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walking in the woods: heel-toe and toe-heel

Samcirrus said:
You Americans and your fear of deer poo....the first thing I was taught in South Africa when I went on a mission trip into the Bush was that if you got lost or stranded, eating deer poop was the safest(deer don't eat poisonous plants)and most nutritional thing around because the deer only partially digest it.....
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Sam, are you sure they weren't just messing with you? :)
 
Samcirrus said:
You Americans and your fear of deer poo....the first thing I was taught in South Africa when I went on a mission trip into the Bush was that if you got lost or stranded, eating deer poop was the safest(deer don't eat poisonous plants)and most nutritional thing around because the deer only partially digest it.....
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I have been "influenced" to try lots of things from this site, but this will NOT be one of them.


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Samcirrus said:
S
Sooooo what your saying is I should stop eating the veggie chocolates in the woods as a breath cover scent?
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I have to say that I have a dog who thinks deer and rabbit poop are the bomb! He loves the soft brown kibble! :tearsofjoy:

EDIT: He is a chocolate lab so maybe that's why he likes the "veggie chocolates".
 
raisins said:
It's very common for people to bring up setting the heel and then slowing lowering to the toe. This is the "open the Doritos bag slowly and try to cover it with your hand" idea of crunching leaves, and it works.

However, next time you are out, try toe-heel. Poke around with your toe, find a quiet spot, anchor toe and roll onto the heel.

Cons:

1. it is slow and awkward and not useful for covering distance

Pros:

1. you can poke around and feel the ground prior to committing your weight to it. Try feeling around with your heel to see if a stick is there and then change your mind and uncommit to the step, it won't work very well.

There's a reason behind tip toeing. I believe toe-heel is superior for stalking or moving slowly while being as quiet as possible.

I've seen folks go to further extremes. Set toe, roll outside edge of foot, then set foot down. But that's just too much.
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Fred Asbell used to call this deer walking. Deer with 4 legs make 4 distinct noises as they walk. Similarities to your actions.
 
I think about walking around hunting barefoot early season especially but the dang sandspurs I pull off my pants and shoes at the end of the day make me chicken out
 
Weldabeast said:
I think about walking around hunting barefoot early season especially but the dang sandspurs I pull off my pants and shoes at the end of the day make me chicken out
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Ever try pig grunting as you walk? Or are deers afraid of pigs?
 
Samcirrus said:
Ever try pig grunting as you walk? Or are deers afraid of pigs?
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I tend to think pigs and deers don't like each other's company too much but I have seen a hog and doe feeding in the same small clearing 10 feet away from each other.... My hunting buddy recommends the turkey call technique but I never tried
 
Weldabeast said:
I tend to think pigs and deers don't like each other's company too much but I have seen a hog and doe feeding in the same small clearing 10 feet away from each other.... My hunting buddy recommends the turkey call technique but I never tried
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anything that doesnt get out of the way of a herd of wild hogs is just dead.
 
Swampfox said:
Get a walking stick, you will be much quieter as well,


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I'll have to try it, but how does a walking stick make you quieter? You can poke around to find quiet spots? You can better balance? Never heard this. I do have an aluminum telescoping hiking pole or two laying around to try this with.
 
There’s videos of guys using a walking stick to mimic the gait of our four-legged prey.

My only question is to what extent any of this makes a difference. On the driest, crunchiest bed of leaves and sticks, how far away can a deer head you realistically? And how much quieter is one gait versus another?

How about toe-heeling a mile back to your set and then one of your carabiners smacks your stick?

Also tactics: if you’re a scout-to-hunt kind of guy. You’re seriously gonna toe-heel walk four miles to find that hot feed tree for your evening set?

Same with headlamps and all. Some guys swear the deer can’t see their 100 lumen white headlamp (that we all can see from 400 yards away… but I digress); others use the red/green LEDs….

I feel like some of these things get into diminishing returns territory where great effort exerted only makes one 2% more effective as a hunter

For the record… I like both at different times. Toe heel if it’s particularly woody/crunchy and I’m close to where I wanna hang. Heel toe for busting longer distances
 
Toe heel is my preferred method for stealthy movement through the woods as it allows me to feel for twigs and branches before I put my weight down fully. However, it is slow going and physically exhausting if you do it right. Here In the northeast and in similar cold climates, walking on leaves at this time of year is like stepping on a bag of potato chips with every step you take. You're going to make noise. Walking painstakingly slow is the best method to reduce noise in this case.
 
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