If you're like me and deer hunt you probably know a lot of people who deer hunt also.
Now everyone has there own style and methods when hunting time comes around. And the method and reasoning behind how they hunt and why their style of hunting is as varied as the species of trees in the woods.
Here are some styles and types of hunting I have observed over the years and odd hunters as well.
Still hunting; I'll put this at the top as it is the type of hunting I do.
The still hunter mosies into the woods to a predetermined area and sets down and waits for deer to show up to shoot. In some parts of the country this is called stump hunting.
But after 2-3 hours the still hunter will start to move, thinking the advantage is in a different location. The still hunter will take a few steps and look & listen for several minutes to see if any deer are in the area, and do it again and again until he arrives at his new location and sets down again for another hour or two.
The blind hunter; the blind hunter is not much different then the still hunter, except he sets in a stationary blind and doesn't usually leave the blind to move from one place to another like the still hunter. The blind hunter has several advantages over the still hunter.
1) Stealth, is the big one. If the deer can't see you, you're not there.
2) You can run a heater to knock off the chill.
3) Separate yourself from the weather if it is foul.
The tracker; there are not many of these type of hunters around and probably never were as it takes a lot of stamina, strength and perseverance to track a deer. Tracking deer through the woods is best done when there is fresh covering of snow on the ground, and even better when the tracking snow is still falling. This gives the tracker an idea how far behind he is from the deer.
I have only seen two trackers in my nearly 50 years of deer hunting, the one that might prove to be the most successful was following the tracks of the deer that was out of range for me, so I took no shot, but the tracker was close behind it and may have gotten it as I heard a muffled shot through the falling snow minutes later.
The second tracker was not as experienced or as savvy as the first tracker was. He was following the tracks of a big doe that just passed by me 30 minuted before. But this was at a time when it was bucks only here in Ohio and I couldn't shoot because I didn't have a doe tag. The tracker passed close enough to me to ask if I saw the deer run by, I said, Yes, and he was on his way. I know he never found the deer, with the direction he was traveling he might have found the place where the deer was born, but I doubt it.
The walker; I know one of these types of deer hunters personally. This guy will go to the woods, that he owns and walks a zig-zag course through his woods in the hopes of walking upon a deer to shoot. He says that he sees a lot of deer on opening day, but they are out of range running away. About 20 years ago, he did get a deer. He was just approaching the edge of the wood when he spy's a deer running through an open field to where he was and the deer stops within 20 yds. from him. This may be the only deer he may ever get, but who knows.
The tree stand hunter; this type of hunting is self explanatory and is almost exclusive to bow hunters. But gun hunters do use this form of hunting from time to time. Hunting from a tree stand has advantages over ground hunting.
You are higher and can see more and see it sooner.
Your scent won't alarm deer if you are elevated above the ground.
Hunting from a tree stand is not the safest form of deer hunting, unless you strap yourself down, especially while trying to stay awake or trying to get a nap, but, remember, 20 winks and tree stands are not compatible. A broken back or pelvis puts a kink in your hunting for the rest of the year and most certainly will have an effect on your holiday season.
The stalker; stalking is a time honored way of deer hunting. There is no great mystery in how to stalk deer. The stalker first establishes the fact that deer are in the area that he plans to hunt, then keep an eye on where they go, what they do., and the routes they travel, what time they get there and how long they stay. A lot of deer stalking involves thinking like a deer and to anticipate the movements, habits and actions of deer.
I once hunted with a guy in Pennsylvania who knew the habits and movements of deer in his area, so much so, that he took me to a tree in the woods and showed me how and where to stand by the tree, almost hugging it, with my rifle pointing up, and said, "The deer will come out of the bottom there," he was pointing, "there will be between 6 & 8 of them and they will come up the hill to that flat, they'll stop to catch their breath, before deciding to break left or come up the hill and when they do you'll have about 10-15 seconds to pick out the one you want and shoot it. But, at this angle and distance you'll have to shoot 2" low to hit it where you want. Give me about 25-30 minutes to bring them around, and whatever you do, don't move one inch from this tree."
Sure enough, 30 some minutes later I had a big fat doe laying on the flat.
The pushers & shooters; this method is considered by some to be unethical and unsportsmanlike way of deer hunting. The process for push & shoot is pretty simple, a half dozen shooters will unload along the road and face the woods while another 8 or 10 pushers will walk through the wood whoopin' and hollowerin' to get the deer to run out of the woods to be killed by the shooters.
Push & shoot can be a very productive way of getting deer, but, it's not my style.
Drive and shoot; this is a type of deer hunting that is illegal. These types of "hunters" basically drive the countryside and shoot deer from their vehicle whenever they see them. Sometimes these people work in conjunction with the push and shoot crowd to get any deer that escapes the shooters. Again, it's not my style.
The scientific hunter; this type of hunting is a lot like stalking, only it goes to a higher level when all aspects of the current and upcoming weather are paramount in how, where and when you hunt.
Example, if a big and bad winter storm is to hit your area in two days, deer will scene the coming storm and will feed heavy and will be unusually active to prepare for the storm. A prudent hunter will take advantage knowledge and give himself as much woods time as possible.
Another example, after 2-3 days of cold and wet rain, the weatherman says that it will be warm, clear and sunny for several days, this is also a good time to hit the woods, because deer like to feel the sun on themselves just as much as anyone. So, they maybe out and visible.
The experimenter; this is a the sort of guy all deer hunter should have for a friend, someone to set down with and drink coffee while gleaning the knowledge of what he knows, what he's done and most importantly the type of bullets and guns and calibers that do the best job at harvesting deer at any given range and condition. And if he is one who hunts with cast boolits then you may have struck the mother lode of wisdom & knowledge.
And lastly there is the hunting camp type hunters; this type of hunting involves going "up north," going "down south" or "out west" to get to the hunting cabin.
This style of hunting can be broken down into 3 different groups.
1) The determined hunter with nothing more on his mind but fellowship with friends and getting that 30 point buck.
2) The second group I call the drunks with guns. These are the ones who show up at hunting camp with 2-3 cases of beer and a bottle or two of good Bourbon. Their goal always seems to be get drunk everynight and maybe hunt in the daytime if the hangover isn't real bad. Or if the hangover is bad and they do hit the woods, a little 'hair-of-the-dog' in a flask with their favorite drink to help smooth out the hangover while hunting and hoping that they don't see a deer and have to shoot it before their head feels better.
3) The third group is a little like the second group, while drinking is part of it, women are the objective over getting soused. This involves going to town to a bar or nightclub where loose women seem to hangout. You can use your imagination beyond this point, but they are hunting the wrong type of deer.