The Zen of Hunting

My forest is seldom truly silent at night. Drumming hooves punctuate the cool air, the shadows of great horned beasts crash through the trees, eyes rolling white over their shoulders at dark shapes padding after them, claws glinting in the moonlight.

Awakening abruptly before the clear dawn I recalled my childhood wanderings deep into the woods beyond my home. Hoping to follow in the steps of the hunters before me - I moved like a feeding deer. When I found a wolf waiting, I followed in the steps of the great buck.

I’m Chad Stevens and this is Whitetail Woodcraft - Ground Hunting Tactics for Stalking Mature Whitetail Bucks And Other Big Game. For those of you who are thinking I’ve been on a bit of a trip - you’d be right. I walked into the bush over 50 years ago and never really found my way out. I’ve always been drawn back to it, making it as much a part of my life as possible.

Some of my first memories from age five were walking behind our family home into the woods that stretched unbroken for three miles, by anything more than long overgrown logging trails. I was intrigued by the dappled light streaming through the cedars. As I moved in deeper on a quiet carpet of damp leaves I’d stand motionless until my eyes adjusted to the dim light under an almost unbroken canopy.

I began seeing mice, squirrels, birds and rabbits. With time I started spotting deer and even the occasional bear moving off into the distance. Mom started to worry but I didn’t. My father was a great hunter and would both encourage and protect me. They really had no idea how far I was going until I told them about following the neighbours’ rabbit snare line in the snow for over a mile - then they reigned me in for a bit.

My hunting apprenticeship began around that time while bird hunting with my father who was always scouting buck sign as we went - explaining rubs and scrapes and doing some tracking. He sent me out on my own at age eleven hunting small game wandering the woods for miles around our new home.

I had a good background in by age 15 and started stand hunting deer like many of us do. I was fortunate to grow up among a large group of family and friends who were avid and successful hunters. They were not just meat hunters but appreciated the added challenge of seeking out some of the more

mature bucks in the area and their hunt camp poles were more often than not - noticeably near full capacity. As one of the youngest of this unofficial club they knew I loved to hunt and always managed a story or two - often of mistakes made or lessons learned about the survival tactics of big bucks. I did my best to listen closely and commit this collective experience to memory and over the years have called on it many times to give me an edge in various hunting situations.

Some of the members in my camp already had many years of experience with good success when I came to it. I noted the respect they had for the skills of a group of my great uncles from another camp who were hunting from the ground and was especially intrigued with one uncle in particular. While pushing deer in a slow stalking manner to waiting hunters he had on two separate occasions taken a pair of 10 pt bucks traveling together. I wondered at the skill required to accomplish it once and knew twice was not just luck. I thought if he could do that, then I should be able to learn to stalk a single big buck.

At first my father put me on a few tree -stands and I managed a couple of nice little bucks. Each was a challenge in it’s own way for a new hunter. At age nineteen while looking for a new tree stand location my third deer was taken from the ground. He was a big deep chested 10 point with a heavy rut swollen neck weighing well in excess of 200 pounds. He walked past me at 30 yards through broken evergreen cover and I had to be quick to steady my nerves and place a shot with my .308. It was a challenge.

There wasn’t much of a reaction he just turned away and ran off. I watched him disappear into the green stuff then followed dark heavy lines of blood in the leaves for about 75 yards confident he was down - then I jumped him. I thought, “now what ?”and let him go and went for help. After lunch my father and uncles helped me finish tracking him down and we found him expired in a tangle of brush. I was glad to find him but not to clean him as he was hit a bit far back in the liver. I felt I had done well to get him and was excited about it,

but knew if I was going to be more successful hunting on the ground I’d need to learn more about making better shots on moving deer, blood sign and tracking. Over the next few years I read all I could on the topics and spoke with many experienced hunters among my family and friends.

What I didn’t realize at the time was that I was hooked, and that first deer taken from the ground was actually my first faltering step in a 35 year journey stalking mature bucks. I spent a lot of time over the next few seasons in the area

where I shot that big 10 pt and patterned it well. I learned that a specific habitat will often hold a certain class buck. Within a 400 yard radius I shot another five 10 point bucks - they just kept moving in. Many of the racks looked similar - probably from the same gene pool.

