Ground Hunting in Hill Country. Opinions?

[johndeere506]

With a bow, I dont think I could hunt the hills without a treestand. Im still undecided on my favorite between a climber getting high and using thermals, or hunting closer to a ridge top with 2 or 3 sticks and my Assault, in a gnarly tree just off the ridge. What do you prefer?

For gun hunting the hills, I find myself still hunting a lot, and scouting while hunting. Do you have any confidence hunting from the ground in big hill country? If so, how do you like to set up? I see a lot of movement at times in pressure areas on the windward side of ridges.

[Dpierce72]

I way prefer a stand, but have killed deer in hill country (sitting on bluffs) many times. Not sure if your hills have vertical rock walls but those can be deadly. In the hill country area I hunt, they are 12'-20' so ideal heights.

I've also been 18' in a misplaced tree stand and had the deer 'accidentally' pass above me. In this situation, being 18'+ is just like being on the ground. Just mind your specific setup and what the hills give you and you could do either.

[Drenalin]

I am planning on bowhunting from the ground a lot more this year than I have the past 10 years since I started using a treestand. There are some places I'm hiking into where I simply don't want to carry the additional weight of a stand due to terrain or distance, other spots there just aren't feasible places to hang a stand due to lack of cover or there not being big enough trees in the exact spots I feel like I need to be in. I also feel like I'll be a little more mobile hunting from the ground, which is important to me this year as I'm learning about bed hunting.

Tons and tons of great information on here about ground hunting, especially from Lockdown and JoeRE. I like to set up in natural blinds like blowdowns, clumps of trees close together, or behind pines or hemlocks with branches close to the ground. Where possible, I want cover behind and in front of me, even if it's only a few branches to break up my outline. I have an uncle who only hunts from the ground, and he typically sets up behind a small bush overlooking a terrain funnel and chain smokes to kill the time while he waits for deer. He's been very successful with it for as long as I've been alive, both with a bow and gun, even on some mature bucks.

In one ground setup I have marked for this year, I'll be backed up against a big oak tree with a small pine in front of me overlooking a turn in a well-used trail coming out of a bedding area. That setup will take a very specific wind, but I have more confidence in it than any other planned ground setup at this point. In another case, I'm overlooking a broken spot in a very old barb-wire fence running the length of a point where I hope to intercept deer moving from bed to feed. I have confidence in this location and setup for deer movement, but have very little confidence that a good buck will show up there in daylight. Another setup is out of hill country, but I'll be on an overgrown tractor road that overlooks a thin strip of trees splitting two cornfields. I have very little confidence in that setup, but suspect that I may end up surprised by it.

As far as getting it done with a bow from the ground, I have no doubt that I can do it in big hill country and I have done it in the past on does and young bucks. I've also been doing most of my gun hunting from the ground for a few years, so I've got a pretty decent base to start with. I'm facing a learning curve anyway as I try to focus more on mature bucks, I've just got the added wrinkle in a few cases of doing it at eye level. Should be a heck of a lot of fun.

[brancher147]

I find big hill country and mountains the easiest to bow hunt from the ground. I look for really steep areas where sitting on the ground I can still be over 20 feet up when 20 yards off a trail. I just use natural blowdown, or big trees, or cliffs to conceal me. It is rare that I hunt in a stand anymore unless it is not steep.

[bh bowhunter]

I hunt some heavy wooded hill country / big woods, and I still hunt often. If the conditions are ideal, I will ground hunt all day. I have several areas I scouted last winter where I found good deer sign, but not sure if a good buck is around or not, so I like to ground hunt / scout a few times during the season. In these spots I find a couple good access points and still hunt towards suspected bedding or feeding areas and setup along well used trails. I pack a small stool and will sit for a couple hours sometimes, then move and repeat.

Where I'm hunting, glassing spots are few, so just finding a mature buck is a real challenge! I use trail cams to help find one.
Another way I like to ground hunt is to hunt a treestand in the morning, then still hunt to another stand for the afternoon.

[Bonehead]

A ground tactic that I’ve used in steep hill/bluff country with success (have not killed with archery equipment yet, but have had a couple good encounters). is to come up from the bottom (evening) up a drainage, toward the top (trail convergence) on the leeward side with dropping thermals.
I like a deeper drainage to cover my accent if possible. Preferably wet and or windy conditions, after leaf drop especially.
This is especially good if you wait to set up late in the day to take advantage of the dropping thermals like Dan talks about (except he is a expert at setting up quick and quiet, unlike slow and quiet like me lol) I got caught last year still hanging my stand with my bow still on the ground, during prime time when a 2.5 year old came by.
I plan to bow hunt some of these type of terrain features this season with a ghillie on a ground set, so I can remain stealthy and not fill rushed to get my stand hung.

[bowfreak8]

Ground hunting can be very exciting and the steep terrain does help you stay out of their site. I do prefer being high in a tree stand though. nothing like the view you get from a tree.

