Thread: Bush Stalking Advice

Hey all

I am relatively new to hunting and want some advice.

Went for a wander the other day in an area well-known for deer and the sign I saw proved it.

A couple of questions:

1. While wandering slowly and quietly along the track I heard a deer run away in front of me about 20m away I think. I stopped and listened. It moved again and was running down into a gully off the side of the track and barked at me. Bush was quite thick so couldn't see much. Should you try and follow?? Find a better spot to see more or give up as the deer spooked and ran away? I think I gave up to early and wandered on.

2. On the same walk found an awesome area of open beech with heaps of fresh sign. Do you sit in one spot and watch the area or wander very slowly through the area hoping to bump into something?

Keen to learn - thanks.

I will see if can find my post on this....never had luck following an already spooked deer,I do know of fellas who will just move off 50 yards downwind and sit and wait for deer to come back...Im far too impatient for that.
biggest two tips
keep wind in your face
slow down

After having a great week stalking recently it occurred to me that the method I used/use may be of interest to others and if I can convey it correctly a learning aid for new hunters...a big ask but here goes anyway.

first up you cant drink whiskey from bottle of wine
if there is no deer in an area you are wasting your time and energy doing a full on stalk of barren ground,find an area where you have fresh sign eg poohs on the ground,foot prints/spoor,tree rubbing or evidence of grazing and THEN get into mouse mode

WIND is vital or fatal depending on your ability to read it,a red deer has been said to smell you from over a mile away,so hunting with a breeze blowing up ya jacksee is not going to be very productive (besides which those baked bean farts will linger longer) there are different ways to find/check the wind,wet your finger and hold it up to find which side gets cold,shave hair from behind your ears to feel breeze,powder puff pottle,piece of cotton tied to your barrel (Suz??? was this why your lot added feather to bow???) a quick flick of the trusty Bic flick..cigarette lighter to you non down unders, drop handfull of leaves or dust.
which ever method you use hunting into the wind is best as it keeps your scent away from quarry,you CAN hunt across the wind eg sidle around contour of land with a breeze blowing uphill(thermal breeze on sunny day will do this) but you will be scenting up area above you so eyes need to cover area infront and above you well,main area to find game will be below you,which leads nicely onto how to see game

I put up a poll on another forum recently to see how other people got a 100% positive ID of an animal (due to recent hunting accidents)
biggest % of guys use 3 or more things to do this.
personally I normally spot colour Im looking for/movement/horizontal solid line or something just "out of place"
which then gets double checked..and triple checked if ticking boxes at that stage
seeing head and neck of live animal doing LIVE animal things is MY PERSONAL final box to tick off.
with modern electronic callers getting better and good old cow horn magic in right hands sound is OUT as an ID factor...other than to start process of checking something out,that includes roaring/croaking/bugling and general moving around noises like brushes rustling ,foot falls or antler rattling
they are great to get your attention and focus it but not enough to tell what it is you are hearing...it could be a human..infact it is a human untill you can 100% tell otherwise..right thats enough on that one FOR NOW.

ok so we are walking along with wind right and some fresh deer sign on ground...but HOW are you walking????a heavy booted plod just wont do old chap...wont do at all
take a break from keyboard,go outside in bare feet and walk across ashfelt/tarseal/stoney road, you will find that you cant walk heel toe heel toe any more as it hurts Sad
so you will by default start to place your foot flat..well sort of flat,outside of foot touches first then rolls down till big toe hits,your foot is down then your weight goes to that foot and then and only then will back foot move and repeat sequence. same goe for crossing a river,each foot goes down and solidly grounded BEFORE other one moves
when Im in hot sign its 3 steps then stop and look..another 3 and look again etc etc etc if you in really hot sign and think you going too slow well Mates SLOW DOWN SOME MORE and then you are still going too fast.
deer live there all the time,if you sitting in lazy boy chair in your lounge reading a book or eating a han n cheese sammie and some one walzed into your house you would know it straight away wouldnt you????? same goes for a deer except they know if they not really alert they will get one way trip on back of ute.

k so we have
wind
walk slow
find area of sign

feeding area,sleeping/bedding area or moving between the two are main places to find your quarry
food is where you find it
bedding will be warm with light breeze to carry scent to bedded deer and be close to heavy cover...usually

down here downunder we have warm faces on North side of ridges being best bets as warmer = more plant growth and better bedding areas.


that will do for now...have a read and feel free to ask questions
and Ill have a think on what Ive missed
clothing and footwear come to mind.

