Walking quieter in the woods.

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sunset samurai
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Re: Walking quieter in the woods.

Unread postby sunset samurai » Wed Mar 11, 2015 3:22 am

Obviously not every situation lends itself to this advantage, but when possible walk in via a creek can let u move through areas undetected, the rocks and soft sands can be silent and many of them offer banks taller thn you, if the creek meanders close enuff to the bedding you can pop up the bank n climb ur tree. Good to walk em in the off season to make sure they are passable.

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Jdub
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Re: Walking quieter in the woods.

Unread postby Jdub » Wed Mar 11, 2015 3:41 am

Learned this from another member, I use a squirrel call when walking in when there is little or no wind. Take a few steps, call, wait...repeat.
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Re: Walking quieter in the woods.

Unread postby dan » Wed Mar 11, 2015 4:18 am

One thing that helps me a lot in those critical areas is when you hit the quiet zone instead of just trying to slow down, actually sit down on a log and wait a good 5 minutes and let your body calm down.
It might not be for everyone, but for me its hard to turn the switch from fast paced modern life to snail slow and the sit helps me regroup and calm down.
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Re: Walking quieter in the woods.

Unread postby whitetailassasin » Wed Mar 11, 2015 5:39 am

dan wrote:One thing that helps me a lot in those critical areas is when you hit the quiet zone instead of just trying to slow down, actually sit down on a log and wait a good 5 minutes and let your body calm down.
It might not be for everyone, but for me its hard to turn the switch from fast paced modern life to snail slow and the sit helps me regroup and calm down.


x2

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stash59
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Re: Walking quieter in the woods.

Unread postby stash59 » Wed Mar 11, 2015 3:10 pm

Good advise all.
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Re: Walking quieter in the woods.

Unread postby Justin85 » Thu Mar 12, 2015 12:17 am

I don't go by the breaking the cadence of a human thing. I've heard that and it makes sense, but how many times have you watched deer and then hear deer in the woods behind them and then cock their ears and eyes to attention.

Bed hunting lends itself to silent and invisible as possible, not trying to sound like something else.

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Re: Walking quieter in the woods.

Unread postby SaddleMaster » Thu Mar 12, 2015 2:05 am

The book "Stalking & Still-Hunting: The Ground Hunter's Bible" has some good tips. Sometimes the leaves are dry and there's just no getting around making noise. So one method he has is to put the toe down first then snap the heel down so you sound like a 4-legged creature (i.e. deer).
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Re: Walking quieter in the woods.

Unread postby SaddleMaster » Thu Mar 12, 2015 2:44 am

Justin85 wrote:I don't go by the breaking the cadence of a human thing. I've heard that and it makes sense, but how many times have you watched deer and then hear deer in the woods behind them and then cock their ears and eyes to attention.


I agree, which kind of goes against my previous post. Once I had a buck bed in front of me for about hour and lay his head down to rest. Some turkeys started coming up the ridge making a ton of noise. He jumped up, was all nervous and ready to bolt. After he saw they were turkeys he bedded back down. So he couldn't tell the difference just based on the sound they were making and needed to see what was making the noise before he calmed back down.
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Re: Walking quieter in the woods.

Unread postby ThePreBanMan » Fri Mar 13, 2015 1:48 pm

I tried something that you guys would probably laugh at me for.... but this year I walked through the woods trying to sound like a deer. I trotted through the leaves and blew on on the grunt tube occasionally. I felt like a fool doing it - until it worked and brought in a nice doe. Too bad I was too busy acting like a fool to notice her before she saw me. Another time I was doing it I heard (but could not see) a deer jump and go bounding off. I don't think it winded me - but it heard me. I immediately stopped and blew a single snort wheeze at it. It stopped and did the same back at me. Never got to see that deer. I didn't hear it after that and think it walked off quietly. Still - it was cool just to be able to stop a deer that was otherwise hightailing it. Don't think that would have been the case if it winded me though.

So - maybe being quiet is the best way to go. But don't be afraid to think outside the box.

Edit: Can't take credit for the idea by the way. I read it in a book.
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Re: Walking quieter in the woods.

Unread postby drew13 » Sat Mar 14, 2015 3:52 am

Many good tips here - to recap and add one or two of my own:
- Try to step on rocks, roots, logs, etc - anything that doesn't have leaves on it. Keep in mind that leaves will naturally collect in low spots, making those spots louder than the high spots.
- Learn to recognize what types of downed trees in your area are bad to step on and what a s solid log looks like as opposed to rotten wood. For instance, the bark on a dead birch tree will often come loose from the trunk. If you then step on it, it will make a loud crunching sound. Rotten hemlock logs will crumble underfoot and make noise.
- Learn which types of trees are quietest to walk under. For instance, dry maple and oak leaves can be very crunchy and loud. Dry cedar, hemlock, spruce or fir needles can be very quiet. Pine needles are very quiet but there can be a ton of dried pine sticks that are hard to avoid.
- Use other noises as cover - airplanes flying overhead, gusts of wind, geese flying overhead, etc.
- If you make a mistake and make a loud noise, FREEZE. A second noise is only confirmation to a deer that SOMETHING made that noise. Do a little squirrel chatter, bird squak or turkey purr if it makes you feel better.
- Thin-soled boots really do help you feel the twigs under your feet better.
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Re: Walking quieter in the woods.

Unread postby exojam » Sat Mar 14, 2015 5:43 am

JoeRE wrote:
dan wrote:[glow=red]2 hours for the last 100 yards is a bit extreme... Maybe a 1/2 hour or 20 minutes is more realistic.[/glow] Its important to plan your path as you go. While your waiting between steps you should be scanning where the beds are, scanning where your least resistant path is, scanning for where your feet will land. Looking for exposed rocks, dirt, logs, or water where you step noiseless.


That's what I was thinking too.


The key is not to try and be completely silent, rather just break up your pattern and sound like a deer, turkey, or squirrel hopping around so you don't alert things as much. Only humans go crunch crunch crunch crunch crunch.



So what do you think my track chair would make them think of? Sort of a quite ATV that is just passing through, hopefully maybe? Thanks.
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Re: Walking quieter in the woods.

Unread postby Uncle Lou » Sat Mar 14, 2015 10:04 am

To me if you are not exhausted from trying to walk quiet, you aren't trying hard enough, and you aren't quiet enough
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Re: Walking quieter in the woods.

Unread postby TN Whitetail Freak » Mon Mar 16, 2015 4:59 am

Possible solution is the vibram 5 finger shoe
http://zanottimenssneakers.com/fivefing ... ucts30210/

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Horizontal Hunter
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Re: Walking quieter in the woods.

Unread postby Horizontal Hunter » Mon Mar 16, 2015 8:47 am

TN Whitetail Freak wrote:Possible solution is the vibram 5 finger shoe
http://zanottimenssneakers.com/fivefing ... ucts30210/

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You could also try an overshoe like the Catprowler:

http://ranchosafari.co/?product=catprow ... o-cart=148

Bob

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Re: Walking quieter in the woods.

Unread postby Dewey » Mon Mar 16, 2015 9:04 am

Horizontal Hunter wrote:
TN Whitetail Freak wrote:Possible solution is the vibram 5 finger shoe
http://zanottimenssneakers.com/fivefing ... ucts30210/

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You could also try an overshoe like the Catprowler:

http://ranchosafari.co/?product=catprow ... o-cart=148

Bob

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Those are awesome. If I ever do some spot and stalking out west again I'm getting some of those.

Thinking they would also be nice for wearing on stand to eliminate the dreaded boot squeak when repositioning on the platform.
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