Woodsmanship skills

[BTaylor]

Curious to learn what woodsmanship skills you use that you attribute your deer hunting success too. Maybe share your top 2 or 3 but also share how you apply or correlate the woodsmanship skills to the tactics you use to kill. It would also be helpful to know what type of area you hunt topographically, hills, mountains, Ag country, river bottoms, etc.

 

[Hall17]

Mountain hunter here

1. Knowing the area
2. Quietness

These two allow me to get really close to deer and be in the game. Knowing the area allows me to know where they bed, feed etc. It also allows me to know how to access certain areas. Quietness for me is always so important for the obvious reasons

 

[NMSbowhunter]

I love working on my woodsmanship. It is something I don't think a person can ever fully master but instead it is a journey. At its most basic level it is paying attention to the woods and understanding the story the sign is telling me.

I hunt hills and creek systems. Where the deer are determines exactly where I hunt. I constantly remind myself to focus on fundamentals. Find the deer and set up on them.

I love to read sign and tracks. I have read several books on tracking also. It's just all very interesting to me.

 

[elk yinzer]

Mountain hunter also but also have a lot of experience in sort of farm country/broken biggish woods areas.

I would say knowing terrain/structure and just how animals tend to move about and relate to it and also how wind reacts to certain terrains so you can put yourself in areas that aren't terribly swirly. And then just general sign recognition beyond the super basics obvious sign, seeing the trails and beds and stuff that are fainter.

I think with those two things you can pretty much put yourself in a position to kill deer consistently. If you put yourself in the right place you can mess a lot of other stuff up.

Okay if I had to go with a #3 archery specific it's just learning how to kill them when they get in close. When to draw, when to shoot, when to wait it out, when to be a statue vs. getting away with movement, etc. That one I think just takes dozens or hundreds of deer in your bubble before instinct starts to kick in.

That's my version of treestand-bowhunting woodsmanship and admittedly I think it's kinda woodsmanship-lite. I am the worst still hunter I always admire how much skill it takes to consistently kill deer from the ground with a bow.

 

[kyler1945]

I hunt mostly along the Mississippi River from the gulf coast up to Missouri. And out west for other critters. My whitetail hunting style can be summed up in a couple sentences:

Find public huntjng ground that supports a high deer density with the appropriate nutrients and lifespan for bucks to grow large antlers. Walk this property until I find deer either unaware of my presence, or willing to come back to where I found them in daylight hours. Find the best spot to shoot them from. Shoot first legal deer that presents high% shot. Repeat, with only change being if I am in good spot for big bucks I might let small ones walk.


I’ve come to realize some people are born with heightened hyper awareness. And some people are not.

Some people are born with a preternatural ability to move through the woods either quietly, or sounding like they belong there. Some people are not.

Some people are born with the mental capacity to recognize patterns, break them apart at the appropriate level of abstraction, project them into the future, and build a plan to execute on the priors. Some people are not.

Yes, these are skills that can be honed. But if you’re at the far left of the distribution on any of these, trying really hard and practicing a lot won’t help you.

I’ve found that the single most useful skill is overcoming the very powerful urge to climb a tree in a crappy spot to “hunt”. Even dummies like me possess the intellect and physical tools to master this one. It just requires will power.

I’m not downplaying the mystique and allure of being able to know the size of a deer and the speed of it’s travel by a track, or what they ate by color and consistency of their scat. But with the tools and technology we have, the separation between good hunters and poor hunters will grow. And it seems like it’s got little to do with woodsmanship.

This isn’t because an excellent understanding of nature isn’t valuable. It’s that the mental and physical tools necessary to gain an excellent understanding of your environment isn’t something that time/money/training can change to a large degree. You either got it or you don’t.

I’m not saying learning and coaching and practicing woodsmanship don’t have ANY effect. I’m saying that the will power to continue walking, even when you’re looking at what YouTube calls “hot sign”, until you see what is actually hot sign - deer in the flesh in daylight hours making the sign - has an enormous effect.

TLDR; my most valuable woodsmanship skill is not climbing a tree until you’re 100% sure you will kill a deer under it on that hunt.

 

[kyler1945]

Follow up: time spent in the woods is the second biggest one. With enough time, you can’t help but fill your quiver with a ton of knowledge.

