I think that hunting from tree stands has improved my overall hunting skills.  The opportunities for observing wildlife and becoming accustomed to being  immobile for extended periods of time improves a hunter's patience.  You quickly learn that hunting is like a game of tag -- whoever is caught moving loses.
The same principles of keeping a still and quiet as possible, staying in the shadows , breaking up your outline and being aware of where your stink is drifting apply both from a tree or on the ground, but you tend to be able to see the cause and effect better from  a  tree stand.  It is just plain easier to figure out what you did wrong -- another lesson learned that can be applied to ground hunting.

I am limited to the number of trees on my 20 acre piece that will hold a stand.  I utilize my stands when needed, and hunt from the ground when I need the change of pace.  Have been more successful from the air- but my best buck was shot from the ground after a 2 1/2 hour spot/stalk and wait for him to get out of bed....
to be successful we all need to be cautious, either from the air or the ground

It's all good.  

I'm of the opinion that many hunters invest a lot of time and energy into placing a tree stand in what they think is the right place.  When subsequent hunts hint to them that maybe they should move the stand, many still resist due to all that effort they've already expended in erecting the stand, trimming shooting lanes, etc.  It's understandable, but a hair lazy.  

I prefer tree stands, although I have killed four nice whitetails from the ground, in part because I don't educate the timber as much as I would if I were still hunting my way through it.

I enjoy both, and actually prefer a treestand in most areas. With that being said the last 4 or 5 years I have been hunting some very heavily hunted public land close to my house. I quickly noticed that the deer spent a lot of time looking up into trees on this piece of property. Most everyone that hunts it does so from a stand and these deer seemed to have adapted to it very well. It is almost comical watching the deer scan the tree's. Even the yearlings there do it I guess they learned it from watching momma because I have seen them do it early in the season and know they have not encountered people in stands yet, but there already looking.

With that being said I now mainly hunt that area from the ground in natural brush blinds and it works very well there! The deer there are just not used to anybody being on the ground unless they are moving to/from stands. I have been much more sucessfull on the ground there than in a stand, which is exactly the opposite from the private ground I hunt. So I guess what I am saying is sometimes you have to mix it up and use both depending on the particular circumstances.

I think for us western guys, there can be a lot of great opportunities from the ground, where "wide-open" or limited tree growth forces us to explore other options.  I been lucky enough to take 3 great bucks from the ground still-hunting.  But having said that, my boys and I set up and hunt a bunch of stands every year, and we do well that way.

Mark,

I like your reply.  I am beginning to think that maybe I need to try to be more versatile...I was not raised by a hunter so much of this stuff I have had to learn on my own and it has been slow.  Despite it all, I have managed to kill 7 really good bucks through the years from 125" to 168".  Going to try hunting lower this year.

jf

i hunted for years just sitting on the ground when i wa a kid, when i got old enough to be influenced by hype i started buying all the hottest treestands.  both ways had their own things that i liked about them.  seen my only wild turkey from a lumber treestand.  but last season when i started using trad. gear and started hunting off the ground again i had my first very close incounter(4 yards).  i changed my way of looking at the hunt.  i could sit there and have that doe walk right up next to me every time i go out and never take her and still feel like it was one of my best hunts.  i just cant get that feeling from a stand. that my 2 cents

I'm a ground guy, but have seen some really cool things in tree stands in the past.  Had a sharp shinned hawk nearly fly right into me! I think hunting in a tree makes me focus more because I don't want to move and be skylined too easily. Being "sloppy" in a tree stand is easier as you go higher I suppose.  I personaly was never very comfortable more than 15ft up. As a result, I couldn't afford to be sloppy.

Just my thoughts,
-Charlie

For deer I like the 30 seconds per step still hunt. For elk I move faster and then slow down when I see or hear something that puts me on to  them. I've taken 4 book blacktail and 20 or so elk with these methods so I don't see any reason to use a tree stand.

I've only hunted from a treestand once.  It was too high up a very skinny tree on a windy day.  It didn't seem to make me a better hunter, but I think it made me a queasier one.

There is something about being eye level with big game that turns me on. I've been in tree stands on my home turf and kinda feel limited to a 20 yard zone. Stalking and still huntin' is for me! Although when hunting in Maine for black bear, you can bet I was in a tree stand.    Didn't want to be mistaken for a bait pile!

... mike ...

Not one thing wrong with a tree stand. I have hunted from one for most of 34 years. But I am going to the ground. I think I just want to know I can do it that way.

Whump Sez; My hat is off and you are truly a stalk hunter and predator if you can take deer from the ground with bow and arrow. I on the other hand cannot slip up on Helen Keller in a plowed field on a windy day. I hunted a bit many years ago with some Creek Indian cousins of mine and they could not believe one person weighing less than 120lbs could make as much noise as I could walking in the woods. I was the subject of constant ribbing and decided I was a stand hunter[ok I admit they decided I was a stand hunter] They put me on a stand and I killed my first deer hunting with them at 12 years old. After watching me move through the woods they could not figure out how they wound up on a reservation instead of the white man.   :rolleyes:   Hunt safe.

Funny stuff Whump!  

Hunt with a knife only.
Just kiddin'. Good luck.

I guess I'm very fortunate in the fact that I hunt in a club that has plenty enough land for me to scout and hang several stands (so that I can play the wind game).  However, (still playing that wind game) every now and again, I get that hankerin' to go on a stalk. There's just something about being mobile that adds another form of excitement to the hunt.  Oftentimes on a stalk, I see things that I didn't pick up on when scouting the first time through.

I personally do not think hunting from the ground is any harder or any easier than hunting from a treestand. I hunt exclusively from the ground because that's the way I hunt.  Both take dedication and plenty of know how to be successful. I think hunting from the ground is more of a lazy method than treestand hunting. Climbing trees is tough work! Hey whatever floats your boat. I hunt from the ground because I like being immersed in the woods, the few times I tried a treestand I felt sort of removed from it all, kind of like looking in as opposed to being part of what's going on. Good luck in your endeavor.

I think hunting from a stand is harder as well. I've killed more deer on the ground than from a stand.

I still love to sit in a tree stand though and watch the woods come alive underneath me.

Great points mountainken...!  I do love the view out of a treestand on an oak ridge... Backing into a blowdown is fun and more fun...


JDS III