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Thread: Stalking Deer

  1. #21
    One step at a time intothenew's Avatar
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    We're hunting natives now? I'll set up a stand with Ol' Milwaukee's Best Lite as bait, fish in a barrel.
    "They call us civilized because we are easy to sneak up on."- Lone Waite


  2. #22
    Administrator Rick's Avatar
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  3. #23
    naturalist primitive your_comforting_company's Avatar
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    That was kinda my point Rick. Although I'm sure the natives knew nothing of UV spectrums, it only seems natural that if you want to "blend in" then you take the form of your prey. I have to agree that in this day and age, it would be foolish to dress "like a deer", you're only asking for a bullet.
    Another point I'd like to make, is that 300+ years ago, all this debate is something a 10 year old could tell you all about. Stalking hunt was a knowledge passed down through generations, much like an 8 year old would have known all the major edible plants AND how to use them, yet most folks 60+ nowadays couldn't tell you what poke sallet is.

    Last year our rut didn't come in until season was out. This year it was between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Like H says, there are so many factors that play into successful hunting, that you can't finger just one. My last deer was on a new moon morning, while a cold front was moving through, surrounded by duck hunters on the water, with hunters on private land to the north pressuring the deer to move, and they moved my way. I was wearing all black, except my "lucky hat" (kidding about "lucky") and the wind was from the Northwest with water to my southeast. At the time I shot, there were probably 15 deer around me. 20 yards from a heavy trail with pawings and rubs all around.
    I would say these were ideal conditions and it bagged me a big one.
    We've been hunting this 15.8k acres for several years and it still took weeks of scouting, stalking, reading signs and preparing, to get there. The freezer is full so I guess it paid off, but how much of it was my prepping vs. Dumb Luck?
    I was in the right place at the right time. We had actually talked about going back over to my little paradise spot that morning, but decided to "check out" this other spot. As KYRS says, there is nothing "mysterious" about hunting. Animals are quite predictable actually. Fresh water, lots of food, and dense brush for them to think they are hiding in. There's a reason we call them "deer trails"...

  4. #24

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    If you had a deer carcass on your head, would a deer mistake that for a live deer, or smell it and realize that it was dead?

    My area has had a dry winter so far. Slim pickings until the rain starts. And, yeah, daytime sightings are pretty rare, since we have cloudless full moon nights for cavorting. I'm not seeing many signs of rut; it's possible they go somewhere else during this season.

    Did find some lion scat, and that critter probably has a serious effect on where and when the deer do their thing.

  5. #25

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    Quote Originally Posted by rick View Post
    duesn't the wearing of animal skin (200+ years ago) mimic all things an animal would expect to see? Uv reflection and all? Just thinking out loud.
    "bingo" !!!

  6. #26
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    Whether I am walking in the bushes or hunting I keep in mind that all animals are on the watch for predators.
    A hunter is a predator and in that mode is detected as one because of the adrenaline sent out from the body.
    My mindset is not of killing , it's of going on a walk and happen to have a firearm.
    I have had more success treating it that way then when in hunt mode.
    I've sat and ate my lunch while a family of deer ate seedlings just 5 yards away and several times sat as moose came right by me to go graze in a filed I was watching.
    No fast moves just relaxing enjoying the surroundings were enough to seem a non threat to the prey.
    The birds sounds if any are of just letting me know they see me...but it seems to be normal bird sounds...

  7. #27
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    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.

  8. #28
    Senior Member postman's Avatar
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    Stalking and still hunting are the only ways that I will hunt, I only wear clothing that is silent in the woods. The pattern makes little difference, the key is quiet. Wool and fleece are the best. Staying down wind and keeping movement to a minimum are the keys to sucessful ground hunting for deer.

  9. #29
    Administrator Rick's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by KnifeNutty
    A hunter is a predator and in that mode is detected as one because of the adrenaline sent out from the body.
    I would suggest it has little to do with some perceived "hunter mode" scent and a whole lot more to do with how you are moving and what you are doing. If an animal spots you stalking them, even if you are down wind, they know by your movement that you represent danger. Yet, if you are sitting, as you described and make no sudden movements the animal is less likely to see you as a threat whether he can scent you or not.

    The very same is true if you see someone stalking you. We make those same judgement calls about each other on a daily basis.
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  10. #30
    Senior Member kyratshooter'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.

    If all it takes is sitting on a stump, waking up when the alarm goes off and waiting for the deer to commit suecide while you nap why is the Texas success rate only 67%.
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  11. #31
    Resident Wildman Wildthang's Avatar
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    I stalk my deer with a bullet

  12. #32
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    Quote Originally Posted by kyratshooter View Post
    If all it takes is sitting on a stump, waking up when the alarm goes off and waiting for the deer to commit suecide while you nap why is the Texas success rate only 67%.
    A few counter points: 1) I never said anything about stumps; 2) "suecide" is spelled suicide; 3) my success rate has never been 67%. I am fortunate enough to live in the epicenter of Texas whitetail hunting. Our deer numbers here are extraordinary, some claim we have the densest deer populations in the nation averaging one deer for every 2 to 3 acres. We have in excess of 1000 acres, so you do the math. A large field dressed carcass here may only weigh 120 pounds, but many won't break 100. You just harvest another animal or two if needed (season limit is 5 with no more than 2 antlered). I've always said I do my best napping in the blind (I've never used an alarm clock though......that was purely artistic embellishment).

  13. #33
    Administrator Rick's Avatar
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    We don't have splling police here. If we did tht would be......oh, me. How 'bout that. Now we're in trouble.
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  14. #34
    Senior Member hunter63's Avatar
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    Most of my deer hunting, here in Wisconsin, is now from a Louisiana Box stand, modeled after the DD and SIL's...used at their lease.

    Here......
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  15. #35
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    @Hunter63.......I am relatively new here. Even so, I truly look forward to your posts (among a few others) for their honesty and straightforward prose. But I do have to question the authenticity of your Louisiana Box Stand...............................where's the satellite dish?

    Awesome view from the deck!

  16. #36
    Senior Member hunter63's Avatar
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    Not yet on the dish, that's on the end of the porch.

    I have addressed the radio problem from my tower.
    http://www.wilderness-survival.net/f...lkabout-Radios.

    My "long hunter' walks are limited these days....the need to harvest a deer, not so strong now,...... It is up to the ones that really want to end it all....and come to me.

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    Inspiration for my tower.... east of Mansfield, La on SIL's and DD lease.
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  17. #37
    Administrator Rick's Avatar
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    He doesn't need a dish. His blind has cable.
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  18. #38
    Senior Member hunter63's Avatar
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    Well, at least a modem.....LOL
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  19. #39
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    Or at least a magazine rack. If you're going to spend that much time sitting on the throne, you've got to have reading material.
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    Just don't try to visit if you hear a voice yell, "Bombs Away!!!" Just sayin'.....
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