Hunting gobblers will teach a hunter how to sit still

A decoy can help divert some attention away from a caller.

 

My preaching about sitting still without making noise has become a mantra. Some people might think I keep repeating myself, but this is a most important thing for hunters to keep in mind.

Perhaps I do natter on a bit about it but there is a very good reason for my tedious repetition. If some folks aren't reminded, they tend to forget this very important part of hunting.

Move at the wrong time, and a deer has you pegged. If you are very lucky the deer will run off without blowing and snorting or spooking every deer within hearing.

Sitting still is second nature to me but not to many deer and turkey hunters.

 

The same thing holds true with making any noise. Click an arrow against the bow, or have brass cartridges rattling around in your pocket, and it's enough to send whitetails bolting for cover a half-mile away. It's just their nature to be jumpy.

Some people believe that because they are in an elevated stand or inside a ground coop that they are well concealed. That's not true. They may be somewhat concealed but movement or sounds are seen or heard.

Anyone who really wants to get an education on sitting without making a movement or noise should practice on wild turkeys. These birds seem to have X-ray vision, and their ability to hear sounds is second to none.

Some friends hunt turkeys with a bow. They are accustomed to sitting still in a deer blind, and it is second nature for them to sit still while turkey hunting.

I've often watched other people hunt birds, and almost all of them wind up spooking the gobbler long before Ol' Longbeard strolls within 100 yards. Think of it this way: all wild animals have the ability to tell almost precisely where a call they hear is coming from. It's almost uncanny how they determine a sense of place where a call originated.

Even a bull moose can pinpoint the position of a call.

 

Use a deer call on a whitetail passing 100 yards away, and if that buck comes, he will come to within 10 feet of where the call came from. If deer can do that, if moose or elk can do that, so can a turkey.

That bird may come fast or slow, but he will be coming directly to the hunter's location if possible. Some may try to circle a bit but they head straight for the call. So what happens when the bird is 100 yards away, and you decide to reposition yourself for a shot at the wrong time?

The gobbler will have you spotted in a heartbeat. There is an old adage about hunting gobblers that goes: If you can see the gobbler, the gobbler can see you. If a move is necessary, do so when his head is behind a big tree. Don't get caught when he is out in the open.

Cheating on a gobbler involves waiting until the bird goes behind a thick bush or a big tree. If a move must be made, make if fast, smooth and without noise ... and when the bird cannot see you. Never attempt any type of move if a bird is within 35 yards.

Eliminate all movement by being properly positioned for a shot at all times.

 

OK, if the bird is coming directly to your call, all you need to do is line up on the bird's head. You do have the shotgun stock to your shoulder and the fore-end braced on the palm of your hand and resting on your knees, don't you? It's like having the bow in your hand, the other hand on the release, and being back at full draw and waiting for the shot.

Success at turkey hunting means being prepared, doing everything right, and sitting still. A moving hunter or one that makes a noise other than that made by a hen turkey will probably scare off the bird. Once a turkey is spooked, he's not coming back for a visit any time soon.

That same analogy applies equally well to deer hunting. The sportsman that can't set still for an incoming turkey won't be able to sit still when the buck of a lifetime approaches his stand.

It's great training for those hunters who drew a spring turkey permit. If you didn't draw one, don't practice your sitting still exercises when other people may be in the woods. There is little sense in ruining someone else's hunt.

If you want a top-end experience of learning what and what not to do when game approaches. hunt gobblers. Make one mistake, and you'll have learned your first lesson, which should never be repeated.

Posted via email from Dave Richey Outdoors

Sitting still is an art

The author shot this bear from the ground at a range of six feet.

Anyone who has bow hunted more than a few days should know the importance of sitting still. Knowing that, and doing it right, are two entirely different things.

Sitting still means at least two different things. It means being motionless and quiet. One without the other makes little sense, and it will spook game.

I seldom hunt with another person, but in the past when my kids and grandkids were young, they would go out with me. Most adults can't sit still, and even fewer children can do so.


Solitary hunters often do better at bow hunting than will two or three buddies.

One of my grandchildren was fidgeting when I whispered to him to sit still. He whispered back that he was sitting still.

I told him his idea and my idea of being motionless and quiet were not the same.It's taken years to master the art of silent sitting. I've taken more black bears than I have fingers and toes, and have learned some of the tricks to sitting as still as a stone for long periods of time.

