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Thread: Stalking Deer

  1. #41
    Ed edr730's Avatar
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    Sleeping isn't so bad if you're in an encloser where you can see a great distance and you are gun hunting. Not so good if you are a traditional archer who hunts in the swamp where deer can surprise you and you need to be close. I'll agree that being in the right place is important. If you are in a new area the easiest way is to drive the two tracks until you see the area with the most deer crossing the road then find the best trail, the best place to sit considering the wind and cover and set up another blind in case the prevailing wind changes. I've never seen the benifit of chamophlage. Smell, moving at the time when the deer have their head down and not moving when they lift their head, and being silent by using soft clothing, and having the advantage of them not smelling you are important. Stalking of course is different from 100 yards than it is from 30.


  2. #42

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    Depends on where you are and what kind of pressure you have on the deer. Short video of my brother and I just out of camp. This is a 100 feet from my tent.



    I am wearing an orange shirt and you can see what my brother is wearing.

  3. #43

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    This is us 6 years ago in the same WMA a little ways down the road.



    I have hours of video of deer taken from the truck and woods in this area. But, when it comes time to drop them. They know and they are gone. LOL

  4. #44
    Administrator Rick's Avatar
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    When we were in Danali we saw a huge elk laying in a dry creek bed. Downsteam about 50 yards was a grizzly eating berries along side the bank. The elk wasn't at all concerned. It moved once as the grizzly closed to about 30 yards and put about 50 yards between them and laid back down. Once the bear closed the second time the elk got up and walked off. This was early August so there was plenty of food everywhere. I was pretty surprised how the two reacted but the bear was content with the berries and neither seemed too concerned about the other.
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  5. #45
    Resident Wildman Wildthang's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Cast-Iron View Post
    I have hunted the Texas white-tail since the early '70s. Hunting from a blind or stand doesn't compare to the stalking of the animal. I can take a portable radio to the blind. Catch a ball game, take a nap, set an alarm to go off 20 minutes before the game feeder and likely harvest a deer if I choose to. This isn't hunting, it's harvesting. We are overrun with deer here in central Texas. Not a lot of size to them, but a lot of critters. Population control is an important part of our management philosophy.


    My approach to stalking is entirely different. It simply boils down to finding them before they are made aware of your presence. Making yourself harder to see thru slow deliberate movement, the use of camo or dark earthtones to draw less attention to yourself, noise and scent disciplne. understanding the habits of whatever you're stalking during that time of year and day, familiarity with your location location location, and plain trial and error. You will be outed by some critter. It happens to all of us. Try to understand what gave you away and learn from the experience. With enough time and obervation, you should start to understand the natural flow of things around you and when that flow is interrupted, it is always for a reason.
    Watch animals at a food plot or a watering hole. See how they respond when other animals approach. Learn to use their highly developed senses to heighten your awareness of what may be just over a ridge or behind the brush. I continue to see things I've never seen before and gain greater understanding about my little corner of mother earth (even after 40+ years of "schooling"). While I always value the harvest, I value the experience even more.

    Cast Iron, I hunted in Laneau ( spelling? ) county around 12 years ago, and the first deer I saw early one morning just before sunrise was so small I thought it was a dog! When I looked at it through my scope, of course I could tell it was a deer.
    I only saw one buck with a half decent rack and he was too far away to shoot! So I shot a couple of does that weighed around 80 pounds fully dressed and called it good! At least I had meat in the freezer!
    We stopped into a barbeque place around there that had a bunch of outdoor charcoal cookers, and they had almost anykind of meat you wanted to eat! Ever been there?

  6. #46
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    I believe you are referring to Llano. While its less than an hour away from me, I don't often have any reason to make the trip over. There are a few popular bbq places there and its been many moons since I've dined at any of them. Cooper's, the one I think you are referring to, would make most any Texan's top 100 list for bbq. Hopefully you had a good experience there. There are few around Austin that many consider the Mecca of Texas BBQ. In no particular order: The Saltlick in Driftwood, Franklins in Austin, and Rudy's also in Austin. About 30 minutes southeast of Austin is the small town of Lockhart with three well known places; Kreuz's Market, Smitty's and Blacks.

