Still Hunting Pace In Thick Bush

[Jays toyz]

I have covered many many miles on foot this year (150km?) in the GP area and have only come up on moose and bear. Still hunting seems a technique that is hard to learn due to the required pace. That pace is my question. How many hundreds of meters an hour do you cover. Its a hard question that is extremely subjective I know, but I assume my slow feeling pace of 1km an hour (guess) down a seismic line must be too fast. I assume now that I am spooking the deer ahead of me as I go. You don't know what you didn't see! Tagged a black bear and a 10 point whitetail this season so I am not without success, I think should be seeing more deer is all . Search says "still" is too common to search. Booo

[Bushleague]

Pace is a product of a few different factors. First and foremost it should be reflective of how much sign you have on the ground, if there is no fresh sign there is no point spending all day there, speed up until you are in a productive area. Second it should reflect how far you can see, if you can see further, you can move a bit faster. Third, it is dependant on the conditions, when things are noisier you need to move slower... with an exception... with things as dry and noisy as they currently are I've noticed the deer themselves seem to adopt a different gait, and so should you. They seem to take more steps than usual in a particular gait of about one step per second, then they wait for a long time and listen and look, the percentage of time that you spend looking-to-moving is the same but you do these two things in bigger doses... walk about 15-20 yards, stand still for 5-10 minuets, use your ears as much as your eyes. Honestly though, these conditions are pretty brutal, and as much as I hate to say it, still hunting is not a great option right now.

Also, you mention walking seismic lines, under the current conditions this might be your best bet but under better conditions there are far better ways to still hunt. A stand hunter tends to see open areas as positive terrain, a place deer want to go, once you start penetrating the timber and understanding what you are seeing you will see that just the opposite is true... openings in big timber are negative terrain, a place that a deer does not want to travel if it can help it. Also, when you stand in a clearing and try to look into the bush it is hard for you're eyes to penetrate it, when you stand in the bush and look into an opening the effect is the opposite. When the deer are in the bush and the hunter is in the open it is pretty easy for them to pick you off. Use cut blocks or lines to find the trails that the deer use to avoid traveling on them, ridges and ravines are other features that will govern deer movement. Hunting the deer trails themselves will always be more productive and educational for the still hunter.

As an example this Monday I walked a line that ran along a ridge for several kilometers and saw minimal sign, once the frost melted a bit and things got a little more quiet I took a deer trail uphill and followed it for several hours, walking on the leaves that were chewed up by the deer tracks I could move fairly quietly and I saw several does, countless scrapes, and some of the biggest rubs I've seen in a long time. When I eventually cut back to the line I realised that the deer trail had more or less run parallel to the line, rarely straying more than 400 yards from it but even without finding a buck I had a great day, walking the line itself would have been far less interesting or productive.

I know I got long winded, but big timber is my passion... in summation and in response to your original question. If I can see, and conditions are quiet, and I have no fresh sign I will move at a steady pace of several kilometers an hour. When I am in an area full of fresh sign, and I have determined what the deer were likely doing there, and come to the conclusion that I am there at the right time to find some deer... I might take an hour to travel 100 meters or less... and then I might circle around and do it several more times. When you are in the right place at the right time... you may as well go nowhere!

[Snijders96]

Very informative... thank you!

[Jays toyz]

WOW. Just wow. Absolutely fantastic insights, thank you!
I have still hunted a few spots with literally thousands of readable tracks per acre and a half dozen or more animals per day on both trail cams and found nothing on multiple still hunts. I assume now that I am just too loud. My success with a blind is better, I just prefer walking and reading sign. I am only a 2nd year hunter but learning fast.

Thanks again

[Bushleague]

Originally Posted by Jays toyz

WOW. Just wow. Absolutely fantastic insights, thank you!
I have still hunted a few spots with literally thousands of readable tracks per acre and a half dozen or more animals per day on both trail cams and found nothing on multiple still hunts. I assume now that I am just too loud. My success with a blind is better, I just prefer walking and reading sign. I am only a 2nd year hunter but learning fast.

Thanks again

Its possible to be in the right place at the wrong time too. For instance, if those tracks are in a feeding area and you are there in the middle of the day you might not see a deer no matter how slow you hunt. True a buck might cruise through at any point in the day during the rut, but he's after does and the does will likely be bedded down.

I've been super frustrated this year, I found a couple areas that are just full of rut sign but I can only move with any stealth at all during the middle of the day when things have thawed out a bit... despite all the sign I have not seen any deer in these areas, the downhill side of a cutblock on the side of a ridge, during the hours I can attempt to hunt them. Later or earlier there are deer there but I get busted due to the noise. If we don't get any snow next week I will be reduced to hunting a blind, ARRRGGGHHH.... so frustrating, what did I ever do to deserve two nearly snow-less Novembers in a row?

