Best still hunting techniques for whitetails?

[Spreggy]

Like my ancestors, I am getting down from the trees to hunt from the ground this year. :wink:
I picked up Fred Absell's Groundhunter's Bible, which is full of good info on the subject. The need for success is high, so I don't have to hear it from my tree-sitting brother if I don't fill a tag on my feet.
So help me folks, what are your best methods, philosophies, techniques and success stories?

Side note: I was thinking of getting ASAT's 3d camo, but now I'm wondering if a 3d camo is going to be more hangups on brush. I'm also concerned about dressing light/thin, and still staying warm enough.

Thanks!
John

[Hubbard]

Patience, patience, patience the main reason people are unsuccessful when still hunting is they get impatient and move to fast, which makes it almost impossible to spot deer before they spot you. slow it down and if ya think your going slow enough, slow down a bit more. When i was younger i couldn't afford a treestand cause i wasted all my money on other stuff so all i did was still hunt, took my first three deer this way but not before spookin many many deer.

[Ducker]

I learned the hard way about patience too. It took me some time to realize that I would have to move very slow and methodically, and search out the area well for game. I found out that taking a step and then looking around with binos was a good way to slow it down and spot deer before they spot you.

I also like to spot and stalk, and that is also a slow and quiet process. Once I was stalking deer in a sugar beet field and it took me about 1.5 hours to very slowly crawl with my bow about 200 yards. When I got to my destination all 7 bucks were standing there unspooked. the furthest was 35yards and the closest was less than 10 yards.

Like Hubbard said....you have to have patience.

Ken

[Spreggy]

Thanks for the reply gents. Slow and steady/stopped wins the race. Any specific strategies that you use when you decide to work a particular section of the woods? I won't be able to scout some of the areas that I will be hunting, and sometimes it can be hard to get a good read on things. Thanks for your patience with my newb questions!

[Hubbard]

Use the weather conditions and time of day to your advantage, imagine were the deer would be under the current conditions. Deer are like us the don't like to be in heavy winds etc. You can also use the added noise from wind or rain to hunt thick areas that you otherwise would make to much noise in. make sure you keep checkin wind direction to.

[calgarychef1]

Just because you are hunting on the ground, it doesn't mean you can't sit in one spot. Still hunting and stalking is lotsa fun but a nice ground blind works very well, you can sit a long time on a folding stool behind some cover and be very comfortable doing it too! Find a game trail, or sit along a fence line make your blind and wait. The difference on the ground is of course you can't see as well, but you can get close. I had a buck at 6 feet last year and it was too close...so sit off of the trail not on it. Invest in a decoy, they are awesome. Use your call but use it sparingly and learn what call to use for the time of the year. Learn the arc of your arrows so you can shoot over and under branches or through a fir tree or through the walls of your blind for that matter. Learn to shoot around trees and from your knees etc.

The ground is an awesome place to hunt from, you're going to have lots of fun

the chef