I am somewhat new to bow hunting and i do not have a tree stand and i have been hunting from the ground. i need tips. thx
Position and cover are the two keys to success IMHO. You need to be in a good spot, where you have a backdrop (a tree trunk or thick brush or a deadfall, etc.) and a clear shooting lane at what's coming. But you want the trail in front of you so the deer does not see you until you're drawn back and its too late. This is how I got last year's buck. He never saw me until I grunted at him from the deadfall about 30 yards away. I released the arrow almost the second I grunted. Good luck. Ground hunting is the way to go on most of the land I hunt and its a blast.
i don't ground hunt, but ive heard from those that do and consistently kill mature bucks is that you HAVE to wear a gillie suit with no exceptions.
Wow. Somebody should have told Fred Bear that. He might have killed more deer if only he had known LOL sent from old school can and string
I ground hunt 75% of the time. Last night I was setup by a tree and there were some weeds around me and 10 different deer came within 10 yards of me and never even cared. 3 of them were nice bucks. I would say that the right camo pattern helps alot because sometimes you are to dark and you look like a big black blobfrom a distance and sometimes you can be too light and not blend in. I have never used a gillie suit before. You need to break up your outline and that will help alot too. Hope this helps!
Yeah, ghillie suit is not a necessity. It helps, though. I've shot a lot of deer from the ground without one.
Tip 1. Be able to enter and exit where deer are passing by not stopping to feed. Your ground spot will spoil very fast if you are forced to exit or enter while deer are trying to feed there. Tip 2. Have good cover, but also make sure the ground your set up on is not noisy. Tip 3. I always like to have a wall of brush that I can peak through and see deer approaching so that I can draw early without them ever seeing me draw. I like to hold my draw as they approach that way when they walk into a shot lane I am at full draw and can just trip the release. If you are not used to holding at full draw for long periods of time then you may have an issue. But I have yet to hunt off the ground with deer that are dumb enough to let me draw on them at close distances. Tip 4. Try hunting an edge wind that pushes your scent just past approaching deer but off to the side enough that they don't pick you up but the deer themselves still have a wind that is favorable to them. You will see a lot more deer that way, especially older bucks. Deer like the wind in their favor, so do hunters play those edges that let them think they are safe yet still gives you a close shot opportunity. Tip 5. Exit well after deer have passed through. Again hunting bait piles or rt on top of feed will only educate the deer. 6. Socks wear extra, yes take your boots off when your set up, socks are very quiet on the ground. I like to free up my ground location of all debris. Minus soft grass I take it right down to the bare dirt. If your playing the wind right.. and your clothing is clean.. including the inside of your boots. scent will not be an issue. 7. Natural cover is great. Brush, hanging limbs, trees etc. tuck into them and clear up the ground so its quiet. The more the better. I usually only give myself two or three at the most shot windows. 8. Make sure your clothing is dead silent for ground drawing on deer. all Fleece rocks it. 9. Your on the ground often shooting slightly uphill or up angle.. Heart shoot them when close.. 10. Good Luck ground hunting is imo the most exciting way to harpoon a deer!
hunting from the ground can be somewhat of an advantage since its easier to hide yourself in cover than halfway up a tree trunk like how must guys set their stands nowadays. -Always play the wind. On the ground you live and die by the wind -Clear all the leaves and sticks away from where your feet are so when you move for the shot no noise is made. -Use the cover to your advantage! Many times ill come into a new spot early and build a small shack in a few minutes from downed limbs or whatever i have laying around. Nothing that will spook them but just enough to break up your outline. -It sounds stupid but my best results have come from simply standing up against a tree. When the deer comes in really get close to the tree and it will blend you in just as good as any blind. the trick to this is not to move to draw until the deer passes you. Ive used this many times in oak flats and have had success on both mature bucks and does alike. -Use anything as a distraction. Rut is my favorite time to hunt on the ground since most deer are preoccupied already. A little estrous in the air or if your set up on a scrape will keep the deers mind on something else and gives you a little more leeway to maneuver and shoot. Hope that helps! goodluck!
Colour and pattern is completely correct. This past Sunday I bleated in an 8 point while I sat in some thick brush on a field edge. My camo is pretty dark save a couple of fall coloured leaves on the chest and arms. The buck got his head open in the field and then locked right onto me, and I hadn't even attempted to move yet. He got out of there after a couple minutes of looking and stomping but I completely agree that breaking up your image and having the right colour for where you're hunting is a must. no ghillie suit required. Scent control is VERY important too on the ground because the wind wont carry your scent over them like if you are in a treestand. The 8 point I called in came in from down wind and never worried about anything until he saw me sitting in the bush. Hope this helps!!! I'm continuing the ground and pound for the rest of the season its heart pounding excitement!!!
IMHO, the easiest way to do it if your newer to bowhunting would be with a cheap ground blind and brush it in pretty well, wear all black and move about ten times slower than you think you need to. I took a buddy out hunting ( who primarily hunts from the ground), we set up on a field edge in the bottoms where the hills all drop into a nice creek bed and with a little Nose Jammer on the top of the blind we had two nice bucks come out and walk right across the front, the blind helped conceal our scent and the eight took an arrow behind the shoulder from my buddy while we let the six walk (antler point restriction)
