How to camouflage while stalking

If you enjoy a good stalk, like myself, and like to move around while hunting, there are a few things you can do to minimize the impact on your presence and reduce the chances of alerting your prey. Of course, we know that different situations can develop, and the best way to learn is by experience. Here are some tips to follow:

Move slowly and deliberately: When you move, make sure to do so slowly and deliberately. Sudden movements can draw attention, so try to make smooth, gradual, less noticeable movements. If you need to change direction, try to do so slowly and smoothly rather than making sudden changes. This will reduce the chances of attracting attention and help you blend in with your surroundings. Especially when you are moving towards animals like deer and wild boars, you should try to walk directly at them. The peripheral eye-sight of animals in the deer family is excellent, but their perception of depth is poor, meaning that they will spot sideways movement quickly but have a more challenging time seeing your movement forward. You can learn more about the vision of deer in Explained: The Vision of Red Deer, Fallow Deer and Roe Deer.

Look where you walk: This might sound so obvious, but as soon as you lose concentration, you will start making more noise. Take a look down and determine where your next three steps will be. Look up, take the steps slowly and look down to determine your next three steps again. It is probably more often than anything else, your sound that is giving away your position to the unaware game, so try to limit the amount of noise you create while on the move.

Use the environment to your advantage: When moving, try to use the environment to your advantage. For example, use trees, rocks, or other natural elements to conceal your movements, and move from one cover to the next when possible. Moving behind trees, rocks, or grass will highly increase your stalking success.

Stay low to the ground: When moving, try to stay low to the ground or at least try not to “skyline” yourself, as this will reduce your profile and help you to blend in with your surroundings. Your camouflage is not made to make you blend in, in heaven. If you want to improve camouflage, you can read more in the article How to camouflage yourself effectively.

Move against the wind and with the wind: Moving against the wind will carry your scent backwards into an area you have already checked, meaning your scent won't alert any animals in front of you. By moving with the wind, it is meant that you should use the wind to cover your noise while moving. Gusts of wind can make a lot of noise in the trees and can cover your approach towards the quarry.

The best tip is learning by doing - get out there and get the boots dirty. Try out different techniques and adapt them in your own way. However, I hope these tips will guide you in the right direction and help you on your next hunt.