Stalking: Does anyone use this method?

Mauser GDog

Mauser GDog

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New hunter here, and by new I mean just bought my first outdoors card/small game/deer/migratory bird this week.

During my hunters ed. course, Stalking Hunting sent my mind reeling. Does anyone here hunt using this method? If yes, what do you stalk?

I live in Ontario, so local feedback would be most interesting.
 
It's a fun way to spend a day. If your refering to still hunting you won't see much land and you won't go very far but it can work well if you do it right. When I used to be more of a bowhunter it was my favorite way. I just don't care enough anymore to get that serious.
 
Stalking, still hunting, whatever you call it, trying to sneak up on a deer so it never knows you are there until the shot is the most fun of any method. Anyone can sit in a tree stand until your butt freezes to the seat.
 
That is my usual way of hunting. Take a step ot two look around, move again slowly constantly looking around for movement, change of shape of things etc. Dad used to say if you can see me moving I'm going too fast. You don't cover much ground but you see a lot of things you might have walked right by.
 
Stalking! !

My 1st stalking trip was with a smoothbore muzzle loader, a flintlock exactly. used a rut call, and did a circuit, which took me about 3 hours to walk. You will never feel so alive. Your senses will just be on a fine edge; because you're trying to beat a deer at his own game!!

Great fun, but you need the terrain for it. Nice woods with somewhat spaced out trees and moss on the ground will help your cause. Stalking may not work in some cases, especially if the deer can see you from long distances; but still great fun trying to sneak on them.

So give it a try, it may be to your liking!!:cheers:
 
Spot and stalk!!! i hike around sometimes quad or drive i will admit but mostly walking donw roads or mthrough cut blocks and then if the animals is out of my comfort zone to shoot the stalk is on spot and stalk is a very common hunting method.
 
moose_hunter said:
Spot and stalk!!! i hike around sometimes quad or drive i will admit but mostly walking donw roads or mthrough cut blocks and then if the animals is out of my comfort zone to shoot the stalk is on spot and stalk is a very common hunting method.
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Except i do this on the river hills down at my uncles for elk.
 
I think most here will agree that the success rates while still hunting are lower... But it's twice the fun!

Don't do it on dry, still days - the sound of crunching leaves will push deer out past where you'll ever see them.

Save it for rainy and/or windy days. The ambient noise will help to give you a fighting chance. (and keeping moving will keep you warm)

Also, it can be fun for simple bunny hunts too. Get an accurate .22 with a scope - walk into the woods - kick a brush pile - hold very still as a rabbit makes a run for it and pay attention to where it goes - then practice your spot n stalk techniques, creeping up on it for a 20 or 30 yard shot. Great fun!:D
 
I do a lot of archery hunting in the prairies.. There really isn't a lot of option other than spot and stalk when it comes to deer. If I wanted to sit in a treestand I'd literally be forced to sit 15 feet up a power pole...

Personally I watch early in the morning and see where a deer beds down. I move in as close as possible and merely wait until they stand up for a midday stretch, or to head out to feed depending on how long it takes to get there. As far as hunting on dry days, I drop my boots when I know I'm within 250-300 yards of what I'm trying to stalk. If you wear a good set of wool socks and roll your feet from outside edge to inside you can actually lay the grass down under your feet as to not make that "crunch". Once you know you're within range get yourself comfortable because it could be anywhere from 30 seconds to 12 hours before that animal will move. Then just play the waiting game and pray the wind doesn't swirl.
 
I've used stalking for deer, and like it has been said before, a great way to spend the day. It can be extremely challenging and frustrating, but also very rewarding and exciting. I've danced with deer that were fewer than a dozen yards from me, yet only seen the snow falling from the spruce as they brush past it. Some of the best and most memorable hunts have been ones that I have come home from empty handed, but spent the whole day working on a deer. And the times that you actually get one? Perfect.
 
Stalkin is the best way to hunt maybe not success wise but its the best. Especailly stalking bears deer r great but sneakin up to a bear n bustin him in his backyard is want makes u feel so alive
 
Stalking can be highly sucessful if you have a couple of days in a row to hunt. I will stalk by just sloppily still hunting the first day and seeing where I bust deer. When you see where the deer are, you can creep in the next morning and really scan as you get close to the area. Learned the hard way -- on my own. Now deer hunting for meat is akin to stopping at Sobey's.

Find the deer first, then stalk.
 
If we get snow in rifle season I like to use the Benoit way of hunting the big hardwoods in my area with a very good success.
 
This method has put venison in my freezer for the past two years. Each time I will still hunt to and from my stands. Its ironic that after spending hours in a tree that you get your deer on the ground. I walk a few yards then stop a wait behind cover for a while. It can take an hour to cover a couple hundred yards but boy you get close to your animal. I've taken three deer at 15 yards or less this way. I find this method a real rush.

Most, folks around here drive around back roads and fields and try to catch deer in the open and blaze away. Actually most of these road warriors do OK and get their game but after a few years its just not my style any more.

Last night I watched a very nice 3X3 buck eat bait for 15 minutes only 8 paces from my buddy in his stand. The deer never turned broadside so he did not get a shot ( we were bowhunting )and he was screened by brush from me. I was 30 yards away. We watched how he reacted to sounds of guys shooting in a gravel pit, trucks driving along the roads, and noise from farms. It was a real experience seeing how this buck behaved up close.

You'll never see that from a truck or hiking hard for miles so still hunt or stand hunt you will not regret it.
 
Combine styles. Sit over a trail from where they bed to where they eat in the morning. Hop up and go for a walk in the afternoon, and sit on a trail until legal light is up. A bonus to walking around is finding more trails to sit on when they're on the move.

Also, if it's windy, deer tend not to move around as much, so there's a better chance of at least seeing deer if you're walking around. If you spook one, sit tight awhile. They tend to circle downwind, so keep an eye out behind you.
 
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