When, Where and How to Stalk Hunt with Your CVA Muzzleloader Rifle
Stalk-hunting deer with your muzzleloader rifle means you can’t walk too fast to stalk successfully. Instead, you must mentally give-up any possibility of having the opportunity to take a shot. Many muzzleloader deer hunters have found that by giving-up the possibility of a shot, they don’t feel the pressure of having to hurry to the deer. The stalk, not the shot, becomes the game. Too, the slower they move through the woods, the more likely that they will take shots at bucks.
According to one muzzleloader deer stalker, “When I’m stalking and moving through the woods, I locate much-more deer sign and learn more about the deer’s movement patterns on the property I’m hunting than if I spend that same amount of time in a tree stand. Also, I enjoy pitting my skills at close quarters with a white-tailed deer. Personally, I feel that stalk-hunting a deer is a far-greater challenge than taking a deer from a tree stand with my CVA rifle.”
Because the woods are generally most quiet immediately after a rain, many muzzleloading hunters prefer to stalk deer then. You have to move quietly through the leaves to get close to a buck. Clear cuts, briar thickets and other types of dense cover provide the backdrop for this tactic. Move along the edges of the cover as close to the thick places as you can get without actually being in the thickets. You want to be able to see out into a hardwood area, so you can spot a deer. But you also want to use that thicket as back cover to keep the deer from spotting you. When scouting, if you spook a deer, return to the site where you’ve seen the animal to determine what the deer has been feeding on and to try to learn why the deer has come to that area at that time of day. Deer are creatures of habit.
A longtime CVA hunter recommends that, “When you step into hardwoods, look the area over for about 3 to 5 minutes, searching for movement. Move 20 yards, stop, and do the same thing again.”
Foot position and balance are the keys to successful muzzleloader deer stalking. Although most bowhunters stalk on two feet, try stalking on one at a time. Every step is calculated, and when and how you transfer your weight from one foot to the other is critical to your stalk-hunting success. When you take the first step, lightly put the heel of your front foot down first. Gently and carefully rock your front foot forward with no pressure on the sole of your foot. All your weight remains on your back foot. Your front foot is just touching the ground like a limp rag. Wear rubber bottom boots to feel any sticks or twigs under your front foot. If you feel a stick under your foot, either move the stick slightly with your foot, or reposition your foot to be sure you don’t snap the twig.
Once your front foot is on the ground, you still have all your weight on your back foot. Then slowly transfer your weight from your back foot to your front foot to ensure steadiness and prevent noise. Lift your foot in the back slightly off the ground, carrying all the weight of your body on your foot in front. Slowly and carefully bring-up your back foot, keeping it close to the ground and moving it slightly in front of your front foot. If a deer spots you as you’re taking a step, freeze, and stand on one foot for as long as possible to keep from spooking the deer you’re stalking.