What Style Hunting situation do you choose?

M

Mayor Al

New member
As I have grown older, and relocated around the USA, I find that that my preferences for hunting have changed as well.

For years i lived in the Mojave Desert area of SoCal. My hunting there was mainly small critters taken on walking exercises not far from home. Then as the no-shooting rules expanded beyond my walking distances, I would head out into the empty lands near Ft irwin to do the same sort of rabbit/coyote shooting. For Deer I would pay the out of state price for a Utah Mule deer about once every other year (when I could afford it.)

Skip over to modern times, Here we are in Indiana. I use a blind and a 12 gauge slug for Whitetail, and 22's for the little critters around the house.

Last year we did our first pig hunt in central Texas. We had a good time and got 5 hogs to bring home for Pork. BUT, the accomdations were pretty primitive and the place charged us fees for every little thing, making the total cost pretty steep, while having us sleep in Home-Depot style tool sheds and leaving us unaccompanied in the blinds each day and night.. Total cost for 3 guys was $3000 including gas and motels to and from.

This year wife got a doe in her garden with a 22 short. She now has the fever and will be ready and better armed for the coming deer season. We will do another hog hunt this Fall. This time we are using a Missouri ranch with full-time guides who really help you get what you are looking for in the hog herds. In addition we will get an Axis deer as part of a herd-culling operation. since I am losing movement in my legs, I will make use of the 'limited mobility' services and hunt from a 4x4 and rail-brace. Not as much fun as chasing thru the bushes, but it works for us.

Our deer season in Indiana will find us in a patch of about 200 acres of forest across the street from our home, in woods that we know house a number of whitetails. No treestands for us, but a blind may be in order and wait'em out is my style...while she chases hers down .

So what are your preferences? Stalk'em, run'em down, TreeStands? Free land or pay to hunt?:confused: How many of you hunters make use of the game ranches or semi-closed areas on "Pay for Hunting"?? Not much open land here in Indiana for hunting without owners permission, but it can be found here and there.
 
Last edited:
I'm a member of a lease, about 800 acres on an active oil field in central Louisiana. There are 10 families on the lease and each of us have about 80 acres of exclusive hunting land. I have a box blind on my portion of the lease overlooking a known crossing, but I'm not adverse to busting brush when I'm bored with sitting in the stand. The land also has a nice squirrel bottom along a creek where I slip off to sometimes.
 
I cannot stand to sit on a postage stamp parcel of land in a stand. Most of my hunting is on public land here in Georgia. If I cannot get at least a mile from the road I'm not interested. I prefer to set up a camp on some of the National Forests or larger Wildlife Management areas and still hunt from camp each day. If I find a good spot I sit, if not I keep moving. I have been known to just spend the night in the woods rather than have to walk back to camp and return to the same spot the next day, but I'm not as young as I used to be. Haven't done that in years.

I could kill more game by sitting in a tree. But wouldn't enjoy it nearly as much. My best trophy was a 260 lb bear taken this way. It was 3 miles from the road and I put in 15 miles up and down mountains getting it out that day, and into the next. It was after midnight before I got back to camp.

On some of the smaller areas with lots of hunters to keep the deer moving I do sit more and walk a less. But on the larger public areas with few hunters there is nothing to move the deer and no way to pattern them.

I've never paid anyone to hunt on their land. I do have some friends that own 20 or so acres with tree stands. If it is getting late in our 4+ month long deer season and I haven't taken anything I may break down and sit in a tree and shoot a doe or small buck for the meat. I don't really consider it hunting, more like grocery shopping. I retired 2 years ago and FINALLY was able to be off in the Fall long enough to hunt Colorado. Once again it was unguided on public land. Going back in October and will to try to go about every other year as long as my health and legs hold out.

I guess we are lucky to have lots of good public land to hunt on here. There are even several beaver ponds deep in some of these places where I've done quite well duck hunting. But you have to be willing to walk several miles to get to them.
 
Slow walks throug the woods with rifle in hand are now the preferred way......not that I don't sit a stand but would rather wander slowly.

Not as productive as sitting a stand but I like it......
 
My legs cheated on me and went and got old. My back did even worse. At least I'm still looking down on daisies and not up. :D

Think lazy and comfortable, nowadays for me.
 
I lazily sneaky snake around as best I can while throwing a squeak or cry squeals in hopes a yote or feline will answer or come in...

Probably a little less productive than bswiv's style...

