Ground hunting...

[joe skipp]

Natural all the way...with clothing that blends in well with that natural setup.

[Jerry Jeffer]

[rcheryhunter1949]

I use natural blinds the vast majority of the time.  I hunt quite a bit on the ground with just a swivel seat and using the naturally occurring vegetation and trees.  I do carry some pruning shears and a hand saw to modify as necessary, but I try to leave everything as undisturbed as possible and fit myself into the existing flora.  I have two points to bring up. First, I try to hunt areas not normally hunted by other people, i.e. areas with no trees big enough to get up into, or treeless fence lines (which deer use very commonly as travel routes).  I actually see more deer than I used to when hunting in tree stands.  The deer are much more relaxed because they have not been hunting in these areas before and use them regularly.  I have witnessed deer (especially older, mature ones) on a number of occasions walk nonchalantly across CRP or along lightly brushed fence lines only to stop at the edge of the treeline for long minutes looking and listening for any sign of danger.  I also have found, in my experience, that the best natural blinds are the ones that have good background cover to break up your outline.  I have killed deer from my stool with no front cover except 6-12 inch tall grass, but with excellent back cover.  I am leaving for Kansas later this week, will try to take a few pics of my setups and post to illustrate what I am talking about.  There is an excellent picture in this thread of great natural background cover in the form of a tree but not much for front cover.  I try to do the same thing but in treeless or brushy environments.  One last point of interest, if the wind shifts, or the deer aren't moving, or you see a small buck scent trailing a hot doe another fenceline, it is a mere matter of getting up, moving to a new position and sitting back down.

[rcheryhunter1949]

I use natural blinds the vast majority of the time.  I hunt quite a bit on the ground with just a swivel seat and using the naturally occurring vegetation and trees.  I do carry some pruning shears and a hand saw to modify as necessary, but I try to leave everything as undisturbed as possible and fit myself into the existing flora.  I have two points to bring up. First, I try to hunt areas not normally hunted by other people, i.e. areas with no trees big enough to get up into, or treeless fence lines (which deer use very commonly as travel routes).  I actually see more deer than I used to when hunting in tree stands.  The deer are much more relaxed because, apparently, they have not been hunted in these areas before and tend to use them regularly.  I have witnessed deer (especially older, mature ones) on a number of occasions walk nonchalantly across CRP or along lightly brushed fence lines only to stop at the edge of the treeline for long minutes looking and listening for any sign of danger.  I also have found, in my experience, that the best natural blinds are the ones that have good background cover to break up your outline.  I have killed deer from my stool with no front cover except 6-12 inch tall grass, but with excellent back cover.  I am leaving for Kansas later this week, will try to take a few pics of my setups and post to illustrate what I am talking about.  There is an excellent picture in this thread of great natural background cover in the form of a tree but not much for front cover.  I try to do the same thing but in treeless or brushy environments.  One last point of interest, if the wind shifts, the deer aren't moving, or you see a small buck scent trailing a hot doe along another fence line, it is a mere matter of getting up, moving to a new position and sitting back down.  This is the way I do it and it has worked extremely well for me, but I make no claims as to it being the only way or the best way.  Just food for thought.

[USN_Sam1385]

Slowly making transition out of the trees. I am much more comfortable on the ground and I have never been nervous before but I suddenly find myself more nervous climbing high into trees. For me a natural ground blind with a bunch of brush pushed up against a tree. I try to find a tree on a slight incline that is wide enough to comfortably lean completely back against. The incline down makes doing the sit up to get into shooting poisiton much easier and I can lay still in complete comfort for long periods of time.

[TxAg]

Originally posted by grouse11:
Well, haven't done it much but when I have, I use a natural blind. Not sticks piled up but more a cutout in some thick stuff. It is illegal in PA to use a blind that doesn't completely surround you for deer, but I figure that I am okay if I am not "building" anything. Actually hunted from the ground last night and saw my first deer on the ground. A fawn, small doe, and a 3 point, way more exciting than in the treestand.

I'm confused....it is illegal to use a blind that doesn't completely surround you? What kind of weird law is that?