Hey Everyone

Just was wondering what methods you prefer in different areas of the country, for deer hunting?

Marion County, Tennessee, I prefer tree stand hunting near scrapes and funnel areas for the most part, but I do like to stalk when the conditions are right. Have had success with both.

John TN.

In northern Wis. Stand hunting,still hunting and driving are the preferred methods. Too much flat ground and trees to do any glassing.

Where I'm stationed in Va, the only feasible method is tree stands which I find extremely BORING!!!!!!!!. I'd rather glass and stalk which is how I hunt in my native Colorado.

For all you eastern hunters: How do you manage to sit in a tree all day long? I've tried and about 2 hrs seems to be my max. Any tips?

Mac

Mac
I use a box blind, but the princapal is the same, as your sitting in one spot and waiting for the deer to find you .
Pattern your deer IE if they don't come in until the last 1/2 hour in the day, get to your stand about 1 hour ahead of them. A good book (one friend used the time to read his bible) helps pass the time, as can taking along a hunting partner (my wife likes to go with me, another friend takes his son along) to help pass the time.
If the ranges are long, as they can be over soybean or hay fields, spend the time required to learn how to judge distance and wind effects on your shooting (IOW practice at distance) before season starts.

I prefer bowhunting from a ladder stand. I set up on well used trails in a small 40 acre wood lot I lease. I also set up one pop-up ground blind there as well and generally bait that one to take a meat doe.

It is too crunchy most days with the leaf litter to stalk, but I do if it has been rainy to break up being on a stand. Also, I generally hunt in the late afternoon after work so I am only on the stand two to three hours.

If it is firearms season I stay on the ground and stalk or find cover in a dead fall.

My favorite method with bow is /muscadine/crab apple/white oak stand OR all day Long Range recon scouting/Hunting makeing like a ghost....Full camo,snake leggings & Face paint-Stick & string & knife & compass & canteen and sandwich/apple/ all i take.
Rifle hunting either whiteoak/red oak/pen oak/water oak ground blind or all day long range recon,Depends on the lay of the land and hunting pressure & extreme mountains I hunt up top hardest/roughest/thickets/acorns i can find.Me and my Late brother in law use to leave camp a hour before sunup and not meet back at camp till way after dark.We hunted Hard and that was our motto.LIFE IS SHORT-HUNT HARD!!!
Cant kill a deer in camp by the fire and you damn sure want kill one on the couch watching football!!!He would take out to the left and i would go to the right,we would tell each other our plan,just in case we needed help in a emergency,its hard to crawl a mile or more.
There is not nothing like letting a big one walk when you know you can kill him though,I think that comes with a lot of experince though
and the kill is not as important as the hunt is its self.I dont have to shoot every deer i see to have a good time and possess a trophy rack,that is not why i hunt.If i want only meat or does need thinned a little fine,but if i want only the smartest old buck thats all i settle for and dont worry about no yearling cow horns or basket scrub 6 points.LET EM GO-LET EM GROW!You want never shoot a big buck that makes the cover of Trophy Whitetails if he is only 1 year old.Period.A lot of hunters in my area shoot anything no matter how small and any buck with horns is dead his first year.They tell me that they never see a big one and then ask me why.I try to tell them that it takes a couple years growth to make a good rack,not the first time they grow one.Every year they call me wanting me to see there little spike or small 7-8 pointer they shoot thats about the size of a grape fruit.They are happy and they got there meat but they will never shoot THAT buck whem hes 4 or 6years old!I just tell iam glad they got meat and leave it at that.They allready got a truck load of little 2 point racks??I just dont get it.I let em walk then they just turn around and shoot the next day.I need to get a new area........Is is a lot of fun to shoot a buck of any size I admit,But you just cant tell knowone how much mo fun it is to get a really gee gosh dang look how big and pretty that Danged OLD GRAND PAW BUCK IS!!!!!!!!!!
They want understand,They gotta find that one out on there OWN!!!!

I have property in upstate NY Ulster county in the Catskill Mountains for me its nothing but still hunting My dad on the other hand has a dozen or so spots where he uses ground blinds hes also 72 and he just cant walk as much as he use to. When i hunt with some friends in the hudson valley area (dutchess county) its stand hunting or driving.

blackbearhunter

We have the same problem as well on the little buck deer blasting, I don't shoot small bucks anymore, but the local hunters just don't get it, you're right let them go-watch them grow, and it only takes about three years doing it to start getting results from it.

