In your opinion does it diminish the kill? Let's say you're walking out from a morning hunt (or in on an afternoon hunt). You catch a glimpse of a 130" 3.5 year old buck. You get behind a tree, the buck walks to 20 yards broadside, you draw and THWACK!! Dead deer. Do you feel the same sense of accomplishment as you would if you were in a treestand that you hung, scouted the area, only hunt in certain winds, etc....?
If I kill a deer, I have beat its senses. Whether that be by posting in an advantageous ambush point, spot and stalking, or in this case catching the deer as I moved through the woods and eluding detection long enough to get a shot. In the latter case I still have put myself into where that deer wants to be and don't have the advantage of planning for the wind or having the cover or height of a treestand so if anything that may mean more to me. I've never done it so I can't be sure, but I'm pretty sure I wouldn't feel a diminished sense of accomplishment.
I accomplished my goal which was to kill a deer. Hopefully it happened when walking back to my car and was only 50 yds from it :D .
Maybe more so. In my opinion, it would be a lot tougher to shoot a deer from the ground without a blind than it would from an elevated stand.
Yes I agree the actual act of drawing on and shooting the deer from the ground is obviously more difficult than 20 ft. in a tree. My point was more of the sense of accomplishment as far as being "dumb luck" so to speak(walking out and the deer stumbles on you where you weren't planning on being) as opposed to hunted, scouted and set up on the deer (from a treestand that you put there for a reason).
Any kill from the ground especially without a blind is something not too many can say they've done. I did it this past December and it was awesome.
I see your point now. I guess there is always some element of luck involved. So many things that have to work out just right to have success. Along those lines, I still would not feel any less excited to take the deer.
When I'm walking to and from my stand it is not "dumb luck" that I am there. My entries and exits are thought out and usually are not the shortest distance from truck to stand. I am either going to or coming from where I expect that deer to be so I intercepted him (or vice versa) before I got there. Perhaps our paths crossing did not happen exactly when expected, but it still was no accident in my eyes.
Interesting. My entry and exits are well thought out too. I go way out of the way (in most cases) with my entry and exit routes to be where the deer arent'. I'd rather not spook the deer going to or from my stand. In fact I wish I could just teleport there.
LMAO, you don't know how many times I've thought the same thing while agonizing over how best to get to my stand without spooking deer but still staying on property I have permission on.
I wonder this often..also Suppose you are driving to your hunting grounds and see a buck (let's say a very large buck for your area) on some land , that you can legally hunt. You step off the road, as his attention is on something else, and thwack..do you enjoy the hunt?
I don't know if the hunt would be what I was enjoying but I would certainly enjoy the rest of my day and each bite of the venison :D . For the record, I would shoot a doe in the same scenario also.
I have stalked several deer when I was walking into my stand and even called a few back to me after I bumped them going into the stand. It don't get no more exciteing than that. Never been lucky enough to just step behind a tree and let one walk by and shoot it.
Yeah it would for me, it wouldnt be as fulfilling. I like when things come together the way i planned them. Same could be said if I shot a buck on posted ground rather than pressured public. Its just not the same. I would absolutely still shoot it because my main goal while hunting is venison.