Brent
 
I slowly walk towards what looks like a good place to sit. Then I sit. If nothing shows up I walk slowly towards another place to sit.
I have killed animals while walking and while sitting.
 
I don't get to choose. I hunt small pieces of land, likely not in excess of 50 acres, with multiple other hunters. We hunt from tree stands or stationary on the ground.
Any body who thinks stand hunting isn't challenging either has too much game or has never really done it. It ain't like tv.
 
I question the legality of "getting a doe in the garden with a 22 short".
Since I own and manage several hundred acres, I have almost unlimited access to deer hunting. Since this land is surrounded by leased hunting land, it is not to my advantage to go stomping around on my side of the fence chasing deer onto other properties-so I don't unless absolutely necessary. Most of my deer hunting is done from established, proven stands which have been in place for years. Some are shorter range suitable for kids or amateurs while others require shooting out to 300-400 yards and wind plays a role in stand choice.
There are times when I do feel the urge to move around which I do occasionally when other hunters are not as likely to be afield. Here again, I use the many years of experience on the same land to decide the best avenue and approach to the hunt I'm making.
 
MObuck,

In our state folks with orchard/crops can file a 'Prevent Crop Damage form' with the State to get permission to get rid of critters, including deer, that are damaging their crops. The State sends an inspector to check out your property and see evidence of the damage done, then approves (on not) your request. We have a fruit orchard and sell the results at a farm market. Usually we can scare the deer with bottle rockets or other noise-makers. This year the climate has apparently made the deer more assertive in going after 'easy food'. Thus when a yearling would not leave our strawberry beds, it became "lunch", with the blessing of our D N R. We could keep our freezer full of these deer if we wanted to push the limits a bit, but in all fairness, we give up a lot of fruit to the wildlife...Except crows...no mercy for them.

Technically, the 22 caliber was not legal, but the intent was to scare...when the deer continued to feed, she put a round thru the ear, and that ended the destruction of her crops.
 
Kind of depends on what I'm hunting. Age and COPD doesn't allow for a whole lot of walking in the mountains.

For Antelope I find a spot where the cross from their bedding grounds to where they feed on hay fields.

I set up right in the middle of it, fix coffee with my little MSR WhisperLite stove and wait. I might have to move around a bit to get a shot within range, but not much.

Last year I was home with my buck within an hour and a half of starting my hunt but I rather set up my little tent and spend the night, gazing at stars and listening to coyotes.

Elk is different. I use a horse and ride along ridges giving me views of medows. The horse makes it handy for an old man to pack the critter out.

One of the best elk hunts I had was setting in camp doing nothing but drinking coffee and watching my granddaughter build snowmen.

Hunting%20Trip%2010-08%20041.jpg
 
For deer I hunt in a tree stand or on ground. I also do a lot of upland hunting and that is a lot of walking. Sometimes in fields and sometimes in thick woods.
 
I'm on a 1000 ac. year round lease. Have known the land owner and family since high school(I graduated in "73). I have a raised shooting house with a heater and glass windows that sits over a well established feeder about 120 yds off in a mesquite thicket while on my other side is an open field with a few old oaks. I've been hunting this stand for 6 yrs now and have had pretty good luck.
Now and then I still like to get down and do a little still hunting but have found over the years that the more I walk around on my chunk of land the less dear I see. So I spend the majority of my time on stand.
 
What I'd prefer is to walk through old growth looking for Bambi. I doubt there is any old growth to hunt in anymore.

What I do is sit behind a fence in an apple orchard.
 
I sat in the house I live in now for the past 17 years , took of screen in living room and shoot my deer out windows. I know it's Redneck but it works. I do have stands outside but on real cold or rainy days inside sure is cozy next to wood heater.
 
Run and gun. Ok, shuffle and gun, my runnin' days are pretty much in the rearview mirror.

Don't care for venison, but I may knock a few down this year to thin the herd and feed the dog. He prefers his raw and he's not fussy about gutting, quartering, etc.

I like hunting just about anything with the exception of antelope and sheep. I will crawl on my belly no more, forever...
 
I prefer spot & stalk for mule deer and antelope. But here in the east, sitting in a tree waiting and waiting and waiting some more is productive.

Jack

deerX2.jpg
 
Easing along through the woods doesn't seem to bother deer all that much. Years back at the old home place outside Austintatious, there was one really nice buck that would trail along watching me as I ambled through his "home turf". I'd keep on going down the woods road and he'd turn back to his bedding area.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top