Ground Hunting

[jms.kilgore]

#7054

I’m curious…I would like to know how many other hunters out there keep their feet on the ground and/or use a ground blind over the ever popular tree stand?

[strait-aero]

#57693

I do and I was out today in really cold weather. Saw no deer as I still hunted through the woods. Kinda windy too so they were all tucked in somewhere. Wayne:D

[strait-aero]

#57700

Welcome to the site!

[kjlarson]

#57766

I hunt in Western Washington. I have never hunted from a tree stand. I am constantly on the move. I cover probably 3 miles at a minimum to 8 miles max. It may not be the most productive way to do it but it is very satisfying.

[Cottonwood]

#58270

That is the only way for me any longer, spot and stalk or use ground blind for cover. I travel lighter this way, and enjoy the hunt a lot more.

[strait-aero]

#58295

Bet it’s cold out there , Cottonwood:)

[SteveMcD]

#58368

On the Ground here too. I had a platform collapse underneath e several years back. Luckily, I had a safety harness on. But, I was never thrilled with tree stands anyway. So I stay on the ground. Natural Ground Blinds work best, Deer readily accept them. It is tougher on the ground, wind and being as scent free as possible are extremely important, as is patience and watching your movement for the right time to make the shot.

When the conditions are right. Still hunting is great too.

[aeronut]

#60045

I gave up tree hunting several years ago after having a couple of stands stolen.

I have learned a lot more about hunting since I started doing it at eyeball level with the deer. One thing to consider is that you may not have the best blood trail to follow even with a very good hit. Your entry and exit holes will be more level with each other and the majority of the blood will remain the the body cavity. Tracking skills are essential.

Being close for the shot is good but there are a lot of times when you are too close to the deer. I was within 10 feet of a big buck on two occasions and never had a shot opportunity. Frustrating, to say the least, but he never knew I was there.

I was close enough to touch a deer six years in a row. I never did though beause I have been bit, butted, kicked, stomped, and dragged by enough farm animals to know that it will probably hurt if I try to. I didn’t get close enough last year because of very little time to hunt.

My favorite one was the first one when a doe came from behind me and stopped next to the tree I was standing by just a foot away from me. She stood there looking around, chewing her cud, and finally looked to her left. When she realized what she was standing next to her eyes got real big, kind of like on a cartoon, and she blew snot all over my right leg. Scared the bejeebers out of me too because I wasn’t really expection that reaction.

Dennis

[trl242]

#60544

I enjoy hunting from the ground and though I do love sitting in a tree stand as well (it’s as close to being “God Like” as humans are allowed) there is a huge amount of fun in trying to outsmart the deer on their own playing field.

I use blinds but usually don’t set them up early enough to really reap the benefit of them so I usually end up using natural blinds. My favorite is one of those big trees that has fallen over with the roots sticking up and creating a natural pit blind. I also look for small dried up creek beds that I can stand in or kneel in and be low to the ground as the deer pass by.

I concur with the above statement that it does often result in a lack of a good blood trail. That part of it can be frustrating particularly if you hunt in brushy areas and tracking is difficult anyway.

Most people who have never tried it wonder if they can get close to a deer this way. Those of us who do it frequently know the real problem is not getting TOO close to the deer to be able to draw……

It’s like being a small kid again and building your ‘fort’. I take as much pride in my improvised blinds as I do the deer I shoot. You are limited only by your imagination.

[strait-aero]

#60606

Myground blind experiences are similar to above…too close and some times poor blood trails but they’re the most thrilling hunting I’ve ever done.:roll: eye ball to eye ball.:)

[Jesse Minish]

#61039

99% of the animals I have shot have been from the ground and if I hit them in the right spot a blind man could have followed the blood trails. Just my experience but never had a poor blood trail because I was on the ground…

[Kegan]

#61913

I much prefer ground hunting. I recently bought a climber but it hasn’t seen much use and it probably won’t. I get bored and cold very easily, and the simplicity of hunting off the ground is just too appealing. My first few years of hunting (off the ground)even found me within close bow range several times. Too bad I wasn’t a better shot:lol:!

[Bigbearclaw]

#62971

My feet are on the ground probably 90 percent of my hunting

[Frank H V]

#7892

jms, Welcome!
I hunt on the ground, both still hunt & ground blind.
Frank

[rooselk]

#17178

I have never been in a tree stand. I have nothing whatsoever againt them; rather, growing up in the west hunting on the ground was the way I was taught from the time I was a kid. Never have seen a reason to change. Besides, I doubt that I have either the know-how or the patience to hunt from a tree stand.

