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C.B. James (CBJ)
a.k.a. "the Original Weatherbyman"
About Me & Us
- Corey B. James, "the Original Weatherbyman"
- I have been engineering cutting-edge hunting rifles and components since 1996... Known as "the Original Weatherbyman", makers of custom Weatherby Rifles. Now we also customize archery products! My passion is to develop some of the fastest weapons made. We assist bow manufactures starting out with state-of-the-art designs (theirs!) We improve and build custom release aids, sights, grips and other goodies to eliminate 100% bow torque advantage over the competition. We engineer trick devices in T6061 and Carbon Fiber extreme-special one-up designs only available at WCG, Inc.
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12 September 2010
Still hunting ... again, yes... more tips
Some tips for aspiring Still hunter:
Move slowly! To still hunt you have to move slower than deer typically move as they browse through the woods. If you are working up a sweat as you are still hunting you are moving way too fast. Even working your way up a mountain in Colorado, if you are out of breath or sweating, you are moving too fast! I have a little trick I use to check my stealth. I try to spot a squirrel in the distance, and then still hunt that squirrel. I have actually walked by squirrels within ten yards or so, and not had them spook. If you can't fool a squirrel, you can't fool a deer! or, just try doing that with Turkey!
I was practicing this very tactic when I still hunted upon my first elk. Trying to sneak past two squirrels I spotted a cow elk napping in the afternoon. I was able to get within thirty five yards of her, well within my range, but I had a Bull only tag (yeah, Oregon!!! Spike Only!!!) And the squirrels never spooked!
Take a couple of steps, maybe three or four and stop. Your pauses may be a long a five minutes. Don't hurry the process. Which brings me to my next topic.
Scan, Scan, Scan. You will not suddenly see a whole critter in front of you. You need to look for the flick of an ear, an old colored line against a different background, or just quick movement. But to catch any of that you need to be concentrating. My first shot a deer while still hunting came as a result of seeing an odd movement. As I focused on the movement, I could see a four point buck using his antler to scratch his back. He as facing away from me, and I closed to within 35 yards, and waited for him to get up. He did, but I had such a case of buck fever, I shot over a foot over his back! But what a thrill to get that close.
Good Optics. I highly recommend using optics to help. Good binoculars will allow you to adjust the focus, and you can overcome the natural human tendency to look at the closest object. Try changing the focus of the glasses, and you will see that you can see through the brush to things behind. I have often spotted deer or turkey using this. I still hunt with my glasses in my right hand, and I scan everything I can at each pause changing focus so that I can see deeper into the surrounding forest. Dump the thought of laser sights or red dot sights or scopes on a bow... you just need a good single pin or multi-pin fiber optic sight of good (no, make that GREAT quality) like Black Gold! I mean go very good here, do not go cheap on sights for your bow or you pay the price of NOT getting anything!
Don't confuse still hunting with scouting. I know guys who try to do both, and in truth you will pick up a lot of information as you scan the forest around you, but you are not still hunting. If you are looking at the ground at droppings, scraps or rubs, you are not focused on seeing the animals you are hunting. Keep your focus on things in the distance.
Don't forget to look behind you. You are moving slow enough that something could be coming up behind you. When you pause to scan, scan left, right and behind you. Still hunting is not about getting somewhere, it is about going where you see game, so look everywhere.
Don't forget the wind. This is a no brainer, but don't forget it. I don't care what you do for scent control or elimination, you still give off a scent, so pay attention to which way the wind is blowing. If you are moving slowly and for any length of time, it is not unlikely that the wind will shift on you. Be prepared for that to happen. Likewise consider what the wind is doing, particularly if you shift your direction because of something you spot.
These are just a few tips. To still hunt successfully you have to still hunt - a lot. To be a GREAT hunter you have to still hunt! A LOT!!! But if you do you can add a level of excitement to you hunting that is beyond anything you can imagine. And as your still hunting skills improve, your still hunts may well turn into stalks, and that is even more exciting! Far better than sitting your butt in a tree stand all damn day and sometimes near night! :) - Stalking and Still Hunters are the better breed of true archery hunters and this does not include those of you shooting Crossbows! Sorry, I will say it again... if you hunt with Crossbows you are a pussy! Shooting them are fun, but you are NO Archer hunting with a crossbow!
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