HUNTING
FROM FIELD...
Still-hunting is actually a form of slowly moving through the woods, looking for animals and sign and carefully listening as you go. (SCOTT HAUGEN)
PUT STOCK IN STILL-HUNTING SLOWLY MOVING THROUGH BIG GAME HABITAT A GREAT TACTIC FOR TAGGING OUT
By Scott Haugen
I
f you’re new to big game hunting, there’s a lot to learn, and a good starting point is with the actual hunting approach. When it comes to deciding how to hunt, there are multiple options, but narrowing them down to simply sitting in one place or slowly moving through an area helps to simplify things. In this first installment of a twopart series, we’re going to look at “still” hunting. Next month, we’ll detail the
value of hunting from ground blinds.
GREAT STARTER COURSE Still-hunting is the most common approach to big game hunting, but the literal translation may not accurately depict the definition. Still-hunting is not being totally still all the time. Still-hunting is when a hunter slowly moves through a habitat, frequently stopping to glass and search for deer, elk or other game animals as they proceed. Still-hunting is all about patience and paying very close attention
to your surroundings while looking for sign, as well as game. Before heading into the woods, check the wind direction to make sure you’re either moving into it, or against a steady crosswind. Early in the morning and late in the afternoon or evening, cool, denser air falls from higher elevations. In an effort to keep the wind in your face so deer and elk don’t smell you, hunt uphill early and late in the day. As thermal currents shift – rising uphill when temperatures increase
calsportsmanmag.com | SEPTEMBER 2020 California Sportsman
21
