For me, hunting on the ground has always been a part of deer hunting. Most of my life I had two options when hunting public: find a suitable tree for my crotch stand, or set up on the ground.I ended up on the ground quite often, and it taught me to set up in the best location, not the best tree.
If you don't hunt from the ground you're missing opportunities. Plain and simple.
Here's a set that I found yesterday:
(This is a small grove of trees with CRP on one side, with cattails and yellow cane on the other.)
I found several rubs on the trails that exit the bedding, and some well used beds out in the cane. There are beds in the grove too and I'm worried about bumping deer while accessing my blind, but it is what it is. You can see that I am using the deadfall that my blind is in for cover as I access, then I swing left to cross the deer trail IN my shooting lane. I'm not expecting movement on the downwind trail heading right to left, but in the event it happens, I still have a shot opportunity. If possible, always cross a trail where you can shoot him. If all goes according to plan, I'll either stop him in the lane, or shoot the second he catches a whiff of my wind or entry trail.
There were a few beds in the little grove, but to me the security of the cane and cattails would draw most of the bedding. This is the view from a couple worn beds, looking toward the trees. I'm kneeling in one of them. Any odd sound will get a buck on his feet, and climbing a tree while he peers through the cane could mean its game over.
Hanging the LW is a risk I don't need to take in this situation.There was a blowdown to the left of this pic, on the left side of the grove.
The way the trails work out, the blowdown pictured below can adequately cover the majority of them. It also offers PLENTY of cover for a ground set.
This is the view from the bedding/staging.
Here's the view from Lane #1. See the opening? DAYLIGHT! To me that means easy shooting lanes. Any time you're looking at a possible ground blind and you can see open lanes like this, you're ahead of the game. Minimal trimming is needed. You need to imagine yourself in the middle and shooting under the upside down "U", and also to the trail I'm standing on. Two directions are easily covered. At this point I jumped in to see what I had for lanes in other directions.
Standing just outside the potential blind, looking out the back (downwind) side. All you need is a few small lanes. There is brush in the way, but not near enough to be an issue.
Lane #3. I'm offered two options: 1) low and to the right under the upside down "U", and 2) Left center of the pic just above the main trunk. The decision on which lane to trim is based on where the shot needs to happen in relation to the trail, the amount of effort required for trimming, and the amount of concealment each lane offers.
View of the downwind side from inside the blind.
The right side of Lane #2. There is a trail that leaves the bedding right at this tree, and there are old and new rubs there. There are beds by it too, which I don't like, so a Beast mode sneak to the blind will be important. Crawling slow might be my best option.
LANE #1 BEFORE:
Potential shooting lane covering the exit trail from the yellow cane bedding. You can see the heavy trail on the left side. It makes a "Y" as it leaves the cover, but the predominant trail heads toward the trees. This trail is the biggest risk of getting busted. I SHOULD be able to hear him coming, but in the event he silently appears, I will be positioned and ready for the shot to happen here.
AFTER:
Whether he goes right or left, I have a shot opportunity.
BEFORE PIC OF THE GROUND FLOOR:
AFTER PIC:
Make sure to clear anything and everything that can potentially make noise. Even when you scrape the forest floor clean like this, there will be plenty to remove after a summer of plant growth. Plan ahead. Get in early.
LANE #4 BEFORE:
AFTER:
If a shooter comes from the bedding, he should have an arrow in him long before he reaches this lane. If something unsuspected happens, I have a chance to kill him on the back side of the blind. Note the very small lanes to the left of the main lane. They look pretty small in the picture, but at 20-30 yards they're decent 12-18" pockets to shoot through.
In a perfect world, my wind will be blowing to the right side of this lane. (Left side as viewed on the aerial)
When you're trimming lanes, lots of small lanes are good. Never give up an opportunity for a lane when all you need to do is nip a couple branches. As long as you're not exposing yourself, the more lanes the better. Have you ever had a deer come in and do something you didn't expect? Yeah... it happens. If a random lane is easy, trim it.
The main shooting lane is perfectly acceptable, but what if the wind is blowing strait through it?
That could easily happen with the predominant wind. Trimming the little lanes to the left could be the make or break if the wind is iffy. You never know when a few feet could be the difference of a post in Bridge's Bucks in Trucks thread, or tag soup. Make sure you have options. Lane #3 BEFORE:
AFTER:
I opted for the high shooting lane. I have plenty of backdrop and should be able to see him coming in plenty of time. If at all possible I like to stand and shoot, which I can do in this lane.
You'll see the angle in the before and after pics is slightly different. In a blind like this with adequate cover, moving around shouldn't be a problem. I step way to the back of the blind to take full advantage of the angle of this lane.
LANE #2 BEFORE:
AFTER:
There is a trail that parallels my blind through this lane. Movement will be from right to left. In all of my other lanes I will stand and shoot, but in this one I don't have much cover in front of me. I will crouch behind the large deadfall, draw when he walks behind the log in the center of the pic (or prior to that if he's looking away or preoccupied) and shoot him broadside in the left opening.
All in all this was a pretty simple set. Plenty of cover, great location, took me about an hour from start to finish.
Have you ever made a mistake from a tree stand? I know I have, many times. Just because you screw up on the ground doesn't make your mistake any worse than if it happened in a tree. Believe me you'll get busted more often on the ground, but the risk is worth the reward. 