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Elvis
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Joined: Jul 27, 2008
Posts: 9027
Location: south island New Zealand
PostPosted: Sat Apr 23, 2016 9:20 pm Post subject: Re: How to bush stalk KIWI style. Reply with quote Edit/Delete this post Delete this post View IP address of poster
clothing,well if you have the $$$$$$ Swazi is really good stuff,made by a hunting man for hunters,tested and it works and lasts but as said it costs
me Im a cheap bugga and have a real mix n match wardrobe of polar fleece garments from all over the place,normally bought cheap by SWMBO on trade me auction site.
in warm weather its polyprop short tights (think above the knee long Johns) with rugby shorts over top..to protect/preserve modesty.
and usually a polyprop top or fleece Tshirt.
in colder weater we "layer up" eg keep adding layers till we warm enough and top it with a shell layer
if in the bush quietness is paramount so fleece is king.
back in the day it was the good old Swanni or Lambi woolen coat but now fleece wins out as its so much lighter and dries quicker.
a hat of some sort ,fleece gloves and a fleece neck warmer top off my list of cloths
boots are a personal thing,lace up rubber gumboots win hands down for me.
after years of sore red feet from hunting in leather boots my Brother got me onto Bullers and I havent looked back since,Ive got a reasonable pair of leather hunting boots and they do the odd day trip in hot weather but gummies are the shite in the bush,really easy to step quietly and they grip well so you dont spend half the day falling on ya bum and other half picking ya self up again.

on last trip I would find area with sign and follow any spoor present if wind was right or just wander along SLOWLY in direction of travel taking path of least resistance picking deer trail where possible.

rifles are again personal choice but for my money big n slow beats light and fast projectile wise (that said Ive hunted successfully with .223)
a good old .308 is still hard to beat.
but scopes are a different matter
your 4x16 ziess or 8x24 might be the ducks nuts out in open country where long shots from rest are the norm but in the scrub the lower the magnification the better wiht 4x being MOST you want and lower still is better.mine wear vari powers with 3x as lowest and other rifle a fixed 4x
tried mates smit n bender and it was plurry hopeless, even on lowest power the field of view was like peering down a drain pipe!!!!

Get a dog.

Good wee read while im in (C19) Jail.Im sorting and cleaning gear waitning to get out of here.Hot sun burning weather down here.

Last hour of light,sit down wind from a nice clearing,riddled with sign,and green spring grass.Deer will always return to the feed sometime.

Originally Posted by Ryan_Songhurst

Get a dog.

Strongly believe you need hunting experience before a dog becomes part of the team.

Originally Posted by Trout

Last hour of light,sit down wind from a nice clearing,riddled with sign,and green spring grass.Deer will always return to the feed sometime.

with wind coming off clearing towards you....NOT with your farts drifting across clearing warning all deerzies in area you have been on dehy for days.

this might be useful -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WsleDZLbJcY

@louiannz try hunting river flats or grassy slips/clearings this time off year. Get to your prime spots before light if you can or sit back and wait or on evening and sit off the clearings Hi pressure hunting spots deer might not come out till the last ten minutes.
I prefer my evening hunts myself once it gets dark the blow flys stop flying. Also if you have to drive couple hours in the morning,then walk 30mins before getting into hunt mode it makes for very early start this time off year.

Wind coming down to yr face.99% of the wind is NW is always coming down the valley towards me.lols

bush stalking is the hardest discipline to master, it takes a really long time and a shit load of concentration to get right, I have been doing it for years and years and still spook more deer than i shoot. the biggest problem i have is after a while my mind starts to wander and its allways at this time i spook one. its just like anything the more you do it, the better you train your mind to focus for longer and the more sucusseful you become. Bush stalking is too hard for a lot of people,

@Alex_Z read this post it might help you

Originally Posted by bigbear

@Alex_Z read this post it might help you

Thanks

Originally Posted by huntdeepsouth

bush stalking is the hardest discipline to master, it takes a really long time and a shit load of concentration to get right, I have been doing it for years and years and still spook more deer than i shoot. the biggest problem i have is after a while my mind starts to wander and its all ways at this time i spook one. its just like anything the more you do it, the better you train your mind to focus for longer and the more succussful you become. Bush stalking is too hard for a lot of people,

That has been my experience also. The successful blokes don't generally talk about the many hours that were not successful. You need to be very dedicated and have plenty of time to spare.

I don't go too well but till nice to be out though.