Ground vs stand hunting

[Moose]

So this is my first full year of beast style hunting and ive been on bucks more now then i ever have!! I figure i would walk and scout my way into hot sign and hunt from the ground then if it looked promising i would bring my stand the next time i decided to hunt that spot. Well, ive had 3 bucks come in over the last 5 hunts and they all were within 20yds the closest was 5 yds. Everyone has busted me either by sight or smell. Is it that much more difficult to hunt from the ground? Maybe my ground game just isnt very good. Ive been watching alot of ground hunting videos and think im doing it right but i guess not lol. At least im on the bucks, just need to give me a good clean shot without me being picked. Any advice?

[isitseasonyet?]

I hunt exactly like you do. I’m no big buck slayer, but I get busted a whole lot less on the ground in a ghillie, and with a face mask on, I also hold my bow sideways and look through my arrows to further break up my outline.

I mostly get caught moving, then they circle around and wind me.

Stay low and move slow

[Moose]

I hunt exactly like you do. I’m no big buck slayer, but I get busted a whole lot less on the ground in a ghillie, and with a face mask on, I also hold my bow sideways and look through my arrows to further break up my outline.

I mostly get caught moving, then they circle around and wind me.

Stay low and move slow

2 of the bucks circled around me and winded me aswell. Its kinda frustrating being that close but dont have a good shot.

[Uncle Lou]

So this is my first full year of beast style hunting and ive been on bucks more now then i ever have!! I figure i would walk and scout my way into hot sign and hunt from the ground then if it looked promising i would bring my stand the next time i decided to hunt that spot. Well, ive had 3 bucks come in over the last 5 hunts and they all were within 20yds the closest was 5 yds. Everyone has busted me either by sight or smell. Is it that much more difficult to hunt from the ground? Maybe my ground game just isnt very good. Ive been watching alot of ground hunting videos and think im doing it right but i guess not lol. At least im on the bucks, just need to give me a good clean shot without me being picked. Any advice?

And that makes you think you are doing something wrong. At that distance they aren't hanging around to pose for a shot, you got to make it quick and sometimes you have to force it. I ground hunt a lot and think you are doing very well. The problem on the ground is you have to be ready at all times. If you see them first at that distance you have a chance at a shot, but getting a clean lane on the ground is part of the problem with ground hunting. Mostly because when you are ground/still hunting you don't have precleaned lanes. If you are in a blind of some type with prepped lanes you should be golden. I think you are doing more right than wrong from what I am reading.

[Stingray713]

I stopped getting busted as much once I learned how to set up in spots where it would be tough for the deer to walk straight at me.

Not sure what kind of terrain you are hunting but I have to set up in planted pine thickets or drainages within them. Usually enough thick stuff and a few dead falls to place between myself and the expected travel routes. Also try and have some good back cover.

Cant see as much, so I have to keep my eyes peeled. But it has helped me a lot being off to the side.

[john1984]

So this is my first full year of beast style hunting and ive been on bucks more now then i ever have!! I figure i would walk and scout my way into hot sign and hunt from the ground then if it looked promising i would bring my stand the next time i decided to hunt that spot. Well, ive had 3 bucks come in over the last 5 hunts and they all were within 20yds the closest was 5 yds. Everyone has busted me either by sight or smell. Is it that much more difficult to hunt from the ground? Maybe my ground game just isnt very good. Ive been watching alot of ground hunting videos and think im doing it right but i guess not lol. At least im on the bucks, just need to give me a good clean shot without me being picked. Any advice?

Could you have killed those deer if you had a rifle instead of a bow???? Just curious.

I hunted twice this year in a tree and seen deer both times. But it sucks carrying 40 pounds on my back.

Hide next to something big if you can. Be drawn before they see you. Good luck

[Rich M]

I agree that you are doing more right than wrong. I love it when a buck sticks his head out from behind a tree at close range. Exhilarating.

There has to be a way for you to set up along the trail so you get a chance to draw. Try putting a bush or dead fall between you and trail, use it as a screen for drawing.

Won't be long.

[Moose]

So this is my first full year of beast style hunting and ive been on bucks more now then i ever have!! I figure i would walk and scout my way into hot sign and hunt from the ground then if it looked promising i would bring my stand the next time i decided to hunt that spot. Well, ive had 3 bucks come in over the last 5 hunts and they all were within 20yds the closest was 5 yds. Everyone has busted me either by sight or smell. Is it that much more difficult to hunt from the ground? Maybe my ground game just isnt very good. Ive been watching alot of ground hunting videos and think im doing it right but i guess not lol. At least im on the bucks, just need to give me a good clean shot without me being picked. Any advice?

