The Lost Art of Stalking and Still-Hunting for Black-Powder
Bucks
What’s the Secret to Seeing More Deer When You
Stalk?
 Editor’s
Note: Deer hunting doesn’t begin or end at your
stand site. Instead, begin your hunt once you leave
your vehicle, and end it when you return to your vehicle.
The way to do this is to stalk hunt. When done right,
stalk hunting enables hunters to move quietly through
the woods without spooking their target bucks or any
other wildlife in the area, and also allows hunters
to look more closely at the surrounding woods and spot
targets they otherwise may miss. By following some strategies
I’ve learned and practiced during many years of
stalk-hunting for deer, you can learn to stalk-hunt
the right way to bag more bucks. 
Whether you stalk or stand hunt, to bag big bucks you
must be able to see them in the woods. Writers have
written thousands of articles on deer-hunting techniques,
stand placement, shooting accurately and the many other
aspects of successful deer hunting. But you will rarely
read an article about how to see deer better. I know
sportsmen who will spend hours on bench rests, making
sure their rifles will drive tacks from 0 to 200 yards.
They’ll use different powder charges, wadding
systems and bullets to make their black-powder rifles
shoot more accurately, hoping they’ll take more
deer each season. However, those
same sportsmen won’t spend a fraction of that
time improving their spotting skills. Remember, if you
can’t see the deer, you can’t shoot them.
To spot a deer in the woods, you need to search for
parts of a deer. If you can’t make out the difference
between …
*a fallen tree and a deer’s back,
* a branch lying beside a tree trunk and a deer’s
leg protruding from behind a tree trunk,
* the white feathers under a bird’s wing and the
inside white of a deer’s ear,
* a bird fluttering in a bush and a deer’s tail
swishing,
* a shadow on a small tree or the black circle of a
deer’s eye,
* a coon moving on the side of a tree or a deer moving
behind the tree,
* a turkey walking through the woods or a deer walking
in the woods,
* antlers or branches, then you won’t spot the
deer you hope to take.
Before your next black-powder deer hunt, take these
steps toward improving your spotting abilities:
* Have your eyes examined
* Wear glasses if you need them. Why buy eyeglasses
to help you see better and then refuse to wear them?
You’ll be glad you’ve worn them when you
take that long-awaited big buck, or you’ll be
eternally sorry you haven’t seen that big buck
because you’ve forgotten your glasses.
* Choose a pair of lightweight binoculars that have
a good field of view with ample magnification. Make
sure the scope has sufficient eye relief for a full
field of view once you mount it.
* Set your scope at its lowest power while you hunt.
Many hunters miss bucks at close range because they
have their scopes’ power set too high.
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