Traveling quietly through brush

[smithkl42]

A lot of folks - here, in books, other forums, etc. - have recommended hunting the edges of clearcuts, as deer can apparently be found there during the day. And I regularly hear advice like "Get off the roads". And all of that makes sense. If I were trying to hide from a sniper, you wouldn't find me on a road or trail anywhere near shooting light.

But whenever I've tried to get off of roads and human trails and into the timber proper, it seems like I end up making a ton of noise, enough noise that I'm sure to be alerting every deer within a hundred yards, well before I could possibly see them. I can move quietly and carefully enough along roads or trails or lightly-brushed country. But moving through the sort of brush we've got here in western Washington is hard enough, period, and doing it quietly enough to call it hunting seems impossible. Blackberries are the worst of course: they're everywhere and grab at everything. (I've gotten myself into blackberry patches that took me hours to get out of.) But even just the standard salal and vine maple and similar sort of underbrush make it incredibly difficult to move quietly.  Sometimes I try to follow game trails, but those trails around here seem to peter out quickly, and even when they don't, they tend to dodge in and out of blackberries and deadfalls and low-hanging branches in ways that defeat my attempts to move quietly.

In short, I'm sure I've frightened way far more deer than I've seen.

How do you combine the advice to "get off the roads" with "travel quietly"?

[cougforester]

I think it comes down more to knowing when you can move fast and when you need to really slow down. If you're just trying to cover ground and get between spots, bomb through it. Sound actually dies pretty fast in thick timber.

As soon as you start still hunting, go as slow as you think you should, then go half that again. Learn to walk on the outside of your foot and roll your weight forward. Humans now walk normally heel first, which pops sticks like no other. Learn what limbs that bend if you step on them vs what will pop loudly look like  in your area.

I work out in the woods almost every day and perhaps my most valuable lesson I've learned is if you come to really nasty patch of brush that there's no other logical way around, don't just creep your way through it. Blast through as fast as you can. You're going to make noise either way, get it over with and reduce the change of an animal being or moving into range of hearing that commotion. 

[dreamunelk]

Use game trails whenever you can.  If deer hunting move slow and stop often.  Elk move a little faster and pay attention.  When see, hear, or smell switch to slow  and slower mode.  Get out and scout before and after the season.  The more time you spend out there the better you will move.  This is a case where practice really helps.  Going from walking the roads to moving through brush is a major change.  Your body needs to adjust and remember how to move.

[Humptulips]

There is nothing wrong with walking the road. Truth be told as many roads as there are I spend more time on the road then off anymore. Pick your spots is my advise. Even at that you will walk out to a spot you can see better and step on a stick. You'll think you just alerted every deer for miles but that doesn't necessarily mean they took off on the dead run. Look around, they know something is up but you still have a chance at them.
One reason stormy weather is so good.

[Buzz2401]

Wool can really help. Nothing is as quiet as wool. Next would be fleece.  Then just walk slow. Moving brush is not that alarming to animals, swish, swish, swish is.  If the wind is right and you move slow and use cover to your advantage you can get really close to animals.  Also pick your days, sneaking up on a blacktail on a calm sunny day is gonna be real hard unless the terrain is giving you a break. A little rain, snow, fog or wind can go a long way for covering movement and sound.

[PolarBear]

 
I HATE hunting clearcuts or road hunting!  8-15 year old reprod and big timber is my favorite.  Good fleece or wool, creeping through the brush (if you think you are going too slow, slow down some more) and using bad weather to your advantage.  Wind and rain are your friends it messes with all of their senses .  The best way to be dead quiet is to sit and wait especially if you are limited to where or how you can move.  If the brush gets too thick to navigate quietly pick a spot where the critters are going in and out of the thick stuff, back away a bit and just wait.
 

[Tinmaniac]

On the wetside the only way to hunt 8 to 15 year old reprod would be to sit wait.At 8 years you may be able to still get through it.At 15 visibility will be about 2 feet.I love 2 to 5 year old cuts with big timber and older cuts butting up to the new stuff.Stay out of the sticker bushes and chest deep salal.

[bornhunter]

The secret to moving quiet is move slow. A wise old successful hunter once said, " when you think you are moving slow enough, slow down."

[dscubame]

The secret to moving quiet is move slow. A wise old successful hunter once said, " when you think you are moving slow enough, slow down."

  x2

[Special T]

I wear fleece. When the weather is nice I wear my super soft flexible soled boots. Additionally I carry a pair of hand pruners. I dont cut everything in my path on a hunt, but there are always just a few big BlackBerry cains that need removal.  I hate BlackBerry brambles everything else I can hang with.

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[smithkl42]

I carry a pair of hand pruners. I dont cut everything in my path on a hunt, but there are always just a few big BlackBerry cains that need removal.  I hate BlackBerry brambles everything else I can hang with.

I gotta say, hand pruners are the single best non-traditional hunting utensil I've got in my backpack. They're absolutely critical. They're also kinda loud, but I suspect they're not so loud as my punching through a bunch of blackberries without 'em.

[hawks33]

Try getting in there in the spring or summer and do some light pruning. If I go to an area and find a lot if sign, but it's too thick, try making yourself some access in the off season so you can setup outside the thick bedding areas. Good spots to sit during the rut and at dawn/dusk. As others have said, the weather's your friend, unless I'm hunting sagebrush, I dont like sunny days. G

[Special T]

I personally think going Poco Loco after the season is over with a machete when the leaves are gone. I have one spot im going to do this to this winter after waterfowl season.

[fishnfur]

Lots of good ideas mentioned.  Practice makes you a lot better. You learn by mistakes and trying new methods of getting through the brush. 

 I think all of Boyd Iverson's tips have been mentioned":

Stay on trails.  Don't cross country off trail.

Use ambient noise when available to conceal your movement (planes, vehicles, chattering critters, wind, etc.)

If you blunder and crash a bit, stop and hold for 20 or more minutes.  Tipping a can call, using cow call, or raking a tree or brush with an antler makes local animals think another animal made the noise. They will calm down quicker if you fool them. Eventually, game animals get back to their normal routines if you are quiet for awhile.  Continued noise emanating from your movements as you travel will clear a path all around you.  Game animals will get out of your way.

Go around blackberries if possible.  Clip or step directly on them if you have to pass through them.  Many a close encounter has been ruined by Blackberries.

[Shoofly09]

slow                                              slower