 

[woodsdog2]

In no particular order:

1. Wild grape vine clusters growing in or near terrain features like small draws or swales or benches- ever since I can remember, I've found the most buck sign when the cover in the hardwoods has wild grape vines growing in and around cover and underbrush with some kind of terrain feature that funnels movement.

2. A winding small but deep creek with sharp banks interspersed with hardwoods and conifers connecting two parallel ridges, look for a spot where the banks start to level, I like to setup over these trails crossing at these flatter spots in the terrain. I look for pocked down trials or ones with rubs on both sides or larger turds in the trails on both sides. I feel deer bedded will get up and go to these areas to drink and forage before heading out for the evening.

3. Areas of successional growth amongst old growth more mature type forests. Usually, its an old pasture or homestead opening overgrown. I like an inside or outside corner that tucks into close to a creek or steep terrain or ditch in cover. The point where that old brushy opening juts close to the ditch or creek or swale that is in woods is a great transition area but also a funnel pinch to set up over.

4. IF you can get to it early enough, sidehill onto a ridge area on a point that sticks out perpendicular to a main ridge. I look for grapevines and thicker cover in and along this point, the deer like to bed with the vines and other tangles behind them looking down. If you can get high enough and the point is steep enough your thermals will blow down over the deer side hilling to that bedding location on the point.

5. Start using your nose more just like a deer. If you're approaching an area, try to get so you can smell the area first.... you know that deer smell so most likely they're in the area already. I use this mostly when still-hunting from one location to the next to set up in.

6. Walk through deer turds or cow plops or both enroute to your stand locations.

I hunt eastern forestland hilly/steep terrain we have foothills that can get from 600 to 1800 feet ++we are often said to be the beginning foothilss to the Appalachian range but we also have great lakes lake plain terrain that is much flatter.

 

[Hunter260]

I think the most important skills are patience and awareness. No I don’t mean sit in one spot long enough and a deer will wander by, I mean don’t sprint through the woods cause you think you need to be setup by 4 pm and blow out all the deer

 

[woodsdog2]

Some people are born with a preternatural ability to move through the woods either quietly, or sounding like they belong there. Some people are not.

I agree with this completely. I know people that simply cannot walk stealthy at all. I call them "heel" walkers. My wife and my father are/were that way. They pay no mind to how they walk. I've always been a toe walker. I think it helps sneaking into stands.

 

[LAKY]

No matter where. Learn plants/tree species and what, if any, effect they have on deer. Are they used more at different times of the year than others? Are they used more when this species is mature or young? Do they use this species for food, cover, both? Think of how much a deer relies on these. Knowing what they are, where to find them, and how/when deer use them is invaluable.

 

[BTaylor]

Some people are born with the mental capacity to recognize patterns, break them apart at the appropriate level of abstraction, project them into the future, and build a plan to execute on the priors. Some people are not.

This is really what I was hoping we could zero in on. Some great responses so far but let's keep digging in. I agree there are folks that just seem to be born with the ability to see stuff in the woods others dont. But I think we can all pick up and learn similarly applicable skills. I think it boils down to one question, why? Why did that person see what they saw? Or more applicable to me, why did that deer take that trail, feed in that area, etc. Obviously we can all ask the why about things we observe deer doing then move to that spot or area and sort out the details, at least a lot of the time.

 

[woodsdog2]

I made fun of my father's heel walking but that man could identify every tree and shrub in the woods and most weeds too. Farm boy. I know quite a few trees myself but weeds still perplex me. Although my Dad wasn't one to be able to sneak up on a buck, he was a master of knowing where deer would move through the woods. He was one of the people that I would identify as a woodsman. No fancy equipment, he read the woods and hunted accordingly .

 

[woodsdog2]

This is really what I was hoping we could zero in on. Some great responses so far but let's keep digging in. I agree there are folks that just seem to be born with the ability to see stuff in the woods others dont. But I think we can all pick up and learn similarly applicable skills. I think it boils down to one question, why? Why did that person see what they saw? Or more applicable to me, why did that deer take that trail, feed in that area, etc. Obviously we can all ask the why about things we observe deer doing then move to that spot or area and sort out the details, at least a lot of the time.

