Post by: WapitiTalk1 on May 18, 2016, 10:37:23 AM
Post by: WSU on May 18, 2016, 11:21:40 AM
Post by: WSU on May 18, 2016, 11:25:22 AM
Post by: buglebrush on May 18, 2016, 11:28:45 AM
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.
Post by: OutHouse on May 18, 2016, 11:33:31 AM
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!
Post by: Rick on May 18, 2016, 12:46:23 PM
Post by: singleshot12 on May 18, 2016, 01:40:55 PM
Post by: xXLojackXx on May 18, 2016, 01:53:20 PM
Post by: Special T on May 18, 2016, 02:30:25 PM
Post by: grundy53 on May 18, 2016, 04:01:28 PM
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 :chuckle:. You can't go too slow.
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Post by: trophyhunt on May 18, 2016, 04:18:47 PM
:yeah: 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.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 :chuckle:. You can't go too slow.
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Post by: Okanagan on May 18, 2016, 05:14:53 PM
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.
Post by: Ingwe on May 18, 2016, 09:01:18 PM
Post by: jasnt on May 18, 2016, 09:06:11 PM
Post by: Nice Racks on May 18, 2016, 09:11:37 PM
Post by: Firedogg on May 18, 2016, 10:17:55 PM
Post by: PolarBear on May 18, 2016, 11:56:11 PM
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.:yeah:
Most of the places that I hunt there are only 2 options, still hunting or treestands. I hate glassing for hours and road hunting.
Post by: RadSav on May 19, 2016, 02:56:22 AM
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.
Post by: rasbo on May 19, 2016, 03:59:27 AM
Post by: Skyvalhunter on May 19, 2016, 05:04:25 AM
Post by: ELKBURGER on May 19, 2016, 06:07:28 AM
Post by: johnsc6 on May 19, 2016, 12:22:58 PM
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.
Post by: Grizman on May 19, 2016, 02:04:59 PM
Post by: PolarBear on May 19, 2016, 06:17:13 PM
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.
Post by: Pete112288 on May 19, 2016, 06:37:12 PM
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.
Post by: jeffro on May 19, 2016, 07:16:32 PM
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
Post by: Special T on May 19, 2016, 08:03:01 PM
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!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.
Post by: PolarBear on May 19, 2016, 11:50:29 PM
Post by: WAnoob on May 20, 2016, 08:43:53 AM
Post by: Jonathan_S on May 20, 2016, 09:31:02 AM