[Rockman]

Great write-up, Bushleague.

[Jays toyz]

I thought I should clarify that i resorted to a blind for my buck. My wife was beginning to think i had a mistress and I needed a win. I have been after a doe now for a month, but with no hunt longer than 4 hours since then, I have been spinning my proverbial wheels

[Bushleague]

Originally Posted by Jays toyz

I thought I should clarify that i resorted to a blind for my buck. My wife was beginning to think i had a mistress and I needed a win. I have been after a doe now for a month, but with no hunt longer than 4 hours since then, I have been spinning my proverbial wheels

No shame in hunting a blind, and I never meant to imply that. I just like to kill things "my way", either still hunting or tracking them down in the timber.

Keep at it and slowly but surely it will all start to make sense, and that's when it gets truly addictive. Back when I wandered around hoping to get lucky I could take it or leave it, now that my stillhunting has become more focused and deliberate, or better yet - the more personal mano a mano contest of trying to track a buck - sitting in a blind really puts me in a bad mood.

[Rockman]

Originally Posted by Jays toyz

I thought I should clarify that i resorted to a blind for my buck. My wife was beginning to think i had a mistress and I needed a win. I have been after a doe now for a month, but with no hunt longer than 4 hours since then, I have been spinning my proverbial wheels

Yep, I'm getting there myself...

[catnthehat]

Originally Posted by Jays toyz

I have covered many many miles on foot this year (150km?) in the GP area and have only come up on moose and bear. Still hunting seems a technique that is hard to learn due to the required pace. That pace is my question. How many hundreds of meters an hour do you cover. Its a hard question that is extremely subjective I know, but I assume my slow feeling pace of 1km an hour (guess) down a seismic line must be too fast. I assume now that I am spooking the deer ahead of me as I go. You don't know what you didn't see! Tagged a black bear and a 10 point whitetail this season so I am not without success, I think should be seeing more deer is all . Search says "still" is too common to search. Booo

There really is no pat answer for this

The thicker the bush the slower I go
Cat

[tchammer]

I like walking the deer trails along the sides or near the bottoms of ravines. I usually make a decision right off the bat if it is worth the time and effort to walk or sit. The first thing I look at is the wind, the second is the ground conditions. If you have moist leaves or a fresh damp snow you can walk extremely quietly. If the snow is crunchy or the leaves crackle to much I don't even bother. As well the temperature plays a major part, if it is a nice day you can walk for hours and enjoy the day, if not, you will not be comfortable and will rush. I usually only take a 4 to 10 steps, depending on the type of cover and I always try to have a tree for a leaning post when I stop. I find it isn't a matter of your eyes as much as your ears that will lead you to the deer. When I stop I listen carefully for the odd rustle or snap. More often than not it is a mouse or bird hopping around in the bush, but the odd time when you hear a sound and slowly look that way you will make out a movement through the bush as a deer slowly makes its way down a feeder trail. Not often, but a couple of times I have had deer come to within two to three yards of me as they make their way down the trail.

[Big Red 250]

I never think of still hunting as a pace towards so much distance. I just walk slowly, having my eyes always on the move, I really don't stop to look at a particular spot unless I see something out of the ordinary. If you assume your spooking deer ahead of you as you walk, that's the idea of looking around and behind you. The deer you spook arn't necessary staying ahead of you, their circling around you and letting you walk by them.

[Dan Boone]

I typically travel at a brisk walk for the first couple hundred meters from my drop point. Trying to be as quiet as possible, at the point I feel comfortable to begin my hunt, i usually sit for appr 20 minutes.

Once i begin my stalk, I walk as fast as I can without making noise and identifying every horizontal object in view!

Note, thr identifying every horizontal object in front of me, is the most inportant part of this.

I have been within a few feet of sleeping deer over the years.
My best days for this is windy days and I never ever waste prime time on still hunting.

Lots of time to walk around in thick timber like a fool after the critters are sleeping for the daylight hours.

[West O'5]

Originally Posted by Rockman

Great write-up, Bushleague.

Agreed....almost like I wrote it myself,lol.
Seriously though,I'd say BushLeague nailed it,I'm a stillhunter at heart as well and nothing much to add to his first post,seems like we went to same hunting school,lol.
I would emphasize however his pointers on time management/appropriate pace etc....I agree 100%,I tend to skim thru less productive areas these days,something I've come to describe as "speed scouting",and like BL,when I'm "in the zone".... that "spot on the spot" that's all ripped up with sign and just feels right,I slow to snail's pace and often take an hour to move 100-200m....anywhere from one step to 10 yards at a time.
Also agree with tips re: walking on cornflakes as I call it,when conditions are noisy,crunchy snow,dry leaves,etc....if ya can't beat'em/join'em I say,and when it's impossible to be quiet instead I'll do my best to walk with the cadence of a deer...8,10,12 quick steps on tiptoes almost(no heel) then stop/look/listen for several minutes.This technique can actually be a pretty effective "deer call" at times,and I've had deer come to my "deer walk" looking for me on several occasions.When you hear a deer coming thru crunchy snow/leaves,there's usually no mistaking it's a deer,with a very distinct sounding step pattern....and THAT is what i do my best to imitate.Dont walk/sound like a human/don't place your heel and transfer weight to ball as per normal.....walk like a deer,sound like a deer,smell like a deer,get close to deer,kill deer.

