Nothing but ground hunting for me.

We have hunted  in home made ground blinds for about 12yrs. , 100 percent of the time. usually harvest 2 deer each year. It really adds to the excitement when you get them close. we're starting to go to more spot and stock.

Although I am new to traditional archery gear, I have quite a bit of experience bow hunting deer, hogs, javalina, one turkey and small game. I hunted from a tree stand one time in Tx on a deer hunt and the results were so disasterous I haven't been a tree since. Plus I felt like I had no control over my situation while in the tree. My success depended entirely on how the deer decided to move that particular morning.

One thing to remember is to use cover to break up your outline and conceal your movement. It is just as important have cover behind you as it is to have cover between you an your query.

On the Tx hunt referenced above, I was successful after I got back on the ground (picked up my bow and all my arrows) and set up at the base of a large cedar tree. I tied branches back on either side and did some minute trimming to create a small cave like blind inside the tree. With the cedar around me 180 degrees and the shadows covering what little movements I made, the small 6 point buck walking about 8 yards out along the edge of the creek I was facing never knew what hit him.

That was my first archery deer way back in 1988. I've taken a lot of game since then with rifle, handgun and bow and they've all been from the ground.

I have nothing against those who use tree stands and I'll even admit that I would most likely have been even more successful had I taken the time to master the tree stand but, I've never been into hunting strictly for the kill. I want to enjoy my hunting experience and for me, that means hunting on the ground where I feel a bit more connected to my query and my environment. I also have to admit I'm a sucker for nostalgia and I don't recall any of my bow hunting heros hunting from trees.

Sorry for the long winded post. I hope I conveyed at least a small part of how I feel about hunting on the ground.

Best of luck to you.

Tom

Hunt the ground (very hilly forests and gullies) about 70% of the time. Leafy suit with some homemade Ghillie wool added, and walk reaaal slooow. Amazing what will walk in front of you. Might take all day to go a few hundred yards, if that.
With the hills and gullies, you get to see a long way from the ground. It would probably be a different story for me if it was flatter country.
I still like my tree stands though and enjoy resting in them and being up in the trees. I cam them all up like squirrel nests, kind of an elevated ground blind. Like tree forts for big kids :-)

Heading to my ground blind in about an hour!....Phil

I got a mule deer while on the ground....

I used my climber one time this year. I havent' had any problem getting deer close..getting a shot has been the hard part. I love being on the ground, it's so much more fun going through the process of building blinds.. etc. My 12 year old son really enjoy's it, and that's what it's all about! Jason