!

[Rick]

Most every one of my hunts involve still hunting at some point. I can't sit and glass for hours on end.  I killed last years bull at 29 paces in the timber.

[singleshot12]

Most everyone still hunted before baiting became the norm. It is a lost art. I enjoy still hunting because I can stay in tune with nature by using all the senses. Nothing more gratifying than harvesting an animal fair chase.

[xXLojackXx]

Move slow, and when you think you're going slow enough, slow down some more. Don't still hunt through a wide open space, but know when to still hunt through good areas. Check the wind often, breeze squeeze bottles are cheap insurance. Use binoculars even in thick timber.

[Special T]

I usually still hunt for archery deer. I wear fleece and only move slowly. If you cant breath through your nose your going too fast!

[grundy53]

Move slow, and when you think you're going slow enough, slow down some more. Don't still hunt through a wide open space, but know when to still hunt through good areas. Check the wind often, breeze squeeze bottles are cheap insurance. Use binoculars even in thick timber.

Exactly. I mostly still hunt. Especially for elk. I have a hard time going slow and it has cost me..... a lot . You can't go too slow.

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[trophyhunt]

Move slow, and when you think you're going slow enough, slow down some more. Don't still hunt through a wide open space, but know when to still hunt through good areas. Check the wind often, breeze squeeze bottles are cheap insurance. Use binoculars even in thick timber.

Exactly. I mostly still hunt. Especially for elk. I have a hard time going slow and it has cost me..... a lot . You can't go too slow.

Sent from my E6782 using Tapatalk

and I go with my gut quite a bit, if I have a feeling I'm in the right place, I can sit for hours.  I just trust my gut mostly.

[Okanagan]

My still hunting is sort of a moving stand, except that in poor percentage spots like big wide open spaces, an impossible tangle of brush, or certain kinds of sterile old growth, then I walk quickly till I slow into a primo area.    I carry 8x32 binos and glass a LOT after one step or a few, especially in close thick brush where binos allow you to focus into and behind the near layers of twigs.  Have spotted things like an ear, 2 square inches of elk hair, etc. inside of 40 feet. 

Still hunting is the old traditional way to hunt, but less effective on whitetails especially than boring tree stands if the stand is placed well.   

Oops, got off topic into deer more than elk so deleted some.

[Ingwe]

Still hunting is most fun way to hunt but I think it is becoming a lost art. I grew up hunting deer and elk in big timber. Got most of my deer and elk at 20yds to 100 yds. I was lucky that I started hunting elk when there was still a lot of old growth timber to hunt. If you were still hunting or tracking elk and wind changed you backed out and tried again next day. lots of good memories of those hunts.

[jasnt]

I love still hunting( my most successful method). I prefer silent clothing like fleace. I like low power optics. I don't use any scent reduction as I'm a smoker, playing the wind is my best option. All my deer but one was killed at 40 yards or less with a rifle

[Nice Racks]

100 yards per hour is what I grew up with in Pa. Haven't tried it out here for elk or deer yet, but plan to try it this year.

[Firedogg]

  I have yo still hunt, I can't force myself to sit for any long period of time unless I am watching animals.

[PolarBear]

Most everyone still hunted before baiting became the norm. It is a lost art. I enjoy still hunting because I can stay in tune with nature by using all the senses. Nothing more gratifying than harvesting an animal fair chase.

Most of the places that I hunt there are only 2 options, still hunting or treestands.  I hate glassing for hours and road hunting. 

[RadSav]

To me, the art of still hunting is "See before being seen."  To me that has meant low, slow, listen and glass.  I also believe one way is never the only way.  In times of maximum animal movement I like to stop and sit for long intervals then move and stop again.  During times of minimal animal movement I tend to move more and sit less. 

I glass a lot when still hunting.  If I can catch an ear or an antler before seeing the body of a deer or elk I have a much better chance of not being seen.  I use the focus of the binos to work through thick brush first before I get there.  Focus just inside the brush line, then 15-20 yards, then another 15-20 yards...  You will be surprised at how much more you see when you adjust focus and step forward with your eyes before your feet.

In the timber during temperature change from morning to mid-day and mid-day to evening I am constantly watching the wind.  Atlas Mike's Glow Yarn is the best stuff I have found for testing wind direction as the thermals change.  Pink is my go to, but each person seems to have a color they see best.  Two or three fibers can be seen for a long way.  Just tear them loose from the fluffy bundle and toss them up.  I've had times in early season when I can watch them for three to five minutes floating back and forth, uphill and down hill.  Old 35mm film canisters work great for holding your yarn and keeping it dry.

I really like the Exo pack I've been using the past few years.  But it really sucks for still hunting in dry conditions.  It's like a megaphone alerting animals to my location any time I have to rub against a branch or rock when everything is covered with dust and smells like tinder.  Last year in Utah I left it at the truck after the first morning of hunting.  Switched over to the soft and quiet Blacks Creek Western for the rest of the hunt.  If I was miles in I would still have used the Exo.  But since that was not the case there I figured I could get 50# out on a first trip and then return with the better pack on a second trip.  Same went for gaitors.  I wore a less favored Sitka Flash gaitor and figured if I got an animal down I'd switch to the ORs.

And finally one of the most important things I learned is to keep still hunting even if you are headed back to the truck.  I have probably been busted within 100 yards of the truck more times than I have been busted down in the holes of hell.  I find myself thinking, the trucks right there! Man, I can taste that soda or water in the ice cold cooler already!  Then once my guard is down, my focus in on the truck and I forget about stealth - BAM!  Nothing but a chance to see a raised tail and a clean bunghole.  More than once I have snuck all the way back to the truck and there is a buck or a bull sniffing tires or watching themselves in the reflection of the window.

