Walking speed?

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Billy Z
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Walking speed?

Unread postby Billy Z » Sat Aug 18, 2018 1:14 pm

As a new hunter, I believe I may be walking too fast when entering the woods (spooking deer). Does anyone have a rule of thumb about their entry speed?


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Jackson Marsh
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Re: Walking speed?

Unread postby Jackson Marsh » Sat Aug 18, 2018 1:22 pm

I walk fast until I am close to the area I will be hunting. The distance from my hunting spot to where I start really slowing down depends on a number of factors: wind speed, background noise (birds, planes, road noise etc), how noisy the terrain I am walking on.

Dan had a great tip many years ago and it really works well. When you are about 100 to 200 yards from your tree, sit down for 5 or 10 minutes and relax, get in tune with the woods. Take a few deep relaxing breaths and chill. This helps slow a guy down from the rush.
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Re: Walking speed?

Unread postby Jackson Marsh » Sat Aug 18, 2018 1:28 pm

I forgot to add....slow waaaaay down on your final approach. Sometimes I am barely moving. Watch where you place your feet. Before taking a step know where your foot will land and mentally map out your route avoiding spots that will create noise.
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Re: Walking speed?

Unread postby Dewey » Sat Aug 18, 2018 1:30 pm

Totally agree. ^^^^^
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Jackson Marsh
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Re: Walking speed?

Unread postby Jackson Marsh » Sat Aug 18, 2018 1:34 pm

If you crack a stick, thunk your boot on a log or rattle a rock just stop and take a knee for a few minutes and relax....hopefully any deer within hearing distance will ignore the sound.
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Re: Walking speed?

Unread postby sdonx » Sat Aug 18, 2018 2:09 pm

I like to count....yes it's probably a rainman thing. But I have different speeds and I count them out. 6 steps 6 seconds/ 12 steps 6 seconds / 6 steps 24 seconds and so one. If I do make a sound I stop for a while but I try to count still. I pace it as I see sign if I am scout/ hunting, still hunting or when I am close to stand location. counting allows me to be disciplined. When I catch myself not counting I am always moving way to quickly.
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Re: Walking speed?

Unread postby Brandonkinchen » Sat Aug 18, 2018 2:16 pm

Jackson Marsh wrote:I walk fast until I am close to the area I will be hunting. The distance from my hunting spot to where I start really slowing down depends on a number of factors: wind speed, background noise (birds, planes, road noise etc), how noisy the terrain I am walking on.

Dan had a great tip many years ago and it really works well. When you are about 100 to 200 yards from your tree, sit down for 5 or 10 minutes and relax, get in tune with the woods. Take a few deep relaxing breaths and chill. This helps slow a guy down from the rush.



I've been going way to fast. I didn't care how much noise I was making. I thought if I was in early enough it give the woods time to calm down. That may be true a little but i didn't think of all the deer I probably scared off in the process... The more I learn here the more I realize how much I've done wrong. It's amazing I've killed anything. Lol!
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Billy Z
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Re: Walking speed?

Unread postby Billy Z » Sat Aug 18, 2018 3:26 pm

Jackson Marsh wrote:I walk fast until I am close to the area I will be hunting. The distance from my hunting spot to where I start really slowing down depends on a number of factors: wind speed, background noise (birds, planes, road noise etc), how noisy the terrain I am walking on.

Dan had a great tip many years ago and it really works well. When you are about 100 to 200 yards from your tree, sit down for 5 or 10 minutes and relax, get in tune with the woods. Take a few deep relaxing breaths and chill. This helps slow a guy down from the rush.



I may be overthinking this. But wouldn’t you want to make you’re entire walk in very stealth like? Possibly gaining intel from browsing deer?
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Re: Walking speed?

Unread postby Jackson Marsh » Sat Aug 18, 2018 3:50 pm

Billy Z wrote:
Jackson Marsh wrote:I walk fast until I am close to the area I will be hunting. The distance from my hunting spot to where I start really slowing down depends on a number of factors: wind speed, background noise (birds, planes, road noise etc), how noisy the terrain I am walking on.

Dan had a great tip many years ago and it really works well. When you are about 100 to 200 yards from your tree, sit down for 5 or 10 minutes and relax, get in tune with the woods. Take a few deep relaxing breaths and chill. This helps slow a guy down from the rush.



I may be overthinking this. But wouldn’t you want to make you’re entire walk in very stealth like? Possibly gaining intel from browsing deer?



If I'm a half mile from my spot I'm still paying attention to tracks, rubs and scrapes but most of the area I'm walking through is "dead area" where there is no chance of seeing a buck during daylight outside of getting lucky during the rut.

I don't intentionally make noise in the dead areas, but I also don't worry about it.
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Re: Walking speed?

Unread postby tgreeno » Sat Aug 18, 2018 4:03 pm

IMO...Most every person I've ever hunted with, make way too much noise accessing their spots. I believe it is one a the biggest reason people have limited success. I still catch myself sometime going too fast on occasion. JM is spot on!

I'm amazed at how much more sign I see. That I would of never noticed in the past.
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Re: Walking speed?

Unread postby Billy Z » Sun Aug 19, 2018 8:17 am

Thanks for the Info guys. I’m going to really slow down my final approach this season.
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Re: Walking speed?

Unread postby sdonx » Sun Aug 19, 2018 9:01 am

tgreeno wrote:IMO...Most every person I've ever hunted with, make way too much noise accessing their spots.



Everyone always thinks it's the other guy making all the noise. I don't think we hear ourselves as well as you hear someone else walking.
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Re: Walking speed?

Unread postby Little Joe » Mon Aug 20, 2018 10:03 am

Depending how far you are going in, walking speed the last couple of 100 yds ought to slow way down as Dan and others have said.

I have a hard time with young hunters that like to racecwalk ahead. I am not worried about missing a shot but spooking game. My attitude is if the birds are not singing and squirrels are not rustling around you are spooking game. It is not a rush.
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Re: Walking speed?

Unread postby Marshbuster89 » Wed Oct 31, 2018 8:03 am

sdonx wrote:
tgreeno wrote:IMO...Most every person I've ever hunted with, make way too much noise accessing their spots.



Everyone always thinks it's the other guy making all the noise. I don't think we hear ourselves as well as you hear someone else walking.


Couldn’t agree with this more! Taking that little 5 minute cool-down break before closing the last couple hundred yards really does work, also.
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Re: Walking speed?

Unread postby Ognennyy » Wed Oct 31, 2018 12:06 pm

You ever notice how when you see a deer in the early-mid season, before it's cold and dry outside and all the leaves are crisp and noisy, they just suddenly appear like a ghost and you're usually caught off-guard? It's because they move so slowly that our human eyes don't catch much of the movement. Not only is their overall pace slow but they move their legs in this slow, very even cadence. They just seem to glide along like molten butter through the woods. Millions of years of evolution while everything in the woods is trying to eat you demands such slow, even movement so as not to be seen.

When I get anywhere close to the area I plan to set up, or if I'm in an area where I believe there might be deer - be that close to my stand location, or while I'm still-hunting - I try to emulate the sort of movement deer employ that causes us to look down from our stands at a deer 15 yards away and think "holy crap where did he come from!"

My main doe-killing tree stand for morning hunts is a scant 100 yards inside the timber line. If I can't be at the timber line at least an hour before I expect deer to be coming through I won't hunt the stand.


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