Spot and stalk, tree stand or blind?

[Dustin F]

I have had decent luck getting close to some good couse Bucks spot and stalk, well within bow range but have not been able to let the air out of one yet. Due to bad shots or random tree branches that jump in front of my arrow. I'm sure it will come but I was wondering what seems to be the most successful method? It seems that many people like to sit stands and blinds but I am not ready to sit for along period of time after like ten minuets I get ancy and have to go glass something and blow a stalk. I am just trying to see where the better odds are?

[ThomC]

Sitting in a blind is the most successful but, I too cant sit still. At least get a double bull or similar then you can move around and fiddle with your toys, take pics, read a book. Find a spot where you have internet so you can watch movies. I wonder if those driveway alarms would work to wake me up when I fall asleep. Spot and stalk is more fun but, you have to be part Indian to sneak up on them. They do have driveway alarms built in.

[naturegirl]

Odds Are better Sitting Still. I Have Difficulty Sitting So I Carry A LighT Portable Blind

On My Pack Sometimes So i Can Walk And Sit.

[Elkhunter1]

Odds Are better Sitting Still. I Have Difficulty Sitting So I Carry A LighT Portable Blind

On My Pack Sometimes So i Can Walk And Sit.

The portable blind you use, what model and who makes it?

[couesdeerhntr]

I spent seven years chasing coues deer around the desert with a bow and took a bunch of shots at them but like u said something always went wrong from a branch to even my camel pack hose getting in my bow string tell i finally decided i was going to sit a blind right in the middle of the deer instead of sitting on a hill and glassing and stalking. First year i sat a blind i was sucessful. I spent many hours in a blind and it is very hard but it seems to have its advantages.

[mattys281]

I spent seven years chasing coues deer around the desert with a bow and took a bunch of shots at them but like u said something always went wrong from a branch to even my camel pack hose getting in my bow string tell i finally decided i was going to sit a blind right in the middle of the deer instead of sitting on a hill and glassing and stalking. First year i sat a blind i was sucessful. I spent many hours in a blind and it is very hard but it seems to have its advantages.

 

It has big advantages. It's way easier to hide & let them come to you rather than try to sneak in on an animal who's life depends on their ability to detect cats and other predators sneaking up on them. I've killed deer both ways, and there's advantages to both, but killing a deer with a bow is 100x easier by sitting ambushes than it is spot & stalk. But, like others have mentioned, you have to be able to make the long sit. Generally speaking, I sit from about an hour before sun up until it's dark. That's 14-14.5 hours during the August hunt. It's long and can be boring, but it works.

 

I also prefer a treestand to a ground blind if the terrain allows. There's another big advantage in being elevated above your prey. If anyone tells you deer don't look up in trees, they're wrong, but they don't seem to just automatically look up and check trees unless a noise or something draws their attention. Or unless they've been educated already. You also get a much greater field of view from a treestand and it's easier to spot deer behind you and turn to shoot them than it is in a ground blind. Disadvantage here is that even lightweight climbers are pretty heavy & bulky.

 

Disclaimer: I'm talking about taking a legal deer. Trophy bucks are a topic someone better than I will have to address.

[az_shooter]

I've thought about this before a few times. I have never sat in a blind or up in a stand before so I cannot speak about that part, but I can speak on the spot and stalk method. To me, that is what makes hunting so much fun. Yeah you're gonna blow a lot of stalks, yeah you're gonna miss some shots due to tree branches or tall grass, but that's just how it goes. Lucky for us that every time we miss a shot or blow a stalk all it means is that we get the pleasure of going hunting again the next day!

I think blinds and tree stands were made for the hunters who could no longer spot and stalk due to age or mobility issues, and it's my personal opinion that using them just turns it from hunting to killing, not much fun in that. Now having said that and knowing somebody is going to argue it, I will say that sitting in a blind or tree stand will probably give you better shot opportunities, but I am also pretty sure that spot and stalk hunters will see at least twice as much animals as those in the blinds. I mean what would you rather do, watch a movie and read a book in a blind, or glass up deer all day and chase them around? Whatever your hunt method is this year just remember to have fun and enjoy what you're doing, good luck to every one this fall.

[mattys281]

Here's a video clip I shot this year from a treestand. I love the experience of getting close in on animals that have no idea you're even there. You get to spend a lot of time watching & seeing how they act when relaxed. I had a coues doe over in 27 spend almost an hour less than 15 yards away from me, totally unaware I was even there.