Hey John, ah ,cuz,Were in tennessee are you at?I been all over that state.Iam on the line on the Ga.side.Ever hunt down my way?FROG Mountain?Ever hear of Joe Meeks Wild Boar guide-telico junction,or crossville or telico plains?Man yaw got some big nasty BAD BOY HOGS up in them hills!! 375H&H or 458wm up would be about right on them critters.Hell i would hunt with silver bullets in my gun going in some of those Tenn.mountain laurals thickets where the sun hasnt shined in over a hundred years!
Beautiful state and i always felt at home!

blackbearhunter

I'm about 30 miles west of Chattanooga, I'll send you a P.M.

Here in the wide-open spaces of the desert southwest your best friends are a flat-shooting scoped rifle, an excellent pair of binos and a rangfinder...

The hunting is mostly glassing and stalking. In more forested areas I try to find a high spot over a clearing and watch for game movement.

Here in New jersey we hunt alittle different then most other places, the best spot to set up is around developments, (groups of houses). deer love to feed on expense shrubs. The idea is to get as close to houses as legally possible. I find alot more deer down around houses then up in the woods. I attached a photo, I took this buck with a recurve bow 475 feet from two houses. He finished 4th in the state that year, 8 pointer, scored P&Y 143 5/8. The property I hunt is 6 acres between a highway and a housing development, I sit in my stand listening to kids play basketball! Welcome to the Garden State!!!!

Wow, nice buck, Widowmaker!

Plinker

Widowmaker

I second plinker on that, and that's what I started this post for, hoping hunters could learn techniques, such as yours that could be applied anywhere in a similar area around the country that maybe we haven't thought of or have been too chicken to try.

Keep um coming

John TN.

Widowmaker,You done good!Now Thats what I call a BUCK!!! Congratulations!

Well i am in Coos Bay Oregon

The way i ? bring them in or/ hunt them
i start by going out to the pump house/my well for water. next i take Oh ? say 5 or so apple's out of the box's i store there take them in to the house cut them in to small bit size bit's and then walk all of 100 feet from the house and put them all over the back yard and wait for about 10 min/ and take my pick from
Deer/ chipmunk's / Gray squiral's /Elk / the neighbor's darn cow's..

isn't that how everyone does it ?

Hi John,

Here in Utah Ive never seen a tree stand employed in over 30 years of hunting.

I like covering lots of ground via roads and trails to get into where I think the critters may be and then I use a combination of stalk and wait and watch methods.

One thing that is always a part of my hunt is to try to find some isolation in prime country, and that means plenty of hiking.

If I had to describe the way I hunt in one word it would probably be "adapt". I assess the situation for miles around and try to find the places where the other hunters have missed. Then I start to hunt.

G'day..

Ol' Man tree stand on a funnel or known travel corridor. 20 + feet if the foilage will allow a good shot. During the bow season, I hunt hardwood strips next to pine plantations.

Widowmaker that is one nice eight point. What a Buck!!!!!!!!

I like to hunt from ground blinds and with year long scouting and ranging of the places I have hunted in previous years, I sit and wait for them, this developed after my dad had trouble getting around in the bush and since he is a diabetic I don't feel comfortable leaving him alone in a spot while I move thru the tall grass and the trees looking for a big deer.

In Iowa the prefered method would probably be drives. I would rather hunt by myself, so I hunt from a ground blind. I have my areas pretty well scouted, and have a good idea where the deer will be and where they will go. Drives just don't seem much like hunting to me, and kind of lazy. I hunt in Wisconsin as well, and pretty much stick to still hunting there. The only place I hunt, that I use an eleveted stand, is in Texas. Where our lease is down there, the brush is so thick you would never get away with moving around too much.

DGK

Well gang, things vary quite a bit in Alberta.
I usually do very little hunting in the Crown land(public), I refuse to try and compete with the road warrior mentality of way too many atv operators.
I usually stick to the private land, which BTW cannot be charged for. I look for desirable vegitation, alfalfa and grain crops are the norm.
Next I look at the lay of the land, and try to decide where to set up to intercept game, as they travel from the beding areas to the food source.
I have used all means of concelment, treestands, ground blinds, box blinds, and yes the old stand by, the infamous stump.
Another method is the old mobile spot and stalk.
You get in your pick up take a tour on the roads hoping to spot your quary on a piece of property you have permission on, this also leads to you asking for a lot of permission, on the fly as you spot game on places you dont have permission on, a phone book, a county map and a cell phone are a must.

Out here in Northern California the preferred method is spot-n-stalk. A good number of hunters use dogs to get the bucks out of the heavy brush areas. Where I hunt shots can range from distances measured in feet to how ever far you feel comfortable shooting(ridge top to ridge top). This last season the two deer I took were shot at a distance of 163 and 290 yards(as measured with two different range finders). Sitting and waiting in a tree or on the ground just isn’t my style. Lawdog

having done most of my hunting in Utah. I can tell you one way I will not hunt and don't see why others do it so much. I watch these hunting videos where they set up a blind 150yds from a feeder and wait for the deer to come to eat. This to me aint hunting it is execution. I don't see the thrill anyone would get in this. I guess it must be a back east type of thing.

