calkins14

Was getting ready to purchase a 17 foot ladder treestand for next year. Thought, briefly , about a hanging stand until I checked out my neighbor's which is suspended 22 feet. Also, I've been researching safety harnesses and came to the conclusion that I'd have to consider purchasing a Rescue One system to feel completely safe.

I'm now starting to think about a one man ground popup blind instead of going up in the trees. Any of you guys have experience with both so I can weigh things? At 57 and getting arthritic by the year I'm not sure how long I'd be climbing into a treestand.

This was my first year deer hunting in Ohio and used a slug gun and will continue to use one. I saw two does this year but didn't take a shot. I learned a lot this season and will be looking forward to next. Any comments and/or suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

timbercruiser

I think it would depend on what kind of terrain you are hunting in. If possible, I would rather pick out a good tree I can see several directions out of . I have tops and side curtains on my ladder stands. The ground blind would only be picked by me if there were no good trees to get in. I have a new Grizzly G30 ground blind I've had for 4 years that is still in the box.

Terasec

1 thing about the pop ups,
make sure you can pop it down,
bought 1 several years ago,
works good for what it is,
only problem, i was never able to close the dang thing,

DannyD

calkins,

My first 6 years of hunting i hunted out of ground blinds only for both bow and gun. I started at age 42 and quite frankly my family asked that i not go up in trees.

Ground blinds can be used quite effectively. If you have the opportunity to set it out there a few weeks in advance the deer will get used to it and not be bothered by it. That being said, I have also had success even with a bow setting it up the day of the hunt.

I do take great care to brush it in effectively though, which i believe is a must for deer.

I can sit for longer periods of time in my blind because i can move around more. i get to stretch my legs more often, stand up, shift, eat,,,,,etc without fear of getting busted by a deer.

The mobility of a ground blind over a ladder stand is also a plus. Once you set a ladder stand its tough to move it (well for me alone it is)

Another plus is getting out of the elements. no real need to worry about rain, snow or cold wind.

I have also been up in trees and quite frankly, you can see a WHOLE LOT MORE. You can see more deer and you can see them coming from a greater distance away.

Good luck

not the dogs

I've hunted from both also. Like others have said, I to can last longer in a blind and I do feel safer. I still like the stand when hunting with my rifle. If you do decide on a blind , my only suggestion is to consider at least a two man blind. I have a doghouse blind and it has plenty of room. I also have one man blinds that i'm not hunting in next year because of the room. That's just my opinion. I just feel more comfortable with a little more room.

BigDaddy12t

I have hunted out of a ground blind with my bow, and my muzzleloader. I dont really like the blind when hunting with the bow, but I really like it when using the muzzleloader.

LamboIcon

ground blind I have a lot of stands that I hunt out of like ladders tripods ground blinds and lock ons. I like to hunt out of lock ons for bow hunting bc the can be low profile. I use grounds blinds when im hunting on the side of a field or cutover that has no cover. But if its hard for you to get up and down a tree then a ground blind is the way to go. I use mine for turkey hunting and deer hunting. I can shoot my bow out of it and a gun. I would say go with a ground blind and if you dont like it try something new the next year.

Ancient Archer

I use a HS Adjustable Backpacker Ground blind in Realtree Camo that I combine with a tree seat (Ultimate Swivel seat). The blind has 5 adjustable stakes, each like the individual legs of a camera tripod, and can be adjusted from 23"-54" high, and it is 12' long. I brush behind me and feel very concealed, and use it for bow hunting both deer & turkey hunting.

Like all ground blinds your scent is now a more important concern than if you are 15'-20' up a tree. This can be taken care of with scent sprays for yourself & equipment and with deer attraction scents, and placement of the blind relative to the wind.

This blind very portable, is made well, is light & easily carried in its own carry bag with shoulder strap. This season I actually had three does lay down 25-30 yds from me without knowing I was there. You can check it out at http://www.shopatron.com/products/pr...5469/352.0.1.1.

Tracker II

I'm 55 and find it harder and harder to sit still in a tree stand any length of time without my muscles stiffening up. This year I switched to a ground blind and it was heaven from a comfort standpoint. I also harvested a deer on the second day from it. The deer was 35 yards away, just browsing away with no suspicion.

Obviously, circumstances can dictate what you can use and where you can use it. I had to move out of the heavily wooded and brushy area where there where the stand excels and set the blind up along the edge of the wooded area overlooking a field. Although you may not get the field of view that a stand provides, it's a real adrenaline rush when a deer pokes his head out of the wood line and moves into the field.

I get another year older about every year or so and can definitely recommend a ground blind if you can find a good place to set it up.

romat

A few years back I attended a seminar given by Dr. Ken Nordberg, a noted whitetail biologist. He feels that Deer have learned to look up, as deer hunting from elevated stands has become the normal in the last half decade. He said that his hunting success has gone up since he started hunting from the ground again, from pop-up blinds and brushed-in blinds. I currently guide in North Texas, here we hunt from ground blinds a lot. I like the versatility of a GOOD pop-up ground blind, can hunt any wind, wooded area as well as wide open fields. There is a time and place for each type, elevated or ground. The ground blinds are a lot safer.