I’ve always been a hunter with ADD. This made hunting from a stand nearly impossible, as I’d constantly fidget, twitch, and shift around like a puppy in a dog crate, until I’d inevitably give up and go for a walk to see what I could find in the woods.
This would drive my hunting buddies crazy, who insisted I was blowing out the area and scaring the hell out of all the game. They, like many other hunters out there, believed that the only way to be successful was to sit either in a likely spot and wait for an animal to walk by their stand or to glass the edges of open meadows and timber lines and then make a stalk, all while staying out of the trees themselves.
Many hunters believe that finding success in thick timber is impossible. They believe that in the woods, the animals have the upper hand and that stepping on sticks, snapping through brush, and shuffling through dry leaves is just going to spook every animal you’re hunting.
However, as I eventually learned on my attention-deficit excursions, when you know how to move and how and where to hunt in thick timber, you have a great chance at bagging the deer, elk, or bear you’re after without them even knowing you’re there.
Plan Your Approach
One of the biggest mistakes hunters make when they’re walking through the timber is going through willy-nilly. They head into the forest with no strategy and no plan of attack, and then they wonder why they didn’t see anything. To be successful in thick timber still-hunting, you have to plan your approach, think about every step you’re going to take, and then stick to it even when it doesn’t seem productive. In short, it requires a lot of planning, focus, dedication, and flat-out faith to be a good big timber still-hunter.
The first and most important thing you need to do is find timber that will be productive. This could be a small woodlot in otherwise open terrain that offers the only cover for whitetail, or a high, pine-choked mountain ridge that’s in the perfect spot for bedding and/or migrating elk.
The best way to find these areas is with a lot of thorough scouting with a map or mapping app at first, followed by preseason and even midseason walk-arounds. Look for tracks, glass them from a distance, and do everything you can to make sure that the animals you’re after are in the timber before you make your approach.
Once you’ve scouted out a good patch of timber, you’re going to want to pick both a good starting point on the upwind side so you can make your approach undetected, as well as an end point where you can exit the woods. This latter point is extremely important as you’re going to be moving extremely slowly and want to be able to hunt it thoroughly, so don’t bite off a bigger chunk than you can chew. Using a map or mapping app, try to break up the timber you’re hunting into smaller one- to two-mile chunks in what you believe will be the most productive areas.
As previously mentioned, the key to success in big timber still hunting is moving slowly. You don’t want to jerk your head around or make quick adjustments as you duck and weave around the brush and trees. In addition, you also don’t want to step on any sticks or break off any twigs or branches as you move. The best way to do this is to plan out your steps before taking them.
When you move into the woods, take a quick look at the ground and note any clear areas where you can place your feed without obstacles, such as sticks or thick patches of leaves that may hinder your progress. Memorize where they are and then take two or three steps into these spots at a time, keeping your head up and scanning the trees as you move. After you take your steps, glance down and pick out three more spots, and repeat the process, stopping, looking, and moving as slowly as possible towards where you plan to exit the timber.
Be a Tree Hugger
When you’re still hunting in thick timber, you want to stick to cover. You don’t want to skyline yourself or be caught out in the open, where you’ll stick out like a sore thumb to whatever you are hunting. The easiest and most obvious way to do this in timber is to stick close to the trees.
One of the biggest reasons that a lot of hunters don’t like hunting in thick timber is that it makes it hard to see animals. The thing is, though, trees also make it hard for animals to see you. Vertical trunks and thick clumps of branches are fantastic for helping to break up your outline, and with the right camouflage pattern and strategy, you’ll be able to move through timber without anything knowing you’re there.
As you poke your way through the timber, try to always keep at least one tree directly in front of you to help block you from any game you may be approaching, and when you move, stay as close to the trees around you as you can.
The key here is to never let yourself be caught in the open, so that any eyes that do spot you will attribute the movement to branches blowing in the wind. On the occasions when you do have to move through an open area, try to use the shadows of the trees to your advantage. Slow down and move through the shade, continuing to step carefully and keep your head up, so that you can spot something before it spots you.
Use The Force
Moving and hunting in thick timber is an entirely different world from hunting in a stand. The animals aren’t coming towards or standing right in front of you (or not usually anyway), and often it takes more than just looking around the woods for you to find them. To be successful still hunting in thick timber, you must use all your senses and be able to pick out a target in a mass of trees.
When you’re looking for game in thick timber, you’re not looking for a deer, elk, bear, moose, etc., but rather a piece of one. The oddly straight line of a back, the shining white color of an antler, the flick of an ear or tail, or the curve of a leg. These are the things you should be looking for rather than the whole animal itself.
As you move through the woods, turn your head slowly and pick the timber apart. Look for something that seems out of place or for a slight, barely discernible movement, and then try to shape that thing into the animal you’re hunting. It’s important to note that you don’t want to be just randomly shooting at shapes, but looking and scrutinizing each gap in the trees to be sure of your target before you pull the trigger.
As you move through the trees, you can rely on your other senses as well. Move slowly and then stop, listen, and smell the air. If you’re being quiet and stealthy enough, you’ll be able to pick up on the sound of hooves shuffling through the leaves or twigs breaking as an animal passes through.
With the wind in your face, you’ll also sometimes be able to detect the warm bovine smell of ungulates like elk and deer or even the wet dog smell of a bear. While things like this may not lead you to an animal directly, they can at least let you know that something is about to happen so that you can slow down and prepare for the shot.
Back to Your Roots
Still hunting in thick timber is one of those old-world hunting methods like tracking or using traditional weapons, that can reconnect you with the soul of hunting. In modern times, so much of the hunting world is geared towards hunters being outsiders in an alien world. We sit in comfortable stands, use trail-cams and mapping apps, and basically do everything we can to get a leg up on the animals we pursue. While there’s nothing wrong with this, sometimes it’s nice to get back to basics.
Still hunting in thick timber seems to strip everything else away, reverting you back to the bare bones of being a predator in search of prey. It’s a fantastic way to reconnect with the natural cycles of the wild and make the most of taking a walk in the woods.
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