Stalk?

[AaronM]

I have one more weekend to possibly hunt, and want to try get on the ground and see if I can stalk a few. Do any of you out there do this?

[motley man]

Very time consuming, 1 or 2 steps at a time and stop for couple minutes to survey area in every direction. Keep the wind in mind and go slow. Can be very good tactic at this time of season. Be prepared for close encounters and ENJOY.

[Wanderer]

What kind of terrain/cover will you be hunting? For me that plays a huge role in my decision wheather or not to stalk. Will you be bow or gun hunting? Will you have fresh snow or rain in your area this weekend?

I love to stalk game when the conditions are right.

[pureinsanity]

I have one more weekend to possibly hunt, and want to try get on the ground and see if I can stalk a few. Do any of you out there do this?

That is the only kind of deer hunting I do. During summer I make sure I get rid of any grass and debris on trails I make. I specifically make the trails all dirt everywhere I normally will stalk. This way you can walk more comfortably and not have to worry about snapping a stick, or stepping on leaves.

[deerminator]

Last year I put the stalk on a yearling doe. I closed the distance from about 200 plus yards to 25 through the late October woods. I was actually on the way to my stand when I saw her and thought, busted, the gig is up.

Then I thought, well, I've just busted one doe. THEN I thought, what if I could put the stalk on? I've got nothing to lose. Plus I was in a hurry to finish up last season with a lot of illnesses in the family and not much time to hunt.

The key to my success was the ability to walk down an old dirt road/path free of leaves and it was windy and loud as heck, in my favor. And the does was headed in the opposite direction as myself, not looking back often. I moved slowly for about half an hour before I got to my shooting spot, stopping behind trees as I went.

All in all that was a rush and my most satisfying hunt to date because I think it was the most challenging. Not sure I would try it on purpose though. Perhaps still hunting.

[T.S128]

well in order to stalk one dont you have to see it first? havin a dirt trail is all fine and dandy but chances are the deer isn't gonna stay on it. still hunting dirt trails would be great. still hunting with a bow would be very challenging its hard enough with a gun. i would say your best bet of gettin a deer soon is sittin in a place there is a lot of resident does. the bucks are still chasing right now and so where the does are thats where they will be.

[TruthWalleyes]

We've got a big chunk of land in SE MN, Too big to push (Unless you've got 20 people) and you can't cover the whole area posting either. Last year during Muzzleloader, was perfect stalking weather. 12-20 inches of fresh snow made each step quiet. I will slowly sneak around the woods when the ground is either wet, or covered with fluffy snow, Also a high wind can be noisy enough to cover up your comotion.

Stalking is fun....Time consuming...but if it ups your chances, and your in the woods anyway - Go For It!

[pureinsanity]

well in order to stalk one dont you have to see it first? havin a dirt trail is all fine and dandy but chances are the deer isn't gonna stay on it. still hunting dirt trails would be great. still hunting with a bow would be very challenging its hard enough with a gun. i would say your best bet of gettin a deer soon is sittin in a place there is a lot of resident does. the bucks are still chasing right now and so where the does are thats where they will be.

Not really. My first deer I shot with a bow stalking I walked around to find them. I spent a couple hours in the stand, sitting waiting. It was cold, it was starting to rain, and the misquotes were horrible. I decided to keep moving to keep the bugs off me and stay warm. With about 30 minutes left in legal shooting time I found my deer. The deer I stalked was a Doe with twins. I had 6 eyes watching for me. I was lucky enough to have cover to protect MOST of my movement until the cover ran out which brought me to about 10 yards from them. I drew when I was behind the cover, which was a good thing as my first draw my arrow fell to the ground. I drew, waited for their heads to go back down to feeding and stepped out. Game over.

First time stalking a deer with a shot gun I had it in 10 minutes. I was laid off from my seasonal job. I slept in till about 11am on a Wed morning. Went to my buddies where I hunt, Had lunch with him, grabbed my gun and started walking down our trails. Got in the heart of the land and noticed some ivory tips sticking out of some willows just of the dirt trail we made. The dirt trail allowed me to walk right up to him. Again about 10 yards away he was bedded down with a lady friend. I picked up a stick, snapped it in half. The doe took off, he stood up and started to trot away and I said hey you. He stopped, I folded him at less than 20 yards.

My friends spend countless hours in the deer stand, they buy the most expensive stuff, fancy this fancy that. I keep it basic. I don't use scent cover, or attractants. I guess I'm old school? They go season after season seeing deer to far away, or not seeing any at all. They all ask me how I get my deer and I tell them I walk and stalk. They try it in the off season seeing how close they can get to a deer before it sees them. Its an art I guess. Some people have it and some people don't? Ive been pretty lucky and have always been able to get really close to wildlife with out it seeing me, or if It does see me it doesn't see me as a threat.

I have an expensive climbing deer stand that now just collects rust.... I will now always stalk!

[T.S128]

good for you. i guess i have never heard of that type of hunting as staking... To me stalkin always consisted of spotting a deer first either my glassing or comin across one in the woods. Im sure everyone has heard of the term spot and stalk. but walking slow through the woods looking for a deer is more well know as "still hunting".

im not saying it is an ineffective way of hunting but when you "stalked" your first deer i doubt it was during the peak of the rut. deer are on the move right now thats why i suggested sitting.

[pureinsanity]

You are right it wasn't peak of the rut. There were mosquitoes and rain However my shotgun hunt was during peak of the rut.

I guess yes spot and stalk would be more of a stalk. But me walking around in a woods till I spot a deer and than make my approach or stalk towards it seems to be the same. I am spotting a deer and stalking it.

[deerminator]

The doe was never on the dirt trail. I was and had the good sense to stay out of the leaves as I closed in on her to dampen the noise. I did have to travel through about 10 yards of crunchy stuff the last few minutes to get the shot off.

[mitch]

You could try stalking them in a standing cornfield if you can find one. Just go row by row and peak your head in to see if there are any deer bedded. The windier the day the better. Last year I snuck within 20 yards of a doe. My uncle got so close one time that he poked a doe with his broadhead.

[luckey]

I like to spend at least one half day still hunting each year. I pick a day during the week when there are few other hunters out. I like a good steady breeze to blow my scent in one direction and add some noise for cover. This year I went about one mile and saw two deer I could have shot. One doe just hopped along in front of me until she finally went out in the swamp. I spotted a buck (actually he saw me first) when he made a few jumps. I watched him for a minute but couldn't get a real good look at his head gear. I moved got get a better look and he moved out to the swamp. I walked out in the swamp and looked for him. After a while he started running broadside to me at 50 yards. He was a nice 8 pt but not what I was looking for so he is still out there.