Ground vs stand hunting

[fishlips]

The ground game has been tough for me. I think it requires a lot of thought about your setup and may mean you have to sacrifice other things like good sight lines for more concealment. It's tough having a critter that close and getting a shot off.

I used to he a mess turkey hunting without a blind but I have gotten better at picking out spots that I can see but can still move enough to get a shot off and have tried to apply that to ground hunting

[The Mediocre Hunter]

I seem to be doing a ton more ground hunting than tree hunting. I sometimes wish that I would do more tree but I don't have any super light gear and where I usually hunt, is hard to go through anything without getting all tangled up with branches and shrubs. Anyways on to my current ground game. I like sitting under cedar trees if I can find one that I can shoot out of or in front of a big tree trunk if I have any sort of break up in front of me to where I'm expecting movement. This morning I actually set up with a dead cedar in front of me with a live one off to my left. I didn't have a backdrop per say but the angle of the hill worked pretty well. Had 3 does at 80 yds and a buck following them no far behind. I didn't have a shot because of thick branches at 80yds(Muzzleloader), they went up the drainage I was hoping the would come up but much closer than expected (15yds vs 40yds). And had a shot at 2 of the does but was more concerned in setting up correctly waiting on the buck, BUT he pulled a switcheroo and never showed up past the tree. Oh well, maybe next time. Anyways all that to say is that it's very possible to ground hunt, just make sure you can break up your outline as much as possible and speculate on shots so you're not caught off guard as I was.

[MrT]

I have been messing around with ground hunting since last season. I usually am constantly moving except when I come across sign that is too good to walk by. I have been constantly improving my sneaking game and am getting a feel for what I can get away with.

Bow hunting is much harder. Especially if you happen upon deer sneaking between cover. I have countless times gotten stuck out like a booger and couldn't do anything. The ghillie suit helps a lot but if you're out in the open or only next to a tree when they notice you then you best already be drawn or its a done deal. My goal is to shoot any deer from the ground with the bow. I haven't specifically been trying to shoot any does but I've had a bunch of opportunities along the way.

Also, I'm still having trouble ranging the deer from the ground. Most of the time I see them as if their further away than they really are. I passed up some does at 25-30 yards not realizing they were withing range. A range finder would help me some, but not in the situation where you've got to make a quick decision. That's definitely something I need to work on.

Gun hunting is much much easier. If I'm out in the open, they don't usually notice me unless I'm only 30 yards out or less, which of course is well within the range of my rifle. I now prefer ground hunting to stand hunting during gun season.

Most of the areas I hunt are extremely thick and briary so I always carry pruning shears with me. This allows me to snip away any low hanging twigs or briars if need be that would otherwise snag on my ghillie suit and make extra noise. Not all places allow doing that so be familiar with the local laws before carrying them with you.

I always carry a tactical fanny pack that holds my essential gear and snacks, but I'm thinking of buying something else specifically for ground hunting when I don't have a stand on my back. After 6 or more hours of moving like a ninja turtle over the distance of 1 mile, I can feel that fanny pack working on my lower back.

Monocular or binos are a must have for spotting deer up ahead of you so you can make a game plan for your next move.

Get out there, experiment, and have fun. You'll know you're making improvements when you go from watching white tails bounding away to spotting deer bedded down.

[knapptime]

I've been finding that I'm a lot more productive hunting on the ground than I am out of pre-hung stands. This weekend I did a bit of still hunting along a bench, trying to spot deer travelling below me. I ended up seeing a bunch of deer down below me, and was able to sneak down and setup on them and managed to get a couple to cross about 40 yards from me. Never got a shot opportunity that I was comfortable with, but I would have never seen any of those deer if I was setup in the pre-hung stand I had climbed out of. You can put a ton of time into planning out your pre-hung sets, but sometimes the deer don't do what you expect and you need to be a little more mobile and make things happen. Not to mention it's a lot more fun