Killing deer from ground vs. treestand

Just wondering....when I started deer hunting there were not any "treestands" that you could buy...if you wanted one you basically built one up in atree...until the Baker came out which I did buy one and it scared me so bad once (slid down the tree while I turned around almost all the way to the ground)....no safety straps in them days...I left it in the woods on that tree.....

But over the years I've killed far more deer "injunin" up on them on the ground then I have out of a tree.....But all on the ground have been with a firearm....

How many of you guys/girls still hunt sneakin around on the ground ?

SB

 

I hunt on the ground alot, but I don't sneak up on them often. I weigh 230, its hard to be stealth when you are a fat boy. :D

Seriously, I love hunting on the ground, I get busted far more often, but the rush I get when I am successful is well worth all the failures.

 

I've never shot at a deer on the ground. I've only had one or two shot opportunities on the ground, but I couldn't even pull back. What a RUSH it is, though. Totally different experience for me than being in a tree.

 

Hunting from the ground is great. Some of my most memorable times in the woods are from stalking/killing deer from the ground. I do not know how many deer I have killed from the ground, but I would bet it would be less than 10% of my overall kill numbers. I started hunting from the ground, then switched over to an Ole Man Climbing stand around 1996 or so.

 

Not much choice for deer hunting up here. There's no trees where there's deer.

 

I like ground hunting, its pretty intense. I grew up thinking you could only kill them from trees...who knew?

 

I have hunted from the ground and have been able to get shot opportunities on deer that way.

But I much prefer being up high where I can see better and it's tougher for them to see me.

 

I killed my first deer/buck ever from the ground with my bow....amazing feeling.

 

That's how my dad has gotten his last few deer. Ground style. It's easy, he just forgets to grab his sunglasses, then gets down to go to the truck, and the deer come runnin' I guess.
I don't get it. I never see them until its too late. I just figure that his luck is not genetic...

 

I sometimes enjoy hunting from the ground instead of heading to one of the stands. Especially in the late season.
This past season I took my first deer from the ground with a bow (2nd bowkill total), 2 days before Christmas. I didn't "injun" up on the doe though. I chose to hunt there because it was the only fresh sign I was seeing after mid december. I set up a make shift blind on some berry bushes because it was the only legitimate late season food source in this woodlot, surrounded my agriculture that I dont have permission to hunt. Hunting from the ground is quite a rush, I agree with you.

 

Ground hunting is a blast. I got my first ground buck this year (with the bow). He was a very tall 7 point chasing a doe through a cedar patch during peak rut. He had me busted, but he wanted to get a look at me from another angle. Big mistake! The shot was about 30 yards with a lot of limbs everywhere, but I wouldn't have released if I wasn't very confident. It was just an awsome morning that would have been great from a treestand but what can I say it was just better on the ground!

97% off my (deer) hunting is from treestands. This example sprang from a property that was gained the day before the hunt. I simply had no time to prepare a stand site. Next year, I will have a stand there. Treestands are highly effective tactics against the sight and scent of the whitetail.

 

I have never killed from the ground. I can only imagine the rush. I had a 45 yard ground encounter with an 8 point this year on my way in. I knew he had me the whole time. I like to be high up in the trees.

 

I've had great luck hunting from the ground hiding In downfall, brush or whatever I can find that's natural. I've shot one deer from the ground and could of shot many more If I wanted to. It's an awesome adrenaline rush being 20' from them that's for sure!!

 

I've killed two bucks a few doe's off the ground. I love it, very exciting. having said that, i almost exclusively hunt out of a climber anymore

 

I like to make a ground blind that is from the materials in the area where I'm hunting. It blends in with the smell & looks of the area. I did buy one this last year when I went to Cabela's in Sidney, Neb. Someone stole it So, I'm sticking to the natural resources. I do have several tree stands that I get to use in one of the woods where I hunt. A retired teacher built them & he lets me use them. He did a nice job building them, very safe. Either way is great. But, I do prefer ground blinds.

 

For quite a few yrs, that's how I hunted w/a bow. On the ground, & maybe some camo netting infront of me. Mainly, I stood against a pine tree or bush to help conceal me. Now it's treestands or blinds. Technology, what can I say.

 

I've shot deer while on the ground but I prefer to be elevated when possible...

 

I love ground hunting... I honestly enjoy the action more on the ground than from a tree!

 

90% of my annual hunting is from the ground. It's the way of the west.

 

I hunt as much for whitetails off the ground as I do from a tree. I take the best option that the habitat offers me in regards to wind and where I expect a buck to come walking by. Nothing like tucking into natural ground cover and having them come in eye to eye..