I am forced to hunt public land here in SE Texas. I think the preferred method is tree stand but I can't sit for more than 2 or 3 hours without gettin' real antsy. Besides I have never seen any deer while in a stand. I have seen many more while moving very slowly through the brush. I usually stick to deer trail, ATV trails, logging roads, firebreaks, or other fairly cleared travel routes so as to make as little noise as possible. If I can get off the roads/trails without making a whole lot of noise that is even better. Hunting public land (around here at least) really sucks and you really have to go get 'em. They tend so get very nocturnal on public land once the guns start booming and (in my experience) if you sit and wait on them you'll be waitin' for nothing.

We hunt deer with hounds. It is fast shooting and more escape than are hit. We have nerver lost a wounded animal and use the same hounds for moose and bear.

It always cracks me up that some people think only their method is the "right" way to hunt deer. Personally I try and use the most effective method for a given area, species, terrain, etc. For whitetails generally stand hunting is the most effective method here in Michigan. The leg work is in determining where best to place a stand. Whitetails can be patterned and that is the challenge. During bow season you are looking to pattern their normal movents during the different phases of the rut. During gun season it is often a matter of patterning what their reaction will be to other hunters. It's very rewarding when you figure a buck out and it pays off. Shooting is often up close and personal and can be very exciting. Small drives can be productive in some areas. That too is exciting when you bust a buck out of a thicket. Stand hunting is not as physically demanding as some methods but is very challenging mentally. I love still hunting as well when conditions are right. I don't think there is a game animal in North America that is tougher to hunt than going one on one with a mature whitetail on the ground. I also love hunting mule deer out West. Completely different animal and terrain so to be effective different tactics are called for. Where I hunt in Idaho it is spot and stalk and laying down lots of boot leather. The physical demands far exceed any whitetail hunting I've ever done but it is glorious to be in the wide open spaces of a wilderness mountain range. It is also very satisfying to spot a buck from a distance and make a good stalk to put yourself in position for a shot. I've never hunted deer with dogs nor from a box blind. If somebody ever invites me I'm there. What is the best? Whatever I'm doing at the time. It is all good.

Jeff

Stand hunting is the way to go in Mississippi. I've got tripods and ladder stands. I quit using the climber a couple of years ago feeling it wasn't quite as safe. There's too many woods and it's too flat in the Delta to do any spot and stalk type hunting.

I dont even bother to hunt here in Texas - I do not like sitting, do not like fences, do not like feeders. The public land around here is just dangerous, to many folks shooting at shadows and sounds.

Montana & Nevada and with luck New Mexico next year. I put boots to the ground spot and stalk hunting. It may not fit everyone but it is the way "I" like to hunt.

John

quote:

---

Originally posted by MAC: How do you manage to sit in a tree all day long? I've tried and about 2 hrs seems to be my max. Any tips?

---

Hey Mac, Are you still reading this thread? If so, I might be able to help you out a bit.

One thing that really keeps me interested in sitting still is watching "all" the wildlife. If you can sit real still for about 20min, the birds will become active by flitting about, scratching and just making a lot of bird noise.

Once they get cranked up, the larger critters begin feeling comfortable and start about their routines. Generally Squirrels and Rabbits will move about a bit. If you have any Hawks in the area, that can get really exciting watching a sure enough Pro streaking in to make a kill.

So, if you are not seeing the birds and squirrels, you are generally wiggling too much. Focus on something off in the distance like a woods edge and look "into those woods" instead of scanning rapidly down the outside. If they are indeed out of those woods, you will see them. But, the ones just inside that edge are generally the TROPHYS.

You should sit so still that you occasionally forget to swallow. Even blinking can be slowed.

Have someone get in a Stand where you can see them and watch them for awhile. You will notice if they sit still, and wear a face mask, they will tend to blend into the background. But every movement they make draws your attention to a peak - same for the resident Game.

If you can only sit still 2hrs at a time, be selective of those hours. Mornings and afternoons are typically "Prime Time". But this can be skewed by the Rut, Moon Phase and environmental conditions.

So, are you seeing any Tweety Birds?

---

Nearly forgot, if you take a book to the Stand, you might as well take a TV, Radio and a picnic lunch. Your movement fiddling around with it will draw about as much attention to you as Break Dancing. Fine if you hunt "blind Deer", but not good for the vast majority.