Yes, this is probably the most important skill set. Some people go into the woods and just see individual parts of the woods. I believe the best hunters see how all of these different things interrelate to use and movement. And let's face it, I think some people will always try to be homing in on the best "micro" locations in any given woodlot or hunting area. Some will just through experience begin to understand generalities of use and movement and rely more on that "macro" use of the environment. I think both are necessary for continued success.

 

[Still Kicking]

I hunt hilly farm ground and believe the most important skill is the ability to sit motionless for long periods of time in areas with deer movement.

 

[Dmathews87]

what helped me and still helps is forcing myself to slow down a bit when im in the woods and really analyze what I'm seeing. Why is this track here? where is it going? whats in that direction? I agree with learning plant species and food sources for your area. I was surprised at how much browse sign i had been missing previously where i just walked by brushy\grassy areas...i had to slow down, look at those plants and see that they are being nipped at...ok what plants are these so i can identify them again, especially if its a plant they seem to really like.

 

[Dmathews87]

another thing to add....for us here in Louisiana LDWF as well as Louisiana sportsman publish all kinds of reports on whitetail deer such as an interesting one i read awhile back about stomach contents and they even broke it down by deer studied in certain areas and what food source was primarily found.....your state probably does the same...research as much as you can and try to apply to what you see in the woods.

 

[WISCO]

Big woods, flat and hilly terrain. Northern Wisconsin.

1. Being able to locate food and browse as the season progresses. Early season finding oaks. Late season finding other sources of browse, as acorns will be depleted or buried under 2 feet of snow come end of November.

2. Finding bedding areas and the trails going in and out.

3. Knowing which way the wind is working in an area you want to hunt.

I have attached a picture of one of my hunting spots.
To the far west is bedding, a field of 5-12 foot pines so thick its almost impossible to walk through. Headed East it turns into a immature forest with no nut bearing trees, a lot of maple and is very thick with small saplings, not able to hunt it, kind of like a staging zone for deer before they come out to the mature forest. Continuing East a slight elevation rise up to a mature forest with oaks dropping acorns. At the peak of the elevation coming up from the immature woods is a scrape line running about 2-3 hundred yards with some rubs. Pretty much anything but wind blowing West would be a good day to hunt this site.

 

[BTaylor]

Big woods, flat and hilly terrain. Northern Wisconsin.

1. Being able to locate food and browse as the season progresses. Early season finding oaks. Late season finding other sources of browse, as acorns will be depleted or buried under 2 feet of snow come end of November.

2. Finding bedding areas and the trails going in and out.

3. Knowing which way the wind is working in an area you want to hunt.

I have attached a picture of one of my hunting spots.
To the far west is bedding, a field of 5-12 foot pines so thick its almost impossible to walk through. Headed East it turns into a immature forest with no nut bearing trees, a lot of maple and is very thick with small saplings, not able to hunt it, kind of like a staging zone for deer before they come out to the mature forest. Continuing East a slight elevation rise up to a mature forest with oaks dropping acorns. At the peak of the elevation coming up from the immature woods is a scrape line running about 2-3 hundred yards with some rubs. Pretty much anything but wind blowing West would be a good day to hunt this site.

Good illustration of edge usage.

 

[Empostarr]

I think the most important skills are patience and awareness. No I don’t mean sit in one spot long enough and a deer will wander by, I mean don’t sprint through the woods cause you think you need to be setup by 4 pm and blow out all the deer

Yeah, slow down. People seem in such a rush to get to their spot or to get up a tree.

I'll add this one: Use the weather to your advantage (other than just wind direction).

I see people say the weather is too bad, or it's too windy. Those days are the days less hunters will be out, but also the weather can cover up the noises you're making. Last season, I went out in the morning and the weather was decent, so I climbed a tree in this promising trail crossing spot. It got way too windy to be in a tree, so I got down and used the advantage of the wind to scout around more since it would cover up my noise and the wind direction was steady and consistent. A buck walked out in front of me at 10 yards, while I was also walking, and he's now in my bar room. He had no idea I was there at all, even though I was walking.

 

[Kurt]

I hunt rolling terrain, and ridges. I think mostly being able to identify food sources. moving through the woods, reading sign. The experience to "think" like the critter I'm hunting. Being aware of my surroundings and taking my time. Show me a successful trapper and I'll show you a person who can connect with everything he hunts.