I was still using stands but had stalked three of them. I boyishly felt rifle hunting had become too easy and it was time to challenge myself more bowhunting. I now know that high deer populations and a bit of luck can make better hunters of us all. I often question the decision to yield that prime area to my father who to his credit introduced me to a nearby tree stand many years earlier, and didn’t have the heart to reclaim it once I was on a roll.

Bow hunting was a good education for me however. My commitment to traditional recurves and longbows limited my range to less than 25 yards. A goal of focusing on big bucks forced me to really zero in on their movements. I found myself continually following them into heavier cover. I saw some nice bucks both from stands and from the ground with opportunities but failed to connect on all but a fork horn I managed to stalk on the ground. Then one day while still-hunting, from a distance of about 80 yards I caught a glimpse of a real crusher - a beautiful wide and high tined 12 point.

I stalked over to where he had disappeared into a cedar swamp and carefully picked up his tracks among those of other feeding deer. I set up on him that very afternoon moving my stand to near what I believed was his run and pegged it to the foot. He showed up the next morning about eight moving fast at doe cruising speed and I couldn’t get my shot. Somehow he picked me up and I never saw him again. I began an intense scouting mission determined to make a case study of him and unraveled many of his rub lines. Finding I had previously hunted parts of them without ever seeing him I knew he had been evading me somehow. I went back for a closer look and found he had web of secret runs branching off his main rub-lines.

That dominant buck switched the light on for me. I had seen many of the lesser bucks in the area but until that day he had remained hidden. I traded any opportunity of ever ambushing him for the lessons I could learn about his tactics. I got right inside his head by walking where he walked, following every rub-line, and examined every water hole approach, feeding and bedding area.

I even stood in his beds and did my best to figure out what he was watching and why, and paid particular attention to how he used the lay of the land, wind direction and the natural cover to remain hidden. I knew with that much contamination I would likely never see him again in the area but consoled

myself that even after he died a natural death another large buck would move in.

This intimate knowledge provided a template of a dominant bucks territorial behaviour and favoured habitat. Now I recognize these areas quickly and hunt close to them without disturbing the core travel way unless in hot pursuit. Only small pieces of the template such as a fragment of a rub-line, large tracks or high large rubs, are necessary to tip me off to the presence of a large buck.

Where they fit in with the larger environmental picture of prime feeding and bedding areas and proximity of water will indicate actual dominance and are key in determining if he is a good buck or “the” buck to hunt.

I picked up a wealth of information from those years of heavy scouting while bowhunting and continued to confirm the dominance template and to polish my stalking, concealment and shooting tactics. During that period I approached to within 20 yards of a nice 10 point one day before he casually walked away into heavy cover. It was with that success that I decided my skills were up to the task and dedicated myself strictly to stalking with either a rifle or bow. I found stand hunting was requiring a lot of time in selecting the best ambush location with a suitable tree, hanging the stand and cutting the shooting lanes. Due to range limitations - adjustments were often necessary when I spotted my buck moving further back in heavier cover than the majority of sign generally indicated. Then the process was repeated.

I found that with ample areas I could stalk and scout continuously seldom disturbing the same deer. When I returned in the next pass or season my intimate knowledge of the area and how to use the cover was paying off with more frequent encounters and shooting opportunities at big bucks.

How many hunters have caught a glimpse of the buck of a lifetime? We’ve all been there and the term is often relative to our experience - one thing is sure they haunt our dreams. I can remember perhaps five great bucks 12 point or better in 40 years of hunting, scouting and working in heavy timber. They are seldom seen and less frequently taken down. It’s difficult to believe in what you don’t see. I had one experience that changed that for me as a stalker.

There was one particular area where I spent a lot of time in for various reasons over several years -with some good buck sightings but nothing larger than a 10 point. One beautiful morning I stalked a bedding position like I believed one was there. Taking it very slowly ,being as quiet as possible in a relatively open hardwood, I carefully scanned the cover several times before taking my next

step. I was nearly past a cluster of boulders screened by hardwood saplings 30 yards to my right. Something made me look over my shoulder to see a 14 point plus or minus king of the woods rise from his bed. I made a good quick move trying to get a clear shot but he cut behind the doe he was with and moved off. I stood there in awe and total surprise at the size of his rack. Even though he has long since passed I will never forget him. I take it as a lesson and now believe that which I have not seen - exists out there.

