Home on the Range #049: Still Hunting – Ground Hunting Deer w/o a Blind
Adam Scepaniak 08.19.23
As we creep closer and closer to fall hunting seasons with each passing day, we are continually looking for ways to prepare our gear and potentially switch up tactics for an even more successful season than last year. Two weeks ago we talked about a lot of the pros to hunting from a ground blind as well as the cons. Now, let’s take it one step further. How about still hunting? Slowly stalking your way through the woods like an outdoors ninja or patiently waiting for a whitetail deer to walk down a trail while you are simply hiding behind a tree at eye level. It can definitely be adrenaline-inducing and is a lost art that most modern hunters don’t have. If you want to have a new perspective this fall, it might be worth giving a try. Let’s walk through the positives and negatives to still hunting, and ground hunting whitetail deer – or other game animals – without a blind.
“Home on the Range” Series Coverage on AllOutdoor
Welcome to our reoccurring series of “Home on the Range.” Here, we would like to share all of our experiences for those who may be homesteading, living off the land, hunting, farming, ranching, and truly investing in nature and the great outdoors. The ability to provide for yourself and your family can be tremendously rewarding and simultaneously difficult at times. So, in “Home on the Range” we want to share our different exploits so you can learn and hopefully we can receive your feedback along the way as well.
When it comes to still hunting that term can mean a couple things to different people. For some, it is actively walking, searching, and stalking. Slow, methodical, calculated movements through the forest hoping to sneak up on game. For others, it can mean simply hunting at ground level with no blind, no camouflage cloth, no stand, shelter, nothing. Just you out in nature trying to hide beside natural elements. If you’re a fidgety person or a loud-snacker, still hunting might not be for you. To be at eye level, you need ninja-esque patience, nerves, and stealth. You can’t be tapping your feet against a log playing with a crinkly Cheetos bag. That’s where hunting from ground blinds or elevated blinds can be handy because they will mask or hide a lot of your pensive movements.
Pros
So, as you can see there are a lot of benefits to giving this a try. It requires less gear (especially if you are just starting out), you can be more mobile if need be, and you can place yourself in areas that a blind/stand might not be feasible. Now, for the downside to still hunting and working from ground level.
Cons
When it comes to still hunting it can be feast-or-famine. If your hunting tactics and scenery is getting stale, give it a try! That is typically my motto. Whenever I feel like game animals are eluding me and I want to “pull one over on them” – because they can get used to our movements, too – I will try still hunting and working from the ground. I most often do this with wild turkeys because they frequently are like patterning cats; its chaos. It can also pay dividends for whitetail deer hunting as well. Do you have a big bruiser of a buck bedded down in a cornfield? Try and spot-and-stalk them through the corn by still hunting. It could just be the thing you need to outsmart an old, smart buck. Simply, food for thought. As always, let us know all of your thoughts in the Comments below! We always appreciate your feedback.
Photography
All of the quality photography for this article was completed by Savannah Pierson of Savvy Photage. She is an expert in her field and her assistance in creating engaging photography and content is greatly appreciated.
