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Stealth Strip - Is it really necessary

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IslandStorm62

Member
Joined
Feb 28, 2021
Messages
61
Hey all,
Just trying to get started with Saddle Hunting, and I noticed that there are a lot of stuff where other hunters have "Stealth Strip" their sticks, platforms etc. I guess I am not sure just how necessary is this. I've only hunted 15+ seasons. Tree stand, Stalking and Still Hunting (no blinds). With the tree stand, no stealth strips a little clanging when setting up and during the climb. Stalking - just move verrrrrry slow, scan verrrrry slow and pay attention to the wind. Still Hunting...Don't MOVE lol:tearsofjoy:. Being a Rifle Hunter, I typically stand out in blaze orange. So, I'm just wondering if anyone can attest to having improved success because their gear has been stealth striped? Not trying to raise any hackles...just curious.
 
If you don't think being quiet is important i can't imagine you being very successful.
Everything helps...
 
I haven’t stealth stripped my stuff. I probably will this year. I had an experience last year where I had a nice buck coming in, my third encounter with this deer. He was about 75-100 yd from me on a breezy day. I went to grab my bow and I hit my release on the plastic cap of my coffee cup. It wasn’t loud, but he stopped dead in his tracks, stood there looking around for 7 minutes, then walked back the way he came. I won’t be stealth stripping my release or coffee cup, but I learned a lesson in how some deer respond to small, unnatural clicks/clangs.
 
IslandStorm62 said:
Being a Rifle Hunter, I typically stand out in blaze orange. So, I'm just wondering if anyone can attest to having improved success because their gear has been stealth striped? Not trying to raise any hackles...just curious.
Click to expand...

The answer is it depends. If you are normally trying to take animals at 100yds + then quieting gear has a nominal effect. However, if the goal is to setup sub 100 yds than noise could be huge.
 
IslandStorm62 said:
Being a Rifle Hunter, I typically stand out in blaze orange. So, I'm just wondering if anyone can attest to having improved success because their gear has been stealth striped? Not trying to raise any hackles...just curious.
Click to expand...
When I choose to put SS on something....making it camo usually isn't even on the list of reason why I'm contemplating putting it on....I use it for the sound deadening and for it's soft texture also to make things less shiny. One of my favorite uses for it is to fix holes in clothing...vet wrap works really well also and that's what I use for anything that I may not want wrapped permanent.
 
I agree that stealth strips make the sticks less cold to touch and quieter.

I stripped mine three years ago so they have been through two full seasons. And I had them out the other day and they seem to smell a bit. pretty sure they have never been put away wet.

I'm going to try a light detergent and see if that helps.
 
I usually stealth strip anything that could make unwanted noise. Bow holder, grunt calls, milkweed container, buckles, etc
 
No right or wrong answer to your post, just what works for you. My belief is that most hunters are not setting up within 100 or less yards of deer anyway, so taping sticks and other gear that will not make noise when deer are in the killing bubble is a waste. Also, leaves or lack of, temperature, humidity, and others that affect how far the sound travels. Look up some of the Jim Hole videos if you want to take silencing to the extreme.
 
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I believe a mature bucks number 1 defense by far is his ability to hear. I'll do anything to prevent him from hearing me including SSs
 
phatkaw said:
BigMike, I'm going with his nose...
Lots of things make noise in the woods. But one whiff of a hunter is all it takes for a mature buck to know that YOU are in there.
Click to expand...
I disagree. The wind is either blowing towards where you expect the deer to come from or it isnt.( of course thers those swirly days). And getting thermals down is easy. I'd wager anyday of the week far more hunters ruin there hunts long before theyve ever began by being noisy.
Good vid on it.
 
I agree to an extent but I have had encounters were the deers ears worked against them... Couple seasons ago I was working thru a low area. The ground was a mossy sponge and I was about to move really quiet.. There was a natural high ridge between the low area I was in and another low area.. the ridge was thick and u couldn't see thru it...as I was slowly making my way down the high spot looking for an area that wasn't so thick I could cross over into the other clearings I heard something get up from a little ways away. I froze and dropped to my knees. A buck was trotting over toward me....he couldn't see me and wind was in my favor. I got a shot at him at less than 15yds. Blood trail crossed some property boundaries and I was not able to recover him.... He heard me and got curious what the noise was and came over to investigate... Not a big mature animal but a legal deer is a legal deer IMO
 
Pretty good video.
EVERYTHING counts, but I stand behind the part where there is NO FOOLING a big bucks nose.

*edit* How 'bout them big bull elk? The moment they catch your wind - its over!
 
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