Deer Hunting Reality

[hydrocarbon]

Forgive me before I start -- relatively new to hunting.

Interested in getting in Deer hunting next fall, in Alberta. To date I have been really excited to actually be "hunting" (read: in the bush, stalking prey) but it seems all I hear/read about is sitting in blinds or tree stands for 14 hours at a time, and waiting for something to walk by.

Am I completely out to lunch thinking there has to be more to hunting for deer than that?

Thanks for your input.

[calgarychef]

I like walking around then when I'm done that I sit down and shoot an animal.

[Somehunter]

Hunting i believe to a matter of knowing how to scout and selecting a spot of convergence. After all if you know your quarry they will have pattern and that's ther weakness.

[Somehunter]

That's just IMO. Lol everyone hunts a little different

[Bushleague]

I track and I stillhunt, I move all day and only sit down for about 15 minuets to eat my lunch. I almost always see deer, and usually manage to hang a tag on a half decent buck. Theres deffinatly a learning curve in getting to the point where your hunting is deliberate, rather than just wandering around hoping to get lucky, but I consider it to be very much worth the effort.

[300magman]

Still hunting is my favourite way to hunt white tails, and I've killed quite a few decent bucks that way. Sitting for hours on end is damn near intolerable to me.....probably the main reason whitetails are the bottom of my list for enjoyable things to hunt.

[Bushleague]

There is a bunch of great info on still hunting in this thread

http://www.outdoorsmenforum.ca/showthread.php?t=307699&highlight=timber+hunting

[Bushleague]

Still hunting is my favourite way to hunt white tails, and I've killed quite a few decent bucks that way. Sitting for hours on end is damn near intolerable to me.....probably the main reason whitetails are the bottom of my list for enjoyable things to hunt.

The better I get at still hunting, the more I like white tails. Untill my stillhunting chops started to develop I didn't much care for them.

[hydrocarbon]

Thanks for the comments!

I guess another thing I should have added -- I will be bowhunting -- does the promixity needed relate to why most sit in blinds or treestands?

[300magman]

The better I get at still hunting, the more I like white tails. Untill my stillhunting chops started to develop I didn't much care for them.

I agree, over the years still hunting has kept me interested in them. But I'll take elk, moose and sheep over whitetails, until whiteys start bugling and living above the tree line, lol. I also really like chasing Muleys and speed goats in the south.

[Bushleague]

I agree, over the years still hunting has kept me interested in them. But I'll take elk, moose and sheep over whitetails, until whiteys start bugling and living above the tree line, lol. I also really like chasing Muleys and speed goats in the south.

I don't hunt the mountains much, so that could change things. I guess the things I really like about White Tails, over some other species are:

One, they live where I like to hunt, which is large areas of undisturbed boreal. Elk in most of the areas I hunt like to hang around fields or other development. Get too far off the beaten path and the sign dry's up. Moose also inhabit these areas but whitetails have them beat on my second point...

...at least in November, deer are a high percentage all day hunt. No noon naps or hanging out in camp, no giving it the collage try in the noon hours just to say you tried... with white tails you stay on your toes all day. In their own element I think they stay more active, and can be hunted all day more effectively than a lot of other species.

[Bulldog Edm]

Whitetail are very skittish animals. This was my first year bow hunting and I did a lot of still hunting but was unsuccessful at it. It is definitely possible. Easier with a rifle. If you want and like a challenge then it might be for you. I got my buck by hiking into an area and sitting on a stool with the wind in my favor by a known game trail. I will be trying to still hunting with my bow again.

[CNP]

I like walking around then when I'm done that I sit down and shoot an animal.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^

LOL

Truth

You may see more whitetails while walking around.........but it's usually their tails flagging away from you. To the OP: You'll figure it out for yourself after a while. I like walking too.................but whitetails get taken down from being 20' in a tree a lot more regularly..................with a bow.

[Abe89]

Still hunting is possible but your challenge level has just gone up. Only my second season bit I still managed to sneak into 30yards of a doe; didn't see her till she flagged and blew. Mature bucks get mature for a reason, their tolerance level for things are very different. Do your research, as stated reading sign, tracking, patterning is probably more important. Once you read their moves then the chess game of how you hunt the king is up to you.


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[bowhunter9841]

I think if you know the area really well, and are familiar with bedding areas, feeding patterns and travel corridors. You stand a healthy chance of knocking down a whitetail deer while still hunting with a bow. However for myself, still hunting is much more challenging. Sitting in a stand, you often have more time to shoot, the animals are not as spooked, and will not notice your movements as easily when drawing your bow and setting up to take the shot. I find the adrenaline hits me WAY more when I'm hunting on foot as well. Most of the time if you happen to have a deer walk in, you are not going to have a chance to range the animal with your range finder. So you better be a good judge of distance.

