Sitting Still

[Number17]

I just use what Cabelas used to call the "half vest" with a speed seat attached to it.

My method is to first and foremost find a good tree. Those who have found good trees know what I'm talking about. Slightly leaning back without knots in your back. If your head is pushed upright or forward you will be miserable in a hurry.

Secondly I use shooting sticks to cradle my gun. The sticks are leaned back towards me to force the gun in to my shoulder so I can sit there hands free. This also allows me to keep my legs flat on the ground which is much more comfortable than sitting with your knees up. Your gun is up and ready to go at all times.

One of my most satisfying hunts was watching a huge longbeard out in a private horse pasture that I couldn't make a move on. Every time I called he would puff up, but wouldn't leave his hens for nothing. He was just being old and stubborn.
I knew once his hens left him late morning he would be heading back my way.
I had a good tree, so I took a little snooze. 45 minutes or so later I woke myself up from snoring, only to see him all by himself in full strut and about half way to me. He ducked under the fence about 150 yards out and into hedgerow where I lost site of him. About a half hour later he appeared again in my wood lot about 30 yards away where he died of lead ingestion.
11 1/4" beard and 1 5/16" spurs.

I probably sat at that tree for about 3 hours total, completely motionless and entirely comfortable.
All because I had a good tree and a bipod.

In Pennsylvania you are not allow to construct a blind or even a screen to sit behind for that matter. Blinds have to be the store bought kind and completely enclosed so as to hide any movement inside the blind.
Stupid rule if you ask me. Actually by definition it makes all blinds illegal because any blind with windows does not hide all movement from inside the blind.

I solve that by not hunting from blinds of any kind. It just takes away from being out in nature for me. Going outside just to sit in a tent??? Blah!
I like to hide in the wide open.

[Marc]

In Pennsylvania you are not allow to construct a blind or even a screen to sit behind for that matter. Blinds have to be the store bought kind and completely enclosed so as to hide any movement inside the blind.

What is the purpose of such a rule?

Could you legally sit behind a large rock or fallen log (as these could be construed as being a "constructed  blind?").

[quavers59]

I really don't like to sit beyond 20 minutes. I have sat for 2 or more hours in one spot- but that is really not for me. 20 minutes to 30 minutes is it for me and I am moving.

[ilbucksndux]

I have a VERY short attention span.If I sit in a place for 2 hours its because I fell asleep !

[greencop01]

  I try to got to the area I located a bird the nite before and I find my set-up spot. Try to find a rise w/ a turn on the trail if possible and set up slightly below it or 15-20 yds from the turn, the bird would stop or walk by me. If it works right when he knows he's in trouble its too late. When I'm there the nite before I clean the spot out so I don't make noise and get rid of all rocks, dead limbs and fallen branches and lumber that weuld get in the way when I sit or be under my butt. I use an avery seat with a back to it and cut anything off the tree that will poke me. Then I sit and check my my gun movement for anything that will impede it or my shot pattern. I can sit pretty still and if I have to move I move very slowly, and can sit for long periods of time if needed. l also I wear a bucket hat, the brim is 360 and that way when I turn my head slowly, the movement is minimized, not like a bill of a ball cap which shows movement no matter how slow you move your head. I try to give myself every advantage to even which side or the tree  sit at, I'm rt handed. Don't mean to get so involved but its more than just sitting still. By doing all this for the last three or four years all my shots are 20 yds or less.

[Furtaker]

Thanks for the replies, it provides some nice insight as to how I can alter my actions/tactics.

[mgm1955]

A chair and a roll up blind will help tremendously.

[THattaway]

Didn't read all the comments so far so some of this may have already been said. Let's just say I am saving my strength and patience for spring and sitting still.

First, I spend a minute or so picking out and preparing where I am going to sit. Figure if I am gonna invest in "sitting still" then I should make an attempt to have a good field of fire and get comfortable. I almost always hunt sitting against a tree with the vest cushion. To make that comfortable I usually kick out a depression by the tree and even kick up a pile of leaves or soil as a wedge. Keeps your tail from sliding out from the base of the tree. On steep angles dead decaying soft log sections work great for a wedge.

