How do you guys stay quiet in tall willows?

[bruce44]

So I see a lot of guys on here talking about walking through the woods looking for game. I’ve watched as many videos as I could but a lot of them, the guys are walking through a trail, trees with barely any willows on the ground or flat open country. What do you guys all do? Do you bushwhack through all the willows or do you just avoid it altogether?

No matter how quiet I try to be, whenever I try to walk through thick willows, I make a ton of noise, and I find my foot constantly getting stuck on things.

[Rieber]

I start with quiet clothing materials. Any clothes that I 'm interested in for hunting I give them my fingernail zip test. If they make a zip sound then I move on. Same with anything that will make a slap sound when a twig hits it. No good. Same goes for the pack. Tape down rattling connection points, pins and hinges.

My big challenge is a swear at myself when I snap a twig - that's been a tough one for me to even keep my mouth quiet.

Clunking Vibram soles - I just do the best I can to try keep quiet. Tough when you have a lot of surface area to deal with. At least I'm not a speed demon out there and I try not wonder too far.

Quiet binocs are good or a pouch for them. for years I would bonk my hard bushnell binocs off my rifle whenever I sat down. Dang, that sound would haunt me. Now I use smaller. lighter Leupolds and the rubberized objective housing doesn't make the same sound.

Cheap synthetic riflestocks also make a sickening hollow sound when slapped by a branch.

Try insulate whatever you can and go for it. Try pick your paths best you can but bushwhacking is just that. Sometimes you just have to get through it and there will be noise. Of course it always sounds worse to you because you're right there to hear it.

[Rieber]

Heck, even when I'm driving I try take the quietest lines. And keep the radio off if you're driving with the windows open.

[tigrr]

Fleece is quiet. But it gets full of seeds and dirt quickly. Stop and pick your trail wisely.
My problem is wild rose bushes with 1/2" long thorns. Getting stabbed while looking up, then digging them out of my legs later that night. I stop more often now to listen.

[DarekG]

Move ridiculously slowly. Ten steps took me about 5 minutes when I was bow hunting in crunchy terrain.

[Ron.C]

Move ridiculously slowly.

This^^^^^^^^^^coupled with meticulous attention to eliminating all noise that may be made from your gear.

[Redthies]

Moving slowly is the key. It’s often said here and elsewhere that moving 10 paces in 5 minutes is about right, and you should be stopping after those 10 paces and looking around slowly for probably 5 mins before you move again. Bedded deer are often hard to spot, so taking a long few minutes to scan for twitching ears etc is a good idea.

Having quiet clothes is good too for obvious reasons. One guy I went with a few years back (only once) wore what I would refer to as “noise-max” brand camo. His boots were super noisy too and it drove me insane. He is usually a road hunter/atv guy, so I guess it doesn’t matter what you wear for that bs. He does usually get a deer though, so I guess there is that.

I’ve recently acquired some First Lite merino and synthetic gear, and it is really quiet. Any of the top name hunt specific gear should be quiet. First Lite is cut a little snugger and longer for better performance when archery hunting. The less material flapping around, the less noise.

[pg83]

I assume you are refering to being in actual hunt mode as opposed to travelling to an area when you will truly enter hunt mode.


Move slow: like really slow. Then go slower.

Animals make noise when they move too, spend a couple minutes around a herd of elk for proof but if you move like an animal does; slow, methodical, observant(unsing all your senses) you will find yourself able to get closer to game.

Avoid artificial noises. Metal, plastic, carbide tips on poles, hard soles on boots... all that stuff. This will trigger animal instantly while a rolling rock or a snapping twig is not as likley to do so.

[browningboy]

If you have old wool socks, put them over your boots and walk slow, the wool will help deaden the foot noise.

[Chewie]

Short story.
Two years ago a buddy and I went hunting on a local island. He likes to still hunt and my life experience with that is I watched more game run away from me than I ever shot, so in reality I suck when it comes that type of hunting. So I turned to the ambush method.
One day he says he going to work his way up the hills and go to the south as that was the way the wind was coming from so I was going to sit lower and maybe get something he may push down. For some reason or another I decide that I’m going to take a small backpack with lunch and water and a couple of things extra since I have more than my pockets to carry ‘stuff’ , please note that I had never carried a pack before.
So I take off on the trail by the beach and then start making my way up to my ambush spot. The wind was blowing from the SE and raining like crazy. I’m marching through the willows and brush on part of the trail and being far from quiet. I come to a spot where the brush was starting to thin and stopped to catch my breath. I wasn’t there 20 seconds and I see movement out of the corner of my eye to the North of me. Holy crap! A nice heavy bodied 4 point black tail just moseying along nibbling on the greenery, wasn’t anymore than 20 yards from me. Now I go into stealth mode and slowly put my thumb under my sling and I’ll be damned if I couldn’t get my rifle off my shoulder. Somehow the gun had gotten hooked on the stupid backpack. While I’m trying to work it loose I watch him step in a thicket of underbrush all calm like and disappear. To this day when I think about it I can’t figure out why he didn’t spook as the wind had to be blowing my scent right into his face. All this happened about a 100 yards from camp.
My two take aways were: be hunting as soon as I leave camp and if I wear a pack again, have my rifle in my hand.
Hung my tag on the Christmas tree that year. :)
I’m still learning to hunt and read these threads religiously for tips and tricks. Thanks to all who share.

