When to hunt on the ground

[BigHills BuckHunter]

I was wondering what your guys thoughts were about WHEN to hunt on the ground? What situations occur that would make you rather hunt from the ground rather than up in a tree?

I hunted on the ground quite a bit last year on public land. I dont have a good portable treestand yet. The one I have is very heavy and loud.

Hunting on the ground, for me, is quite a bit of fun to be at eye level with the deer but more challenging.

Also, when you do hunt from the ground, what do you use? Chairs, hunting blinds, natural cover?

Thanks for your input. BHBH

[Black Squirrel]

I have taken and interest in ground hunting as well. I think it would be pretty difficult to bowhunt from the ground. Looking forward to some input here too.

[MOBIGBUCKS]

I've been thinking about this myself lately. I have some awesome buck beds to hunt in an areas with low thick cover where a treestand proabably won't work. I'm sure the big buck is bedding there because of the isolation factor, and not very many good trees for treestands. I'm not real sure on how to effectively hunt from the ground near those buck beds myself. I'll keep a watch on this thread for ideas.

[westmibow]

I grew up hunting from the ground with ok success. I have always preferred building a natural blind over using pop ups. I like to blend into the environment and unless you have a pop up that you leave out for a long period of time deer do not like a blind suddenly being there. Now that being said, I have been able to utilize a pop up and have it blend in nicely. You just need to have a good location and spend extra time "brushing" it in.

The obvious best time to hunt from the ground is when there are not trees or the right trees available. I always like to think outside the box and hunting from the ground should always be in your of ideas to use. I will never not hunt an area just because of lack of trees.

[dan]

I hunt from the ground only when thats the best situation... Or, only when I have to based on the situation. This is likely to be because the target will see me climb the tree, or there are no trees to get in.

[Dewey]

I hunted on the ground quite a bit last year and had some amazing encounters with nice bucks. This really opened up my eyes to how older bucks avoid many areas with trees in marsh habitat.

During the rut I screwed up on a 150" buck while on the ground and that one still stings a bit. I watched the buck tearing up brush for quite awhile before he came into shooting range. Probably one of the most exciting close range encounters I have had in awhile and being at ground level really made it memorable.

It really felt strange hunting on the ground since I have pretty much always hunted out of a treestand only so it took awhile to get used to a limited range of sight compared to hunting 20 ft up. What I did was back myself into thick brush covering trails coming out of bedding areas and was quite surprised how some bucks walked by at extremely close range without ever seeing me. I think using only natural cover is the key because if you change anything most times an older buck will pick up on that right away.

This has really opened up my eyes to a totally different way of hunting marshes for me and I am really excited to apply this to areas I have never hunted before because of lack of trees. September can't get here fast enough!

[Stanley]

I have done quite a bit of ground hunting. I do it when the situation calls for it. There may not be a tree to set up in that is suitable. There may not be a good approach or maybe climbing a tree would give my position away.

I always use natural ground structure to hide in. A back ground cover is very important, cover in front of you is also good. Maybe a couple of feet high. The back ground cover will break up your silhouette. You gotta have a shot that is where the tricky part comes in. You can't draw a bow with a buck standing in front of you. It won't work. Quartering away is the best option.

On the ground everything is amplified; sound & movement. Another problem is, you the hunter, has very poor visibility you will have to be on the alert. A bow holder that sits the bow up in front of you is a must. You need to have the bow ready to go.

I would never recommend hunting on the ground over hunting in a tree if you have a tree to hunt out of. You will have missed opportunities because you are on the ground. I always carry a folding camp stool. I just shoulder it and be off and hunting. I have one that has the little bag compartment underneath to hold some water and my bow holder.

Ground hunting is harder but can be done. Below are some pictures of bucks I have arrowed on the ground. These are from late 80s early 90s. I did a lot more ground hunting then, compared to now.




1989 15 yards morning hunt around November 25th. Dressed 215 lbs

!986 25 yards last few minutes of light in the evening around the 25th of November. Dressed 195 lbs

1988 15 yards evening hunt 4:00 PM around the 25th Of November. Dressed 175 lbs

1991 25 yards evening hunt 4:45 PM on November 9th with a doe. Dressed 225 lbs

[Crazinamatese]

Ive talked with a successful ground hunter recently. He uses a ghilly suit and simply takes a few steps every minute, going from tree to tree and shoots unsuspecting deer at very close range while keeping the wind in check. Most of the deer he takes are walking and not bedding. I have hunted from the ground when I started bow hunting. It is a challenge. I have had a few close encounters but to no avail ever put an arrow into any of them. I would sit in down timber to break up my outline. I might give that tactic a try again this year since I do have a ghilly suit of my own.

[Maple_Ridge]

I will comment off my past 2 years experience only, as that is what I have to go from.

I think each 'ground' hunting experience is a little different than the last, and with that, a learning curve exist that I did not know about prior.

Once you have yourself brushed in, either a natural ground blind, or whatever (In my case a ghillie suit), the concept then to me, is to stay concealed the best you can during the hunt. This is key, It is similar in theory to stand hunting with cover, but it just seems like the margin of error could be greater staying still and making the shot. My encounters seem to be closer to whitetails in distance, than previous.

The ghillie suit works for me, but, it may not be needed depending on how concealed you make yourself on the terrain.

