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Basics for Hunting on Foot
A versatile bowhunter must master the basics of hunting on
foot. It is true that most archers perch in tree stands to ambush whitetail deer
or black bear, or hunker in ground blinds near waterholes to waylay pronghorn
antelope. However, the other 24 commonly hunted varieties of North American big
game are almost always stalked or still-hunted at ground level. If you wish to
be effective on mule deer, elk, caribou, moose, wild sheep, an most other
archery animals, you absolutely have to sneak up on these critters.
Even commonly stand-hunted animals like whitetails and pronghorns sometimes
require a ground-level approach.
Take for example a friend of mine who patterned a large Illinois whitetail buck
just last year. The big deer was living deep in an unharvested cornfield, and
refused to wander within bow range of trees. So my pal waited for a very windy
day, slipped along the field edge with rustling corn covering his own noise, and
nailed the deer as it nibbled on kernels 15 yards inside the crop.
Another acquaintance of mine traveled West a couple of years ago for pronghorn
antelope. His outfitter had waterhole blinds galore, but nothing could prevent
the five-day rainstorm that hit he first day of the bowhunt. Pronghorns almost
never visit waterholes when grass is wet and small puddles abound. So my
experience buddy located a section of rough and broken antelope terrain, slipped
around like a hunting cat, and eventually stalked within 35 yards of a
record-book pronghorn. One pinpoint shot put the black-horned beauty down for
good.
1. Don't Let Yourself Be Seen.
Every game animal has a three-pronged survival system--eyes, ears, and nose.
Since a foot hunter is actively moving, getting within 30, 40, or even 50 yards
of aninal eyes is seldom easy.
Good foot hunters match camouflage to habitat. In the deep, dark woods typical
of elk and early-season deer habitat, they wear relatively dark camo like World
War II, Vietnam, or Realtree All-Purpose Brown. In more typical sagebrush,
yellow grass, or scattered scrub, they select lighter camo like Advantage,
Realtree X-tra Grey or Realtree Wetlands. In genuine desert country, wise
archers wear U.S. Military Desert Camo, ASAT Browm or another specialized
arid-terrain pattern. In the snow, good bowhunters don white-and-gray or
white-and-brown clothing head-to-toe. In so doing, these hunters blend well with
habitat.
Commercial camo alone cannot fool an animal's eyes. Every bit as important are
manipulation of sunlight and shadow, and sophisticated use of foliage and
terrain.
A successful foot hunter is like a housecat hunting birds. This archer surveys
the countryside ahead, and slips along in the deepest shadows. When possible, he
moves with a low morning or evening sun behind him, which helps to dazzle animal
eyes. The archer who walks through open sunlight or sneaks toward a low sun will
stand out like a yellow D-8 Caterpillar crossing a field. Keen-eyed game like
elk, mule deer, and antelope never stand for such nonsense.
The good foot hunter also uses terrain with expert ease. He never cruises high
ridgelines when he can lurk in draws, ravines, and other low-lying areas. He
never walks in front of bushes or trees when he can tiptoe behind them. When
given a choice, he always places solid rock or dirt between himself and animals,
rather than relying on thin screens of grass or brush.
A truly savvy bowhunter knows that camouflage clothing and technique must be
combined to fool animal eyes. He also knows that if he can see the average game
animal's eye, the critter's 270degree field of vision is likely to see him too.
2 . Fooling Animal Ears
Foot hunting requires relatively silent movement. The sneakiest bowhunters wear
softsoled boots-neoprene or gum rubber, never hard Vibram-and deliberately
select solid rock, debris-free dirt, short green grass and other quiet surfaces
to walk across. They never trudge through brush piles, leaves and other
impossibly noisy footing if they can't find silent terrain, they back away and
try another area.
Soft-surfaced clothing is also a must for quiet ground hunting. Loosely woven
wool-fleece, Worsterlon and cotton flannel are superior to hard-weave nylon,
60/40 poly-cotton canvas or stiff rubberized raingear. If a particular fabric
audibly scrapes when you drag your fingernails across it, find a quieter
garment!
The best foot hunters capitalize on natural noise to cover their own. Like my
whitetail-hunting friend from Illinois, they love to sneak around in the high
wind because it drowns out little sounds. Steady, gentle rainfall offers great
sound cover. And the noise made by critters themselves as they fight, play, or
eat can also help archers move close. It is ten times more difficult to approach
a bedded buck or bull than the same animal chewing grass or leaves early and
late in the day.
3. Scent Control
An animal's nose is its most trusted and keenest sense. For example, a deer,
bear, caribou or wild sheep will sometimes see movement or hear suspicious noise
and linger a few seconds to gawk. if the same animal smells you, the critter
will leave. No ifs, ands, or buts!
Sitting in a stand allows the effective use of commercial scent eliminators like
Scent Shield spray, odor-masking concoctions like natural earth and red fox
urine, and specialized clothing barriers like Scent-Lok and Scent-Blocker suits.
But active spot-and-stalk hunting or sneaking blindly through semi-thick terrain
raises a sweat and cancels the best scentpurging precautions. In foot-hunting
situations, I'm convinced that controlling wind direction is the only way to
guard against being smelled.
Bowhunters on foot must constantly monitor wind direction with commercial aids
like a talcum squeeze bottle or the flame of a butane cigarette lighter. More
importantly, they must learn to predict breeze direction so they know where and
how to move.
For example, in most mountainous elk terrain, morning and evening winds move
strongly downhill. During midday, these "thermal" currents heat up and switch to
an uphill direction. The best elk hunters hike uphill near dawn and dusk, move
downhill during midday, and leave the woods when mid-morning and mid-after noon
breezes become unpredictable and confused.
The best foot hunters move with the breeze squarely in their face or crossing at
an angle. if the wind fans the back of the archer's neck-even once-every animal
within 300 to 400 yards will probably come unglued. Do not under-rate an
animal's ability to smell.
4. Using Multiple Speeds
Movement speed can make or break a foot hunt. Most of the time, the average
beginner moves too slowly, in dense foliage, where you cannot see animals ahead,
you must certainly ease along. Take a step, wait and look, then take another
step.
But in most hunting situations, you can sit high or move and look at a distance.
This lets you spot animals several hundred yards away, and then plan stalks. In
such cases, you should cover initial ground at a fast walk or even a trot. Only
slow to a snail's pace inside 100 or 200 yards. Otherwise, the target critter
might be apt to feed or walk away and disappear before you arrive.
The best foot hunters have multiple speeds, and use all of these at appropriate
times.
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