hunting on the ground?
 

hey all, im considering buying either a climbing treestand or spending the money on a pair of scentlok coveralls with 3-D camo and staying on the ground. i know a lot of bowhunters feel that you have to be up in a tree to be successful, but where i live its tough to find a tree suitable for a treestand, plus im not too fond of the idea of climbing up a tree. what do you guys think, would hunting from the ground reduce my success that significantly? or if i invest the money in scentlok gear and good camo and pay attention to detail and scent control, would i be ok?

RE: hunting on the ground?
 

I hunt on the ground sometimes and have harvest deer. I know it's not as good as being up ina tree but you do get lucky on the ground too. I don't even have camo on ( black shirt and blue jeans) once and shot a doe at 30 yards. If you have the funds yes get yourself a good camo clothings. When I'm on the ground I just stand behind big trees or make a half blind with branches and try to blend in as good as possible.

RE: hunting on the ground?
 

I was on the ground, during a blizzard, I was wearing a white sheet for camo. I shot a 125" buck at 3 yards, it was a drive, I was down wind from the buck. It can be done! But, I preffer to be in a tree, its more forgiving.

RE: hunting on the ground?
 

A deer stand does very little to keep the deer from smelling you, it gives you a better vantage point and it keeps you from being eye level with the deer. I hunt from the ground with a rifle and have had alot of success.
I dont necessarily think you have to have a scent lok suit to successfully mask your scent. A shower and good cover scent have always worked for me, and to be mindful of the wind.
Buy the stand and some no-scent soap, maybe some earth scent waffers, youll be good to go.

RE: hunting on the ground?
 

I'm a firm believer that climbing trees should be left to critter's. coons, possums and monkeys.

I like using ground blinds and a lawn chair. The blinds contain your scent, conceal your motion and keep you out of the rain or snow. The lawn chair makes sitting for long periods comfortable and if you get one with a high back, you won't get a sore neckwhen you nod off for a nap.;)

Most of the blinds are light and can be set up in just a few minutes. They're packable so if you have to relocate it can be done in a few minutes as well.

RE: hunting on the ground?
 

I hunt both from stands and from the ground. It depends on the location. I would buy camo clothing but save the money and don't pay for scent lock. Just use the wind and a cover scent.

RE: hunting on the ground?
 

The vast majority of my 25 or so Whitetails were harvested while on the ground, including my 3 biggest bucks. The biggest, a 141" 11 pointer was shot at 12 yards while sitting on a bucket and he had no idea i was within a million miles. Personally, i enjoy the challenge of harvesting Deer while on the ground. I get busted more on the groundthan when i'm in a tree, but the satisfaction oftaking aDeer more on his own terms is worth it. ;)

RE: hunting on the ground?
 

thanks for all the tips guys!

RE: hunting on the ground?
 

I think it depends on your terrain. 2 years ago I tried to get into one of my stands overlooking a hay field after a snow storm and my pegs were so Iced over I couldn't get in. Built up some snow on the edge of the field for a back rest and it was the most comfortable stand Ive ever hunted out of! Got a nice doe about and hour into the hunt out a field no one had seen a deer in the previous season. If you only have few trees to work with, you may want to watch out with tree stands, your newly siloutted body in and otherwise barron area may spook the deer. Ive gotten many deer just sitting on the ground and many deer in a elevated blind. I think its all about blocking your body outline.Ive spent 3 minutes taking some dead brances and stuffing them togetherto break up my outline and worked like a charm. Personally, I think these Pop tent blinds are a little over rated. Some branches and 15 minutes is allyou need. I like it better when I can see all around me and see the sky when I am hunting, that all changes when it rains though!!

RE: hunting on the ground?
 

i was raised hunting from hand-made ground blinds. it's easy enough to do but you must really pay attention to movement. Camo takes a back seat IMO as long as you have a decent blind and don't reak of human odor. Thisdeer season will be my first hunting from the ground with a bow. i have however been successful with a shotgun. good luck to us on upcomming seasons

RE: hunting on the ground?
 

Had some of my best encounters on the ground.

RE: hunting on the ground?
 

During archery season, the only way I hunt is from up above.

BUT, 9 times out of 10 during gun season I'm on the ground. I do it for several reasons:

1. During bow season, you pick up on minor pattern changes or behavior tendancies of deer during the last few days/weeks of bow season, and me, not wanting to risk spooking anything by putting up a stand during a crucial time, will just plop my butt on the ground in an area I want to be in.

2. Mobility. Things get pretty wacky during the IL gun season, Deer can come from anywhere at any time. I shot a large deer a few years ago that had been jumped from a neighboring property. I spotted him running in the distance and cut him off after a 100 yd. sprint.

3. You are much quieter when entering your location. How many times have you made a quiet approach to you stand only to bonk your bow/gun off of your stand/climbing stick while pulling it up with a rope?

4. Ive found that in the area of IL that I gun hunt the deer seem to get real flighty by the end of opening weekend, and it helps to be able to just go and sit wherever you want, secluded trails, thickets, etc. I guess this just ties into #2.:D

RE: hunting on the ground?
 

I would never hunt on the ground during a gun season, too dangerous, expectually on public ground.

RE: hunting on the ground?
 

I hunt on the ground all the time and i harvest more deer on the ground then in a stand

RE: hunting on the ground?
 

95+% of the time I hunt from a ladderstand, homemade treestand, or box stand for whitetails. However, I took my first archery whitetail (doe) from a pop-up ground at 15 yards and she had no idea.

I get busted by significantly more deer when in my ground blind, I beleive this is because I do not leave the blind up long enough and they are spooked by it. I exclusively hunt turkey from my pop-up and have had numerous deer nail me, but I don't go scent-free for turkey.

If I have the opportunity I always hunt up high with archery (and gun for that matter).

RE: hunting on the ground?
 

I only hunt on the ground... Doing this provides me with a unique way of archery hunting... i rely on wind patterns and intense scent control to be successful... this past season, i just sat down in a thorn bush on a fallen log... I had a young 6-point come within 15 feet while i was doing a grunt call... harvested an old 10 point the same evening at less than 10 yards... This type of hunting is very exciting!

RE: hunting on the ground?
 

Dito. I've been huntin' both out of tree stands and the ground for 20+ years. It's a matter of preference. My sucess rate is the same for both.