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?

Not if you take the right precautions. Mask your scent as much as possible, always approach with wind in your face if possible, keep as quiet as possible, and once in place (find good cover), keep movement and noise to a minimum. I have hunted from the ground twice this year and lost both because: 1. a curious buck snuck up behind my ground blind the first time; and 2. a turkey walked to within 3 feet of me the second.

Good Luck.

You'll do just fine as long as your scent is masked, the wind is right, and that you have enough cover to mask most of your movements. Plus only move when there head is down or you are sure that they are not looking.

To be very honest, I would much rather hunt on the ground than in a tree. First, I really like being mobile. I've only hunted 2x out of a tree this year and I'm out about 4 or 5 times a week. Second, I feel that it makes you a better hunter and better at reacting to things. Anyway you will have no problems hunting from the ground. Good luck.

When I first started I learned much of what I know today from ground hunting. My experience was that I probably saw more deer and the close encounters were awesome but the missed shots from the motion of drawing back was enough to prompt me to get up in the canopy of the trees. Unless you have a climber with plenty of trees that are climber friendly, which I don't, then you have to learn to be very effective at stand placement and willing to move stands possibly several times within a given season.

I was wondering about this same question with all the days with high winds. I like the freedom of being on the ground but the few times I've tried sitting I get busted trying to draw. The only times I've been successful on the ground was when I stalked, a deer and a turkey. But you have to have a lot of land to cover if you're moving.