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The Official Ground Hunting Thread

PROS
It sets up really fast.
It blends really well.
It's only 12 lbs

CONS
You need a fairly wide path to keep from brushing it up against stuff.
You can't leave it out if you want to.
Requires flat storage.

Like anything, it will take practice to master.
I paid around $300 total for the predator and backpack.
It is just 1 tool in the arsenal, not a solve-all.
I'm glad I have it. No regrets.

Cool. Yep that’s about the price I’m seeing too. It looks really cool. Most areas I hunt do have mowed paths. Not a lot of wilderness around here. And most spots around here have a lot more ground opportunities than tree stand spots.


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The appealing thing about ground hunting is the lack of equipment required...300 dollar blinds and chairs would spoil it for me lol I’ll keep killing them sitting on foam pads in bushes and weeds
100% understand this. When I'm hunting 3800acres on the ground. I walk and sit on my pack. When I'm hunting a good piece of 15acres with posted land all-around it i find a good spot, pop a blind and take every advantage I can. :)
 
I dont do much ground hunting but I remembered this thread and gave it a shot today. Killed my first from the ground today. Pretty exciting. Put my Jx3 in front of a blow down and this doe came within 10 yards and saw me and froze. She got a 350 legend through the lungs. Saw her drop. It's nice now with the leaves down...you can still see a fair distance from the ground. Screenshot_20201129-212717_Gallery.jpg
 
I dont do much ground hunting but I remembered this thread and gave it a shot today. Killed my first from the ground today. Pretty exciting. Put my Jx3 in front of a blow down and this doe came within 10 yards and saw me and froze. She got a 350 legend through the lungs. Saw her drop. It's nice now with the leaves down...you can still see a fair distance from the ground. View attachment 40418
Congrats! Nice deer and cool story. Hunting form the ground is very exciting.
 
I am doing it this year from my experience it's very difficult. I am hunting hunting high pressured land. To do so spot and stalk you need to be hunting at least a couple of thousand acres of land. I hunt from the ground I dont do spot stalk because I am hunting small parcels of land (300 acres or less).
Here are some podcast from zach from hunting public and Jared Scheffler Whitetail Adrenaline they go into details how it's not easy especially on public land.
Truth from the stand YouTube CHANNEL

 
I took this guy off the ground on Halloween. I fully intended to be in my saddle in a tree that was already set up but after getting to the woods in the morning the wind flipped opposite so I did a ground assault. After a few rattles and grunts he came in quartered towards me and started getting twitchy. Not my favorite shot but I put it thru the chest and out the ribs, went 50 yds. 3rd nice buck from the ground. Twice as exciting I think.
 

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I took this guy off the ground on Halloween. I fully intended to be in my saddle in a tree that was already set up but after getting to the woods in the morning the wind flipped opposite so I did a ground assault. After a few rattles and grunts he came in quartered towards me and started getting twitchy. Not my favorite shot but I put it thru the chest and out the ribs, went 50 yds. 3rd nice buck from the ground. Twice as exciting I think.
I think you are right,and holy brow tines on that thing. Congrats.
 
I think you are right,and holy brow tines on that thing. Congrats.
Not my biggest buck but by far the longest brows Ive gotten. Now way of truly aging him without teeth samples but sadly body wise he looked young once I walked up to him, of course on hoof he looked GIANT! Hopefully he got some genes out before I met him
 
You want to improve your ground success on public land don’t set up in hardwoods or spots deer are somewhat exposed or other hunters frequent.

I hunt almost exclusively in cattail and tamarack swamps on the ground on public. Find a small clearing in there with a trail running through it and tuck 10 yards into the cattails downwind of the trail.

They seem to feel so secure in there they always just walk by me without even looking my way. I just use a chair and pank down a small area to sit in.

The only downside as you likely won’t see as many deer but when you do you’ll have a serious chance at killing them due to them feeling safe and relaxed instead of twitchy and on high alert.
 
Another swing and a miss yesterday... this field is corn and that low spot is a nice grassy lane. I have no cameras in here, first hunt of the year in this spot, just snuck in last minute at 4:30 PM tucked a few rows back in the corn. With a south wind thermals pull to the west (left). But I forgot my Home Depot bucket. Sure enough a nice 9 point came right down out of those woods and long story but got as close as 10–12 yards. The timing of his movements and head direction I just COULD NOT get drawn at the right time. He eventually stared at me for a minute straight and then walked off. Honestly if I was sitting on that Home Depot bucket I think I had a shot. Crossbow would have been a dead deer. Still learning, getting closer to a success.
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A 3D leafy jacket is a must for me. Gillis were to much bulk and heavier and I’ve had no issues with a simple leafy jacket with my hood up and face covered. I used to wear the pants but found they aren’t as necessary. You really need to break up you head and shoulder outlines. Another thing I do when stalking or sitting is keep my arms close in. When you walk or move your arms when out to side from you it’s easier to spot.

I agree with others about heavy or large cover. Like a solid tree (I’ll sit behind it and face it planning to shoot around it almost like when in saddle). Or a down tree. I also find brush close to a tree allows me to sit with back against the tree and the brush breaks up my horizontal outline.

another key is face cover and gloves. In the stand you can get away with your face and hands exposed to an extent. But on the ground, sometimes a mosquito net is a must to keep deer from spotting your eyes. A trick I read and have had it work for me on both deer and squirrels is to close one eye when an animal spots you. Sometimes it’s enough to calm them down.
 
A 3D leafy jacket is a must for me. Gillis were to much bulk and heavier and I’ve had no issues with a simple leafy jacket with my hood up and face covered. I used to wear the pants but found they aren’t as necessary. You really need to break up you head and shoulder outlines. Another thing I do when stalking or sitting is keep my arms close in. When you walk or move your arms when out to side from you it’s easier to spot.

I agree with others about heavy or large cover. Like a solid tree (I’ll sit behind it and face it planning to shoot around it almost like when in saddle). Or a down tree. I also find brush close to a tree allows me to sit with back against the tree and the brush breaks up my horizontal outline.

another key is face cover and gloves. In the stand you can get away with your face and hands exposed to an extent. But on the ground, sometimes a mosquito net is a must to keep deer from spotting your eyes. A trick I read and have had it work for me on both deer and squirrels is to close one eye when an animal spots you. Sometimes it’s enough to calm them down.

In reference to my post right above yours, I did have the ASAT leafy suit on... when wind is dead still - and it was - you REALLY have to be careful especially when you draw, I’d say 20 yards and in, the leafy suit has the potential to make enough swish to bust you. Any breeze at all helps to mask those faint sounds of movement.
 
Not my biggest buck but by far the longest brows Ive gotten. Now way of truly aging him without teeth samples but sadly body wise he looked young once I walked up to him, of course on hoof he looked GIANT! Hopefully he got some genes out before I met him
I got my gun buck from the ground in fairly open hardwoods on opening morning of gun season..We do have terrain here in upstate NY though,that helps. He had the biggest rack,decent mass but not crazy. His body to me didnt match his antlers,but maybe the body was well proportioned and looked smaller because of that? It is damn tricky to age a deer by looks only. The rack said 3.5 years old all day.
I will have to buy a scale for next season,that will tell me if it was big or not. My archery buck seemed just as big as this one but was a fork horn.
 

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