Tazman

Willie it is the ultimate rush to take one from the ground, it is quite a challenge though!

PAhunterJEN

I' m always on the ground. I haven' t bought a tree stand yet and there aren' t very many trees that you can build one into. I have my eye on a great old oak for next year - it has the remains of someones rotted treehouse type stand. That will all have to be removed first. Then there are a ton of saplings all around. It sits on the top of the hill and you can see for miles around. It will be great...
So anyway, I am on the ground. Each day I judge the wind to decide where I' ll go. I get there in the dark and stay for at least three hours or as long as I can stand it. After a few hours I get fidgity and I have to move, then I will travel as slow and quiet as possible to a new area. I go out two times per day and have seen deer in all but two times. If I did not move I might not see anything so I don' t think I could handle staying in the exact same spot all day.
I usually set up within the branches of a fallen tree. Sometimes I move some broken limbs to break up my outline. I usually have an old milk crate or tree trunk to sit on, otherwise I have a fold-up stool that I carry in.
I' ve really learned that the most important things are wind direction, sound and being still. The deer usually will see me but if I don' t move they will go about their business (except that darned matriarch doe!). Also, I almost always hear them coming before I see them. This is very important in getting set up facing the right direction. If you think you have trouble hearing the deer coming in then I would suggest some sort of aid like Walkers Game Ear.
What would I do to improve my chances hunting from the ground? I would get a better quality bow with parts that don' t wobble from being constantly jumbled around......
GOOD LUCK EVERYONE...ESPECIALLY THOSE OF YOU ON THE GROUND!!!

Jeepnut

I recently took my first deer this season & it was from the ground. I spend a lot of time sitting in trees but this particular place didn' t have any trees suitable for my climber. I will say that I think I' m hooked on ground hunting now. Haven' t had the climber out since then.

Log

i as well hunt both way. dependes on the elements of the day. this year i shot my deer form the ground. last year my bow kill was in a tree. it is definatly harder to hunt from the ground, but if the wind is wrong or what erver the case may be that i am not in my stand..it is impossable to hunt the tree. i honestly would if i could always hunt from a tree. it is much harder to bow hunt from the ground. we as hunters have to be versital though to be successful. bottom line....whatever it takes for venison steaks..lol

logs

Actually hunting from a tree stand is realitively new in legal terms to the older hunters in WI.
Im not sure what year it became legal to hunt out of elevated stands elsewhere but it wasn' t until either the late late 60s or early 70s in WI.
Up until then I and all the other hunters hunted from the ground. It is harder but not that big of a deal if you control your scent and movement or know how to stalk or still hunt.
I still hunt from the ground from time to time as circumstances dictate and still take Whitetail Deer that way as Im sure a lot of Mule Deer hunters do all the time.

Toytaco

I' ve never hunted with a bow from the ground, however, I did take a couple of deer with a rifle from a ground stand about 20 years ago. This year I' ve become convinced that a good ground stand could actually help out in a number of situations. In Oklahoma where I hunt, its very difficult to find a good tree in which to hang a stand thats also in the best place. Even then it takes a lot of work to clear shooting lanes, etc, so you can hunt effectively. Too much time and noise is involved in simply setting up, especially mid-season when you want to keep disturbances to a minimum. It seems to me a good camo pop-up blind would be a great additional tool to have. Sometimes you' re seeing deer from your tree stand but their pattern keeps them too far out, etc. Such a ground blind would let you move around a bit in your hunting areas and let you " play the wind" a little more effectively. I' m definitely going to buy a pop-up blind and add it to my bag of stuff. Besides, a new peice of gear is always fun to have and figure out to use.

A.K.A eastwood

i bow hunt from the ground, you need to have a good spot. otherwise your toast.

10 POINT TONY

shot a nice 7 point from the ground saturday. it is exciting. you do have to watch the wind, your scent control has to better than 20 feet up, and know when to draw on a deer from the ground. it is fun though. i like being eye to eye with a nice buck.