Anyone have success hunting from the ground?

[spoon33]

Hunting some new land that has no tree stands and very few climbable trees. I hunted last week out of a tree after attempting to climb several others only to realize I was right above the trail all the deer use as about 6 or 7 walked right underneath me.

Tomorrow I am going again and was thinking about either sitting on the ground or taking an old metal brown chair and sitting on the edge of the small field I see them walking through. I'll be using scent away to hopefully prevent being busted but was just wondering how succesful everyone else had been hunting from the ground

[javelinbill]

iv killed a lot of deer from the ground.. my last bow kill was from a ground blind..just be still and watch the wind,, youll do fine

[colreb2000]

I hunt a lot from the ground. Got one this morning from the ground as a matter of fact. The wind is important tho.....like you said. If its at your back you can just about stay at the house. This morning the wind was blowing in my face and the deer I got walked with in 30 yards of me and would have come closer if I hadn't shot.

[ol man river]

wind in your face, good cover, gotta be still.....kinda like turkey hunting..

just remember that if you miss that round may go for a bit instead of into the ground...

[idaho guide]

iv never kill any thing but from the ground

[LarryR.]

I've killed a bunch from the ground, I like to set up where I can use tree blow downs / logs to break up my image to blend into the surrounding area.
Works like a charm !!!!

[bigfishingstud]

i sit in a Brush Pile

[Fiddlefarter]

find a good settin' against tree, kick the lleaves back and give it hell. i've killed several from the ground with a gun. prefer it if i can do it so i don't have to tote a stand. bowhunting is a little different though.

[Hogman]

I was just thinking about this the other day. I almost always hunt from a climbing stand but 2 of the 3 biggest bucks I have killed have been from the ground. I've also missed 2 big bucks from the ground. One was gun error, the other was operator error.

[Terry Anderson]

My first buck with a bow was at 15 yards. I had a beech behind me and a maple on either side...that deer never knew I was there until the arrow passed through. My best buck ever was this year at 50 yards on the ground in a thicket...once again, plenty of cover and wind in my face along with the thermals coming towards me. You cannot buy woodsmanship!!

[haftafish22]

i've killed 14 of 31 with a bow on the ground. set up with a good back drop. I always get in early and gather fallen limbs and make a temporary ground blind. It is a lot like turkey hunting only you have to add the factor of wind into it. move only when the deer is looking away or behind an obstruction. must wear full camo, including headmask and i prefer to where thin gloves. the idea is to blend in more than you would if you were in a tree. deer don't worry about predators in trees near as much as on the ground so they are much more keen to out of the normal objects and movement. but it can be done. just takes a little more patience and skill.

[DIXIEDOG]

I've generally done very well on the ground. Normally I try to use one of these seats strapped to a tree because it's alot more comfortable for a full day of sitting



The biggest thing I've found is that if you don't constantly move you will have a much higher success rate, that includes swiveling your head all over trying to eye a deer from just a little further than you can see or just constantly readjusting yourself. I find an area where I'm confident deer will be crossing, I find a suitable tree for my swivel seat and I sit there incredibly still until I shoot my deer.


Guys seem to think you can get by with alot of movement in a treestand but in my experience you can not, the deer seem to look up and catch movement as well or better if you're in a stand than if you are on the ground with a little surrounding break up cover.

[ol man river]

good advice dixie...


i figured you were gonna tell us about wabbit hunting

[DIXIEDOG]

<table width="90%" cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 align=center><tr><td>Quote, originally posted by ol man river &raquo;</td></tr><tr><td class="quote">good advice dixie...


i figured you were gonna tell us about wabbit hunting </td></tr></table>

Nope, I can move around a whole lot when doing that. No way I'm making more noise than the dogs. ARRRRROOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You don't need to be still until the rabbit starts getting close, then if you move you end up turning the rabbit before he gets to you.

[BP in ME]

<table width="90%" cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 align=center><tr><td>Quote, originally posted by spoon33 &raquo;</td></tr><tr><td class="quote">Hunting some new land that has no tree stands and very few climbable trees. I hunted last week out of a tree after attempting to climb several others only to realize I was right above the trail all the deer use as about 6 or 7 walked right underneath me.
</td></tr></table>

Like others have said, it's all about wind direction and sitting still. I try to get off the main trail by at least 50 feet to let them pass broadside in front of me. Wind direction is seldom true and steady in the woods. Trees cause all sorts of swirls and eddies that will get you busted. And if there's no wind then you need to watch your thermals. Normally it's uphill in the AM and downhill in the PM. All in all it's more exciting than treestand hunting IMO.

[colreb2000]

I went yesterday afternoon and snuck up on 4 does at the edge of a thicket.....wind shifted and poof, they were gone. Before they smelled me tho, I got within 35 yards of em.

[Terry Anderson]

<table width="90%" cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 align=center><tr><td>Quote, originally posted by colreb2000 &raquo;</td></tr><tr><td class="quote">I went yesterday afternoon and snuck up on 4 does at the edge of a thicket.....wind shifted and poof, they were gone. Before they smelled me tho, I got within 35 yards of em. </td></tr></table>

[Moose 518VX]

<table width="90%" cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 align=center><tr><td>Quote, originally posted by spoon33 &raquo;</td></tr><tr><td class="quote"> only to realize I was right above the trail all the deer use as about 6 or 7 walked right underneath me. </td></tr></table>

So what is wrong with that! That the best place to have them!