Any advice on ground setups?

Discuss deer hunting tactics, Deer behavior. Post your Hunting Stories, Pictures, and Questions/Answers.
  • Advertisement

HB Store


tbunao
500 Club
Posts: 2526
Joined: Tue Feb 10, 2015 11:54 am
Status: Offline

Any advice on ground setups?

Unread postby tbunao » Sun Oct 25, 2015 12:53 am

I know there are some pretty badass ground pounders on this site so I'm looking for do's and don'ts. I've been leaving this area alone all season. It's a large thorn apple lot between a creek and train tracks. The thing with it is the canopy is low and no trees to get up in. The area I'd like to set up in would allow a 25 yards shot max. How do you set up on the ground? Any tips or tricks? Would it be worth it for me to slip in and pop up a blind in the brush? It would sit for a week before I'd hunt out it. Assuming the wind would be right of course. Thanks in advance.

[ Post made via iPhone ] Image


dan
Site Owner
Posts: 41587
Joined: Sat Feb 13, 2010 6:11 am
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HuntingBeast/?ref=bookmarks
Location: S.E. Wisconsin
Contact:
Status: Offline

Re: Any advice on ground setups?

Unread postby dan » Sun Oct 25, 2015 12:57 am

Leave the pop up blind out of there and use natural cover or if you have to just bring a couple sticks and camo fabric, but don't go in there earl;y and tip the bucks off. Go in there the day your going to hunt and kill him that day or he will likely move.
User avatar
Lockdown
Moderator
Posts: 9957
Joined: Fri Jul 18, 2014 4:16 pm
Location: MN
Status: Offline

Re: Any advice on ground setups?

Unread postby Lockdown » Sun Oct 25, 2015 1:35 am

dan wrote:Leave the pop up blind out of there and use natural cover or if you have to just bring a couple sticks and camo fabric, but don't go in there earl;y and tip the bucks off. Go in there the day your going to hunt and kill him that day or he will likely move.

x2

Make sure you clear the forest floor enough to be able to move your feet silently. When you trim lanes take what you cut and brush in your blind better... Don't just toss it aside. Make sure you position your body to ready yourself where you think the shot is going to happen.

[ Post made via iPhone ] Image
User avatar
G3s
500 Club
Posts: 1315
Joined: Mon Mar 15, 2010 3:58 am
Location: Northern Michigan
Status: Offline

Re: Any advice on ground setups?

Unread postby G3s » Sun Oct 25, 2015 1:49 am

dan wrote:Leave the pop up blind out of there and use natural cover or if you have to just bring a couple sticks and camo fabric, but don't go in there earl;y and tip the bucks off. Go in there the day your going to hunt and kill him that day or he will likely move.


x3
If I set up a tent blind I try to get it done months prior to the season. Setting one now would likely push the buck to bed elsewhere.
tbunao
500 Club
Posts: 2526
Joined: Tue Feb 10, 2015 11:54 am
Status: Offline

Re: Any advice on ground setups?

Unread postby tbunao » Sun Oct 25, 2015 2:26 am

I was against putting it in there with such a short amount of time for it to sit. Kind of like going in putting up a stand, trimming lanes and then instead of hunting it right away you let it sit for a week. Not good. Thanks for the input fellas.
do you treat a ground sit like a tree sit with an emphasis on making sure your backdrop is good. If you do set up some make shift blind do you focus on sticks in front of you or making sure your silhouette is disguised?

[ Post made via iPhone ] Image
BassBoysLLP
500 Club
Posts: 9756
Joined: Wed Mar 16, 2011 11:28 am
Location: Central WI
Status: Offline

Re: Any advice on ground setups?

Unread postby BassBoysLLP » Sun Oct 25, 2015 2:49 am

I hate pop up blinds. I avoid them if I can. I personally like to tuck myself into any natural cover even if I feel exposed. Sitting still in natural cover is underrated. Maybe consider a ghillie suit. Again, key is to sit still and time your shots. If you need to fidget, put up the popup blind.
JoeRE
500 Club
Posts: 4576
Joined: Thu Oct 18, 2012 5:26 am
Location: IA
Status: Offline

Re: Any advice on ground setups?

Unread postby JoeRE » Sun Oct 25, 2015 5:28 am

I have hunted out of a popup blind maybe half a dozen times in my life, mostly for turkeys but a couple times for deer and hated every minute of it. Like Bass said, I feel boxed in, just completely un-natural.

I prep a lot of ground setups in the spring scouting and also improvise a lot through the season. In recent years 30-50% of my setups are from the ground. Now 3 of my 5 biggest bow bucks were taken from the ground, its not a coincidence. Break up your outline just a bit, don't get skylined, don't be a swivelhead (and leave your stinkin smartphone in the truck :lol: ) and most importantly keep the element of surprise on your side. It does not take much. Most natural blinds I see are way overdone, unless they are for new/young hunters. If you know how to sit still and have the element of suprise on your side all you need are a couple of limbs leaning up against a tree to really break up your shape. A ground setup is certainly not for all situations - I like to be able to see deer coming 50+ yards out so I can get ready, and I also want pretty defined deer movement past me in the 20-40 yard range not closer. Check out my journal for more of my thoughts on that I guess. Deer coming through closer than that are a lot higher risk for busting you.

The element of surprise is important all the time but doubly so on the ground. A good example of that was the buck I shot at 20 yards this year behind my house. I was set up in the edge of a milo field with just a bunch of milo heads tied to my hat and a couple of big horseweeds hanging over top me....if the deer had suspected there was danger around I probably would have gotten busted, but he had no clue there would be a hunter around so when he scanned the field he looked right through me, I was hidden just enough....if he had been more on edge there's a pretty good chance he would have picked me out. There is no way I could have set up in a tree, he was likely bedded within 70-80 yards and had line of sight to the nearby trees. Not to mention the wind would have been a lot more marginal where he came out.

The beauty of a ground setup the way I do it prepping the spot in the spring is you can come in and sit down quieter and faster than climbing a tree - every time.


  • Advertisement

Return to “Deer Hunting”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: AhrefsBot and 70 guests