 

It is true that you will see fewer animals from ambushes than spotting and stalking, but you will get much closer and have much more time spent in close quarters.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hu4GMZBEDJM

[100%DIYazCOUES]

Hunting out of a blind is certainly hunting,not just killing.I mostly spot and stalk,but I make the occasional brush blind too,and its all hunting just with different techniques and skills put to use.maybe I'm just not very good,but getting within bow range of a Coues buck,no matter the hunting style,is a big challenge.

[naturegirl]

 

Odds Are better Sitting Still. I Have Difficulty Sitting So I Carry A LighT Portable Blind

On My Pack Sometimes So i Can Walk And Sit.

 

The portable blind you use, what model and who makes it?

Ill Find Out. $20 About. It Folds Up And Has About 6 Built In Poles ThAt Fold IN Half. Ive Used It On The Ground And Around Tree Stand. Worked Well In IllNois Too. It Came With Me....Lol

 

I Strap It To The Outside Of My pack

[naturegirl]

Its Like This...H.S. strut PortaBle Ground Blind $24.99 @ Cabelas. Ive Seen Them At Most Sporting Good Stores

 

My PHone IS Randoml CapitalizIng. sorry

[Dustin F]

I've thought about this before a few times. I have never sat in a blind or up in a stand before so I cannot speak about that part, but I can speak on the spot and stalk method. To me, that is what makes hunting so much fun. Yeah you're gonna blow a lot of stalks, yeah you're gonna miss some shots due to tree branches or tall grass, but that's just how it goes. Lucky for us that every time we miss a shot or blow a stalk all it means is that we get the pleasure of going hunting again the next day!

I think blinds and tree stands were made for the hunters who could no longer spot and stalk due to age or mobility issues, and it's my personal opinion that using them just turns it from hunting to killing, not much fun in that. Now having said that and knowing somebody is going to argue it, I will say that sitting in a blind or tree stand will probably give you better shot opportunities, but I am also pretty sure that spot and stalk hunters will see at least twice as much animals as those in the blinds. I mean what would you rather do, watch a movie and read a book in a blind, or glass up deer all day and chase them around? Whatever your hunt method is this year just remember to have fun and enjoy what you're doing, good luck to every one this fall.

[Elkhunter1]

 

 

Odds Are better Sitting Still. I Have Difficulty Sitting So I Carry A LighT Portable Blind

On My Pack Sometimes So i Can Walk And Sit.

The portable blind you use, what model and who makes it?

Ill Find Out. $20 About. It Folds Up And Has About 6 Built In Poles ThAt Fold IN Half. Ive Used It On The Ground And Around Tree Stand. Worked Well In IllNois Too. It Came With Me....Lol

 

I Strap It To The Outside Of My pack

 

 

 

Its Like This...H.S. strut PortaBle Ground Blind $24.99 @ Cabelas. Ive Seen Them At Most Sporting Good Stores

 

My PHone IS Randoml CapitalizIng. sorry

My phone has done that too, thanks for the info. Just another item to add to the arsenal.

[paul navarre]

No doubt, ambushing a buck from a ground blind or tree stand places the odds in one's favor for sure. I have traveled 1000 miles from Colorado 6 times and tried the spot and stalk method but never had a shot opportunity until I switched to a natural ground blind using natural vegetation or cut leaf netting and a light weight seat. Since I started to use the ground blind strategy, I have killed three bucks, one being a 91 incher.

 

Finding the correct funnel that will transport the deer to you as they travel around takes some know how. I usually spend a few days, high on a ridge behind the glasses, and watch the animal movement. Then I slip in and set up the next day or so always watching the wind direction. All kills have been in the morning between 9am and noon and the last two bucks, within 30 yards of each other.

 

There is no doubt that parts of AZ offer good spot and stalk opportunitys base on the topography and vegetion, and some areas, not so much or not at all.

 

My hat is off to a bow hunter who can consistently kill a buck using the SS method.

 

Regardless of method, these coues deer surely offer a great hunt.

 

The attached picture was taken in a thick grove of Mesquite trees and made an ideal place for a natural blind and close range shooting. The deer were transitioning from the dry hill side down to the creek and through this tree grove. Find the does and the bucks will be around.

 

My best, Paul

[HUNTnTAT2]

Team spot & stalk