[celinsin]

#17631

I hunt from elevated/platform stands when I go to Missouri to bowhunt whitetails with my brother and a couple other hunting buddies but, when home in Appalachia, I hunt from natural ground blinds. I also still hunt. I much prefer the shot angle ground hunting offers.

I don’t wear camo, but I’ve never had trouble getting close to deer while ground hunting.

Chris

[William Warren]

#17798

I stay mostly on the ground but I have some ladder stands that I feel comfortable in and 2 climbers which, if I use them, they stay locked to a tree during the season. I guess I could say I enjoy both but making a ground blind is alot easier than moving or installing treestands. You just lose some of your ability to get your scent above the deer so as others have mentioned you have to match your blind to the weather conditions or just hunt the wind and don’t worry about what is down wind.

[Brian Dennis]

#34917

I hunt from stands and on the ground. My favorite deer hunting is on Assateague Island National Seashore (a barrier island with the Atlantic on the east and Chincoteague Bay on the west) that has a few climb-able trees but mostly not. It’s hunting on the ground there that is the most exciting!

[Bruce Smithhammer]

#34994

Cottonwood wrote: That is the only way for me any longer, spot and stalk or use ground blind for cover. I travel lighter this way, and enjoy the hunt a lot more.

x 2.

[MontanaFord]

#35528

I’ve only hunted off the ground twice…once was my first year deer hunting. We were hunting my dad’s friend’s place, and he has some elevated platforms along the treeline next to his fields. Other time, I climbed a big birch to sit on a limb about 10 feet up…that lasted less than 20 minutes. I’m a ground hunter. Mostly still hunting and hiking. Everything I’ve killed has been from the ground.

Michael.

[loneviking]

#37563

Ground hunter. Where I live in Nevada, you couldn’t tree stand hunt if you wanted too! Ever tried to put one up on a Pinyon or Juniper?

[paleoman]

#39219

What kind of bows do you guys that ground hunt use? Since I started using a long bow several years ago, the length of it seems awkward to use in the sitting position without having to can’t the heck out of it. Of course I guess I can just practice that shot more:) I’m good if I carry in a folding stool, but I like to just find some natural cover and burrow into it with just enough room to move the bow around for a shoot. I end up with less cover just to be able to wiggle the bow around…I think I may be better off with a shorter recurve? Any thoughts?

[Pabuckhunter]

#39460

I built a ground blind out of logs and tree limbs.I killed 2 deer out of it this year and i love hunting from the ground.Try it and you will love it too.

[Pabuckhunter]

#39473

I shoot a 62″ longbow out of my ground blind and don’t have any trouble. I sit on a wood bench seat i built that is the same height as a 5 gallon bucket and it works great.I do have to cant my bow to shoot but i shoot that way anyway so thats not a problem.Practice shooting from the seat you use for hunting and get used to it and you will be fine.

[wildschwein]

#44269

So far I have been a ground hunter only, but I did buy a treestand to try this upcoming season. I’m pretty sure I’ll still do most of my hunting on the ground, but for Whitetails and filling the freezer I think I’ll spend some time in a tree.

[Don Thomas]

#44595

The two forms of hunting are not mutually exclusive. As TBM readers know, I enjoy hunting whitetails from tree stands. But that’s about all that I hunt from above, and I hunt a lot of things besides whitetails. Spot and stalk is certainly my preferred hunting method, and I frankly find pop up blinds confining. The real point is that these are all just matters of personal preference. My only real concern about tree stands is that we are in danger of raising a generation of bowhunters how have no idea how to hunt any other way. Spot and stalk hunting requires a special set of skills, and mastering them is very satisfying. I’m glad to see so many of you in agreement. This was the theory behind the “Ground Game” column we created a year or so ago for the magazine. I hope you all are enjoying it. Cheers, Don

[Patrick]

#44633

As someone who was raised on whitetail hunting from a treestand, I enjoy the column.

[tom-wisconsin]

#44859

I believe are ancesters 😉 spent a lot of time in the trees and we gradually evolved from eating leaves and fruit to becoming hunters. So I feel I would be regressing back in evolution if I started climbing trees…..OK I really mean I am afraid of heights.:oops:

[EcoRover]

#18138

paleoman wrote: What kind of bows do you guys that ground hunt use?

Martin Savannah, 62″ — short as trad bows go but fairly compact & smooth shooting.

