Sitting Still is an art. Learn now.

Calm your mind before starting to hunt; Don’t think!

Sitting still is an art. Sit like you're asleep, but don't. Watch closely and learn.
photo Dave Richey ©2012

There is an art to sitting still. Not only motionless but doing so without making a sound.

It may sound easy but it is a very difficult thing to do. Everyone fidgets at times, moving around, easing that tree stub that pokes you in the back, and swatting at mosquitoes.

Trust me, sitting still is an art. Not everyone can do it, and I can set like a statue but nothing like I could 20 years ago. Age brings with it knowledge and more aches and pains.

Learn some of the sitting-still methods before bow season

The knowledge is what allows me to tune out the sore back, hips, legs and other body parts. Knowledge is the key to becoming a successful deer hunter.
Anyone who ever studies deer should have learned two things very quickly. Stay downwind of the deer, and  learn how to sit still.

It is not easy to sit still. Those who think they are being motionless and silent are, in many cases, moving far too much and making some noise in the process.

How do you sit still? The best way to learn is to go where deer are plentiful, and sit in a tree or a ground blind. See how long it takes before the hunter spooks deer.

Many feel that only spooked deer snort. Lots of deer simply melt back into cover, and leave the area silently. They are spooked but do not snort.

Watch deer, and see how often they stop and look around for danger. I've watched large numbers of deer over the years stand motionless for 30 minutes to an hour after detecting the presence of a hunter. Not a muscle, ear, eye or anything will move it they've  been alerted to nearby human  presence.

One of my hunting friends used to hunt a funnel leading out of a cedar swamp to open hardwoods. The swamp was full of water, and it was easy to tell where the deer were coming from. Deer that were wet clear up to their belly were coming through the swamp. Those deer could be heard coming for 15 minutes as the water sloshed around as they moved slowly.

Develop your own method for clearing your mind

Once he spotted a buck moving slowly, and then it stopped. It was 200 yards away but there was an open spot he could see through with binoculars, and he knew there was a hunter upwind of the deer. That animal stood  in cold November water for over an hour without moving. Dusk came and went, and the buck still stood in the water, as motionless as a statue.

How do you sit still? Part of it comes through practice but much of it comes from a total state of mental relaxation. Put your mind at ease, forget about aches and pains and that stiff little stub poking into your rump.

Tune it out. The more you think about it the more it will bother you. The same is true of mosquitoes early in the bow season; forget about them, and the less you move the less they will bother you.

Think good thoughts about good friends. Leave business problems at the office, and dismiss them from your mind. Mentally think about something calm and pleasing. Put your mind in a relaxed state. Forget missed phone calls or upcoming doctor appointments. Clear your mind of anything and everything, relax and don't think.

Purge your mind of all thoughts and picture yourself somewhere lovely, a spot where you feel a gentle sense of peace, and where nothing can affect you. A friend imagines himself on a calm pond where no wind is felt, no sound is heard, and in his mind he lays back against a boat cushion, stares up at the clouds and his breathing slows down. He keeps seeing that gentle pond in his mind's eye, and he sits quietly and without motion.

Time seems to pass slowly, and almost as if from a haze, out steps a buck. The animal is upwind, sniffing and looking for danger. Sensing none, he steps forward two or three more paces, and stops.

Don’t fall asleep but act like you are; Pay attention to deer

Relaxed, the deer looks around and watches his back trail. As the deer looks away, the hunter slowly and quietly comes to full draw, aims and kills that deer.

It was easy because the hunter was relaxed. A relaxed sportsman, at peace with body and soul, doesn't move and doesn't make a sound.

It takes practice but then so do many other thing in life. Sit in the woods during the summer months, and practice the art of sitting motionless and silent, but realize you needs practice. Do it now, and you'll be ready for the hunting season when it arrives.