My first hunt was with AJ back when we were first getting interested in the sport. She had done a little hunting as a kid, but nothing particularly frequent or often. I had scouted the woods as a kid, learned a bit about locating animals, but never hunted for anything. To say that we had limited knowledge would be a colossal understatement.
AJ and I had watched video after video, read magazines and internet articles, and we talked to anyone we could find with a bit of hunting knowledge. Part of our problem, that we discovered rather quickly, is that if you don’t know the right questions to ask you’re never going to get the right answers.
When we went out on our first hunt we were on public land relatively close to our house that didn’t require special draws or tags for the hunt. One of our first lessons learned was that this kind of “free for all” hunting land will always be some of the highest pressured, least successful land available to new hunters.
Among the other lessons we learned was that we needed to be quieter when approaching, hunting, and leaving.
From the moment your vehicle pulls up to the access point, to the moment you pull out of that parking spot, you are a potential threat to the wildlife in the area. And, take my word, they are ALL evaluating and judging you. The quieter you are, the less of a threat you’ll be, and the fewer animals will notice you. Every animal that discovers your presence can alert the rest to your location.
The “silence” solution?
There truly is no single best answer. Every situation is going to be different. The players, gear, and stadium you’re playing in will all influence the decisions you make. There are, however, a few general options that can make your hunts significantly more successful.
1) Find the quietest route in and out of your spot
It will be particularly important that you don’t alert any animal to your presence. You’re most likely to do that when you’re walking. So, to reduce the risk, keep to a specific path. Ideally, you’ll want to go out the same way you went in. Try to avoid crossing any game trails that you believe your target will be using. And don’t focus strictly on the big, multi-species, trails carved through the whole forest. There will be smaller trails that maybe only your target uses. You’ve been scouting. You’ve found his scatt, the saddles and ridges he takes. Avoid crossing these trails as much as possible so you won’t risk him smelling you as he passes by your tracks.
Depending on where you hunt, you may not be allowed to remove leaves or tree limbs. Some places won’t allow you to cut branches or logs crossing your path, but others will.
Know the rules, laws, and regulations for wherever you’re hunting.
Even private leases will have rules they expect you to follow. Failure to follow their rules can loose you a large some of money as well as your hunting season if the lease is the only location you have scouted and planned. What ever you are allowed to clear, though…do it. The more dried leaves, easily snapped twigs, and obstructions you can clear from your path a few weeks before your hunt, the easier your route will be.
Above all, you’re looking for your route to be as silent, as much up wind, and as confined as possible. So keep to your established route both entering and exiting your area. Create as small of an imprint as you can and you are less likely to be perceived as a threat.
2) Make the right clothing and footwear choices
Your options are seeking to accomplish three goals: Comfort, because you’ll be in these clothes for a rather extended period of time in some rather awkward positions. Distortion to hide your profile because animals will know a human profile instantly and run but can become curious or indifferent to an odd shape that appears to pose no threat. And Silence so that none of the animals in the area will be alerted to your presence.
Is this 100% obtainable? No.
Can it be well accomplished? Yes.
For your clothing, make sure it is loose enough to allow for easier movement and less restriction while preparing for shots. At the same time, you want it tight enough to not catch on branches, leaves, or anything else hanging nearby. To blend into your environment you’re going to want color patterns that somewhat match the color of your surroundings. It does not necessarily have to be camouflage. Humans have been hunting for hundreds and hundreds of years without wearing cammo. What it does need, however, is patterning that will distort the shape of the human body.
The less you look like a person, the less the animals will care you’re there.
While there’s no perfect setup for everyone, you do have a variety of options. AJ and I have been using Red Head and Cabela’s brand camo lately. We still haven’t decided if it’s going to be the best option for us, but we’re always open to trying out different possibilities.
When it comes to your shoes you’re going to need to focus first on comfort. You’re going to put a lot of miles on these shoes. If you develop blisters, tendon strain, or bruising from the shoe you’re going to have a miserable trip and be less conscientious of your walking pattern which animals can notice from great distances. You don’t necessarily need a pliable gell soal on the shoe, but you will want one with a softer material that can conform a bit to the materials you’re stepping on. If the sole of your shoe can bend around a twig rather than press down flat on it, you’ll be less likely to snap that twig. Other precautions you may need to consider would be waterproofing for walking through creeks, streams, and puddles or snake guards for areas like we have here in Texas.
3) Reduce your scent where possible
Notice I am not saying to eliminate your scent. It is physically impossible to completely eliminate your scent. You can, however, significantly reduce the imprint your scent will have on your surroundings.
If you have pets, their odors will be on you as well.
Some jobs can cause you to carry subtle odors that will be identified by wild game not used to that scent.
Your solutions?
You have options to experiment with. It’ll be up to you to decide what works for you and the terrain you’ll be hunting in.
