Thread: Any tips for hunting in the field and stalking??

Hunting in the rain is best or just as the rain is stopping because whatever sign (foot tracks) you see will be fresh.
Walk and track on animals runs, the bigger the run the more animals, theses are the main highways for deer going to a from shelter, food and water.
Deer will be in the top third of a mountain most of the time, sideling around on well used runs into the wind looking both up and down.
Deer will move off the open top and clearings as soon as the hot morning sun hits them and shelter in the bush but will do the reverse if it’s been stormy and raining for a few day wanting to dry out and get some heat.
Deer generally move around feeding in mornings and evenings.
Depending on time of year and weather conditions 10am-11am deer are bedded up for the day, stags like spurs and ridges looks down with a updraft scenting for danger. Hinds like plateaus, terraces, basins.
This time of year hinds are kicking of there yearlings and getting ready to fawn making them pretty spooky and be in thick bush.
Stags will be going velvet wanting to be in more open bush so they don’t injure there antlers.
Hunting during the day when they are beded is hard because of there low profile on the ground and they aren’t moving they hear everything, so you need to look more than you move.
Depending on time of year and hunting pressure evenings deer will go from bedding to feeding mode moving to open tops, clearings, slips, creek and river beds. This is were spending as much time on the hill in your favour. Having seen deer move in and out of these places and knowing the run they use, you can stalk in these place on the time they normally use them or sit and setup a ambush.

I could go on and on and write a book on this but there’s plenty already.

Stalking takes years of practice even with guidance, reading books, YouTube and is only really learnt by time in the hills watching them in all four seasons and you actually learn more if you don’t shoot the first one you see each trip in. The closest I’ve stalked in a deer is 3m but he was beded down on a really hot day.
Stalking is so rewarding, when you sneak up on an animal and see the whites of his eyes only meters way knowing he’s just been busted by a apex predator.