The Lost Art of Stalking and Still-Hunting for Black-Powder
Bucks
How to Stalk
Editor’s
Note: Deer hunting doesn’t begin or end at your
stand site. Instead, begin your hunt once you leave
your vehicle, and end it when you return to your vehicle.
The way to do this is to stalk hunt. When done right,
stalk hunting enables hunters to move quietly through
the woods without spooking their target bucks or any
other wildlife in the area, and also allows hunters
to look more closely at the surrounding woods and spot
targets they otherwise may miss. By following
some strategies I’ve learned and practiced during
many years of stalk-hunting for deer, you can learn
to stalk-hunt the right way to bag more bucks.
For most of my life, I’ve stalk-hunted deer with
a shotgun. I began reading about hunting deer with a
rifle after college and decided to purchase one with
a scope. I knew that combination would help me make
an accurate shot – regardless of the range. But
after missing the next six bucks I shot at, I realized
increasing my range didn’t necessarily mean I
could take more bucks. I wanted to solve the problem
and rebuild
my confidence, so I told myself my .30-.06 rifle was
a 2-3/4-inch 12-gauge shotgun. Again I began stalking
deer as I had with my shotgun. I took my next buck at
30 yards as it fed at the edge of some flooded timber.
If you follow a few basic principles, you’ll also
find stalking an effective means of hunting with your
muzzleloader:
* Change your mindset, and slow-down. In most areas
of life, we believe the faster we go, the more we’ll
get. But when applied to hunting, that philosophy isn’t
necessarily true. To take more deer, you must see more
deer. To see more deer, you must slow-down. Though you
may not spot any deer in the first few minutes of your
stalk, you still may not have stalked in the wrong spot.
You may miss seeing what’s around you if you stalk
too fast.
* Remember the 50-percent rule, which means you’ll
see
50-percent more of the surrounding woods with each step
you take. Study the area as if searching for a needle
in a haystack. Search for a deer’s leg jutting
out from behind a tree, the small black circle of its
eyes, the white of its ears, the parallel line about
3-1/2- or 4 feet off the ground of its back or its white
antler tips – no bigger than the tip of your pinky
finger. These indicate when you’ve located a deer.
* Time your stalk. Most hunters can’t stalk effectively
because they can’t slow down and can’t adjust
their bodies to the relaxed pace. I pace myself first
by deciding how far I want to travel in a given time.
For example, if I want to travel 50 yards in 30 minutes,
I’ll choose a spot – a tree, a bush or another
landmark – in the woods and pace myself. If I
reach my halfway point before 15 minutes have passed,
I wait at that spot and study the woods in that area
before heading for my target again. I can control my
stalking speed by designating landmarks and monitoring
my pace to them.
Tomorrow: Why Watch Your Back
Trail
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