Trees for a treestand are very hard to come by in my area, so I purchased a decent sized ground bling by Underbrush last year. Worked great most of the time, however, the one buck that I really wanted to take got spooked by my "shadow" that showed through.
I was unaware that the early morning sun would shine through like it did. The buck came head on 'till about 30 yards out. Stopped cold because he saw me get ready to draw. Turned tail and bolted.
I got out of the blind to take a look at what he saw. Looked from his perspective...and saw right through the blind to the stool, bow and the blind frame. I'm sure that if I was in there, I'd be plain as day.
I now wish that I purchased one with a black interior liner....that's what you sometimes get when you try to save a few bucks....
It also helps to practice shooting while in a kneeling, seated & very crouched position. I was in a blow down ground blind last year and had never shot from a seated position. Found that with the stress of having twin spikes suprise me at less than 5 yds, I did not have the controll for a good shot at either. I let them go and had a great laugh.
It was an incredible experience to see the deer head on at ground level though. Talk about an adrenaline rush!
Still a rookie and am loving this sport.
"It's not the kill, it's the adventure and challenge! <img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle>"