I find myself to do rather well guessing range on 3-d courses. When it comes to hunting, and I'm full of arm shaking adrenaline. Not so much!! Missed a nice whitetail buck this year as a result of it. But I did manage to shoot a small whitetail buck later in the year, while still hunting. I am much like you, I get bored sitting in a stand. Haven't hunted in a treestand since 2011. I have only killed 2 deer with the bow since then. Both were smaller bucks.

If sitting in a stand all day isn't for you, then why not set a stand somewhere that you can hunt just the evenings, or mornings out of? There's nothing saying you can't hunt the prime hours from your well placed stand location, and hunt the rest of the day elsewhere. Or even just hunt the mornings and evenings?? My success has fallen drastically since I quit hunting from a stand. But, the supplemental doe tags used to be good in the zones I hunt as well, but are no longer available. As a result, I have passed on a lot of deer that I had opportunities to harvest. That, and I don't have much time to scout, and limited properties to hunt.

Either way you decide to hunt is great, but if you still hunt, move very slowly, like so slow it drives you nuts!! look around a lot, and listen to your surroundings. I find by doing these things, you will see more deer, and game birds as well. You never know where the animals are going to be. Good luck with your future hunts.

[catnthehat]

Forgive me before I start -- relatively new to hunting.

Interested in getting in Deer hunting next fall, in Alberta. To date I have been really excited to actually be "hunting" (read: in the bush, stalking prey) but it seems all I hear/read about is sitting in blinds or tree stands for 14 hours at a time, and waiting for something to walk by.

Am I completely out to lunch thinking there has to be more to hunting for deer than that?

Thanks for your input.

Believe it or not I have never shot a deer out of tree stand but I have shot a pile of them while still hunting or watching trails .:)
Keep the wind in your face and move slower then you think you have to and you will have fun and learn Bunch !
Look and listen , walk a bit , stop look and listen , you will figure it out eventually :)
Cat

[concretefisher]

just jump in your truck and go drive around the local community pasture like half the guys do around here. haha. or scout out well used trails(animal) and wait on em to sundown. I've shot deer still hunting, walking(way harder imo as you're more suprised then them) and from the truck. each way has its benefits and drawbacks.. and its all a matter of personal preference..

[Dan4570]

Thanks for the comments!

I guess another thing I should have added -- I will be bowhunting -- does the promixity needed relate to why most sit in blinds or treestands?

Bowhunting? ?
While I'm no expert who puts down trophy bucks. I've had my fair share of bowhunting success in the past.
It's all about knowing the land and scouting months before you even hunt. Set up cameras. Scout,scout and scout some more. Success isn't just about luck. You need to put in the work. Blinds and tree stands bring a great advantage on whitetails. Spot and stalk on Mulies. My first Mule deer I sat in the grass beside willow bushes and swamp for days knowing they'd come for water. Other times I've spot and stalked. With whitetails,I had advantagein ground blinds. I might get scoffed at,but scent lok clothing and sprays do give an advantage IMO. And remember to always play the wind.

[Bushleague]

Thanks for the comments!

I guess another thing I should have added -- I will be bowhunting -- does the promixity needed relate to why most sit in blinds or treestands?

Every year I get close enough to at least one or two deer that I could kill them with a bow, I kill far more deer under 50 yards than I do at distances longer than that. I have killed a couple deer stillhunting with a bow, the main inconvenience lies in the speed that you can get off a shot, especially if you need to use a range finder.

To put it in perspective, I consider still hunting timber with a rifle every bit as challenging as bowhunting agricultural country from a stand. That being said it is not impossible.

[Kurt505]

Forgive me before I start -- relatively new to hunting.

Interested in getting in Deer hunting next fall, in Alberta. To date I have been really excited to actually be "hunting" (read: in the bush, stalking prey) but it seems all I hear/read about is sitting in blinds or tree stands for 14 hours at a time, and waiting for something to walk by.

Am I completely out to lunch thinking there has to be more to hunting for deer than that?

Thanks for your input.

Try it one day, sometimes that's "all" a guy needs. You might be sitting with nobody around.... but you're not alone.

[bessiedog]

Spend the summer trying to sneak up on gophers....
And shoot them with your bow.

Once you got that figured out..... mastered. Then you can start thinking about sneaking up on deer and flinging arrows at them.

