Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting Leaving the Tree

Haven't been in a tree since the early 90's and hope to never be in one again.

Good things come to those that move.

I love to still hunt the mountain sides here...that being said, with the number of hunters here, even on private land, probably 70% of my hunting is from a lock-on or climbing stand. Aside from safety, I hate to walk up on someone...I'm sure they'd rather be alone...just like me...

Still hunting really won't work well if other hunters are around.

Where I hunt, I never see another hunter.

I like to both stand hunt,and still hunt.
It depends on the weather mostly.If there isnt much wind ,and its dry,the leaves are crunchy,stand hunting works.
If its rain/snow/wet and windy,I can still hunt more effectively.
Both types of hunting are enhanced by having hundreds of acres to hunt on.I have dozens of stand sites to chose from,and almost unlimited places to stalk.

I hunt Minnesota. I hunt where we have wolves. I also hunt almost exclusively from a permanent stand up against a tree 15 feet off the ground.

I shoot a couple of deer every year and pass on a lot more deer. I would guess that I see probably at least five deer I could shoot for every one I do shoot.

I like to still hunt, but when it's time to make meat I am in a stand.

I think a whole lot of how you hunt, depends on where you are and how much area you can hunt.

For ex., I hear the northern hunters talking about tracking in the snow. Lots of places dont have snow or bare ground where the tracks are more easily seen. I didnt say you couldnt track where I live, but I believe it's a heck of a lot harder in the leaves, pine straw, etc. It is for me anyway, but I'm not an expert tracker, by no means!

Spot and stalk- Way to hunt, from what I read, in areas where you have almost unlimited space and can see more than 100 yds, just about all the time. But, what if you are limited to say 40-100 acres of hunting space and it all woods, where you cant see over 100 yds. I didnt say it cant be done, but moving all over your hunting area, spreading your scent, might not be the best way to hunt.

Sitting on the ground or up off the ground-- That's a personal preference. I know people that kill good deer every year, hunting on the ground. But, I also know I prefer to be in a tree. Both methods will work, I know, I've had success with both.

I also, like to get in the pirogue and float slowly down the bayou, watching the woods for deer, a modified type of still hunting. By still hunting, I mean moving around slowly, not stand hunting. I have good success hunting deer this way, but would someone in Az. have success this way. Maybe, if they had creek/river/bayou to float, and it was legal, and they didnt have to worry about trespassing if they got on the bank, and it was not trespassing when the were floating on the water. Yeah, you have to watch out for that in La.

Point is... I think it depends on the type and amount of terrain, and the personal preferences.

JMHO!

We hunt very similar to you. 95% of the time we are on our feet and moving. When (lately if) we get a lot of snow and the deer move toward the yards, we will sit.

Needing a little more room than a deer stand, we built a removable platform with roof that fits on top of a gravity grain box. it measures approx 6x10 ft is about 8 ft off the ground. this works well for us. I have walked, even sat on a 5 gal bucket in wash areas and hunted. what ever works I guess!

So much depends on terrain, pressure, yada, yada.....

I dont give a chit if you are a cross between tarzan and a leopard, i know of places that u will never kill a buck still hunting...period. 10 ft visibility guarantees it won't happen.

Ironically, some of these places are usually where you'll find shooter bucks during daylight hours.

Getting into them to climb a tree without sending everything running to the next township is the challenge.

Anyone who refuses to climb in these types of spots are limiting their opportunities at mature, pressured, nocturnal bucks. TIP: chit u can't see thru is where they hang their hat...

So spare me the Dan'l Boone stalking chit, I've killed truck loads of bucks with a shotgun, rifle and bow from the ground....I know what it's about.

Just like the Taliban, mature bucks that live with constant pressure are gonna be where they can cover most approaches and access is difficult. Go marching thru stuff u can't stand up in and see what u get.

It all depends on the circumstances of that particular area, as to what is the best method to use. To apply the same method across the board is folly.

Who's telling you that you have to still hunt?

I rarely sit in the trees anymore. Lots of hilltop natural brush blinds, still hunting, etc. Most shots are 50-200 yards in 10 year old clear cuts. We have hunted the same funnels and escape routes for years now with great success. Every few years they log off a new area close by and we have to modify our strategy but once you figure it out it is very effective. This is Northern MN public land, no acorns, food plots, "feeding areas" or agriculture. This is popple stands, cedar swamps, birch and spruce. The gnarliest thickest crap where nobody goes is where all the deer go after the first weekend of deer season. That's where I'll be waiting.

Stand huntin is still alive and well around my place in SW Bracken County, KY. We have gobs of deer under our stands throughout the season.

For bad weather and for a change-up after I've filled my deer tag I have a few jagendehuttes. Here is one of them:

Whats up with your page?

www.redplaidgang.com

Down around home where there are more houses and the chunks of woods are small I mostly sit/stand hunt, up in the Adirondacks we mostly drive and still hunt. It's so thick up there and the deer population is so low you could sit in one spot all season and never see a deer, while down home I've seen fifteen before breakfast.

Webmaster issues!!! keeps telling me he is getting to it. Hopefully soon.

To the deer hunters to the south. I guess I was leaning this topic more to the Midwest big woods to the big woods of the North East.

I will say this thread has drawn some interesting posts.

Northern Virginia area: treestand hunting is alive and well. Judging the the number of treestands sold in my local hunting store, still growing as well. The hardwoods are noisy as heck if you try to move and shoot. The area I hunt is densely wooded, so the heights get you up above the deer and hide you well, but the urbanized deer aren't stupid, they know that death comes from above, but you can do well with funda-mental scent control and some decent stand selection. By the end of season, all the does have a 45 degree cant in their necks from looking up... :-)

In Idaho, up on the ridges/high ground by daylight, glassing where I can, then moving to the areas where I think I may push something out to another member of the party, or where I may be able to get bead it myself. I'd consider a treestand, but only if I had a known location (waterhole) or game trail to sit near. We do a lot of horseback riding to find game areas and to find the animals not accessable by other hunters.

I'd rather be on the move, but the game and the season really drive how I prepare for the hunt. I use a mix of fixed and portable stands, but I don't have to worry much about theft in my area.

i sit on a hill until i see one that i want to shoot

Central VA here. I deer hunt in thick brushy hardwoods, with heavy leaf litter on the forest floor. I hunt with a treestand only, but it's rare that I get a shot during rifle season. I typically harvest by the first week of early muzzleloader season and don't see anything during rifle season. Usually everything is nocturnal a week before rifle opener (does as well as bucks) according to my game camera. Our woods locally is too thick to still hunt, and my hunting territory is limited to my tiny plot of land, because I don't have any landowning friends locally, and the low quality, overhunted public land nearby requires more scouting (and commuting) time than I have. Still hunting has only worked for me in other states, when I've been privileged to hunt inexperienced deer on seldom hunted acreage.
If I get a shot during rifle season, it's usually due to the neighbors running dogs on brush drives, which is legal in this state.

Big update, two members of my deer camp just locked up some land. The land they locked up borders the County forest and National forest. This is pretty much about 4 miles in any direction to roam without seeing a sign. Before we would park and walk for a mile or two before hunting. Now we are right on our jump off point.



Great day in WI. well yesterday was a great day too. one day closer to crushing lib dreams.

Here in NC if your not stand hunting or still hunting in ground your not seeing deer. Just way too bushy to be moving about. Stinks because id love to spot and stalk but tough in the crunch brushy thickets te deer are in.