• The SH Membership has gone live. Only SH Members have access to post in the classifieds. All members can view the classifieds. Starting in 2020 only SH Members will be admitted to the annual hunting contest. Current members will need to follow these steps to upgrade: 1. Click on your username 2. Click on Account upgrades 3. Choose SH Member and purchase.
  • We've been working hard the past few weeks to come up with some big changes to our vendor policies to meet the changing needs of our community. Please see the new vendor rules here: Vendor Access Area Rules

Habit i just realized i had

When ground hunting what side of a tree do you set up on?

  • Front

    Votes: 4 50.0%

  • Back

    Votes: 4 50.0%
  • Total voters
    8
Jay_Disarray

Jay_Disarray

Well-Known Member
SH Member
Joined
Oct 7, 2019
Messages
1,950
Location
MN
It got kinda late and I wasn't planning hunt tonight, but I decided to try the very small corner of poplars on the edge of a swamp. With the poplars all leaning pretty significantly I decided to sit on a chair tonight. I set up and didn't think too much of it, but as I sat there I noticed that I had set up on the backside of a tree.

If your ground hunting do you set up in front of or behind a tree usually?
 
Typically in front of a tree and try to pile some limbs/brush/tall grass in front of me or deploy my 2 tree umbrellas on the ground as a blind if I have them along.

Although that is usually with a gun, if bow hunting setting up behind a tree and piling brush beside me would offer better concealment when drawing back.

Sent from my Pixel 3 using Tapatalk
 
Behind if I have some shooting lanes or can cut some. It's hard enough to get drawn on the ground it always seems to be like the more between me and the deer the better.
 
By default in front of the tree. Mostly because I like to sit looking downhill. But also I figure the tree trunk will help cover my back from my movements if a deer approaches from the rear unheard. I hate turning around to a stop, stare, and snort.
 
This stick built ground blind that my uncle and I use is set up in between two trees. Sit with your back against the one tree, and have the other a few feet in front of you. I've had deer walk right passed me from behind, within 5 feet of me. And I've been able to use the tree in front to hide me standing up and drawing. Took a doe there last season that approached from behind and walked right next to me on my left.
 
I'm gonna say there is more to the equation than just tree in front, or tree in back. To compare, go to where the deer normally walk. Drop down to there height and look at where your sitting. Would you be less visible or more visible on front of the tree. What's behind you? Lots of brush? Open timber? Skyline on a hill?
You just need to not look like a human sitting there and not be seen moving. The more you do that while being down wind, the greater your chances are of killing a deer that comes close.
 
Empostarr said:
This stick built ground blind that my uncle and I use is set up in between two trees. Sit with your back against the one tree, and have the other a few feet in front of you. I've had deer walk right passed me from behind, within 5 feet of me. And I've been able to use the tree in front to hide me standing up and drawing. Took a doe there last season that approached from behind and walked right next to me on my left.
Click to expand...
pictures?? sounds cool!
 
MattMan81 said:
I'm gonna say there is more to the equation than just tree in front, or tree in back. To compare, go to where the deer normally walk. Drop down to there height and look at where your sitting. Would you be less visible or more visible on front of the tree. What's behind you? Lots of brush? Open timber? Skyline on a hill?
You just need to not look like a human sitting there and not be seen moving. The more you do that while being down wind, the greater your chances are of killing a deer that comes close.
Click to expand...
Oh yeah, there's definitely more to it than just tree in front and tree in back. The walls are about 3 foot tall, all sticks and branches from the area, annd that can hide a lot of motion. My uncle actually found this thing 30 years ago while scouting some state land. He shot a good 8 pointer his first sit there that day and we've been hunting there successfully ever since!

It is open timber, there's some super thick cover about 80 yards in front of where we sit that they use for cover a lot, and the deer tend to move from that cover passed the blind to open timber behind the blind. Sometimes they travel in front of the blind too, which is where that tree in front really helps hide your motion.

I had a good buck come in from my right once and he was moving through some of that thick stuff from right to left. As soon as that tree in front of me was in between us, I was able to stand and draw without him noticing at all. I had a small window to shoot thru and he stopped right in front of it. Then some does came in from the left and he ran thru that window chasing them, and I never got a shot.
 
jerry_d said:
pictures?? sounds cool!
Click to expand...
The only one I have is from inside of it and doesn't really show what it looks like. I'll be out there soon enough and take a photo. I consistently see deer when there, and I've had multiple close encounters with them. I think it helps the thing has been there for so long, it's part of the area and they barely pay attention. We don't hunt it consecutive days, so it doesn't ever seem like its been blown out from over hunting.

There's been sign of other people being out there, but I've gone up every weekend before and never run into anyone and see deer almost every time. Had two chances at nice bucks last season, the one I mentioned above and another that my chair squeeked when lining up the shot and it spooked him. I think I hunted in that area 7 days total last year and I saw deer 5 of those days. The other 2 I scouted around there for other places to set up and jumped a few
 
Empostarr said:
The only one I have is from inside of it and doesn't really show what it looks like. I'll be out there soon enough and take a photo. I consistently see deer when there, and I've had multiple close encounters with them. I think it helps the thing has been there for so long, it's part of the area and they barely pay attention. We don't hunt it consecutive days, so it doesn't ever seem like its been blown out from over hunting.

There's been sign of other people being out there, but I've gone up every weekend before and never run into anyone and see deer almost every time. Had two chances at nice bucks last season, the one I mentioned above and another that my chair squeeked when lining up the shot and it spooked him. I think I hunted in that area 7 days total last year and I saw deer 5 of those days. The other 2 I scouted around there for other places to set up and jumped a few
Click to expand...
thx -- looking forward to it!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top