[rasbo]

I love to still hunt,I used to be in a hurry at times when I was younger.Age and injuries have slowed me down,much to my benefit,I rattle as I still hunted when I was on the wetside works great..

[Skyvalhunter]

I think you will find a lot of disabled or hunters that have experience under there belt do a lot of still hunting and are quite successful.

[ELKBURGER]

I didn't take the time to read the whole thread so I don't know if it was suggested already. Read or reread the book 'Blacktail Trophy Tactics' by the Late, Great Boyd Iverson. I have never heard anyone else describe still hunting like him.

[johnsc6]

I still hunt a lot.  The most important things are, in my opinion, to hunt the wind and go extremely slow.  I check the wind constantly and struggle to go slow enough.  Slow meaning that each step is deliberate and you pause often.  Quiet clothes are important.  I haven't done much for scent control.  I don't really know if it works or not, but have myself convinced I'm screwed if I don't have the wind in my favor.

 :yeah:I think this summed it up fine........except I believe with elk you can move faster and even make noise, until you are in their zone. Wind is everything.. if your hunting with the wind at your back your just hiking. I don't care how much carbon impregnated Chinese nylon you pile on. And I refuse to walk around smelling like stale Holstein urine, your nose is a great way to know its time to slow down.  Only exception to wind rule is if the animal is already trying to escape someone else and your using a rifle.

[Grizman]

I go along with everything that has been said.  I have been a still hunter for over 50 years in heavy timber.  I'll add just one thing that has always worked for me. Don't travel in one direction all the time.  I always make a continuing series of 90 degree turns.  Hundred yards or so and make a turn. Another hundred or so and turn again. Two things happen.  Game will stand motionless and watch you moving by.  You make a turn and they get nervous and will move. And, when you change directions, you get a totally different view and different angles of the terrain.  Walking quietly in a straight line only allows you to cover the country in a narrow patch as you move thru it.  I play around in the woods a lot through the year, and zig zagging has gotten me a lot of meat and pictures. 

[PolarBear]

I didn't take the time to read the whole thread so I don't know if it was suggested already. Read or reread the book 'Blacktail Trophy Tactics' by the Late, Great Boyd Iverson. I have never heard anyone else describe still hunting like him.

I was fortunate enough to be able to sit down with Boyd when the book first came out and pick his brain for over an hour. A ton of my hunting techniques for any species of deer come straight from him.

[Pete112288]

I still hunt a lot.  The most important things are, in my opinion, to hunt the wind and go extremely slow.  I check the wind constantly and struggle to go slow enough.  Slow meaning that each step is deliberate and you pause often.  Quiet clothes are important.  I haven't done much for scent control.  I don't really know if it works or not, but have myself convinced I'm screwed if I don't have the wind in my favor.

This is just about the exact response I was about to give. I am always struggling to keep myself moving as slow as possible. A lot of overgrown skid roads and thick reprod with moss floors are my favorites. I check the wind quite often. I fill one of the travel size contact solution bottles with baking powder. That's my wind checker. Most of the time I go through the whole bottle full in 1 season pretty easily.
As far as when to stop and look, listen, or smell. I can never explain that one well. A lot of times it is in an area with decent visibility or when its a dry season with crunchy brush. Beyond that it always seems to be random. I get some tingle in the back of my neck or something that says "STOP!" and most of the time there is something around when that happens. Or, even though I am hearing birds in the brush all the time, there is just one soft noise that is similar that for one reason or another tells me to stop and wait it out.
Can never stress the point enough to be meticulous about watching anything fishy. When that stump on the other side of a clear cut doesn't seem like it fits in, watch it and get some glass on it, it may not be a stump. Or that one horizontal line in the vertical reprod and brush, it just may be the back of a deer watching you.

[jeffro]

One step at a time.
Every 3-5 I'll pause and glass.
Every 15-20 I'll sit and let everything quiet down
And play the other hunters, most of the animals I get are being pushed by others

[Special T]

I didn't take the time to read the whole thread so I don't know if it was suggested already. Read or reread the book 'Blacktail Trophy Tactics' by the Late, Great Boyd Iverson. I have never heard anyone else describe still hunting like him.

I was fortunate enough to be able to sit down with Boyd when the book first came out and pick his brain for over an hour. A ton of my hunting techniques for any species of deer come straight from him.

You got to do something on my bucket list! I wanted to have a cold one with him and bs about hunting more than anyone else. He was a NW hunting icon. Im bummed he is gone and envious of the fact you got to meet one of the greats in our area!

[PolarBear]

Yeah, He was a wealth of knowledge and a really nice guy.  I also got to sit down a few times with Jim Zumbo and Ted Nugent.  Zumbp ogled a couple of whitetail racks and a Cascade Roosie that I had and it started an on going chat session that started up again every year for about 3 years when he was at the Sportsman's show.

[WAnoob]

This is a skill like others I have became better at as I am getting older. When I was younger hunting with my dad I always wanted to go to the furthest and highest point on the mountain because that's where the big deer should be. My dad of course knew better and constantly made me slow down and hunt slower, ironically he always shot the biggest deer a few hundred yards in back of camp. I just wished I would have learned my lesson sooner

[Jonathan_S]

I wrenched my back a week before season like 4 years ago and had to move slowly and deliberately.  I didn't have a choice.  I saw more elk in my area that year than ever before.  Unfortunately it did nothing to stop the rain from soaking my percussion cap.  There is a 5x6 bull that will always haunt me.