First hunt- not period

[Eric C]

Hi folks. Well, as threatened numerous times before, I finally hit the woods today for my first hunt. I was not in ranger garb as I am not set up to hunt that way yet. But my bota and the original Dunedain Sister made the trip.

So, here's how it went: I went out with two other guys onto some local game land. We got on site probably around 5 AM, pitch black outside and right cold too! They ditched me in a tree stand and left me there for 5 1/2 hours!
I was amazed at just how loud a leaf is when it falls from a tree in pitch blackness. NO I WASN'T SCARED BY THE LEAVES FALLING! It was just interesting how once you get away from most of the noise the simplest sound is magnified.

Before the sun came up, I kept hearing what I thought was a sizeable animal. Turns out, it was squirrels. Not very sizeable. I didn't take a shot because the load I had would have left little of the squirrel. I was in a cluster of birch trees right along a local creek. Two ducks - don't know the species - landed on the creek and I watched them swim upstream.

About 7:30 another hunter came up along the creek bank and spoke to me for a few minutes before going back the way he came. But the only deer-spotting was when one of our guys saw a doe. We can't shoot does on game lands right now. Besides, does have no antlers for knife handle materials. It basically turns out that all the dumb bucks are dead now while the smart ones have moved deeper into the woods.

So, all I really did was sit in a stand and FREEZE the morning away. It won't be my last time though. But I MUST improve my archery skills so that I am ready for bow season next year. That way the deer won't be as scarce when I hit the woods.

[Jon]

Good ranger practice for being patient for hours on end
I'm hoping to start hunting some time soon but not quite sure where to do it.

[Cleddyf]

sounds like you had a boring first hunt...........
but why stand hunting?
here in nz we hardly ever stand hunt.........only rich tourists during the roar stand hunt deer......try going for a wander next time, you'll have a lot more fun

[Eledhwen]

Stand hunting is like that. I do not practice stand hunting. However; still hunting is very similar, the main difference being one is on the ground and creates a blind of sorts. My favorite is stalk hunting, which takes tremendous amounts of energy and patience.

It is all good practice for hunting in kit. With a bow and Ranger gear you need to be even more patient, more careful, and more disciplined. You have to be a lot closer.

Excellent going!

Eledhwen

[Eric C]

Thanks. I wanted to stay on the ground because we are supposed to have a harness to make sure we don't fall out of the treestand. But the experienced hunter said the game warden would give me a ticket if he found me on the ground. Instead of arguing I figured I'd get in the tree this time and investigate the laws of NC before my next hunt. There is one other place I may go alone or with one other person. This one is on private property. I just need to ask the landowner. It is out where I lived for about 7 years before we bought our home.

[Jon]

You have to be a lot closer.

Why do you have to be so much closer? I don't think trad bows would too bad on accuracy would they?

[Peter Remling]

You have to be a lot closer.

Why do you have to be so much closer? I don't think trad bows would too bad on accuracy would they?

There is a significant difference in the accuracy of a traditional bow @ say $300 and a modern compound bow of the same price range, however, I believe she's talking about the difference between stand hunting and stalk hunting. In North America, the large predators are all on the ground so deer generally don't look up. Stalk hunting is done on the ground useing trees, brush and the natural surrounding to obscure
your location and movement. You will need to shoot through brush so you need to be as close to your quarry as possible.

The more brush between you and your quarry the greater likelyhood, your arrow will be deflected off target.

[Jon]

Im gelir ceni ad lín, Peter, this greatly clarifies my small knowledge of hunting

[Eledhwen]

Pretty much since you haven't got established lanes of fire; you are dependent on the location of the deer and how you can approach them..a very exacting task. Deer are not stupid.

Additionally, traditional bows have no sights, no rest, and no let-off. At least, I do not put those on my traditional bows. I also make my own arrows rather than use commercial ones.

The upshot of all of that coupled with being an ethical hunter and wanting to avoid a wounded animal as much as I can means I will not take a shot longer than 25 yards unless it is crystal clear shooting. I prefer 15 - 20...closest has been 10. Closing to those distances with North American Whitetail is no small feat. LOL And yep, you can still miss at those ranges...or wound.

Sorry I didn't explain it more fully.

Eledhwen

[Jon]

Wow, 10ft!
And once you get a shot off, I wouldn't think it would kill the deer instantly so then what do you do?

[Eledhwen]

Ten yards, not ten feet. I am good, yes, but generally not THAT good. LOL

Thank you for bringing a smile to my face this morning.

30 feet is still quite close to an animal like the whitetail. Sometimes, when you hit it just so it just drops. More often with an arrow it bounds off...for a short distance. I do not do anything but watch, listen, and wait. You can usually tell if the shot was a good one. After a short bit I will go to where I shot it, look for a blood trail, then proceed off in the direction the animal went. They are not far away as a rule. I approach from the back, not the hooves, and I use a long branch or the end of my bow to touch the eye of the animal to ensure it is dead. An injured deer can and will kill you. The old medieval maxim held that if you hunted boar you would need a physician, but if you hunted the deer you would need a bier..a funeral pyre.

Once I am sure the animal is dead I thank his spirit for his sacrifice, wish him bright living across the Veil, tag him, and proceed to field dress him. I always have a good bit of rope and an axe for making a travois out of....if necessary. Carrying 200 pounds of deadweight meat and bones across your shoulders is a joke at best. People have had heart attacks trying to get deer out of the forest to their cars. Then I take him to the check station to have the kill logged and verified. Then it is butcher time.

Not very romantic perhaps, but that would be the nuts and bolts of it here.


Eledhwen

[Eric C]

I checked with my other hunting partner and found out that with a shotgun I could have hunted on the ground in the county I was hunting in. There's another spot I am going to try out soon. But it is getting late in the season here.

[Cleddyf]

you have strange deer there...
30 feet, thats what, 10 metres? good luck trying to get that close to a deer here.the only ones that tame are farm deer, and even then usually they scarper long before then

[Greg]

you have strange deer there...
30 feet, thats what, 10 metres? good luck trying to get that close to a deer here.the only ones that tame are farm deer, and even then usually they scarper long before then

Here in the states, most of our deer aren't "tame" either. Eledhwen's just good at what she does. Stalking is an old but effective (and very difficult) art. Completely doable. By anyone? Absolutely not.

[Eledhwen]

I have been stalk hunting since I was a child. Initially a game to sneak up and see the animals closely (at that time I never thought of getting hurt by them!), later to try to get photographs, and later still simply to work my skills.

I can track, read sign, trail, and hunt. Pretty well I might add. I also know the habits and behavior of our local deer from decades of observation.

It is not an easy art to master...but it is a worthy one and a grand challenge. Quite exhilarating.

The stupid deer are usually harvested very quickly here when season opens. By now those are essentially gone. The game is truly a challenge now. It can be done...but it is not easy and there are generally a lot of failures for every success.

Learning to walk correctly, developing the 'situational awareness' one needs to avoid brush, brambles, tangles and whatnot, understanding the wind and weather patterns...all of these require constant practice. Rather like needing to shoot archery pretty much daily. Hence why I am haring off to the forests so often. I walk daily...sometimes in a Ranger Longstride, sometimes practicing my stalking movements...sometimes just fo the hell of it.

Where you live I would have to do a lot of fast relearning of a lot of things to be able to manage it. Local conditions matter. Failure rate would be very very high..but therein lies the challenge.

10 meters/yards is the closest I have ever managed. More commonly it is 20 or 25 meters/yards.

Eledhwen