[LimbLover]

#18165

I’m a ground guy. I would like to try hunting from a stand though. When hunting in deep woods, it is hard to beat the vision that a stand provides.

I’m fairly certain my Dad and I would have came home with a couple of deer this year had that been the case.

Love hunting from the ground though! Especially in the winter months.

[David Petersen]

#18408

EcoRover — great to have you posting with us. Hang around! In general I think Don Thomas summed it up for me as well. In fact before this winter I could count all the hours spent in a tree stand in my entire hunting life on less than one-hand’s fingers. Very early in my hunting career I climbed big trees and strattled limbs and killed my first whitetail that way. But that was hardly a manufactured treestand. And frankly, though it’s done, I don’t feel ethically solid hunting elk, my primary game for the past 30 years, from a treestand due to the difficulty of getting an arrow through both lungs and heart. But then, real recently, I got hooked on whitetails, which we don’t have here and I have to travel for. And frankly, while it’s not the only way, a treestand is definitely the “best” (easiest and most reliable) way. But like Don, my newfound appreciation of treestands is limited to that one species and now having “done it,” my whitetail goal is not a bigger buck, but to take one from the ground. As a former military pilot, I prefer to be on the ground for reasons of a very personal relationship with gravity :P. But I also appreciate the views and freedom to “get away with more” from a tree. Bottom line is that I too find pop-up blinds claustrophobic and just something else to buy and lug around that we really don’t need. I much prefer impromptu natural brush blinds, and have rarely hunted where they can’t be well used.

Just another opinion and I’m frankly grateful that we don’t all share the same preferences in life. What a bore that would be!

Bottom-bottom-bottom line for me is that if I can do it myself rather than buy it, I much prefer to. dp

[LimbLover]

#19070

David Petersen wrote: Bottom-bottom-bottom line for me is that if I can do it myself rather than buy it, I much prefer to. dp

I’m the same way. I’ve found a great deal of pride in finding natural cover. I killed my first whitetail from natural cover in 2009 and had several opportunities last year given the same situation. I simply wasn’t comfortable and moved FAR too much.

I struggle with the thought of a treestand because it seems easier than what I’m doing now. On the other hand, the Michigan whitetail is a very twitchy and intelligent animal. You can go crazy trying to pattern and figure them out. Especially with the crazy weather fluctuations we’ve had in the last two years. It could blizzard one day and rain the next. Ultimately, I want realistic opportunities and these can be few and far between where I hunt.

[Lee Vivian]

#20801

I have practically given up hunting from treestands. I have a very real fear of heights..and found myself very uncomfortable in a stand..even with a harness. Fell from a tree when i was a young boy….can’t seem to forget it.

I hunt from natural cover..and am enjoying the time out more each day…i can move around….and explore different areas. It is nice not having to lug a stand, and all the items needed for it….just a fanny pack, a stool, and my bow….travelling light and enjoying it.

Treestand hunting has become the norm here in PA…so much so that this past season i noticed that most of the deer would enter an area and immediately look up, as if scanning the trees…..saw it too many times to be a coincidence…

As I get older…i am staying on terra firma…..

lgv

[Reg Darling]

#21119

I’ve stayed on the ground since I fell in 1999. Since I mainly hunt Pennsylvania whitetails, I have to admit that has meant a little less meat. It has also meant a lot more fun and freedom–entering my hunting day open to a broader rage of possibilities. Several years ago, when I was recovering from neck surgery, I bought a Double Bull Blind so I could use it not only as a blind, but as a base camp of sorts where I could leave a lot of stuff I might normally carry in my chronically overloaded day pack. I thought of it as a temporary measure, but have continued it to this day. I set up the blind in a place that’s a hotspot in a particular part of the day in favorite territory and range out into other areas in other parts of the day. I’ve killed a few deer from the blind, but mostly what I’ve harvested from it is writing.
By the way, you can spot and stalk whitetails. You’ll busted most of the time and when you do manage to get in shooting range getting your bow up and shooting without spooking either your quarry or some critter you didn’t even know was there is problematic to say the least. But crossing the 30 yard line on a whitetail stalk and then advancing on to 20 or less is more exciting than most kills.

[Biggie]

#21707

I love to hunt hogs and mulies on the ground, black bears too. But if I’m serious about a big whitetail, I turn into a raptor.
No one consistantly takes big whitetails on the ground.

