Ground hunting

[Noonespecial]

I think next year I will be doing a lot more ground hunting. Having three young boys that enjoy hunting as well gets complicated if we all hunt from trees. Anyone else still do a lot of ground hunting with success, not with a blind? Just finding some good cover and getting close. It’s how I started archery hunting years ago and I’d like to get back at it.

 

[Shed84]

Hunt with my son off the ground. We brush in a blind with natural cover. Maybe next year he will be ready for a tree. He's way too loud to sneak up on anything lol

 

[Hunter260]

Started incorporating ground hunting into my game so much more this year. It’s been my most successful year ever. Major key is sitting still and minimizing profile. That means don’t bring a bunch of gear with you. If I bring a pack often I’ll stash it 10-15 feet away from me. I never set up unless I have front and back cover. I find it helpful to keep some paracord on you. You can tie branches up to build a ground blind, or bend a sapling over.

 

[Weldabeast]

U can use ur saddle off the ground...I don't quit trust my kid to be elevated yet so we walk mostly and tether to trees at ground level

 

[GeoFish]

Yes, always part of my game plan. Years ago, I did not hunt a hot spot because there was nat a good tree. Since then I now approach a spot and set up based on the best option. A waldrop pack seat is worth its weight in gold.

 

[Noonespecial]

I’m bringing a small stool with a backrest so I we can sit comfortably and remain still. I prepped some spots, clean some shooting lanes and leveled the ground. I was loosing some excitement but think being at ground level will bring that back.

 

[woodsdog2]

The Waldrop Pac Seat is a phenomenal hunting tool and keeps them guessing especially on quick am or pm hunts.

I've posted somewhere on this forum of my start with ground still hunting with a bow way back when I was a kid. It was the only thing I could afford to do at the time, and I had a blast learning about deer and deer hunting. I was blessed that on my grandmother's farm, an enduro run would go through every September or early October near some prime bedding. The trail was perfect for still hunting on as the leaves and everything were all churned up and ground duff was almost non-existent. I had a hey-day especially during the rut and when there were flurries, the bucks were up on their feet going through that bedding area on that trail. I wasn't very successful at drawing on them... .they would usually see my movement and bound off, but I sure got close.... a lot. I had little opera glasses that I was given from my dead great Aunt's estate, and I would take those little mini binoculars with me with my bow and just walk that enduro run trail when the wind was either in my face or a crosswind. Once I learned mostly where they would like to bed, I would walk pretty quickly up to about 100 yards where I figured they would be and then start the actual still hunt process. I was head to toe in camo, my face blackened with burnt cork. Even with those little 1.5x opera binocs, I would smell them long before I saw them. Because this particular bedding area was somewhat close to a well-traveled highway, I would almost pin them into the area and if I couldn't get a shot off the first time, I would turn back completely around and head back the way I came for about 75 yards give or take and then loop around down towards where I figured they would be coming. I'd find a heavy trail and start still hunting that in the wind again.... about 50 yards or so from the original trail and parallel the first trail I was on. Inevitably I would run in to them againas they would try to get downwind of me to figure out what I was for sure.... but usually they found me before I was able to get ready for a shot. But man.... that was a lot of fun.

 

[Nick Steele]

I started my year hunting Florida from the ground and while I didn’t get a shot at a buck I had plenty of does (30+) and turkeys (20+) walk 20-80 yards from me in 7 sits so far. Sat in the saddle last weekend for 2 hours and seen two does.

Personally I’ll do both next year depending on wind and which spot I want to go to but will probably use the saddle much more then the ground.

 

[Jtaylor]

I hunt from the ground almost exclusively and usually it's "stand" hunting just from the ground. Ground hunting is much quieter going in to a new area in the dark with nothing to fumble around with and make noise.
I'll use the saddle as a lookout to pinpoint deer movement on a property then when the conditions are right, I'll usually go in on the ground where I can get as close as I can without making much noise. It's true you'll probably see more deer from an elevated position but how many of these deer are shootable deer? When I'm on the ground, the shooting lanes are minimally cleared out (enough to slip a shot through) and I'm in an area of high deer movement, I make sure these will be high percentage shots or chances at shots as long as there's no other outside influences.
You must be still and quiet when hunting on the ground!! Deer pick up on movement really easily.
Dress for the occasion!! If you're hunting in CRP grass and have a green blob of a ghillie suit on, you may be picked out pretty easily.
I love hunting in eastern red cedars from the ground because not only do they conceal movement but if you've ever let milkweed go while sitting in one, your scent seems to just kind of hover within the tree and fall to the ground. Bring a few bungee straps or para cord to tie back limbs if you can't cut lower limbs but make just nice little nook for you to sit in and a lot of times you can just weave the limbs around each other to eliminate trimming or tying them back at all.
Ground hunting opens the doors to a whole new world of hunting whitetail. With a little creativity, you can set up almost anywhere and aren't tied to a tree literally and figuratively.
One more thing, have a comfortable seat so you're not fidgeting around. Waldrop Pac Seat, Larry Chair, Amazon "Heyeasy" hammock chair, lowdown hunting chair, your favorite fold out camping chair, turkey chair, etc.

 

[THill202]

I've done a bit of it though not as much this past year. The only farm i have permission on mostly doesn't hold deer in huntable locations and when the crops are right i've found my best chance is to set up in a brush line out in the middle of the field and catch them coming out across at last light. These have been some of my most exhilarating hunts and there's nothing like being eye level at close range with a wild animal. It's a bit tougher in the big woods but there are some places it could work. Where I hunt big woods there's pretty low deer density, thick areas are too thick and mature areas are too open. I've come close a couple times sneaking through hardwoods mixed with younger pines. It's all about the setup and being ready when the time comes.

 

[ofor]

Killed my best buck to date off the ground at 5 yards this year. What a rush being up close with them like that. I hung from the saddle that day till 9:00. Decided to scout for fresher sign for the afternoon sit. Was up in a tree by 11:30 for the afternoon sit after finding the sign I was after but decided at 1 that I didn’t like the setup so I climbed down and moved up the ridge I was on another 10 yards and set up on the ground for the rest of the afternoon. I still chalk up this kill to the mobility of the saddle game (actually, I was still wearing it, just not tethered to the V shaped tree I was set-up behind.

 

[Red Beard]

I'm seeing the value of hunting from the ground more and more recently.

 

[woodsdog2]

I think the ultimate would be indian style.... stalk a deer in its bed and have it never get up or not get very far.

 

[Bwhana]

I think the ultimate would be indian style.... stalk a deer in its bed and have it never get up or not get very far.

Like this one today while checking traps wearing a white t-shirt and the wind blowing directly at him?! I considered shooting him in the head with my 22 air rifle for a second or two.