Ground hunting

[coach]

be scentless (play the wind)
be invisible  (conceal yourself)
be quiet  ( be comfortable )
be slow  ( be motionless or move slow)

[Goose]

ORIGINAL: Woods Walker

Hey twisty.....See if Goose can transfer this thread to the new "Ground Hunting, Stillhunting, Stalking" section. This thread would be a perfect one to start it off with.

 
Just for you Mr. WW

[Demoderby4]

I ground hunt for gun and muzzle loading seasons here and I have had a lot of luck by ground hunting, all 4 of my deer have been taken this way. I sit in one place for the duration of the hunt when i'm on the ground, even if it's all day. I'm pretty patient and have confidence in my spots when I pick em. Plus i'll freak out if I move, "well what if something is coming by right now..." those kind of thoughts I would obsess about if I moved during the hunt and I try to avoid stressing too much when I'm out there hunting, after all we are supposed to enjoy it right?! lol.

First and foremost you MUST be as close to scent free as possible. You don't have the luxury of being 15-20 ft. off the ground and at times have your scent be carried over the deer's nose anymore. Scent wicking base layers as well as "scent lok" outer layers is a good start not necessary though. Just make sure you wash everything in scent killer or an equivalent and store it in a scent free tote as soon as it dries from the dryer, or if u air dry it. I can honestly say base layers and taking extreme caution in my outer layers to be scent free has made a world of difference in my hunting experience, it's worth the little extra work.

Stay still, blend in with the woods, make a good blind, take the time to make it good. Use as much as you can, I have a very nice setup at my new spot this year and I have a lot of woods/branches behind me and to my sides, and a little bit in front of me, having stuff behind u is a lot more important than in front of you. Even if you don't like sitting a lot, make sure you have a stump or a fallen tree or something to sit on for brief periods of time, no one can stand hours on end without getting sore or antsy to sit. I have shot 2 deer standing and 2 sitting, you just have to make sure to be very slow and cautious when moving when u do, i have been busted numerous times when i thought i was alone and as soon as i stood up or sat down a deer either took off or started pawing the ground and snorting at me, not fun. Bring a back pack or something to keep your lunch and fluids in, i prefer back packs over fanny packs. Make sure its as close to sound proof as possible, zippers are unavoidable, just open them slowly, very slowly. I tend to do that at the very beginning of the hunt, in case anything is around and gets jumpy from any sounds it makes, i still have the rest of the hunt to see something else if it spooks.

If I'm going to bring a bag of chips, jerky or whatever, i bring zip lock bags and put my snacks in them at the truck before i enter the woods, they are a heck of a lot quieter than the bags most foods come in. I also open my water, or gatorade before I enter the woods that way the cracking of it opening and the carbonation sound fizzing out is already gone when I want to drink it when I get to my spot.

Don't make any noise, well, as close to no noise as possible, it may sound stupid to actually say that but I have been in the woods and have heard people coughing, snorting you name it, it makes no sense to me, be as still and quiet as possible.

Being in the air in a tree stand expands your view greatly, on the ground at times you will be lucky to see 50 yards ahead of you or to your sides. Make sure to clear some sections out, depending on the time of year go crazy clear out as much as you want, to an extent, and use the debris to manipulate trails, funnels etc.. to bring the deer to your stand, or to make your blind. Don't necessarily clear cut, but clear the area out some so you can see distant trails scrapes, rubs beds whatever it may be. The deer might be a lil more cautious when the renovations are done, but if you time it right when your in the woods the deer will be used to it and they will be comfortable walking by your stand regardless esp. if you are concealed well and virtually scent free.

Getting the shot off is one of the hardest parts. Because you have to move and make a little noise. It's even harder if the deer sneak up on you. If you can wait until the deer's head is either down, looking the other way, or behind something, then raise it your in great shape. I have lost a few staring battles when a deer has seen me raise my weapon, try to plan the motions are the right time and you will be golden.

This is just a overview and the info the other guys have given is great, I love ground hunting and prefer it over stand hunting. I'm even gonna give bow hunting a try on the ground this year when November rolls around. Good luck hope this helped!!

[jonny5buck]

I agree with alot of your post..my biggest problem is for some reason i run into guys who are doing it all wrong while ground hunting...usually in state parks...im not against it in any way...but when your signed in a park that has 28 other guys already signed in,how can these guys think they are going to get a deer by walking around the whole park aimlessly???

