I'm a college student in NE Missouri and a relatively new bowhunter. I have been hunting on foot this year, partly because I didn't have enough time before the season started to scout as much as I wanted to, and this let me scout as I went to a much greater degree.

At this point, I've found a few spots that I'm going to keep going to for a while. Many of these spots have sufficient ground cover (fallen trees, etc.) and I've been able to watch the deer undetected.

Will not being in a tree stand greatly reduce my chances of success?