So I have always been a treestand guy. hunted from the ground a little, some ground pop blinds and sometimes natural blind. Never had success. Never really seen many deer this way...but I have some areas that are dynamite but trees are to small for a stand...Im talking like 6-8 year old cutovers with sign and trails everywhere...How do you guys that ground hunt at all go about it? What is your success? Kills/could have killed? busted a lot? etc.
I didn't start seriously hunting out of trees until my late teens and killed a lot of deer in my early years from the ground without a blind. Never gave much thought to it other than finding a spot that was downwind of where I thought the deer were going to be, kicking out the leaves next to a blowdown or big tree, and getting ready to shoot. I still do this from time to time, its just a lot harder with a camera to self-film this way. And it does cut down on visibility and deer sightings for sure. You can see way more from an elevated position. But sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do.
Thanks Justin. I been watching these guy from The Hunting Public and they do an awful lot of ground hunting and they seem to have success.. I think wind direction is #1 and then a good back drop to hide yourself is likely key. Just putting my feelers out there because I really do have some great spots for this type of hunting.
If you have spots you plan on doing this from often I would find a good place to construct a bit of a natural blind using old blowdowns, tree limbs, etc. I've had good luck with that in the past. Otherwise, hunting from the ground is the ultimate "run and gun" setup and affords a ton of flexibility to check out new places. The trouble is finding good cover to hide in or behind on the fly. It's a lot like trying to find the right tree in a spot you hunt. Not sure if you have any corn by you, but I've had a lot of success hunting small fencerows and creek bottoms by simply sitting 3-4 rows into the corn and cutting down the top 1/2 of the corn stalks to make shooting lanes. That used to be one of my favorite ways to hunt.
I took a few from the ground under a cedar tree. As Justin said, play wind, kick out a clean spot on the ground and keep as much natural cover without hindering shot opportunities. Have a good backdrop and some cover in front to break-up your outline, I've stalked/hunted through small creek beds as well, you are just really close to the ground when shooting. Not hard, just prepare for shooting upwards rather than down.
I gotcha.. all the corn has been cut. have lots of cotton down here this year, and peanuts, and soybeans. the deer will come to those fields but they seem to take their time. I will be looking to go into their bedding area lightly, and cut them off going the oak flats.
Comfort is always my issue. I take a 3 point little field stool to sit on because it keeps me closer to the ground but still allows me to shoot without moving a lot. The downfall is that after about 1.5hr, it wears on my back and I start to move around looking for comfort. Any downed saplings in the woods? Make a half-ass lean-to and use the left over corn stalks to brush it in. Your imagination and time is your limit, you can build some hasty fighting positions if you have the eye for the resources already in place.
yes, there is plenty to build a natural blind around...I am going to really look hard at doing this a few hunts this year
My first deer I took was on the ground in a cabelas run and gun ground blind (a blind you can only sit cross legged in). I backed up against some brush and took him 35 yrds with my .357. When I pulled the hammer back he looked at me and it felt like an eternity before he went on about his buisness.
When you look at trees/brush piles and you can see to the other side, that means your movement is noticeable inside. Keep your eye out for stuff like that, remember; good solid backdrop, concealment to break-up your outline in the front. I call it the mullet effect...I just made that up; that is now my thing and I expect $6 every time Justin uses it. When I went through sniper school, I had a stalk where I was standing in the open shooting off my tripod with my jacket draped around my head/torso. The spotter could not find me even though I was "exposed"; good back drop (blended well) and concealment in front to break the outline; 60% of the time, it works every time. Don't overthink this...you'll be fine.
if I can keep it as close to natural as possible, not disturb too much they will likely walk withing 10-15 yards of if the wind is right and they will never expect it..they have not been hunted in these places at all.
My biggest buck with a bow came from hunting on the ground. Just happen to be a big oak blow down 20 yards from a specific trail I was hunting. So the deer essentially came from behind me and I was at full draw by the time he walked past the log and was able to see me. It was kind of a perfect scenario. My very first deer came from the ground when I was 11 and I was just sitting on a stool infront of some brush....one thing I did do was hunt a specific trail where it was thick and stayed ready. Still ditch the stand every now and again if the spot calls for me to. Biggest problem I had ground hunting was staying put hahaha id always kind of still hunt my way around because that spot 60 yards up looked better. Sometimes itd pay off sometimes it bit me. But some of my most exciting hunts came from this. Good luck man! Sent from my LML212VL using Bowhunting.com Forums mobile app
that's awesome....I have only killed one from the ground with a bow and I actually got that on film..I was with my buddy and we were walking back from our morning hunt and the deer stood up at 32 yards and allowed us to get into position with the camera and all..