[mikeharmon]

#22371

I started hunting deer mainly in PA 30 some years ago about the time treestand hunting was becoming popular and thought then that it seemed like too much complication of a simple thing. I still belive that, probably because I invested the time to learn to hunt from the ground. Since I have not hunted from treestands, I suppose I really do not understand the benefits of using a treestand versus ground hunting. Most of the often repeated benefits seem to be more of a sales pitch for treestands than an actual advantage. What I do know is that ground hunting is simple and very satisfying and I am not looking for any additional advantages.

[Treetopflier]

#22439

Even though they seem to have opposite opinions, I find myself in general agreement with both Biggie and Mike (and great to have you both in the conversation). Strategically, there’s a time and place for treestands. From a personal satisfaction or esthetical point of view, ground blinds made from natural materials are easy, cheap and a relative joy to sit in. Some folks always hunt in a way as to maximize their chance to kill. Other folks always hunt the way they find most enjoyable, even if it lowers their kill rate. Many of us do both, depending on the mood that day. As someone here likes to say, it’s all fun. 😀 ttf

[adirondackman]

#23442

I never liked hunting from a tree stand.I Tried it a couple of times when I first started to bow hunt. I didn’t enjoy being stuck in a couple of square foot area for hours on end. I just never felt like I was really hunting. I prefer to hunt with the least amount of “things” possible now. My hunts have been much more enjoyable that way. I also want the animal that I hunt to be able to use all of thier defense mechanisms against me, that way I have to really “hunt” them to be successful.

[bhaukom]

#24875

I hadn’t hunted on the ground since converting to trad four years ago and killed my first doe while on a slow walk back to the cabin. Now probably 30% of the time I’m sitting or standing in natural cover. I haven’t shot another on the ground but have had great encounters and know just need to put in that extra time on the ground. What is so great about it is you can pick those perfect spots that never seem to have the tree in the right place and position yourself for the wind that day. Mosquitos are my limiting factor.

[Jpchilton]

#27075

Quite frankly, tree stands scare me; most hunting accidents, especially bowhunting, involve tree stands. Here in the Ozarks, I depend on either blow-downs or large cedar trees to cover my background. Because I mostly hunt conservation dept. land, I can’t build “permanent” blinds. I wear a ghilli cape which offers excellent camouflage – it’s not unusual to have birds sit on my nocked arrow in a blind. I’ll throw up a bit of front cover from whatever is close by. If I am fairly close to my truck, I prefer to sit on a self-made folding stool which is so high that I just rest my butt on it; this makes slipping to a standing position easy. If I have a chance, I will spread cedar shavings on the ground of my blind to act as a cover scent. The only other thing is establish blinds to cover all or most wind conditions as having the wind in your face is essential.

[Stumpkiller]

#27150

Years ago I was talked into a tree-stand (after having been a still-hunter & stump sitter) for a canoe-in hunt and I took a bad angle shot that dropped the deer but didn’t penetrate well. It regained its feet and I lost it in a swamp. I was devistated and for the next 12 years ground hunted only.

In 2005 I had knee surgery and a month after put a tree-stand up near my home (20 mostly wooded acres on a hilltop). I arrowed a little buck and was delighted. Since then I spend the sunrise and a few hours before sunset in a stand and the rest of the time still-hunt. I take more pride in “fair chase” deer killed while still-hunting, but I’m pretty happy with those taken from the stand, too.

I find you see a LOT more deer you can’t do anything about while in a stand. 😀

[wahoo]

#27342

I shot my first and only deer a few years ago from a stand using my new Owl bow (mule ) it was big fun but I was on private property and only had to sit for about 40 min. I have tried for white tail but seem to get closer stalking on the ground. I’m a ground man

[sagebrush]

#27459

For me, a stand has been more productive but it is more fun to get one on the ground. I have also shot bigger animals on the ground. This year, there were so many hunters around that my stands weren’t working. I finally decided to go have some fun. I got my pack and my bow and took off. I went about 3-4 miles keeping the wind in my favor. Right before dark I crept up on a herd of elk. There was a six point and a cow next to me. I couldn’t shoot the six point because I didn’t draw the trophy tag. So I shot the cow. It took most of the night to get it out to my truck with the waiting ice chest full of ice. But it was so satisfying. It tastes good too. Gary

[WICanner]

#28986

Around home I do a larger share of my hunting from a stand as I am usually hunting whitetails. When out west, it is ground hunting exclusively. Small game, on the ground unless a squirrel gets a little too pesky. Depends on what and where. But ground hunting is a more active type of hunting, and thus more fun. Sitting in an elevated stand for hours on end can make it difficult to maintain a high level of concentration.

[Author]

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