[st99]

Believe it or not I have never shot a deer out of tree stand but I have shot a pile of them while still hunting or watching trails .:)
Keep the wind in your face and move slower then you think you have to and you will have fun and learn Bunch !
Look and listen , walk a bit , stop look and listen , you will figure it out eventually :)
Cat

x2

[tatonka2]

Forgive me before I start -- relatively new to hunting.

Interested in getting in Deer hunting next fall, in Alberta. To date I have been really excited to actually be "hunting" (read: in the bush, stalking prey) but it seems all I hear/read about is sitting in blinds or tree stands for 14 hours at a time, and waiting for something to walk by.

Am I completely out to lunch thinking there has to be more to hunting for deer than that?

Thanks for your input.

If sitting isn't your thing, learn to track. Back in Vermont, Maine, etc. that's how many hunters hunt. Get one of Larry Benoit's books. If you have not heard of him and his family, here's a link. You can find his books, DVD's, etc. on Amazon..

http://www.fieldandstream.com/blogs/whitetail-365/2013/10/legendary-tracker-larry-benoit-dies-89

[Passthru]

If you do try hunting out of a blind or stand, when it is your morning hunt you want to be set up while it's still dark or you chances that morning go way down. Evenings are easier to get set up in time. Most of the deer I've shot were within an hour and a half of sundown or sunup. And think like a rock and don't move or you'll get spotted

[Bushleague]

If you do try hunting out of a blind or stand, when it is your morning hunt you want to be set up while it's still dark or you chances that morning go way down. Evenings are easier to get set up in time. Most of the deer I've shot were within an hour and a half of sundown or sunup. And think like a rock and don't move or you'll get spotted

Still hunting I've shot most of my game between 9 am and 2 pm. I try to be moving the same direction as the game, and I think that this is about the point I catch up with them. I like to be out all day, and I like knowing all day that there is a very good chance that my buck is around the next tree. Blundering around in the dark has scored me very few opportunities, but I've sure scared off a ton of game.

[Passthru]

Still hunting I've shot most of my game between 9 am and 2 pm. I try to be moving the same direction as the game, and I think that this is about the point I catch up with them. I like to be out all day, and I like knowing all day that there is a very good chance that my buck is around the next tree. Blundering around in the dark has scored me very few opportunities, but I've sure scared off a ton of game.

Interesting that the different styles of hunting harvest animals at different times of the day. I don't recommend blundering in the dark either, I always have a route I walk in quietly that I know before hand. I also use a green headlamp only when I have to. What works for one guy doesn't always work for another

[husky7mm]

Did the op say he was bow hunting?? I didn't read that. Anyways much of the hunt is hunting, hunting for sign , hunting for a spot , hunting for the changes in your area that you have become familiar with. Many hours are spend by successful hunter in just choosing a spot to sit and wait. All days in the field are time we'll spend. Getting skunked after you put in a good effort will teach you far more than going out a few times and getting lucky. Happy hunting.

[bb356]

just jump in your truck and go drive around the local community pasture like half the guys do around here. haha. or scout out well used trails(animal) and wait on em to sundown. I've shot deer still hunting, walking(way harder imo as you're more suprised then them) and from the truck. each way has its benefits and drawbacks.. and its all a matter of personal preference..

:sHa_sarcasticlol:

[bb356]

Believe it or not I have never shot a deer out of tree stand but I have shot a pile of them while still hunting or watching trails .:)
Keep the wind in your face and move slower then you think you have to and you will have fun and learn Bunch !
Look and listen , walk a bit , stop look and listen , you will figure it out eventually :)
Cat

yup

[CNP]

Did the op say he was bow hunting?? I didn't read that. Anyways much of the hunt is hunting, hunting for sign , hunting for a spot , hunting for the changes in your area that you have become familiar with. Many hours are spend by successful hunter in just choosing a spot to sit and wait. All days in the field are time we'll spend. Getting skunked after you put in a good effort will teach you far more than going out a few times and getting lucky. Happy hunting.

Thanks for the comments!

I guess another thing I should have added -- I will be bowhunting -- does the promixity needed relate to why most sit in blinds or treestands?

...

[3blade]

It can be done, but if you think you would get frustrated sitting in a tree for a single day, your stalking days are already numbered.

As far as it relates to bowhunting, if (and that is a dang big if) you manage to stalk within range of a whitetail, there is a good chance it will be aware of your presence and will bolt when you try to draw. And if you get drawn, there is a good chance the deer will duck your arrow. There is no bow that can shoot faster than a whitetails reaction time. From an elevated position, a deer is usually unaware of the hunter and has to drop much further to get out of the arrows path due to the angle it travels at. It still happens though.

I think some time in the woods is in order. You can't understand the nature of this topic until you go out and experience it for yourself.