[Bushleague]

Originally Posted by West O'5

Agreed....almost like I wrote it myself,lol.
Seriously though,I'd say BushLeague nailed it,I'm a stillhunter at heart as well and nothing much to add to his first post,seems like we went to same hunting school,lol.
I would emphasize however his pointers on time management/appropriate pace etc....I agree 100%,I tend to skim thru less productive areas these days,something I've come to describe as "speed scouting",and like BL,when I'm "in the zone".... that "spot on the spot" that's all ripped up with sign and just feels right,I slow to snail's pace and often take an hour to move 100-200m....anywhere from one step to 10 yards at a time.
Also agree with tips re: walking on cornflakes as I call it,when conditions are noisy,crunchy snow,dry leaves,etc....if ya can't beat'em/join'em I say,and when it's impossible to be quiet instead I'll do my best to walk with the cadence of a deer...8,10,12 quick steps on tiptoes almost(no heel) then stop/look/listen for several minutes.This technique can actually be a pretty effective "deer call" at times,and I've had deer come to my "deer walk" looking for me on several occasions.When you hear a deer coming thru crunchy snow/leaves,there's usually no mistaking it's a deer,with a very distinct sounding step pattern....and THAT is what i do my best to imitate.Dont walk/sound like a human/don't place your heel and transfer weight to ball as per normal.....walk like a deer,sound like a deer,smell like a deer,get close to deer,kill deer.

Yep, same school for sure... the tip toes thing is very true, when a deer walks "on cornflakes" the step is fairly slow but the crunch of him putting his feet down is very quick. Almost like he holds his feet up a split second extra to listen, then wants to get the noise over with as quick as possible. When I do it I always feel like I have this exaggerated Elmer Fudd sneak going on... "Shhh, I'm hunting Wabbits!!

[58thecat]

Slow, terrain dictates pace, and check your six often!

[bessiedog]

Some very good stuff here.

I added this to another thread earlier, but it's best to have a small pair of 7 power binos hanging round your neck.... I often crouch and glass my surroundings..... I've often found that the deer hang 'right at the edge of my senses'... the binos allow for me to see them before they see-detect me.
Then I can figure out what I'm going to do.

Still hunting forces you to obey the speed and pace of another world. I find that it is the best destresser after a rotten day at work.

It's also a great way to tell how experienced other hunters are. I've actually had guys just plow right by me in the bush... and not see me. which is probably good cause I'd likely get scoped or something.

Still hunting is very very addictive once your successful.

[West O'5]

Originally Posted by Bushleague

Yep, same school for sure... the tip toes thing is very true, when a deer walks "on cornflakes" the step is fairly slow but the crunch of him putting his feet down is very quick. Almost like he holds his feet up a split second extra to listen, then wants to get the noise over with as quick as possible. When I do it I always feel like I have this exaggerated Elmer Fudd sneak going on... "Shhh, I'm hunting Wabbits!!

LoL....eggzakly!!

[West O'5]

On the topic of "if ya can't beat'em/join'em".....IMHO you CAN NOT beat a deer's nose no matter how much high tech BS scent blocking clothing you wear,and you can not walk into wind ALL day unless wind does a 180 direction shift....you gotta get back to where you started eventually,yes.....so that said I am a big believer in masking my scent with heavy(overpowering?) doses of deer scent.When stillhunting(and/or stand hunting/rattling.....wutever?)I absolutely reek of deer **** and tarsal concoction,reapplied frequently to pant legs and arms throughout day,misting the air when rattling etc.
I've had deer get incredibly close directly downwind all stinked up with my homemade deer lure,in fact,shot my best buck to date at 20yards straight downwind as he came in neck outstretched and licking his nose searching for me.
Re;sounding like a deer.....when I take an errant step and crack a branch I like to immediately follow up with a soft grunt or two,then freeze for 3-4 minutes.
Deer actually have a relatively short memory/attention span.When they hear an alarming sound,they freeze and listen/look/smell for danger for 2-3 minutes,then often go back to doing deer stuff/bizness as usual if no further warnings are detected.Follow up your bad step/branch crack with a grunt or bleat,combined with good masking scent,and ya just might convince them you're another deer.