Hunting from the Ground

[Hunter 257W]

Just curious how many hunt from the ground? And if you do, do you use a blind? Other than my permanent shooting house, I hunt exclusively from the ground now using a folding turkey hunters stool. I like the freedom it gives me to change locations whenever I want to.

 

[donedeer]

I love hunting from the ground, I have actually taken several deer this way, just finding a spot and taken a chance there.But in the end I have had more sightings and less chance of getting caught from my stands,I do believe that when ground level your also nose level for cautious bucks,and easier to get noticed by that old doe,just my thoughts thow,but I still find myself hunting from the ground once in a while and kreeping up a ridge or gully,lol its what we do,lol

 

[thetoolman]

I would say 80-85% of my hunting is from the ground. I usually find me a good tree and I used to use a fold out chair, now I use a hammock seat. Use a blind every once in a while, but I mostly use natural terrain for concealment. A laid down tree top. Trees in close vicinity to one another, etc.

 

[lpo1981]

I do quite a bit actually.. Just have to really watch the wind and keep your movement down. But like above seems like I see more deer when I'm elevated in a stand.. Not sure if that has anything to do with it or just coincidence.

 

[Redfred16]

I gun hunt only from the ground, bow hunting it depends on what I have to work with and what's around me. I prefer to bow hunt from a tree.

In the past I used a pop up ground blind brushed in, so I could shift if needed due to ever changing woods. This year I made 2 different brush blinds. I took a doe from one on Thanksgiving weekend.

 

[catman529]

I gun hunt from the ground a lot and sometimes archery too. I like to gun hunt thick cedars and stuff like that sitting under a tree. Killed a doe opening morning doing just that.

 

[BMan]

I like the freedom a blind gives me, to move around. No way I could hunt from the ground, as I'm too fidgety.

BUT... I prefer the visibility from my climber and, unless it is absolutely bitter cold, that is what I use.

 

[Right_Tackle74]

I hunt 90% of the time from the ground. I carry some leafy material they sell @ Wal-Mart in my back-pack. Find some thick stuff around a trail, Tie off some rope, and finally find some fallen down limbs to blend myself in. Took many a Deer this way. The other 10% of the time, I'm in a Shooting House.

 

[Crosshairy]

I hunt public land a lot, and hate packing in a climber for gun hunts. I have learned the land well, and check weather reports for wind direction. I bring a retractable hand saw and/or pruners if not in an area with decent ground cover. In sparse areas, I have a very lightweight fold-out netting with 5 ground stakes that i can weave brush in to help concealment.

Most ground hunts are shorter term for me. If I want to commit to stay all day (or if I can come get it the following morning), I could justify the climber. Generally, though, I just love the freedom of being able to get up and go, or still hunt if the area I'm in is dead.

 

[volsgo1]

Best product Blind Hog Blind Pack. Straps on like a back pack holds my ground blind, fold up chair, cover alls, fanny pack and any other thing I need.

 

[deerhunter10]

I love hunting from a tree stand but some times there's no trees, buy when i hunt from a ground i never use a ground blind i hate them for deer. Deer pick them out way to easy. I hunt in blow Downs or try to blend in the best i can. It's awesome hunting from the ground. And I've killed a few from it.

 

[Brisco Darlin]

i hunt from the ground alot. usually just sit up against a big tree. some places that i have permission to hunt on , i build blinds out of the natural materials in the woods. they are laid out like a v against a big tree. some of them i've even put overhead cover on.

 

[huntncoach]

Never really did until archery this year and took my first deer with my bow from the ground. No blind - just the briars and small pines! I do think I am much more vulnerable on the ground, though. Planning to set up a "natural blind" next season to to help me hide a little better. It is a rush to see deer up close sitting on the ground. The one I shot got as close as 3 yards!

