Hypothetical stalk

nocwalker

Active Member
Messages
547
Ok, let me know your thoughts and/or experiences.

I put a buck to bed in 3' high thick brush, maybe snow berry or sage next to taller thicker area. Deer is on a north east facing slope and I am above and to the east of the animal. Wind is from the west and thermals are up. Im and eastern treestand hunter with limited stalking practice under my belt. My self imposed range for this hunt is 50yds, maybe 53 or 54 under the right circumstances.

I manage to get to 75yrds picking my way through and around clumps of the same cover he is laying in, I can see the tops of his approx 165" rack. He is calm, steady and content. At 75yrds, i need to gain more for the distance I want. I make one bad move by snapping a small tig. The rack is now "nervous" swiveling etc.. I can tell this may fall apart fast.

I drop down low since its further then I want to shoot anyway, I grunt , or I use my small hoochie mamma and cow call, or I rack a tree or bush with a piece of an antler. I do this to try and settle him back down , and into having him think its another animal.

Will this work?? Will this calm him down? Has anyone ever tried something like this?

Im gonna need all the tricks I can, if any exist.

Thanks Nocwalker
 
I wouldn’t be blowing any horns, grunts or breaking anything. If he’s still just laying there, I freeze until he’s done worrying about the noise.
I think making more noise is sure going to send him packing.
Just freeze and wait him out, then proceed even more careful than before, because a 2nd noise will probably send an old wise buck barreling out of there.
 
Agree with Founder, if a deer is ever on alert from a sight or sound, your best bet is to freeze until he settles. As long as you have the wind right, you may still get a chance if he doesn't hear/see something else.
 
Definitely do not make any more noise, Definitely the last thing you want to do.

While I understand your intentions, maybe it would work but I seriously doubt it. At the very least he will stand up to check you out, when nothing is there he is sure to leave.
 
Unfortunately, you have to just freeze and remain silent. If you can watch his rack, do so. You're probably in for a good wait before he settles down. After all, he's thinking you're a lion. LOL
 
+1 for be as silent as possible. Tough spot and my personality makes me have a tendency to be too aggressive and push too hard to fast, but even if you let out a call to try and cover your sound and let him know you're another animal, he's going to be even more leery when he doesn't see that animal. Gotta hunker down and hope for the best. Give him a chance to calm down, maybe worst case you don't blow him out of the country and live to fight another day.
 
Wow. Unanimous! Well, guess that wasn’t a good idea. I’ve watched hundreds of white tails at close range. I’ve watched some calm down. I’ve learned to call yearlings back in after killing they’re mothers, getting them to calm and walk in. I be messed with snort calls and they do work although only if they don’t smell you.
So, I thought maybe some of you may have tried it

silent it is. Thanks guys
 
Wow. Unanimous! Well, guess that wasn’t a good idea. I’ve watched hundreds of white tails at close range. I’ve watched some calm down. I’ve learned to call yearlings back in after killing they’re mothers, getting them to calm and walk in. I be messed with snort calls and they do work although only if they don’t smell you.
So, I thought maybe some of you may have tried it

silent it is. Thanks guys
Most of us aren't willing to potentially blow a stalk in that situation so we've never tried it lol. You may be on to something though, it never hurts to try it.

I know a guy that when hunting in the thick timber for elk and he bumps them, as long as they dont see him too good, or smell him he starts tapping a stick on the nearest tree like a wood pecker does. Says it works pretty good to calm them down.

So you never know something like that could work for deer too.
 
Yeah sitting totally still and allowing the buck to settle back down is the only option. Anything else will just add to the stress and send the buck packing. At some point I have tried it all, decoys, sounds and noises, etc. But no matter what once you are inside and under a 100 yards your best bet is total stealth.
 

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