Hunting on the ground without a blind?
 

Got any tips to accomplish this? I was thinking hide behind a nice sized bush, small tree, whatever, and then on the other side of the trail, have a scent wick or something, to distract him while I drew and shot? Hows that sound?Got any other tips or anything?

RE: Hunting on the ground without a blind?
 

If you know where you are going to be hunting from, build a man made blind out of brush that your have around. Give the deer a week and they wont recognize it anymore. If you build it big enough you can have a nice camo chair in there and they work great.

RE: Hunting on the ground without a blind?
 

I thought of that, but I want the challenge of only having a bush/tree/whatever to my right/left side, and then nothing else. My whole body open, maybe a camo netting up around my waist or something, but for the most part Im wide open. I may never get even close to a deer this way, but I wanna try.

RE: Hunting on the ground without a blind?
 

I used to bow hunt from the ground a good bit and have arrowed several deer that way. Just hiding behind a tree is difficult and I was usually busted like that. My favorite set up was to find a large log that that was lying up against a tree. If the tree and the log made a V, It was all good. Bigger the log, the better. I've shot 2 deer with that set up. Another easy way that I've killed a deer is to simply take about 7-8 dead limbs and criss cross them between to trees and get behind hit. I shot a small 8pt at 10 yds with that setup.

I plan to do alot more ground hunting this season. It's a rush like no other.

RE: Hunting on the ground without a blind?
 

if your lucky enough like i am in my wood lots, you can find enough small cover like thatwhenscouting the pre season.jot it down and plot out a scout line with topo maps along deer activity.
then all you need to do is stalk the area looking for deer by moving from one blind to the next.
tree blow overs, thick swamp willows, tall water grass, fence lines, corn fields, boulders,
just look around you`ll have more to hide in then you think.

PT

RE: Hunting on the ground without a blind?
 

Tree falls make a natural hideout

RE: Hunting on the ground without a blind?
 

Yeah they're pretty cool to hunt from. Find yourself a big ole blowdown where a tree was uprooted and sit with your back to it...or behind...or on top of it...[:-][8D]or just somehow use it they make pretty good natural cover.

RE: Hunting on the ground without a blind?
 

I just did that very thing over teh past couple weekends. I hunt from the ground quite a bit. I have 3 man made ground blinds and a "tree" blind. I made one this year in the top of a blown down pine (cut branches to get a place to sit and cut a couple shooting lanes. I also just made a "stand" (2 - 2x8 for deck and a makeshift seat out of treated lumber) on a uprooted hemlock. I st directly behing the root wad and i'm about 3 foot up and i put branches in front of me to break my outline. I am excited to use both this year.

RE: Hunting on the ground without a blind?
 

Don't overlook your camo. Make sure you've got something that will breakup your outline. It becomes even more important when not in a treestand or a blind.

RE: Hunting on the ground without a blind?
 

One of the gentleman that works with me down at the shop hunts almost exclusively from the ground and without the use of any type of blind. His approach is quite simple actually. He sits facing a tree wide enough to break up his outline and about 20 yards off of the trail he is watching. He sits just enough to be able to see past the tree to the trail. When a deer approaches he draws behind the tree and then slowly leans over to get the shot. It works quite well for him as he has shot a deer the past three years running.

RE: Hunting on the ground without a blind?
 

I have set up a 5 gal. pail with my back to a big tree and had MANY close encounters--set yourself in a good spot and DO NOT MOVE!

RE: Hunting on the ground without a blind?
 

Having something behind you to help break up your outline is just as important as having stuff in front of you. Give yourself plenty of room to move around too. You don't want your arrow hanging up of any of the brush you're using for cover as you pick up the bow. Also, once you settle in, scrape away all the twigs and leaves inside your set up so you don't make any noise when you move. Good luck. Seeing game up close and personal is a rush.

RE: Hunting on the ground without a blind?
 

Boy, that's a tough one. You have to be on top of your game to pull this off. Good ground cover, wind direction, setting up at the right ambush point on a travel route are a must. If you have any friends that hunt traditional style they could be more productive than what I have to offer. I ground hunted my first couple of years bowhunting. I selected 3 good ambush points each depending on the wind direction between the feeding and bedding area. Each was on the side of a hill in laurel that was 3 to 4 feet high surrounded by mature trees. I did get one buck hunting from one of the spots, but I didn't see near as many deer as when I started to hunt from a tree stand.

RE: Hunting on the ground without a blind?
 

must haves.....leafy camo, cover scent, wind in your face, ability to remain still and quiet, quiet equipment,light poundaged draw... say around 33ish..you may have to hold..at full draw for a while ...your can stand right next to the trail if you good enuf... im not yet.. HA...HA. Upclose and personal the only way to let an arrow fly

RE: Hunting on the ground without a blind?
 

I try to stay out of their line of sight. I don't care how good your camo is if your out of place they will pick you off even if you don't move.Find a corner that they will pass by or down hill from them.Also what Flairball said.Nothing compares to one from the ground.

RE: Hunting on the ground without a blind?
 

YEP IT WORKS BUT ITS A LITTLE HARDER, I USE A GROUND CAMO NETTING AND IT HAS WORK PRETTY NICE TO ME!
TRY IT, ITSA BIT MORE RISKY;)


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RE: Hunting on the ground without a blind?
 

me and my wife both shot deer out of hand made brush ground blinds
i like them and we had a doe walk up and it looked like my wife could have petted her she got so close and she didnt know we were there

RE: Hunting on the ground without a blind?
 

I bought a Summit Trophy Chair that straps to the tree. I have used it several times and lots of success. Had a buck chasing a doe last year and they were so close I could have touched the doe. Had a nice buck walk right past me in it last year. Decided to let him go. I have been busted in it though also. I have bought some camo blind material to use from time to time. Just wrap it around some trees that are around you, but now I prefer to use natural cover instead. Check out the trophy chair. Its comfortable also.

RE: Hunting on the ground without a blind?
 

I've used this approach with success (once<) and have decided to try it some more this season on evening hunts whenI don't want to spook up my primary locations due to hot weather.