Stealth

[Guy Miner]

How do you teach stealth to a new hunter? A lot of people live almost exclusively in urban areas, or if they do get out into the great outdoors, they're involved in activities where laughing, talking, singing and making noise is expected and encouraged. There's no need for silence, stillness and watchfulness.

When my youngest son started tagging along on hunting trips, I noticed that the nine year old even walked noisily! We were walking on an old dirt road, moving from one area of the wheat farm to another. I asked him to listen to the footsteps and tell me how many people he heard moving.

He had a puzzled look on his face, then in a surprised little voice said "Dad, I can only hear me, not you!" Right then and there he started working on moving quietly. Anymore, the young fellow is like a ghost when he moves. It's a little unsettling at times when suddenly there's a full grown, armed 22 year old standing right next to me! He learned, and I think that was the only "lesson" I ever had to articulate. The rest he just picked up by spending time afield.

Guy

 

[DrMike]

Excellent statement of wise instruction, Guy. Gentle expression of what needs to be taught seems to have the greatest impact.

 

[Too Tall]

You know Guy I got a simular experience.
I weight around 300 pounds, and I hunt with a guy that's a buck fifty.
One time, we were walking down this gravel road, and I could hear him walking, 20 feet behind me.
I stopped and waited for him to catch up, and said " How much you weigh?" He said "160, why?"
I told him "Boy your are sure noisey." I noticed after that, he was trying to be quite.
We split up and were going to meet on this ridge.
Well he beat me there, and was sitting on a big rock. I went around behind him, and walked up and tapped him on the shoulder. He come out of his skin. He asked me "How did I learn to be so quite?" "Sneaking around in the jungle." I told him.

 

[super-7]

Hunting with an unwittingly noisy partner is frustrating.. Anything like coughing , shuffling feet, stepping on dry twigs.... That can send me over the edge in a hurry.
I remember reading a story ( when i was a kid)on how the natives used to hunt and sneak up on game, heel first and slowly roll onto the ball of the foot with each step. In thier moccasins they could feel a dry twig or stick and avoid it. If I'm really being sneaky I still walk like that on ocassion.

 

[Oldtrader3]

I think that many of us who have been indoctrinated in Jungle Warfare School and Escape and Evasion Training in the service, learned by that method. I was well on the way to being quiet after hunting with my dad when I was a kid. Jungle School and then hunting for 50 years just finished the process to a high degree of quiet.

 

[truck driver]

Sneaking up on a Gray squirrel to get a head shot with a .22lr with open sights is how I learned to be quite in the woods. I walk softly all the time or did before I broke my ankle and would walk up on people and scare the heck out of them when I would join in on the conversation.
Had a nice T storm last night and have a sunny Blue Bird sky today so I think I'll go mushroom hunting for some Morel's. :mrgreen:

 

[Elkman]

I learned quiet, many years ago from a trapper. I have actually gone asleep leaning against a tree, while sneaking through the woods. I once killed a nice spike headed for his morning drink, after picking up their tracks at daylight. He was on the far side of a very thick patch of fir and lodge pole, at about 8600 feet. There were two Pine Squirrels in the area, I only moved when one or the other, were chattering. He was standing watching a cow, when he went down. One of the biggest elk I ever killed, was a result of "very" slow careful, quiet tracking,in the morning frost. I was inside of 30 yards when I hit him, and he had his head down feeding. It can be overdone however, because it can be a long ways to the next animal. In open country you have to know we to move.

 

[DrMike]

What was once facile for me has become a challenge. I was in an auto crash some years ago, sustaining quite a severe head injury. One of the phenomena resulting from that injury is severe vertigo, which is only partially compensated even after more than two decades. (I've always hated dizzy preachers--especially when they're not in their right mind.) When moving too slowly, I become disoriented and stumble. Consequently, my greatest success has been getting into position and sitting quietly and letting the animals come to me.

 

[Guy Miner]

Which is an excellent example of stealth.

Sitting still. Breathing quietly. Not even moving the head. Just watching, listening and even testing the air for the scent of game...

 

[Vince]

I had seven pigs this past weekend within fifteen to twenty yards.

Playing the wind, they knew something was there but not exactly where or how many, I was able to move in to a position that got me close. Three years ago I wouldn't have even gotten within fifty yards. Time in the brush has improved my skill. I walk loud at work. I don't want to come upon a male on male rape, or other activity, so i tend to broadcast myself. Sometimes it can be hard to switch that off but I'm getting better at turning it on and off.

I've noticed that those who live in the brush tend to be quiet and when they speak it's for a purpose, and not just to hear themselves spout drivel. The more time I spend in the bush the more I bring those qualities to my day to day life in society. I'm still working on perfecting my skill and will likely never fully develop it as it contrast so much with the life I currently live.

Vince

 

[truck driver]

What was once facile for me has become a challenge. I was in an auto crash some years ago, sustaining quite a severe head injury. One of the phenomena resulting from that injury is severe vertigo, which is only partially compensated even after more than two decades. (I've always hated dizzy preachers--especially when they're not in their right mind.) When moving too slowly, I become disoriented and stumble. Consequently, my greatest success has been getting into position and sitting quietly and letting the animals come to me.