My best hunt happened last fall, in a drainage ditchbank. The grasses were tall enough to cover me, and the suit I believe helped. I had does and fawns within 8 or less yards, not knowing I was there. Wind was perfect for this set up, as they crossed the ditch and headed over to the next field. Anticipating a shot was tougher than I expected. I learned that even if you have the trail figured out, that stopping the deer after crossing the ditch can be a challange. I had a 2 yo cross in front of me, and thought about taking a shot. I rose above the weeds just enough, that I was outlined. The buck seen me as it slowed down after crossing, but continued his travel plans towards the herd of 20 or so does and fawns that had already crossed there. He knew the noise and could probably see my outline, to be concerned.

That was the most exciting to me. I have yet to connect, but had to post on this style of ground hunt. It really is a different way to hunt.

BTW.....I have used my dads crossbow a couple times while on the ground hunting. I feel this helps to keep movement down to a minimum. Would like to step up to a compound with the ghillie, but uncertain if I am ready for that. You have to be darn sure your ghillie suit does not wind up in your bow string whatever the legal weapon may be.

[rizzo999]

Maple, I could see hunting from the ground to still be a challenge, but a little easier using a crossbow versus compound, recurve or long. I have been busted many, many more times while drawing on a deer while on the ground versus being successful!

Although, this (below) is the largest buck that I have tagged with a bow, he is also the ONLY one I have been successful harvesting while on the ground. It was nearly 80 degrees on November 10, 2010 at 10:20 AM when I shot him. I watched every other hunter that was parked in the public land parking lot walk back to their vehicles and leave before 10:00. I shot him less than 20 feet from where the same hunters had just walked past me on an access trail to deeper cover.

[Crazinamatese]

Maple, I could see hunting from the ground to still be a challenge, but a little easier using a crossbow versus compound, recurve or long. I have been busted many, many more times while drawing on a deer while on the ground versus being successful!

Although, this (below) is the largest buck that I have tagged with a bow, he is also the ONLY one I have been successful harvesting while on the ground. It was nearly 80 degrees on November 10, 2010 at 10:20 AM when I shot him. I watched every other hunter that was parked in the public land parking lot walk back to their vehicles and leave before 10:00. I shot him less than 20 feet from where the same hunters had just walked past me on an access trail to deeper cover.

Is that public ground in WI ???

[dan]

NICE BUCKS GUYS...
As I said before, I would much rather be in a tree, but the important thing to remember here is this, You have to kill them where they are at... Sitting in a tree 50 yards from where the buck stages in daylight cause there ain't a tree over there is going to put you 50 yards out of the ball game...

For me, doing it beast style, I find where the buck is bedding, find where he is staging, and figure out the best way to hunt him right there... If its a tree great, if not, well you still gotta hunt him where he moves in daylight.

[rizzo999]

Maple, I could see hunting from the ground to still be a challenge, but a little easier using a crossbow versus compound, recurve or long. I have been busted many, many more times while drawing on a deer while on the ground versus being successful!

Although, this (below) is the largest buck that I have tagged with a bow, he is also the ONLY one I have been successful harvesting while on the ground. It was nearly 80 degrees on November 10, 2010 at 10:20 AM when I shot him. I watched every other hunter that was parked in the public land parking lot walk back to their vehicles and leave before 10:00. I shot him less than 20 feet from where the same hunters had just walked past me on an access trail to deeper cover.

Is that public ground in WI ???

Nope, he was taken on public land in southern IL.

[JoeRE]

I love hunting from the ground. Its not because I am scared of heights! There are benefits and drawbacks of setting up on the ground vs a stand that should be evaluated at every location. If you have a spot that you will only be hunting once or twice that has well defined deer movement (low probability of a deer randomly getting down wind and catching your scent stream at ground level) and consistent air movement at ground level, the ground often may be the way to go.

1) Why hunt the ground? Slipping in and out of a ground hide is as quiet and low-disturbance as you can get. Many of my buck bedroom hunts are on the ground for that reason. I don't care how quiet you can climb a tree...slipping in and sitting down on the ground in the same spot is quieter. I guarantee it is QUICKER too.

2) I don't hunt out of pop-ups, all my ground sits are in natural blinds. The few times I have used a pop up I hated it, I like being able to see completely unobstructed. Sometimes a tree top or brush clump is in the right spot, more often I drag a couple limbs over to lean against a tree. (I do this in the spring when picking spots) It doesn't take much, there is no reason you have to completely brush in a spot for deer. You can do it in 10 minutes most of the time, and you can make a couple hides for a couple different wind directions at once. You want a couple limbs in front of you and a couple behind you to break up your outline, and you don't want to be silhouetted against the sky...that is how most people get busted, and frustrated, hunting on the ground.

3) I try to keep some distance between myself and the deer on the ground. Ideally I will stay at least 20 yards from them.

4) There is less margin for error with movement but you can still hunt undetected if you know how to sit still - that goes back to my original point, ground sits work best if you don't have to spin around and look at something...you want well defined deer movement, say in the 180 degrees in front of you, not behind you. Facemasks and gloves may be optional in the tree but you do want them on the ground. No special camo needed tho in my opinion.

I do think hunting on the ground in hilly country is easier than in flat land areas, you still ideally want to get a few feet of elevation for your blind if possible just for visibility sake.

These are some of the mature bucks I have taken on the ground over the years with both bow and gun...if anyone needs any proof that it can work. Every single one was under 40 yards.

[Maple_Ridge]

Wow....dandy ground hawgs!! Thanks for posting!

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