It doesn't work that way....and also i have way more respect for the other guys hunting that i know are out there...some probably just got off work and hauled ass to get there .....may only have one or two hunts a month or year total...and some yahoo is gonna walk around scaring all the deer....and never scouted the park...sorry for the rant...its' not aimed at you or anyone else.....this happened almost weekly at a park i used to hunt.....i have no problem with parking it on a downed tree or backing in some brush....just sit there like most stand hunters do...it's actually harder on the ground for the most part...the wind...they are at eye level..etc etc...

I still hunt on the ground on occasion...but im still 95% up 20^ plus ft ...rarely does it offer an advantage where i hunt..although i will have one spot this season that will be almost ground hunting only...because of a tornado...it can be a good time when done right,,,my gripe is i always run into the guys that do it all wrong-

[Woods Walker]

With more tags to fill and less areas available to hunt from a tree I hit the ground and hardly ever use a stand or even a blind anymore.By combining still hunting, stalking, and sitting I now have huge areas of ground to myself during much of the bow season because theres a mindset among most of the bow hunters I know that they cant kill deer from the ground with archery equipment.Im not criticizing them, i still use stands occasionaly and some of them guys kill deer more consitantly than I do, but i do think that it really limits your hunting if you rely completely on stands and blinds.Since that time Ive killed dozens of deer, bucks, and does alike simply sitting concealed in the naturaul vegetation or by sneaking in on them or ahead of them and Ive killed them anywhere from 5 to 30 yrds away.At that range on the ground even does will get your heart pounding like your shooting a P&Y buck.

You, my friend, have FIGURED IT OUT!!! Now let's keep it hush/hush, so that it STAYS that way! [;)]

I, like you, rarely (if ever) hunt from a tree anymore. And that's after 26 years of pretty much hunting exclusively from one.

If I could sum up the ground hunting experience in one word, it would be FREEDOM.

Freedom to move as you see fit, and freedom from having to own, maintain, and carry cumbersome, expensive, heavy equipment that acts like a ball and chain.

When I combine that with hunting with a recurve (my Super Kodiak weighs in at a little over 2 pounds, then it's almost like I'm carrying NOTHING in the woods with me.

[hunter480]

I just don`t have the patience to still hunt....I move too fast and can`t seem to make myself slow down enough to REALLY disect the cover....I only bust deer if I`m moving around......

[Jslotter]

I have only killed 4 deer from an elevated stand. My fourth one was last October, my first kill with a bow. I will hunt 15 feet in a tree ONLY during bow season. Other than that, I have killed all my deer on the ground with a rifle. I hunt woods that have numerous ridge lines, pockets, draws, and spurs. I like to find a good spot where I can see all the way across a wide draw or valley, or anywhere where I can see thru the trees and brush, and effectively shoot and kill deer. I call these spots "fatal funnels". I will usually look for a wind fall on the side of a hill or on top of ridge, and use it as a bench to sit on while it breaks up my outline while scanning the fatal funnel. This tactic has put meat in my freezer for the last 17 years of deer hunting.

[Woods Walker]

Funnels have got to be THE most important hunting area feature, bar none. IMO they trump everything, and I also have had my best success with them.

Learn how to ID them, and where they are, how they tie in with the terrain and woods cover and you will kill deer.

[Woods Walker]

ORIGINAL: hunter480

I just don`t have the patience to still hunt....I move too fast and can`t seem to make myself slow down enough to REALLY disect the cover....I only bust deer if I`m moving around......

You've got to make yourself believe, and I mean REALLY believe, that there's ALWAYS a deer just beyond where you cannot see, and that you must act accordingly. If you start doing that, you WILL slow down...and you will also start seeing deer before they see you. Once you do it a few times (see the deer before they see you) it starts to come more naturally....and sometimes not. It depends a lot on how much stress I've been under. Sometimes I need to just sit down for an hour just to put myself in that "predator" mental state, as opposed to my "modern man in a big hurry to go nowhere" state.

That big double droptine I killed where I posted the picture in the "Dream Buck" thread I was able to kill this way. I saw him first (or I should say I saw the does he was following first) at 40 yards. He never knew I was there. That's as much as thrill for me as his large rack. I would have been thrilled to kill that deer from ANY stand, but getting him that way just sweetened the deal.

[danesdad]

ORIGINAL: hunter480

I just don`t have the patience to still hunt....I move too fast and can`t seem to make myself slow down enough to REALLY disect the cover....I only bust deer if I`m moving around......

You could be me. I start off slow, but I must speed up or get careless, because mostly I see white flags. When I do walk up on a deer, it is mostly by accident. I can only think of a couple deer I shot while walking and none with a bow.