Stand vs ground hunting

[SSGmedic]

I want to get back into hunting (haven't hunted since grade school and I am now 31). I haven't really been a fan of the tree stands or box stands. I was wondering if anyone could give me any advice as to hunting from a hide (kinda like a sniper without the ghillie suit). I have an AR15 with a bipod and I am currently looking for a bag (drag bags seem to be the best suited to my needs). I was thinking that it would save some money for me to hunt from the prone and make it a bit easier. I would wear the hunters orange and all but is there anything I am not thinking of? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

[kellory]

I want to get back into hunting (haven't hunted since grade school and I am now 31). I haven't really been a fan of the tree stands or box stands. I was wondering if anyone could give me any advice as to hunting from a hide (kinda like a sniper without the ghillie suit). I have an AR15 with a bipod and I am currently looking for a bag (drag bags seem to be the best suited to my needs). I was thinking that it would save some money for me to hunt from the prone and make it a bit easier. I would wear the hunters orange and all but is there anything I am not thinking of? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Nice to meet you, and welcome to the forum. You say without the ghillie suit? Why? We have ghillie suit hunters, blind hunters, stand hunters, stalkers (in a good way ) Are you referring to a natural hide/ blind, or a pop up blind? Name your poison, and we have hunters that use them. Off the top of my head though, I would suggest hunter's orange on whatever blind or hide you use. It is not enough, in my opinion to just be on you. Your blind may hide you and your orange, but will not stop a bullet. I have camo orange cap for the pop up I use. If you are wanting to shoot prone, I might suggest a "Baker" tent. and add camo strip to it and do away with the short little poles. and add memory steel loops at each end. Or you could simplify things and simply hunt from a camo sleeping bag.

[SSGmedic]

I like the camo sleeping bag idea! I was ruling out ghillie because I figured it would be hard to get the hunter orange to stay on. I guess I would just weave it through the suit (never messed with a ghillie before so I am not too sure)

[kellory]

I like the camo sleeping bag idea! I was ruling out ghillie because I figured it would be hard to get the hunter orange to stay on. I guess I would just weave it through the suit (never messed with a ghillie before so I am not too sure)

I would suggest you speak with WoodsWalker. He is suit hunter, but I believe he just wears the vest over the ghillie. If you do the bag idea, perhaps you could add, hunter"s orange ghillie strips to the exterior. You don't want to be invisible to other armed hunters. Also, check your regulations for you area, Camo orange is legal for me, but is not legal in some other states. Make sure you are legal.

[Woods Walker]

I hunt all the time in a Rancho Safari Shaggie Longcoat, and for firearm season I simply tie a blaze orange bandana in the top of the headpiece for my "hat", and then I have an XXL blaze orange vest that I put on over the coat itself. Works great, and is just as effective.

[JPH]

I've done a little hunting from the prone position myself and I find it a lot tougher than a person might think. Unless you have a high piece of ground with a clear field of view, it can be somewhat limiting. In many cases, the ground cover rises above eye level and makes scanning the area difficult. I also find lying in the prone for an extended time to be physically demanding. You have to hold your head and arms up using muscles that are not often used.

Please don't misunderstand me. I love using the prone position when the situation demands it. Some of my closest deer and turkey kills have taken place from a low crawl. I'm just offering that it may not be the most practical position to use for the bulk of your hunting. Good luck!

[msbadger]

Due to my situation here I'm mainly a tree hunter...but I have done some really close stalks in the same outfit I use for turkey and bow seasons...I just add a blaze camo hat and vest...I also carry a turkey seat with me when going where I don't have blush blinds...play the wind and sit next to a down fall or very large tree base and deer will walk in very close with out seeing you...I once ...while wearing total blaze...had a doe and fawn walk right up to me and as the doe stood at the end of my barrel the fawn proceeded to poke my knee with it's nose...finally they turned and walked up hill behind me.....I was waiting for a Booner to come up the hill following them but he followed a different trail...wild exciting

[SSGmedic]

Thank you very much for each of your input. Thinking about the hunting in Louisiana, ground may not be best unless I can find a nice clearing or power line to hunt. Thank you wood walker for the orange ideas! Definitely going to use them. My father lives in Tx so I may have to see about getting a hunt or two in North TX since I know parts of that area are very wide open. As for the demand of laying prone, I definitely understand it (it was demonstrated to me by a drill sgt when in basic because I got a bit lazy). Since then, I have always admired snipers and sharpshooters. The tree hunting is a bit fearful to me because I almost fell when in a tree stand once (not fond of them since). Figure there is less chance of falling if I am on the ground.

[Woods Walker]

A few years ago during shotgun deer season I spent opening day morning in my ghillie coat in a natural ground blind I made on the side of a wooded ravine. I stayed there unitl about 2:00 pm, and then I went out into the harvested beanfield where the wooded ravine started. I was on a point where the woods started and I was in very short mowed grass...about 6" high. I layed there prone and took a nap. When I awoke, there were 3 does that had just entered the field about 150 yards away. I slowly moved my Browning A-Bolt into position and set the scope on 5X. The biggest doe gave me a good broadside shot so I took it. She spun around and fell in place. They never knew I was there. For a shotgun, this was a "sniper" shot, and she turned out to be the biggest doe I ever killed, with an estimated live weight of 195 pounds.

[1-GTOHunter]

If Your planning on Hunting mostly from the ground I would make several natural ground blinds in area's You know the Deer will be traveling,eating or bedding,You can also hang some of the Hunters Orange ribbon on the tree limbs around You so other Hunters can see it and You would be safe...kinda like Hunting out of a Ground Blind,while inside hunting even tho You have Your Hunters Safety Orange on no one can see it so You need to put an extra Orange Hunting Vest outside or hang the Orange ribbons so You don't get shot at?


If You don't like Hunting from an elevated blind or tree stand why not use a ladder stand but take out 1 or 2 of the rungs and have Yourself a shorter safer stand to hunt out of,or even put up a Hang-On Stand 4-6 foot off the ground and have just 2 or 3 steps to get up in it?You would be off the ground some and be able to see over any foliage or downed tree's.There are also a few Seats out there for Hunting close to the ground yet are comfortable to sit in,kinda like MSBadgers idea of using a flip type seat on a Turkey Hunting vest!

Another thing to consider if You do in fact Hunt out of a ladder stand or blind is the Hunters Safety Vest and using a Lanyard to keep You safe from falling,they also make a Vest and rope system You hook on to so Your safe and hooked up from the ground up while climbing up and down from Your stand in which most falling accidents happen!

There's also a Blind out there that is mounted to a Tree and the square brackets and bar hold the Blind up and out from the tree...it can be used at ground level or high up in a tree over Your ladder stand seating area...I'm thinking Big Dog or Big Game makes these Blinds...plus there is a foldable Blind that reflects anything in front of it where You completely match any surroundings,Ghost Blind is the name of it I believe and there's another Company that makes Hay Bale Blinds....the options are endless to what You can do.

When I'm setting up for any type Hunting I like to use the surroundings as natural cover or I set up several different stands to fit my different needs,I have several ladder stands set up,a ground blind in another area,some natural fallen tree's where I made a lean with limbs and leaves to hide my out-line,or even a home-made ground box blinds...the list goes on and on.In other words don't limit Yourself to 1 type of Hunting Cover or set up..be versital and try different idea's and options!