I strongly agree with Hot Core in reference to looking at the little critters. That is great recreation in itself. In Ark. I also enjoy studying the vegetation, especially the timber. I am a tree lover, particularly big oaks and cypress. Learn to identify birds and plants and you will enjoy the hunt more and become a better hunter. However, I must admit that I also become fidgity on a stand and prefer a box stand that I can move around in. I have tunnel vision and have to move my head to see anything on one side or the other so that knocks out stalking and sitting on the ground for me. I'm just glad I have enough central vision to hunt at all. This year I managed to kill a deer with muzzle loader by sneaking up on a food plot where he was feeding. I got lucky and saw him before he saw me. Also killed one with a crossbow off a ladder stand, one with a pistol(Contender in 7-30 Waters) in an elevated box stand and 3 with rifles in elevated box stands. Merg

Hot Core

You are so correct about sitting in the stand. I have for many, many hours. Talk about the hawks, usually when they are around you can hear the squirrel chatter, what I call the Hawk alarm echo, different than when they bark at a deer or hunter.

Sometimes that old hawk or owl will sneak in and get um without any presence known. Just recently I was sitting in my stand, all was quiet, suddenly I heard a big plop, and a hawk had dropped on a chipmunk that I had seen feeding earlier, he won and that's just nature.

I think it's neat that we can all find a way to hunt that we can enjoy (for the most part) and pass it on down to our sons or daughters or friends and see them become successful hunters as well.

I had to learn on my own as my dad did'nt hunt, but I was fortunate that I had two sons that I could pass on what I had learned the hard way, and they have made me proud, as they are both successful hunters.

I had hoped to see posts from all 50 states and it is nice to know that we all share a common bond no-matter what our preference of states or type of hunting method is.

John TN.

I hunt deer up here by stalking and some glassing. Most of it just to cover a lot of ground until you come up on deer. I try to be quiet but some of the deer I get are jumped while walking. The deer have a tendancy to try to sneak away rather than flat out run.

Hey Merg, I don't know near as much about the various Trees as I do the critters. But, I do agree with you about the "entire experience", not just the Deer.

I've never done a "lot" of Big Game hunting in really cold weather. Can count on my hands the times I've gone for Deer with some "snow" on the ground. But have done a good bit of hunting over "Frost Covered" fields. If you happen to be facing to the Southeast when the sun begins to first become visible, those Frost Covered fields shine like the ground is totally covered in Gem Stones of all kinds. Kind of a Religious experience for me when I look out over it and generally lapse into a non-hunting daze. Just beautiful which would be nice if everyone could see it.

Hey John, Yes indeed, the Hawks can really be entertaining. We had a nesting pair of Redtail Hawks that got to raise at least 5 broods(if that is the correct term). Of course, the older Hawks were like Lazer Guided Missles when they came down a disked field. I just never saw them miss.

But, the young ones were quite comical. They would often crash, or miss the target. If they were on the ground, they would stand up real tall and look around for whatever they had made a rake at. But it sure looked like an embarrassed kid looking around to see if anyone had seen them goof up.

---

By the way, we had some "snow" in the Ohio Valley over Christmas and as usual I found some time to just go out and walk around. Didn't have any firearms nor was I hunting. But, I noticed the Deer in these Kentucky woods stood out like fish in a bucket.

Apparently the woods canopy closes enough to cut off most all the sunlight reaching the ground within the woods during the growing season. Just no underbrush to block visibality at all - none. It is such a stark contrast from the Carolinas where you might see 20yds or in some places only 3 feet.

My question is, are the woods this "open" where all you guys are located? If so, please explain to me how it is "difficult" to kill a Deer when snow is on the ground. Their bodies just stood out so clearly, the only real problem I would see hunting them would be getting yourself cold. What am I missing?

No question that snow helps and in more ways than one. As you said visibility is a big one. Fewer things are more difficult to see than a gray/brown deer in gray/brown woods on a gloomy November day. Second snow is a big help in seeing where they are moving. Third, snow is a big help if you end up with a tracking job. Finally snow is great when you are successful and dragging one out. Still doesn't necessarily make it "easy" but it is generally an asset.

Jeff

The most popular method in western Washington is to drive around on tree farms and shoot from the truck.

I prefer still hunting. Shots tend to be either very close in the thick stuff or very long over clearcuts. For the last 7 years, my hunting party had an average around 30 feet, but this year when I shot a spike at 90 yards.

Hope this helps, Okie John.

I prefer running deer with dogs. Bienville Parish, LA

I prefer the spear in Missississippi. Just kidding, but it is legal. I prefer the old .270 and a treestand for still hunting.