[Cuzzinfish]

I grew up hunting in West Virginia and never used a tree stand. They’re not really necessary in most places I’ve hunted, and I’ve been hunting for 20 years. It’s easier to get away with certain things in certain conditions in a tree stand, but I kill deer every year without it. I used a tree stand for the first time last year, and I only bought it for two spots I was hunting in Ohio because there was zero ground cover.

[HunterBob]

My main question with ground hunting is when/how to move yourself into a drawing position without spooking the deer. Anyone have recommendations on this? Also, what is your practice regimen for shooting from the ground?

[oldman]

I'm far from a big buck expert but I've killed quite a few deer from the ground. I have a fear of heights that precludes my tree climbing. I also have spent most of my years hunting in the hills of Northeast Iowa and Southwest Wisconsin. The biggest factor in my humble opinion is the thermal movement of air. I give it more importance than prevailing wind. I like afternoon/evening hunts primarily and like to position myself down hill from suspected deer travel routes.
I have and usually use a ghillie suit but honestly don't think it's entirely necessary if one stays still and moves only when necessary and then very slowly.
In order to draw I look for opportunities where the deers vision is obstructed by brush, trees etc. In fact I try to position myself so that I have some type of "draw screen" between myself and the deer. It doesn't always work out that way but occasionally it does. I also pay very close attention to what the animal doing. I'm waiting for something to capture its attention long enough for me to draw, then I try to do it in one smooth slow motion. ( I actually practice doing this from my hunting stool all year long)
Sometimes I get busted in the act..... Well what are ya gonna do? I wonder how many times Saxton Pope, Fred Bear or Howard Hill got busted?

I used to feel like I was at a huge disadvantage being "stuck" on the ground but honestly I think it allows me a few more options than hunting from the trees. Yes I have to be more careful drawing, I sometimes get winded in situations that I may not have if I was twenty feet up, I have to be more mindful of any movement remembering that because I can often only see fifty yards sometimes much less a deer could be close at any time without any forwarning. I don't have the view that treestands provide. But I have minimal gear needs, I have the quietest set up possible, I can move instantly and relatively silently based on changes of wind or other factors and then there is the incredible rush of having a deer at 5 yards eye to eye.
If you're ground hunting in hill country contour maps should be your best friend.

[street28ss]

My main question with ground hunting is when/how to move yourself into a drawing position without spooking the deer. Anyone have recommendations on this? Also, what is your practice regimen for shooting from the ground?

From my experiences, it's all about avoiding sudden movements. And draw when they have their head to ground if possible. I actually practice pulling my bow back slowly. I'm fairly strong guy and I shoot about 65 lbs, but I definitely can pull it a lot easier after practicing. And I also shoot probably 100 arrows a week or so.

Also, you should practice shooting from the ground. I prefer kneeling position. So like I will try to kneel behind a tree and let that be a visual barrier while I draw if possible. It's very challenging which is why it's so fun to do in my opinion.

[Cuzzinfish]

My main question with ground hunting is when/how to move yourself into a drawing position without spooking the deer. Anyone have recommendations on this? Also, what is your practice regimen for shooting from the ground?

It can be as simple as leaning a couple deadfall logs against the tree you’re sitting behind or drawing when the deer’s head is behind a tree. Most of the time I sit on a tripod stool or a 5 gallon bucket with one of those rotating padded lids, depending on the situation. So I’m usually leaning against the tree with my bow arm facing the direction I expect to shoot. I try to find a spot where there’s a bush or something behind me as cover for my outline or between me and the deer’s trail so that I have time to draw before the deer hits my opening.

[Cuzzinfish]

:oops:

My main question with ground hunting is when/how to move yourself into a drawing position without spooking the deer. Anyone have recommendations on this? Also, what is your practice regimen for shooting from the ground?

From my experiences, it's all about avoiding sudden movements. And draw when they have their head to ground if possible. I actually practice pulling my bow back slowly. I'm fairly strong guy and I shoot about 65 lbs, but I definitely can pull it a lot easier after practicing. And I also shoot probably 100 arrows a week or so.

Also, you should practice shooting from the ground. I prefer kneeling position. So like I will try to kneel behind a tree and let that be a visual barrier while I draw if possible. It's very challenging which is why it's so fun to do in my opinion.

X2

[HunterBob]

Awesome, great help! I am hoping to try doing this more myself, as there are some thicker areas where it is near impossible to bring a stand with me. I bought a small stool last year that might help with the longer sits.

[johndeere506]

Thanks for all the comments guys. I have a spot where I can hunt from a tree from the edge of a cut on the side of the mountain. I think Im going to hunt there all day until the thermals drop, and then sneak down the drainage and sit low for the last hour or two from the ground. This is for gun hunting mainly, but would probably be fine with a bow also. Im going to find out.