"The first bear I shot," another savvy hunter told me, "was on Sept. 10, opening day of Upper Peninsula bear season. This was well over 30 years ago, and tree stand hunting wasn't legal. I sat alongside but downwind of an active bear trail with my back against a big cedar root-wad on a warm autumn day. The trail was only six feet away.

"Sometime later, I awoke from my dozing and cracked one eye lid to see a black bear walking past. I made a smooth draw and an clean bow shot that took the bruin behind the front shoulder. It ran only 25 yards into tall marsh gras and dropped."

The hunter said he was absolutely motionless when the bear walked by because he was sound asleep. He admits it was an accident, but he's since learned to sit without movement or sound for long periods of time.

Over many years of hunting bears and deer, I've discovered the trick to being still is to be comfortable, and a hunter must learn how to relax and be at ease with himself and his surroundings if he hopes to be motionless and quiet. The first step is to remove anything that can cause discomfort while sitting

My primary problem is it's necessary to remove my billfold from my back pocket. If it is left in, my sitting time is 30 minutes or less before my hip begins to hurt from an old injury. No one can sit still if their butt is painfully sore.


Find a place where the human body can be comfortable and then relax.

Sit on the ground, and a root an inch under the dirt will put a crease in your butt, and you'll start moving to get comfortable. I make certain if I'm in a tree stand that no branch stub is digging into my hip, ribs or spine. A stone in the dirt under you hind end will feel like a boulder after 30 minutes.

Check out each spot wherever you hunt. Remove offending branches or broken branch stubs. Many tree stands have uncomfortable seats because the seat is too low, and your knees are up under your chin and that makes for an uncomfortable seat. Just as bad or worse is a seat that is too high, and you have to sit on the edge of the seat to keep your feet steady on the platform. This cuts off blood flow to your legs, and your toes and feet go to sleep, which leads to more movement.

Learn to get physically comfortable first, and then learn to relax your body and mind. A man told me once that he meditates while in a stand, and although his eyes may be closed and his heartbeat and respiratory system slows down, he can hear the rustle of bear hair against bracken ferns or the faint twig snap of a wandering buck.

This isn't recommended for someone unaccustomed to meditation. What works for most of us is to free our brain of all thought, to feel comfortable and relaxed, and to will yourself to being motionless. I've had bucks approach to within several feet of me without seeing any movement, and that is part of the secret. Keep your mind uncluttered by unnecessary details, and it's much easier to remain still.

One trick of mine is to fix your attention on a distant object, and stare at it. It will blur, come back into focus, and blur again. Stick with it, and don't think of deer or work or anything else, and try to become one with your surroundings. Get comfortable and don't feel like an intruder in the woods.

That works for me and some other people I know, but it may not work for you without a great deal of concentrated practice. The first and foremost thing is to be comfortable. Once the human body is comfortable, start working on the mind.

Soon, with continuous practice, it will be possible to sit motionless for 30 minutes. Then start working on being motionless for an hour. If you can get up to two or three hours, many of your hunting problems will be solved.


Expect sudden noises like flushing grouse, snorting deer or chattering squirrels.

Learn to expect sudden noises, such as a red squirrel chattering. Don't be startled when a bear or deer steps through dry leaves. Be alert but motionless and still. Sooner or later whatever made the noise will step into view. Never turn to look behind you.

The old Negro League pitcher 59 years ago  -- Satchell Paige -- had it right when he once said: "Don't look back. Something might be gaining on you." That thought should be considered by hunters who wish to remain motionless.

If you are not moving, you won't be making noise (unless you snore). Without movement or noise, the only thing you must worry about is being winded. Stay downwind of where bear or deer travel, and you will have removed most of the key things that can spook animals.

Turkey season opens in a couple of month, and movement or  sound (except a turkey call) will spook birds. Their vision is like you or me looking through 10-power binoculars. I wear a camo face mask that covers  my face, ears and glasses, and wear brown gloves on my hand. The trick to shooting a gobble-bird is to be ready for a shot when he steps within range. Sit with the shotgun across your knees, and try to raise it and aim at a bird, abd all you'll see will be tailfeathers going away.

Practice now, long before turkey or bow season opens, to sit still and motionless in a non-hunting environment. If you can pull that off for two hours, and you follow the other common-sense hunting rules, there won't be a bear, deer or gobbler that will be safe around you.

Sitting still and not moving any part of your body except your eyes is simply a case of mind over matter. Humans do have a brain, and once they condition it to silent inactivity, their hunting skills will go up.