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LonePineOutdoors_AZ

Teamwork and spotting/guiding a shooter in on a buck

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No radios here either.  Hand signals, landmarks, etc.  

Right, left, slow down, still there, gone, game is up, etc.

 

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We go through this all of the time even when spotting.  Comments like by the tree, the green bush, the round rock and so on have caused arguments for an entire weekend. 😁 And some people just visualize and see things almost like you do and chasing game with them is super efficient.  One of the guys in our group that has been hunting with us for 20 years is color blind so it can get ridiculous. 

One thing that works when I remember and have time is to use the clock descriptions for angles.  Even then we sometimes have people that do not know what 10 o'clock is so if we are spotting I find myself describing a landmark and calling it that time.  At least the hunter knows where to look and go with a little less margin of error.  

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I think to truly learn the craft of stalking game, you need to ditch the radio. Your hunting senses and patience will grow as a result. The sense of wind direction will become second nature, picking out the bush the deer is under will become better, stalking skills increase....etc......you will adapt and the feeling of accomplishment will multiply exponentially. Having someone to guide you to the animal creates a crutch.....your relying upon directions instead of your own brain to figure it out.  You are smart enough to grow the senses on your own. Does it mean you may not make a kill for a couple years?  Maybe, but that's just part of it....(the painful part)

I do however like to have a spotter for after the shot if possible......I have recovered two animals that would have been worm bait if my buddy had not seen where he went from up high above us. One was a clean shot and he still ran 250 yards and disappeared from my view, the other was a not so great shot and he went 1/2 mile, but my buddy saw it all from above. 

My radio was off until after the shots, then I called with a WTF just happened?

 

Best of luck

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Man...  Some of you dudes are some class acts to say the least of you. OP asks for advice on specific topics and the Judgement Trolls come crawling out from under the rocks. Y'all aren't as big of D's to the guys asking "where should I go hunt in ___ unit". I bet at least a few of you have backcountry etiquette that would make others sick. Bunch of dang Nancy's.

LonePine - lots of good advice in between the nonsense trolling here.  Working with a partner is tough tough, but practice will make a world of difference as several have mentioned. Keep it up and consider it a small victory to just have an opportunity to put a stalk on!

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If you cant see the wisdom in my posts then feel free to not read them.  Your opinion is not better than mine.  Dude.😮

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On 2/12/2020 at 9:06 PM, Elmacho said:

I think to truly learn the craft of stalking game, you need to ditch the radio. Your hunting senses and patience will grow as a result. The sense of wind direction will become second nature, picking out the bush the deer is under will become better, stalking skills increase....etc......you will adapt and the feeling of accomplishment will multiply exponentially. Having someone to guide you to the animal creates a crutch.....your relying upon directions instead of your own brain to figure it out.  You are smart enough to grow the senses on your own. Does it mean you may not make a kill for a couple years?  Maybe, but that's just part of it....(the painful part)

I do however like to have a spotter for after the shot if possible......I have recovered two animals that would have been worm bait if my buddy had not seen where he went from up high above us. One was a clean shot and he still ran 250 yards and disappeared from my view, the other was a not so great shot and he went 1/2 mile, but my buddy saw it all from above. 

My radio was off until after the shots, then I called with a WTF just happened?

 

Best of luck

I agree with what you’re saying, but by your argument, didn’t your radio become that same crutch, keep you from developing post shot tracking skills etc?

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Dustin25, 

You are correct. I wasn't trying to say radios are wrong or unethical......

I learned to stalk through trial and error, lots of it....  the successes are sooooo sweet!     

My buddy was watching from above,just because he happened to be there when I spotted and decided to stalk the bucks--both times. Using the radio was not even part of the consideration. After the shot, on the way back up the hill,  I pulled the radio outta the pack cussing myself for missing and he said, "WTF are you talking about?, you drilled him and he crashed over the ridge from you!" I did't even think I hit the buck (in the end it wasnt a great hit, so it took a while longer than normal)......so....very lucky on that one. On another, I lost sight of the arrow flight in the shadows and the mule deer bounded away looking unhit..bounded a couple hundred yards until outta sight-he never looked sick. We yelled back and forth up the canyon---he was 100yds behind me with binos, and couldnt here eachother....oh hey...let me try the radio......he tells me I smoked him.....next couple hours on my hands and knees tracking-  drip here, drip there blood.....found him 350 yards away with arrow entering last rib, stuck in front collarbone.  So, yes...a crutch of sorts, but not planned that way....

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I use the ear piece in my radio.  Its great on a stalk when the spotter says "don't move he is looking at your direction".  Helps from keeping you from making any mistakes.  Also when you buddy is going to do a 500 yard stalk so he can get set up on a 300 yard shot and he gets half way there just radio him in and let him know the buck is still there, or when over the mountain, around the ridge etc etc.  It sucks when you got to cross a canyon and when you get up into a shooting position you have no idea or direction that buck even went.

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NOTHING will develop successful stalking skills like practicing stalking game in the field. A radio will only get you so far. At that point(being in your effective range)is where I feel a bowhunter is made. At that point your patience is tested to its max. The last thing I want to hear when I'm stalking and especially when I know I'm in range is another voice in my ear other than whats going on in my head. I want ALL that weight on MY shoulders. To me, bowhunting deer is so darn intimate. I want my success or failure solely based on MY skill.

As a kid my grandfather would have me stalk everything we ran into in the field. Rabbits, quail, javelina, bucks, bulls, doe, cow elk, cattle, you name it. I cannot stress how important this was to me developing as a bowhunter. I still do it to this day. Bowhunting is so darn pure. I hold it near and dear to my heart. 

I'm not against radios. They just aren't for me and how I bowhunt(for the most part I solo hunt) But I do feel for someone that's newer to the archery hunting game they can definitely help you get in range but that's about it. From there it's on YOU to get it done. I have taken plenty newer bowhunters out and they wanted to use radios. I'll get you in range but YOUR patience/skill will determine if you get a shot off. It's a mental game at that point. The one and only time I used a radio in my ear to stalk in I felt it was a hindrance(cords, noise, movement restriction, an extra voice in my head)

When I'm stalking in and especially when I know im in range I always tell myself "WHY AM I IN A RUSH TO BLOW THIS STALK?!?!?!" Any serious archery mule deer hunter knows exactly where this question/quote comes from. The late, great Dwight Schuh's book "Hunting Mule Deer in Open Country." I have read this book so many times. This text to me is just as important as bringing my bow on the hunt. I even carry this book in my pack when I hunt. 

My experience is when I am in range, more often than not, it is on the buck to make the mistake. And it can be HOURS before that happens. And the stars have to absolutely align to be successful at this point in the process.

Bowhunting deer is so darn time consuming. It's an odds game. Keep putting in the time and itll happen and when it does your confidence will shoot through the roof. It's a sweet feeling. Pivotal really. Life changing.

Enjoy the process!

Goodluck and shoot straight!

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I hunt with a friend that is 82 and I use a radio every time he is spotting for me. Even then it is very tough. I rarely if ever carry radios, I sure wished I had radios in AK this year when my buddy saw a giant Kodiak brown bear sow and cub walking down the ridge from me. As it was it wasn't until they were 25-30 yards unarmed (well I did have a fixed broadhead lol)  that I saw her and I about lost my bowels. 

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