Sorry to here about your problem. I've seen a lot of hunters stagger threw the woods and thought they were just hung over from the night before. They do a great job of driving deer to me so I always over looked them. :mrgreen:

 

[wildgene]

..."Stealth" is a good start, makes you aware of where you're putting yer feet. Then you start planning your movements. That, in turn, requires you to really start observing your surroundings. You start to actually notice things like tracks, routes, terrain features. Then, maybe w/ a little additional guidance, you begin to consider why the tracks are heading in that particular direction, water, feed, bedding grounds??? You add the terrain ahead of you & figure out where they're most likely to be, where they're most likely to go, how they're most likely to get there. Simple stuff, it all adds up to "woodscraft", the common denominators are observation & awareness. Deer & elk are both creatures of habit, elk just tend to do it on a much larger scale. They have favored ranges, travel routes, escape routes, feeding areas, sources of water. There's a lot more to "stealth" than how much noise you make moving thru the brush, it's how you get from where you are to where you need to be w/ the minimal amount of disturbance by playing the wind, the terrain, & the quarry...

 

[Guy Miner]

Indeed.

 

[Darkhorse]

I think exposure to older outdoor gentlemen teaches some while young. My granddad was a large portion Creek indian and he only used a .22 for all squirrel and rabbit hunting. Those were big moccasin tracks to follow believe me.
While others from a more urban upbringing simply are not aware of things like stealth and quietness. Patience is needed to teach those.
It's not always how quiet you walk anyway. An elk makes a lot of noise just walking through the dark timber. As does a buck deer searching for does. We just have learn to sound like we have 4 feet instead of 2. Unless we talk turkeys and they sound like a man.
The concept I find hard to get across is to hunt and beware of the wind. Even if a buck hears you and thinks your a turkey, when he smells you the game is up.
Explaining thermals will get you a blank look everytime!
But once stealth and wind knowledge comes together for a hunter then that person is one with large animals in his trophy room.

 

[Guy Miner]

Nice...

 

[Ridgerunner665]

Was raised by my Grandad...an old moonshiner (thats where my screen name comes from)...one of the first things I learned was how to run full throttle through the woods, at night, with no flashlight, without crashing into trees, lol...and do it as quietly as possible.

He taught me lots of things (everything I know) about hunting, trapping, tracking, fishing, skinning, etc...everything from snares to hiding in plain sight (camo is WAAAY overrated)...He was/is my hero, he's been gone since 1997 and I still miss him every day.

Re: the camo being overrated...I've had deer step over my legs as they walked by with me sitting there next to a tree in blue jeans and a tee shirt...all you gotta do is break up your outline, cover your scent (with something thats common in the area and of no interest to them), and don't move...do that, and you could sit there in a lime green/blaze orange/hot pink prom dress and they'd never know it.

I do believe they can see some colors, as has been proven...but movement and outlines are what they focus on.

 

[nvbroncrider]

What was once facile for me has become a challenge. I was in an auto crash some years ago, sustaining quite a severe head injury. One of the phenomena resulting from that injury is severe vertigo, which is only partially compensated even after more than two decades. (I've always hated dizzy preachers--especially when they're not in their right mind.) When moving too slowly, I become disoriented and stumble. Consequently, my greatest success has been getting into position and sitting quietly and letting the animals come to me.

No doubt it is learned by practice. It's always amazes me how close you can get by just sitting and observing.

But Mike you are always in your left mind!!!

 

[nvbroncrider]

Was raised by my Grandad...an old moonshiner (thats where my screen name comes from)...one of the first things I leaned was how to run full throttle through the woods without crashing into trees, lol...and do it as quietly as possible.

He taught me lots of things (everything I know) about hunting, trapping, tracking, fishing, skinning, etc...everything from snares to hiding in plain sight (camo is WAAAY overrated)...He was/is my hero, he's been gone since 1997 and I still miss him every day.

+10 When you can be within 5 yards of a doe 15 yards of 5 30 yards of 25 head and 50 yards of 45 you realize real quick that camo isn't needed. It's a pretty awesome experience.

 

[Guy Miner]

and you could sit there in a lime green/blaze orange/hot pink prom dress and they'd never know it.

You keep that stuff about sitting there in a prom dress to yourself, hear? :mrgreen:

Had a squirrel sit on my boot while I was resting, legs sprawled out, back against a tree trunk. I was super-still and he was just squirreling around the area. Hopped right up on the toe of my boot and used it for a perch for a while. It was all I could do to keep from cracking up. A couple of does have come close when I've been within yards of them. Being still, and using the wind... Keys to success!

Guy

 

[Ridgerunner665]

LOL...

Yeah...I should have added that using the wind to your advantage helps too.

I have an example of that too...November 1990, opening day of rifle season...about 9am I'm sitting in the middle of the wide open pasture field, on a pretty good sized rock...not beside it, on top of it, no camo at all...the 2nd biggest buck I've ever killed (nice 8 pointer, deer are small in this area) comes strolling across that field, roused from his hideout by other hunters on the next property, but not spooked, just moving out of the area...the very slight breeze was blowing directly at me, and he was walking directly towards me...I nearly poked him with that 24" barrel on that 25-06 when I moved the rifle to shoot him...I couldn't raise the rifle and aim, he would have left the country...but when he was about 4-5 feet away, I made a quick adjustment to the way I had my rifle across my lap and pulled the trigger...he wasn't more than 1 foot or so from the muzzle...it was a point shoot, lol.

But he never had any idea I even existed in this world...to him, I was part of that rock...even when he was right beside me.

You may be wondering what I was using for cover scent...persimmons (a trade secret for early-late fall)...there are 6 different persimmon trees along the fence row that was about 30 yards behind me...I squashed a few on my shoes, ate a few, mushed a few in my hands, etc...