There are soaps, laundry detergents, and deodorants that can help reduce the foreign smells you are likely to present when in the forest. Multiple types of oder eliminators are available for cars and storage devices (for packing your gear up off season). You can also opt for sprays to mask or reduce your odor when you get out into the field. While these sprays don’t tend to last for long and are easily washed off walking through mist, rain, or damp brush it can be a sufficient device for getting you to your hunting spot with minimal traces.
A good method AJ and I put to strict use this last season was to store our hunting clothes in a sealed container. We showered before heading out the morning of the hunt but put some comfy clean clothes on and left our hunting gear in those containers. We fueled the night before, and packed our snacks too. Once we were at our hunting zone, we’d change into our hunting gear and do a last minute spray down with our scent eliminators. The days we stuck to this regimen, were the days we saw so many more potential game.
4) Reduce squeaks and clanks on your gear wherever possible
Everything you take with you is going to make noise. You can’t prevent all of it, but you can eliminate much of it. These days you have options. Plastidip in jugs or spray can be used to coat ladders, arm rests, pack frames, and a number of other products that have that inevitable metal twang your target game will hear for miles. Rubber gaskets can often be added to tree stands, game carts, and pack hinges to reduce the metal on metal rubbing. Wraps can be put on magazines, walking sticks, and other hard objects that may clank against trees, your belt, or boots. Grease and lube can go a long way to reducing the scraping sounds of gears and hinges.
Ultimately, this is another of those practice moments. Find as quiet a place as you can get, play with each piece of equipment you’re going to be using. Open it, close it, swing it around, drop it and try to catch it before it hits the ground (buckles, snacks, etc.; not your weapon that could accidentally fire when you’re reaching for it). You’ll be surprised at the sounds you can create that you’ve never noticed when you weren’t looking for them. The more of these sounds you can eliminate, the more stealthy your presence will be.
5) Be Invisible
Everything we’ve discussed so far leads up to the concept of invisibility. Basically, you’re trying to be a ghost. They think they’ve seen or heard you and they’ll be gone. They aren’t sure what they have seen or heard and they’ll think about it or investigate it, but be less likely to run. Use the steps listed above to blend into your environment. Then take it a step further.
Think and act like your target game. Deer use Brows, saddles, gullies, and thick brush to hide. You can as well, as long as you choose different ones than what you’re target will be in. Wild boar are less concerned with concealment, but still stick to treelines and thick brush frequently. Take advantage of the lessons your game teaches you and use those methods to your benefit.
6) Practice with your equipment
Every piece of equipment you take with you can make noise and can serve as a giant marker telling anything within view exactly where you are. The better you know your gear, the more efficient you will be using it. The quicker you can setup and draw your bow or line up and take your shot, the more effective you’ll be. The gentler you can unpack you blind or tree stand and set it up, the less likely the creatures around you will be at hearing you and going the other direction.
So, pull out your blind and set it up. Then take it down and pack it away. A while later, take it out again. Set it up and break it back down.
Do the same with your tree stand. Set up your pack with the stand, walk out to the woods or a park or your backyard, pull your stand off the pack and attach it to the tree. Climb up in it. Make sure your safety harness is secured correctly and comfortably. Climb back down and break it down. Go through the motions a couple times a day (the days you have available for practice).
Set up your pack with your first-aid kit, snacks, binoculars, range finder, and whatever you intend to take. Memorize where each item is going to be placed every time you hunt so you’re not searching once you’re out there. The fewer motions you have to make, the fewer pockets you have to open, the faster you can get to each item you need, the less noticeable you will be to your environment.
Most importantly, the less sound you make, the closer your target animals will get.
A single ting from your carabiner hitting the leg of your tree stand can send animals in a 200-yard range run for high country.
Probably…no, definitely, the most important factor in your practice will be practicing with your weapon of choice. In the big picture, it doesn’t matter if you’re using a longbow, recurve, lever-action bow, compound bow, crossbow, shotgun, bolt action rifle, ar style rifle, muzzleloader, or anything else. If your shot isn’t well placed you’re likely to make the animal suffer and loose the animal when it flees.
Every responsible hunter should have the goal of dropping the target game as quickly, painlessly, and efficiently as possible. Multiple shots can spook nearby animals possibly destroying the chance of a different hunter from getting her shot. An animal shot in the abdomen or leg can run for miles before succumbing to his injuries. A bad shot can destroy the meat wasting a hunting trip, killing an animal needlessly, and taking the opportunity for a successful hunt away from someone else who may have had a cleaner shot. It may sound like I am harping on this issue, but it is for good reason.
The Oklahoma Fish and wildlife Agencies did a study in 1998 that found nearly 50% of the deer shot are never recovered with many surviving up to a week suffering from their injuries. Today, we have significantly more irresponsible and uneducated hunters in the fields not making an effort to learn ethical game harvesting.
I don’t want you to fall into that category.