Lost Art Of The Still-Hunter? Are you up for it? |

The lost art of still- hunting. Can you see these deer? I found some but not all. Maybe you are better?

https://www.wideopenspaces.com/can-find-hidden-animals-round-2-deer-pics/

Holy Mackerel! Did you find the deer?

From wideopenspaces.com website

https://www.thejump.net/hunting/deer-finder/find-deer-1.htm

Moving slowly ahead without making sounds to alarm game and taking time to absorb every aspect in front of you before taking the next step. I was trained to look for deer parts, ears, eyes, tail and brown that looks different growing out of the side of a tree! Yes movement is big, but a buck can stand motionless seemingly forever.

Smelling the air coming toward you too, during the rut a buck’s tarsal gland can be smelled. What often separates successful ground (still-hunters) hunters from those who are not, is woods knowledge. Knowledge of wind direction, finding tracks, bedding areas, scat and rubs and aging them, finding food sources to key on in different parts of the season. Finding patterns that suggest that an animal uses a particular trail is essential. If you see a buck rub on a tree on the downhill side of a tree on a hillside, was the deer likely going up before sun-up or going down. If you said up, then you are correct.

Questions:

If you practice with your bow and gun and shoot well, is that enough? I have an acquaintance that is an excellent shot but he has never harvested a deer, ever. He is not alone.

What about the behavior of the game you are hunting?

What about foods they like and where to find them? Example: What is the difference between hunting over a white oak tree giving acorns and a nearby red oak tree giving acorns?

Which would you choose?

The deer will always choose white oak acorns because they are less acidic and deliciously edible right away. It is like finding an apple tree with apples in forest of fir. What is the keenest sense that both deer and bear possess? Is it their sense of hearing, sense of smell, sense of sight. What?

Do you use your own nose to smell breakfast cooking from your bunk or bedroom? Do you have to see it or hear bacon sizzle to know that bacon is cooking? No!

It is your sense of smell!

If I had to bet money on a deer’s senses, smell will always win.

Wind thermals will rise through the morning and settle in the afternoon. Taking advantage of wind is essential in still-hunting for deer. Bucks will often bed high enough to catch the wind rising in the morning. Get there before! And bucks will follow the wind down at dusk and let the does go first. They are alarm bells!

All of us are guilty of trying to shortcut the wind using the same trail to get in and out of a blind or deer stand. That is a key downfall and it has gotten me busted.

I know another very successful friend who is always in his tree stand at least an hour before shooting light and pays attention to smell with a passion. Details Details… Yes they count! His scent is above the deer!

Trail cameras are great but they are worthless if your smell betrays your presence to a nearby bedded deer.

Perhaps reading this brief article, you found yourself thinking about a past seasons hunt and the good and not so good choices. If that is so, then it has served its purpose and mine too. Learning to not make the same mistakes. You get a do-over next season!

Good Hunting! Thanks to the above websites we learn!