Going unnoticed can simply mean moving slowly instead of flopping your head around looking like a bobble head. Use your eyes to scan till you have to move your head, turn it slowly then scan further. Pay attention to the openings and watch for movement. Sitting still won't ensure success but you will most often hear a "Putt" when you've been calling, gotten distracted and lazy and have just repositioned your legs or scratched your nose etc.

[Number17]

In Pennsylvania you are not allow to construct a blind or even a screen to sit behind for that matter. Blinds have to be the store bought kind and completely enclosed so as to hide any movement inside the blind.

What is the purpose of such a rule?

Could you legally sit behind a large rock or fallen log (as these could be construed as being a "constructed  blind?").

Well, at  least you feel my pain.
This is just another rule that is left up to interpretation in our Game Laws.

I killed a longbeard last year by hunkering back into a pile of recently timbered logs and just letting him walk right on by me. Probably half the WCOs in the State would cite me for it and the rest would hunt it themselves.

The part of the rule that really gets me is that the blind must be of sufficient density to hide "all" movement inside the blind. Well guess what happens when you open a blind window. That's right, you create a section of immeasurably thin density, and put yourself at risk of a game law violation.

[busta biggun]

Everybody has their own personalities, hunting styles, patience levels, etc. Fishing is the same way. I love getting a good setup and just wait them out. That's not to say if I hear a bird or two gobbling their heads off down in a pasture, or across a creek, I will move to get closer, but I am VERY cautious and set up way short of where he is. In my early days me and my buddy would hunt a spot for 30-45 minutes and then head to the truck and drive to a different spot. Then later in the morning we would drive around looking for a bird in a field and try to stalk him or get close enough to call. Needless to say, we didn't have a very high success rate.

I agree you need to find a great tree to lean against. Having buck brush around you so all the turkey can see of you is your head and shoulders. That allows for a lot of fidgeting. Just look around real good before you stand up to take a leak. You could start a lot of fights here by saying your strategy works and somebody else's strategy sucks. In reality, you have to balance your tactics with your personality/mentality, your terrain, and most importantly your success rate. I found what works for me and I do not question what works for others, unless it is unethical. I disagree with the comment that very few people sit for very long. Most of my fellow hunters are all willing to sit in one spot for 5-6 hours in one spot if that's what it takes. Our success rate speaks for the effectiveness. Whether or not anybody feels like going through such extremes is a different question, but it works!

[kjnengr]

Couple of things....

Like others have said, finding the right tree/bush to lean on (and correct slope of ground too) makes a big difference in comfort. 

Sometimes my pad makes my butt fall asleep and I am more comfortable actually sitting on the hard ground. 

A short chair makes for a very comfortable sit if you know you will be waiting a while on a bird. 

Side note: When hunting in Texas, sometimes all I can find in the area is juniper/cedar bushes and other small shrubs.  Although the outer limbs may not be strong enough to support your weight leaning on them, if you lean far enough into the bush you will end up either reaching the main trunk/stem of the bush or bend enough small ones back that can support your weight.  You just have to worry about not moving too much and shaking the small limbs when you move. 

[Cut N Run]

I have a bad back, so hunting from a chair lets me to hunt longer & more comfortably.  A couple of the farms I hunt are small and the only way to hunt them is to use natural cover (downed trees), minimal movement, and hope your calling draws them close. Even though there's great horse trails on both farm, there's no way to run & gun either farm. I also carry a small roll-up blind in case I need it.

On one 88 acre farm (40 acres is pasture), I've killed 5 gobblers from the same tree in the last four years.  You'd never think a gobbler would ever use the area I hunt, but it is a ridge with the only timbered corridor between a huge field and a fenced pasture, which separates hundreds of acres on each side.  Kind of like the narrow point of an hourglass.  The gobblers love to strut on the ridge at the edge of the field, less than 30 yards from the downed trees I set up in.  That spot is not a sure thing, but it's close to one as I know of.

Jim

[g8rvet]

I have some little loppers that I carry and when time allows, I make a little bit of a brush blind.  I don't go crazy, just give myself some cover to move my hands down low.  If it is a place I sit frequently to listen before moving, sometimes it is a for real blind by the end of the year (on private).  On public it is usually a cut branch or two.

Gobbler Lounge is my bestest good friend (after my Thermacell).  Both keep me much more still, much longer and make an impatient man a little more patient.