Beast method

[Mike K]

After reading through countless posts on this site there were a few that mentioned hunting the beast method. I don't mean to sound stupid, but I've never heard of it before. What exactly is the beast method? Thanks, Mike

 

[rr79]

Never heard of it either. Dont feel bad.

 

[Rg176bnc]

Me either but I go into beast mode Sept 15 until Jan 31st. Marshawn Lynch and got nothing on me!

 

[MilkWeed]

Check out The Hunting Beast. It is a forum ran by Dan Infalt. Look into him. That guy kills some bucks.
In short... Beast is a term that I think Dan coined for slipping in and setting up very close to buck beds.

 

[Mike K]

Milkweed, I'll look into that. Thanks

 

[d_rek]

Yup Beast Method is a style coined by Dan Infalt. He has a (dreadfully tacky looking and hard to read) forum at thehuntingbeast.com, but it's loaded with amazingly useful information and members.

The gist of beast style is this:

• Heavy scouting and patterning of target bucks both off and in season (I gather they do a lot of shining in Wisconsin lol)
• Deep understanding of topography and thermals to identify and scout potential buck beds and where to setup
• Often freelance hunt (aka in and out) near known buck beds
• Some unorthodox stand setups and methods including setting up hang-ons only 6-feet from the ground, or hunting cat-tail marshes using folding ladders. Basically adapting to the terrain if there isn't a 'perfect' tree and/or height

I will say there is a lot of useful information, especially on how Dan reads topos to scout an area. It's great for hill country, but not terribly useful for homogenous terrain or agricultural land.

 

[rr79]

slipping in and setting up very close to buck beds.

Ohhh. Guess i been hunting beast mode for ever.. I should make my own name up. How bout hunting bucks. Sounds catchy.

 

[redsquirrel]

Exactly what the other guys have said.

 

[redsquirrel]

slipping in and setting up very close to buck beds.

Ohhh. Guess i been hunting beast mode for ever.. I should make my own name up. How bout hunting bucks. Sounds catchy.

Yes, it seems to be that the guys who get it done year after year hunt exactly the same way, just without a name. Dan has just "popularized it". I put that in quotes because it will never be a mainstream method because 99% of the guys out there will never put in the work to do it successfully.

 

[essdub]

slipping in and setting up very close to buck beds.

Ohhh. Guess i been hunting beast mode for ever.. I should make my own name up. How bout hunting bucks. Sounds catchy.

That's awesome, and catchy. nice!

 

[deep_phried_squirrel]

so...essentially he's using a pinch of what the eberharts espouse with a few added twists that don't include saddles? eh...i've already found my whitetail bible i'm pretty sure...but i'll probably read into it to see if i can glean some helpful info

 

[ADKMtnTrapper]

I have been looking into this more and more lately. The site has alot of great scouting tips and such but from what i have been reading they do alot of hunting based on buck beds specifically and hunting them with taking into account thermals and topography(and how it effects wind direction) I think the info he has is a little outside the normal box of deer hunting and is way more micro focused.

Just a quick point, he talks about if you find a bed in a small "bowl" that the dip in elevation will draw air from all directions(i.e. a thermal air current) therefore allowing the buck to smell 360 deg around him making him harder to hunt. They also talk about finding a buck bed and getting down at his level to see what he sees in order to pick stand locations etc. There is a ton more info out there,ive only begun to understand this kind of scouting/hunting method.

I think conventional hunting is more of a broad based style(ie walk the woods find the trails/bedding/transition/feeding/funnel zones and set up down wind of prime locations).

I also think that his style would be more benificial if you have that "unkillable buck on your property.

 

[parkersdad]

I think his style of hunting is more for the guys that hunt in the Midwest or open areas. This helps them be able to see the buck and find where he beds. I'm not so sure that this way of hunting will work in the big mountains of say North Carolina or Virginia. There is no way to know where the buck is without sign because you cannot spotlight and there is so much unbroken woods you cannot pinpoint his every move. Notice the guy that runs the site is from Wisconsin

 

[redsquirrel]

I think his style of hunting is more for the guys that hunt in the Midwest or open areas. This helps them be able to see the buck and find where he beds. I'm not so sure that this way of hunting will work in the big mountains of say North Carolina or Virginia. There is no way to know where the buck is without sign because you cannot spotlight and there is so much unbroken woods you cannot pinpoint his every move. Notice the guy that runs the site is from Wisconsin

I agree that it might make things easier when you have more open areas where you can spotlight and see the deer, but I think it can be done anywhere. Are the results going to pay off over night? Absolutely not. It takes a lot of hard work with boots on the ground. If you read through his site you will see that they talk a lot about hill country and narrowing down where to hunt in the mountains.

Am I an expert at doing that? Absolutely not. I just found the beast last year while striving to learn more about the hilly country I have started hunting the past few years. I have found about 1/2 dozen buck beds that I can try to hunt beast style and I have used their knowledge of where deer bed to get on to more deer and understand the deer I was previously seeing better.

 

[Bogle]

Big fan of the Beast. Dan is great guy and I like the fact that it is pre-dominantly a hunting "technique" site. While each property is different, I think Dan puts out a lot of good info that is applicable to most places.

 

[parkersdad]

I think his style of hunting is more for the guys that hunt in the Midwest or open areas. This helps them be able to see the buck and find where he beds. I'm not so sure that this way of hunting will work in the big mountains of say North Carolina or Virginia. There is no way to know where the buck is without sign because you cannot spotlight and there is so much unbroken woods you cannot pinpoint his every move. Notice the guy that runs the site is from Wisconsin

I agree that it might make things easier when you have more open areas where you can spotlight and see the deer, but I think it can be done anywhere. Are the results going to pay off over night? Absolutely not. It takes a lot of hard work with boots on the ground. If you read through his site you will see that they talk a lot about hill country and narrowing down where to hunt in the mountains.

Am I an expert at doing that? Absolutely not. I just found the beast last year while striving to learn more about the hilly country I have started hunting the past few years. I have found about 1/2 dozen buck beds that I can try to hunt beast style and I have used their knowledge of where deer bed to get on to more deer and understand the deer I was previously seeing better.

I am not saying that I do not like the site as I am a member and go on there every day. There is lots of good information on there that I have put to use myself. All I am saying is a lot of the guys on there are from the Midwest where you can visibly scout and that does make things a little easier.

 

[drew13]

Have to agree - there really is a lot of good HUNTING info on the beast website. As others have said, the info mainly centers around big buck bedding, where to find it and how to hunt it. Bucks use topography, wind, thermals, cover, etc, etc to their advantage when bedding so gaining as much knowledge about those things as possible can only help you find those beds, sneak in close WHILE he is in his bed (within 75 yards) and get a shot when he gets up to feed.

 

[essdub]

I agree that there's a lot of good info there. Lots of interesting threads and cool photos too. The info reminds me of another book I read about hunting titled REAL WORLD WHITE TAIL BEHAVIOR by Jim Roy , I think. Some of the info on the site (and the book for that matter) is contrary to common belief. I enjoy the site and the book as well as many other differing sources of info. My real world observations fall somewhere in between all the popular teaching. If I ever agree completely with everything someone else says all the time, I begin to wonder which of us is not being genuine or actually thinking for himself.
With that said, I do enjoy reading other people's thoughts and experiences even if I disagree