Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game Hunting old school. Tracking/Sill hunting/stalking

Just curious who still does it. I’m fortunate to Lunt in an area where there are large tracts of federal,state and, corporate land open to the public. I can go for miles on a track and never see a boot print or other human sign. I do a mix of hunting styles depending on snow cover,sign and weather. And, if my ass is really wore out I just might sit for a minute or two. Typical day on which is November 15 th here in Michigan I usually go to known areas that have good sign and go above 12-15 miles that day. If I have good snow I’ll cut a good track and run it. If the snow is light and old it’s a bit tougher but I’ll still run a track. No snow? Well that is where still hunting plays in and I might sit on the side of a ridge during prime time overlooking a good looking area with sign. If I come up on a cut while looking for a good track I’ll glass it for a while and if I happen to see a shooter then the stalking game is on. Sometimes this ends in a situation of just getting in a good position for a shot or it can turn into a track if the buck moves on. This is my preferred way of hunting and rarely sit. Again if I’m whooped from the day I’ll slow up at the end of day and bust out my portable hammock chair I carry in my pack. Or if I’m sitting on a tag at the end of the season I’ll blast a doe from a blind to fill the larder.

Who else does it old school and how?

Good way to get shot in the Southeast. We climb trees for reasons. I don't even chamber a round until I get settled.

We still hunt that way in Adirondacks Brinky and even a little in our area if we have snow and can hunt the larger pieces Of state owned land. One of our favorite ways to get on deer. We hunt from stands as well. Pretty much equal opportunity hunters mostly.

Not many stands out west, spot and stalk is how we hunt.

Spot and stalk or still hunt. Is there any other way to actually hunt?

Any more mine is spot and stalk. 20 years ago when I was still doing some hunting in Pa. and WVa. I killed a lot of deer still hunting..

Public land in the SE I won't still hunt, too many itching to pull the trigger. On private land I like to still hunt. If it's a smaller property sit against a tree for a bit then still hunt to another area and find another place to sit. Bigger pieces just slow go it all day. Knowing the movement patterns helps and you can learn a lot while moving around. Just don't forget about the wind.

Still hunting/calling timber gives me a giant hard on. I love it. Probably why my average shot is about 30 yds. I creep through steeper old growth focusing on benches that are intertwined with centuries old trails and beds.

Also love the adrenaline rush of sneaking closer. Yesterday I spotted a buck on the beach. Did the quick deploy with the packraft about 200 yds down the beach. Could have killed it at 200 but crept within 20 yards. Lost sight of it. Hit the call and the buck and two does came flying at me out of the timber. So much fun.

Still hunting is my absolute favorite way to hunt... cut a track, and creep along, glassing constantly. Some of my favorite hunting memories have come from this method.

Spot and stalk is different... that's seeing/locating an animal and trying to get close.

Still hunting is cutting a track, and following it while trying to figure out in the process what exactly you're tracking.

For me the ultimate hunting is still hunting a north woods whitetail buck or mountain bull elk...

I track exclusively once we have any snow & will get tags for surrounding states and watch their weather too. Really tried to like tree stands but for me they are my least favorite - nearly undesirable way to hunt. I’ve been a back country backpack hunter for my whole life so the contraptions seem unnatural plus cold as hell.

Well said POC... Couldn't agree more!

This year was my first to hunt deer with a decoy. A cow. This on a flatazz 8000 acre ranch in far north Texas. I did enjoy the failed sneaks and, in the end, it proved effective. Just different.

Thats a dang nice buck!!!

Damn nice deer big Ed 👍

I prefer to “hunt” as well .

I use spot and stalk due to the numerous openings I can glass. I much prefer a small group of elk - maybe 12 or so. Two scenarios usually unfold. They are either feeding and moving or just feeding and lying down. Playing the wind and visuals is quite enjoyable. If they move off into the timber before I can get there, I setup for their evening feeding as they usually will retrace their steps. Good luck.

One of my preferred methods is to still hunt in a light drizzle or with an inch or two of snow, Sneeking down game paths and old skid trails.

For deer hunting in such beautiful weather in the back 80, I dawn my wool bibs, wool cruiser and my filson tin cloth packer hat.

Woolrich don't do wool bibs no more. I wore out two pairs in 33 years of hunting. Big Bill now are the bibs, liked Woolrich pockets better. Just glad Canada still realizes wool bibs are needed...

Knife, and minimal stuffs al fit in pockets. Lean, light, quiet. Most Shots well under 100 yards. Its more of a style or an 'art' gramps had told me.. Much like generations before me, it's a timeless very rewarding act.

never seen that. How does a cow decoy work?

Deer are so used to seeing cows that they don't pay any attention to them or consider them a threat.

I've thought that in rural Nebraska the cutout of a pickup truck would provide good cover. Pickups are parked everywhere during harvest and post-harvest field work, so deer have been seeing them for weeks and one that isn't moving isn't a threat.

Still Hunt

Spot and stalk

On rare cases stand hunting.

Often combining all of the above on any given day.

Whatever works on the ground I’m hunting in. We hunt thick timber, open poplar woods, flat wide open grain fields, badland coulees and pretty much everything in between.

Tree stands are my least favourite way of hunting even for bow hunting and have spent the least amount of my hunting time in them.

I never got it done by still hunting. It is likely cause it is so thick where I hunt. I hunt cattail marshes and high grass with mixed trees that have dead ash trees fallen all over. This is why I use climbers and sit for a few hours at a time. It is not as fun and like one poster said it is cold as hell. I do however get on a track and follow it but they always have me beat. I may be walking too fast.