 

[knightrider]

i hunt on the ground 100% of the time. i LOVE bowhunting from the ground with a compound and have gotten good at learning which trails to hunt with the morning and evening thermal rises and falls. nothing like killing them at 10 yards eye to eye with a bow

 

[redblood]

i hunt on the ground 100% of the time. i LOVE bowhunting from the ground with a compound and have gotten good at learning which trails to hunt with the morning and evening thermal rises and falls. nothing like killing them at 10 yards eye to eye with a bow

just curious. why do you not hunt from a treestand. i hate ground hunting. the higher the better imo

 

[chiggerbit]

I hunt mostly from a tree, but one of the most memorable bucks I've ever shot on the ground was a nine pointer several years back. A week or two earlier I found a couple of fresh beds and rubs in one end of a cedar strip that jutted out into a cutover. The other end of the cedar strip widened and led to a field on adjacent property.

I waited for the right wind, and the makeshift blind watching the logging trail that bisected the strip of cedars was the perfect ambush spot. The buck stepped out with no more than five minutes left of legal shooting light, and since the bedding spot was so close, it would've been a gamble to climb a tree without spooking the deer. Besides, my young son wouldn't have gotten to enjoy the action. I was a very short evening hunt that ended in big smiles!

 

[Hollar Hunter]

Killed more big bucks from the ground than in a tree...

 

[Crosshairy]

It's guerrilla style hunting. You go in, find a spot, and set up with (usually) more spot options than a climber. It's quieter, too.

When I have a climber on my back, I have 20+lbs of stuff telling me "hurry up and find a place", while clinking and clanging on every branch and briar in the woods.

Hunt a trail through the thick stuff, and get behind a tree or two where you have narrow shooting lanes. The deer rarely have a chance to see you, and if you need to move 50 yards to get in a better vantage point, it's no problem.

Ive killed 2 of 3 deer from the ground this year. Did the same last year.

 

[kgt]

100% from the ground myself. I don't own a stand. I'll probably try one next season, but I do alright from the ground. Plus I like the freedom to move around, spot and stalk, etc. I don't have the patience to sit in a stand all day.

 

[Mike Belt]

I've hunted from the ground some but almost all my hunting is from a tree. I've taken several deer while ground hunting but mostly by stalking. I like the freedom to move but that's my problem...it's too easy to get up and move. I like the view better from 30 feet up.

 

[shopson]

I usually ml and rifle hunt from the ground. I use a Summit Trophy Seat and a blind constructed of a 4x12 foot piece of camo material and 3 portable electric fence posts. Quick and easy to set up and take down and very effective concealment.

 

[REM7]

depends, but i like ground hunting.

 

[JeepKuntry]

I gun hunt quite a bit from the ground. Some mornings I'll sit on the edge of a field for an hour or so, then slip back to a couple ridges. If the leaves are wet, sometimes I'll still hunt. I move a bit more when it's either sex trying to locate the deer.

 

[EastTNHunter]

I killed one from the ground last night

 

[pastorofgrace]

Enjoy hunting from the ground and then still hunting.

 

[oldmanelrod]

In a tree most of the time. However, I have hunted from the ground only three times this year and got 3 does and 1 buck. Always pay extra attention to the wind when on the ground.

 

[TN Larry]

I have hunted a couple of times this year from the ground and saw deer both times. I have also killed two of my older bucks from the ground in the past. However, my personal preference is to be in a tree.

 

[redblood]

tall tall tree for me

 

[bowriter]

I do now and then enjoy it. I hunt from ground blinds made from available material or just an old fallen tree. Do a lot of still hunting when it is really windy-like today and do okay at it. Do it mostly during bow season when there is more cover and less danger.

Use to do a lot of it hunting from a float boat. haven't done that in years but it was once, quite effective for me. Too hard now to get all the permission needed for private land and too much work on Corps property.

 

[Swampster]

I've had some success from the ground, but seems I have less room for error as far as wind, scent, .... I live on 140 acres and that is the only place I hunt. When on the ground, I can get impatient and fidgety, knowing that a cold beer and warm fire is only a five or ten minute walk away. My stationary blind blocks the wind and my movement ... wonder how many deer I've scared away with my snoring though? I just like being out - don't have to actually shoot anything.