A.N.T.S

Among hunter-gatherers, where their quarry is timid, stalking is a way of livelihood in order that they may catch what they hunt. Nowadays, stalking is frequently done for purposes of photography or observation of animal behavior rather than for killing.

Whatever the means of killing, the hunter has to be near the quarry in order to achieve it. Most animals are very sensitive to the presence of predators. In many cases, their sense of smell is highly-developed, detecting anything with an unusual scent. The stalker therefore needs to approach from down-wind. Similarly, care needs to be taken to avoid being seen and heard.

In North America the term still hunting is often used to describe a hunter's general quiet, foot bound search for game, with the term stalking limited to hunting individual animals once such animals are identified.


How To Stalk A Deer

Have you ever got less than 20 yards from a deer without it noticing you? Well with help from this article you can do it. This article will tell you how to distinguish a deer track from other animal tracks, as well as how to sneak up on a deer.

Steps

1. Wear the right camouflage or else the deer will spot you and run away. It's best to wash your stalking clothes by hand without any of the fancy modern fabric cleaning products, since these often have a whitening agent in them to make the clothes seem extra clean. An unfortunate side effect of this is that the clothes then reflect more UV light (which is in the deer's visible spectrum). You'll stand out like a beacon to him if you use these cleaners. (An anology would be someone stalking you in the fields wearing one of those Dayglo vest that builders and traffic wardens have).
2. Relax before trying to stalk a deer you ‘’must’‘ be relaxed. Most people get overexcited when they spot a deer so you must remember to stay calm.
3. Find a deer track. Deer tracks look like two parallel almond-shaped prints that are pointed on the top end. Follow the tracks in the direction of the pointed end.
4. After following the track for a while to see which direction it is going, check the map to see where the direction will take you. Try to avoid following the deer if there are any big rivers or heavy bush to walk through, because deer will run right through it when they are spooked and you will never be able to follow the track.
5. Once you know that there isn’t anything that will get in your way, start heading in the direction of the deer.
6. Look out for coyotes or wolves, because you’ll be hunting during deer mating season and they are vulnerable to coyote and wolf attacks. If the coyotes and wolves are hungry enough, there is a chance that they will attack humans, so be careful.
7. Pay attention to the trees and the bushes because the deer may have stopped to eat or defecate; by looking at the faeces and checking its temperature, you can tell how long ago the deer was there.
8. If you find a sign that can tell you that the deer was there within half an hour, you may be extremely close to the deer and may spook it.
9. Once you think you are close to the deer, stop and make a deer call for a minute or two. If you hear the deer call back, you know you are within viewing range. Set up and wait for the deer. Once it is close enough to you, try to make the shot.