    Now I'm hungry for brisket. Note to self....never chat on an empty stomach.

  7. #47
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    Quote Originally Posted by Rick View Post
    When we were in Danali we saw a huge elk laying in a dry creek bed. Downsteam about 50 yards was a grizzly eating berries along side the bank. The elk wasn't at all concerned. It moved once as the grizzly closed to about 30 yards and put about 50 yards between them and laid back down. Once the bear closed the second time the elk got up and walked off. This was early August so there was plenty of food everywhere. I was pretty surprised how the two reacted but the bear was content with the berries and neither seemed too concerned about the other.

    Rick, are you talking about Denali National Park? I didn't realize Alaska had any elk in the interior. I was only aware of an introduced herd on one or two islands in Southeast Alaska (Afognak (sp?) Island) and those were brought in from Washington state a few decades back. However, Moose coming out of the wazoo. They even have the current Moose killed count posted on the Palmer-Wasilla Highway to remind motorists of the hazards of "Meese" along the roadway

  8. #48
    Administrator Rick's Avatar
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    Yeah, it was Denali National. I thought I had a picture of the two of them but can't find it. Elk, Reindeer, Speckled Trout, it all looks the same to me but I remember it being an Elk. I'll keep looking for the picture. Definitely wasn't a moose. I've seen enough Rocky cartoons to know what Bullwinkle looks like. I did find a great picture of a moose butt I took. He/She was standing in a bunch of willow and all you could see was the rump.
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  9. #49
    Senior Member Thaddius Bickerton's Avatar
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    Around here if I "need" to get a deer I just hop on the tractor and drive down to the field near the swamp.

    The deer ignore me and I can shoot em right off the tractor. Not sport, just about as much fun as killing a farm animal.

    If I want to stalk them then to do it right I wear stuff that will hide me from everything and use wind and such to advantage.

    My daughter isn't to big on killing animals either, so I made her a stock out of a hunk of wood and mounted one of those scopes with a camera in it. Now she "hunts" with that and her trophy is a picture with a cross hair on the deer. Best of all worlds for her.

    She knows that there will almost always be venison jerky and meat in the freezer from 3 brothers, uncles, cousins, and if needs be me or her. (She can and has hunted, just not her favorite thing. OTOH, she is the best at helping me keep the homestead critters cared for.) She isn't much on killing a chicken either, but will help pluck it if I kill it. Getting where I skin em but that's just me. Rip dunks and plucks em.

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  10. #50
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    Quote Originally Posted by Rick View Post
    Yeah, it was Denali National. I thought I had a picture of the two of them but can't find it. Elk, Reindeer, Speckled Trout, it all looks the same to me but I remember it being an Elk. I'll keep looking for the picture. Definitely wasn't a moose. I've seen enough Rocky cartoons to know what Bullwinkle looks like. I did find a great picture of a moose butt I took. He/She was standing in a bunch of willow and all you could see was the rump.
    Elk, Reindeer(Caribou). Speckled Trout.........(hint: the trout is likely the wet one without fur and antlers). If you do come across the pic, please post it, I'd like to see it.

  11. #51
    Senior Member Stairman's Avatar
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    Im pretty good at stalking deer. Sorry I havent read all the other posts. Camo is unimportant to a colorblind deer, but a blotchy pattern helps and your face and hands covered or painted with a pattern of stipes or dots help trmendously. Feeling each step before putting all your weight down, so you dont break a stick etc. Hands down the most important thing is a thread tied on the end of your gun , bow or walking stick. A cheap and effective wind checker. Best not to proceed in the direction the string points .

  12. #52
    Administrator Rick's Avatar
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    Oh, snap. It had to be a Caribou. All I can plead is old age. We did what they call a grand slam while in Denali. We were pretty lucky. Dall Sheep, Caribou, Moose and Grizzly. We even got to see the mountain peak for a couple of hours. Pretty cool stuff.
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  13. #53
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    MT. McKINLEY #4 - SEPT 2008.jpg Here's a pic I took from a job site near Talkeetna. Those Caribou do resemble Elk from this distance.........

  14. #54
    Administrator Rick's Avatar
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    That's pretty funny.
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