[weatherby_man]

Gooooo Slooooooooow.... I have also always wanted to try a really good tough pair of soft deerskin moccasin boots for hunting to see how much they may help with stealth.

[exv]

Interesting and following.

It depends what I'm trying to achieve. There are times I intentionally make noise. Zero tolerance for foreign sounds like talking, car doors, gear clicks/squeaks, food wrappers, water bottle sloshing ect.

I try to match my the energy of the forest to the amount of energy I'm contributing. I know that sounds like some tree hugger stuff, but it's true. When it's so calm out your stomach growling is loud it's impossible to move silently. If you not disturbing the area your in, your moving slow enough or quite enough in my opinion. Replicate the picture your painting. If your still hunting timber and snap a stick you better stop, wait and look .... that's what a deer would typically do. Game like us makes alot of noise, if I'm calling elk I'll purposely snap sticks ... like an elk!. I've stomped back at deer and barked at elk ... don't me silent, be realistic?!?!.

I still basicly don't know what I don't know so keen to learn :!:

.

[boxhitch]

Turn on your 'ninja' grasshopper

[exv]

Gooooo Slooooooooow.... I have also always wanted to try a really good tough pair of soft deerskin moccasin boots for hunting to see how much they may help with stealth.

I know a dude that packs Bama socks everywhere. He keeps ankle socks on them, not 100% sure why.

[brian]

Sometimes it is best not to try to be quiet. Just try not to sound like a big animal. Sit and listen to the forest for a while. It is a noisy place when the critters are about. Little critters sound big. Sometimes the deer are more alarmed by the sound of a big critter trying to be quiet than a little critter not trying to hide its noise. What I do in places where silence is impossible is scurry the bushes with my hands to cover my movements. I try to mimic the sound of a bird or squirrel in the undergrowth. I do my best to move unpredictably and avoid snapping branches at all cost. Only big critters snap branches, it’s an instant alarm bell for both us hunters and the hunted.

Moccasins help with stealth over big lugged boot soles. Mostly they help you feel branches before you snap them under your feet. But they don’t instantly turn you into a ninja. Bare feet are even better than moccasins. But what is best is knowing how and when to be quiet.

[brian]

I try to match my the energy of the forest to the amount of energy I'm contributing This is well said, listen to what is going on around you and mimic it.

[albravo2]

I suck at being silent unless it is snowy or really wet. If it is dry I break branches with every second step. This is one of the reasons I enjoy hunting in the rut. I stomp around pretending to be a critter, calling as I go.

Moose hunting in the rut is awesome for this-- crunch and snap your way through the woods while grunting. I've fooled hunting partners more than once.

[Stillhunting]

There are times when it's impossible to be quiet, like in crunchy snow or early season when it's dry, so you have to move like a deer if you want any hope of getting close. A couple steps, pause, watch and listen, a few more steps, pause, watch and listen. Your pauses should be longer the louder the conditions. Also, try to use cover while your moving. As for moving through willows, I would try to go around if possible and set up where the animals are going in and out of them. Some types of terrain are not suitable for stillhunting such as thick regen., blowdown, willows... It really pays to learn how animals use the area you hunt so you can come up with an effective plan based on conditions at the time.

[thelongjohnson]

Wait for it to start pissing rain....

[DarekG]

Another thing that I'll add is that I've only recently started "sitting" hunting where I basically move 100 yards or to the next advantageous spot and sit for an hour before moving to the next. In a 6-8 hour hunting excursion I could literally only move about 600 yards... It was really eye opening what you'd see walking around if you just sit and listen.

I didn't think I'd have the patience for it but a "still" forest can be surprisingly entertaining if you just stop to look and listen.

[wideopenthrottle]

rules i try to live by....never take more than 20 steps even on a road without doing a full stop look and listen....it is as low at 2 or 3 steps when things feel "right"...always have your gun at the ready.....if you are out of breath or sweating you are going too fast...if i accidentally make a loud crunch i sometimes will let out a call like a bull moose grunt or an elk call ....i cant prove if it helps or not but it is what i might do

[Sharpish]

This reminds me of a joke:

How does a Scottsman find a lost sheep in tall grass?

[Farmer]

Wait for it to start pissing rain....
I agree. Not the most fun, but in noisy conditions or thick brush, I have the most success on rainy days.

[MOUNTAIN MICKEY]

Good time to use your calls to "mask" the noise you are making. Turkey calls, cow/calf calls etc do help to "fool" the animals you are stalking.

[tyreguy]

Exactly^^^^^ moose aren’t completely quiet and if you mess up and make some noise/break a twig - just make a call to make it sound like a moose passing through. Look all the noise made when calling moose or rattling deer. Noise happens, work with it.

Good time to use your calls to "mask" the noise you are making. Turkey calls, cow/calf calls etc do help to "fool" the animals you are stalking.

[B.C.Boy(100%)]

For being quite on gravel roads on your feet, I have from time to time just used two pairs of cheap thick socks, no boots, super quite.

[Jrax]

Use airplanes, gust of wind, bugling elk, partner bugles etc to move in those difficult yards. Particularly when moving in a spot where u can’t avoid noise and the animal is close

[Chewie]

Wait for it to start pissing rain....


I agree. Not the most fun, but in noisy conditions or thick brush, I have the most success on rainy days.

Looks like I was onto something. Best part is I don’t mind the rain.