With a wrong step a hunt can be over. A large crack of a steeped on stick or the loud crunch of a pile of dry leaves and a hunter’s position can be given away to his quarry. Many whitetail deer have been run off in just his manner, but here are some tips for quietly walking through the woods while hunting so that you can better stalk the whitetail deer.
The most important thing to do to learn to move quietly through the woods is to practice. Squirrel and rabbit hunting are great ways to get experience learning to move though the woods quietly. Things to avoid stepping on include piles of dry leaves and exposed sticks on uneven, hard ground. Practice and experience will teach you the fine balance between watching where you step and looking for deer and other game animals. When stalking deer you need to move very slowly to avoid being seen by the deer, this gives you plenty of time to pick out where each foot will land when you step.
Hunters need to learn to identify quiet areas to place their feet when trying to move through the woods quietly in pursuit of deer. Find areas to place you feet that will make little or no noise. Some examples of great places to put your feet include patches of anything green as they will not be dry and crumble loudly. Exposed rocks and even streambeds that are wet will be quiet areas to walk. Some hunters follow streams as the noise of the water supposedly covers the sound of the moving hunter.
When confronted with that area of dry leaves that you have to cross when stalking on a deer hunt here are some tips. If you decide to cross the dry leaves as quietly as possible try this. Place your foot flat onto the leaves and move your foot straight down. A natural walking manner is to lead with the heel and roll your foot forward, but this will make more noise. The other tactic to cross loud leaves is to just do so regardless of the noise. Squirrels and turkeys move through the woods all of the time and make a lot of noise. Hunters can try to mimic the carefree cadence of these animals and just scuffle along through the leaves.