And that makes you think you are doing something wrong. At that distance they aren't hanging around to pose for a shot, you got to make it quick and sometimes you have to force it. I ground hunt a lot and think you are doing very well. The problem on the ground is you have to be ready at all times. If you see them first at that distance you have a chance at a shot, but getting a clean lane on the ground is part of the problem with ground hunting. Mostly because when you are ground/still hunting you don't have precleaned lanes. If you are in a blind of some type with prepped lanes you should be golden. I think you are doing more right than wrong from what I am reading.

Thanks, that makes me feel better coming from someone with alot more experience then me. I drawn back on 2 of them but i didnt have a clear shot on one and the other saw me draw.

[Moose]

So this is my first full year of beast style hunting and ive been on bucks more now then i ever have!! I figure i would walk and scout my way into hot sign and hunt from the ground then if it looked promising i would bring my stand the next time i decided to hunt that spot. Well, ive had 3 bucks come in over the last 5 hunts and they all were within 20yds the closest was 5 yds. Everyone has busted me either by sight or smell. Is it that much more difficult to hunt from the ground? Maybe my ground game just isnt very good. Ive been watching alot of ground hunting videos and think im doing it right but i guess not lol. At least im on the bucks, just need to give me a good clean shot without me being picked. Any advice?

i could have easily killed them with a gun. I always use to hunt a preset stand so ground hunting is pretty new to me. I see way more deer being mobile, my ground hunting is my so called observation sits on ground ive never been to before.
Could you have killed those deer if you had a rifle instead of a bow???? Just curious.

I hunted twice this year in a tree and seen deer both times. But it sucks carrying 40 pounds on my back.

Hide next to something big if you can. Be drawn before they see you. Good luck

[Moose]

I stopped getting busted as much once I learned how to set up in spots where it would be tough for the deer to walk straight at me.

Not sure what kind of terrain you are hunting but I have to set up in planted pine thickets or drainages within them. Usually enough thick stuff and a few dead falls to place between myself and the expected travel routes. Also try and have some good back cover.

Cant see as much, so I have to keep my eyes peeled. But it has helped me a lot being off to the side.

Im hunting in farm country. I always think my cover is good but evidently not lol

[Jphill87]

I started covering my face and eyes and it helped a ton. I’ve been surrounded by deer several times and even had a 3 year old buck sniff my forehead. More often then not they don’t feel threatened they are just confused and try to figure out what you are. Im going to start hunting with a recurve because you can rip off a shot way faster and can shoot from multiple angles. It’s really hard to draw a compound when they are at 5 yards...Good luck out there

[Moose]

I started covering my face and eyes and it helped a ton. I’ve been surrounded by deer several times and even had a 3 year old buck sniff my forehead. More often then not they don’t feel threatened they are just confused and try to figure out what you are. Im going to start hunting with a recurve because you can rip off a shot way faster and can shoot from multiple angles. It’s really hard to draw a compound when they are at 5 yards...Good luck out there

I didnt have anything covering my face or hands for that matter. I will do that next time. Thanks

[Huntress13]

I got in the woods late one day last week. It was a wooded hillside. The place I planned setting up didn't work so I went down the hill a little and was standing on the downhill side of a huge tree looking to pick another tree to set up in. I caught movement in peripheral vision and it was 2 does. I froze behind the tree facing where they would come out and the first one passed about 20 yards out quartering away. I didn’t draw, but confident I could have. The tree was so big and with bushes behind me I don't think the second would have busted me. The second one came by and hit where I had walked and started sniffing and looking. She looked my way for a minute then they trotted off.

It can be done but it's more difficult.

[greenhorndave]

Back cover is huge, as is anything that can break up your outline. The first lite leafy jacket also is pretty good. They know something is a little off, but they can’t pin it down. Just make sure your hues are similar to your surroundings, i.e. not a black blob in a sea of tan cattails.

[Stingray713]

Back cover is huge, as is anything that can break up your outline. The first lite leafy jacket also is pretty good. They know something is a little off, but they can’t pin it down. Just make sure your hues are similar to your surroundings, i.e. not a black blob in a sea of tan cattails.

Yep this has helped me a lot. Anything you can do to break up your head and shoulders silhouette or outline.