Ok, in my last column we talked about Glassing For Big Game which of course leads us right into today’s topic-Stalking.
What’s the purpose of glassing if you don’t know how to go in for the kill?
So, let’s say you’ve been glassing and seen your quarry. Whether it is an elk, deer, antelope, bear or moose it will all somewhat play out the same.
Let’s play through a few different scenarios. Before you take off on a beeline for your animal let’s develop a game plan.
Determine the direction of the wind. You may have to circle around a mountain or knoll to come in with the wind in your face. That may take a mile or two hike to come in from the correct direction.
Another factor that is just as important as playing the wind is that you will have to play the cover. A few years ago I’d drawn an antelope tag down in the Owyhee’s.
I’d been scouting and found a huge buck but of course on opening day I could not find him anywhere but a few hours later I found another decent buck. He was a half mile out on an open flat at the bottom of a ridge.
I’d just flipped my fourwheeler a few weeks prior while scouting and it had landed on top of me and I’d just barely got back to walking. I had to circle wayyyy around so I could use the natural terrain and even then, I was only able to get within 450 yards of him.
On a funny side note. I’d been seeing a ton of rattlesnakes so I’d worn some tall leather boots but they were uncomfortable. My last trip packing him to the truck I sat on the tailgate and took off my boots.
I’d parked in a grassy spot. As I walked up to unlock the truck I glanced to make sure a snake hadn’t crawled under it to get in the shade. I slid up the seat and a rattle snake started rattling.
I was barefoot and jumped 10 feet high backwards. The seat had pressed against a can of starter fluid. It wasn’t a snake rattling but the can hissing. About soiled my garments on that one!
Another scenario you might encounter. I had an elk tag in the Owyhee’s. I spotted a small herd grassing out in the wide open.
They were 1,000 yards out. But luckily they were grazing fairly fast and they grazed over a small rise. As soon as they got over the rise, I took out running for them.
I got to rise and slowly crested it. As fast as they’ been grazing I was afraid they might be out aways. As I slowly crept over the rise much to my delight, they weren’t 40 yards away. Sometimes you get lucky.
So, play the wind and the cover when stalking. But you’ll want to carry a set of shooting sticks. Years ago I’d tape two ½-inch dowel rods together and use them antelope hunting but now there are a million manufactured shooting sticks on the market.
One that I really like is the BOG Adrenaline. You’ll want shooting sticks with adjustable legs so you can use it to shoot setting down on up to standing.
You’ll want a 2-legged set. They are more stable than a mono-pod. Don’t use a 3-legged set. On uneven ground it will take too long to get the legs adjusted and your game will die of old age before you get a shot.
I read an article years ago and the author said sometimes it’s best to stop 50 yards further away if there is a good rest handy (rock/tree). That always stuck in my mind.
If you don’t have shooting sticks, improvise. Lay your backpack on a rock or log. This one won’t work unless your buddy is super stable but a couple of years ago
I was on an Umarex .50 cal. airgun axis deer hunt with Adventures Missions and Retreats. We crawled as close as we could to a herd in the brush. We were in a cactus flat.
I couldn’t kneel down for a shot because I couldn’t see over the prickly pears. The guide kneeled down on all fours and I shot off of his back.
Another big thing is to mark where your game is before you take off on your stalk. This may sound trivial but it is a huge deal. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve taken off to sneak up on an animal that from a few thousand yards off looked like it was on a wide-open hillside.
And yet when I got closer it looked like I was in a different world! Suddenly there were little gullies that I couldn’t notice from far off when glassing.
Where’d he go? Did I miss him or did he graze over 50 yards in the brush that I hadn’t noticed?
So right before you take off to try to intercept him, take notice. Is he near a tall burnt tree? This saved us on the story above when me and the kid stalked his buck that I’d glassed it 2-miles away. When we got up close, I thought we were within 400 yards but was not sure. Then we remembered that they had been by some big burnt standing trees and found them.
Maybe mark a yellow patch of flowers. Or have your buddy stay below and watch your stalk.
To my understanding it is against the law for you to use radios to zero in on a stalk but you can use hand signals. Look through your binoculars at your buddy below.
If he is pointing right, move to the right. If he is holding his arm straight up, go higher. Have some hand signals predetermined.
Two last things.
• Sometimes your game will be out in the wide open and you just can’t get to them.
• You see your game right before dark and they’re 30 minutes away. You can come back the next evening and set-up closer so you have time to move in before dark or you can shoot them at dusk and spend the night out there.
I’ve listed out the basics of stalking in this article but as alluded to, every stalk is different. So be ready to think fast on your feet. Good luck.
Tom Claycomb is a hunting enthusiast and writes a bi-monthly column for Great Basin Sun.