I have dedicated what would amount to several full years of my life to the end goal of stalking a fully mature dominant buck like that king of the woods. In my younger years with few other commitments I was fortunate to spend nearly a month a year hunting. Although my busy career in forestry for the last 22 years has shortened my time hunting it provided daily opportunity to be in the bush making observations. With considerable time spent timber cruising and tree- marking I have a continuous exposure to prime whitetail habitat, and constantly scout for big buck sign. There are hundreds of contacts with deer. I can’t help myself when I spy one close by and often take the time to try an approach or test an imaginary shooting tactic and study their reactions. Signs or sightings of interest often lead to an unofficial break at the time or a return to the woods on a down day to scout it out further.

An earlier career as a police emergency response team member allows me to bring military based training in camouflage and concealment and tactical shooting to bear on the matter. I have spent the last 25 years expanding on these crafts moulding a system for increasing stealth while stalking with quiet movement in heavy cover, using camouflage, the landscape and natural features to increase my chances of closely approaching deer. I have modified tactical shooting techniques for hunting situations to to remain undetected while executing off-hand shots with accuracy either in a slow deliberate manner or with the elements of surprise and speed. I also developed some innovative yet simple and quick ways of using natural shooting rests for superior stability from either standing, kneeling or sitting positions that are often required for visibility purposes in wooded environments. I continually reviewed and reflected on these systems and experiences creating standard operating procedures that upon contact with a buck allow me a shooting opportunity when there is no time to think. I have also created a better search method for visually penetrating heavy cover to locate hidden or moving deer. This entire set of systems and skills I have dubbed “Whitetail Woodcraft.” This craft will allow you to move quietly in challenging wooded environments, visually locate your quarry, close the distance and place yourself in a concealed position for a tactically executed accurate shot.

For a hunter life may be like a game trail that is easily defined at one location however difficult to determine it’s beginning or end and one never knows where all of it’s branches truly lead or what world may be revealed at their destination.

Over the years I know my hunting gang has wondered what I was doing out there all day almost every day, from daylight to dark and lunching in the bush.

I often went to bed shortly after supper nearly spent from a full day on my feet. I really do enjoy their company - but I love my time in the bush more. At first the dedication to creating this ground hunting craft was more difficult, and mechanical with a steep learning curve that cost me some shooting opportunities. With time and practise I have smoothed out my movements and feel totally relaxed and confident that my craft will put me “ up close and personal” with mature bucks and other big game. I feel I have some measure of success with my stalking continually increasing the frequency of the encounters and the quality of the shooting opportunities. To date I have taken eighteen bucks from the ground including eight that were 10 point or better and seven 8 points, also four moose and two wolves.

Stalking deer has provided me with many exciting encounters with wildlife. While the opportunities may not be as controlled as from a stand they are

more frequent, fresh and challenging. Continually moving about the landscape doing my best to fit into it unseen, consistently places me in the path of mature whitetail bucks that are doing the same thing. Each fold in the land brings me into a new theatre with the calm acceptance that something will be there, I only need to see it. I am pressed to focus solely on searching for game with scarcely another thought the entire day other than to appreciate the natural beauty around me. If I feel like resting or eating I will stop at a place with a vantage point of the natural surroundings and take it in, yet continue to watch for game movements. I often prepare to rise and move off with increasing wind, weather or cloud cover knowing it will add to my advantage. Time passes with no markers and the days roll by like a slow movie occasionally interrupted with scenes of mystical beasts. I have found my peace in the forests.

I am a lucky hunter to have spent so much enjoyable time often stalking through large tracts of remote timber. Keep in mind that I may only bump a certain buck perhaps once in his lifetime. I realize that stalking all day may not be for everyone due to individual inclination or available land. However you could spend a whole day effectively stalking as little as 20 acres - or more than an hour covering a hundred yards to your stand with good results. I realize many hunters have had good success stand hunting. I can’t take anything

away from that, but I can share the skills that will help you take a few more on the ground. I guarantee it will enrich your hunting experience. I’m sure you will find as I do - that each encounter is a trophy.

I never imagined that my passion for stalking mature bucks would lead me anywhere but into the woods or bring me to share it with anyone other than my family and close friends. 35 years later I have walked out the other side with the conviction that this ground hunting craft is worth preserving and decided to record my contributions and share them with you in my book printed in colour, “Whitetail Woodcraft. It is available on amazon as an ebook and paperback or directly ordered from me at a reduced cost.